Who are the greatest drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history?
With NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season upon us, we decided to put together a panel of stock car racing experts to help us answer that question.
Unlike the most famous edition of this list — NASCAR’s own “50 Greatest Drivers” from the 50th anniversary season in 1998 — we decided to limit it to only the Cup Series.
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That made it both more of a challenge and more fascinating to see the results, since some names that you might not expect made the list.
A quick word about our methodology before we jump into Part 3 of our list: We sought to gather a sampling of a variety of voices throughout the NASCAR industry. That included drivers (both current and former), team owners, crew chiefs, spotters, track executives and media members. We also wanted to have a variety of ages on the panel to represent knowledge of different eras. (To see the full panel, check out Part 1.)
We refrained from asking any drivers eligible for the list to participate in the voting due to potential conflicts of interest. However, we recognize those conflicts could exist from other members of the panel based on the nature of their roles.
We’ve separated our list into four parts. Part 1, featuring Nos. 75-51, is here. Part II, featuring Nos. 50-26, is here. The final piece, revealing Nos. 5-1, is here.
25. Brad Keselowski
Years active: 2008-present
Cup Series wins: 35
Top points finish: Champion (2012)
Highest panel ranking: 18
Lowest panel ranking: 35
Despite his prowess on superspeedways — where he has seven career victories — Keselowski only lacks the Daytona 500 to achieve a career Grand Slam. He’s won the Southern 500 (2018), Brickyard 400 (2018) and Coca-Cola 600 (2020) in addition to the 2012 Cup Series title. Keselowski, who ranks fourth among active full-time drivers in Cup wins, could move up further on this list if he can turn RFK Racing into a consistent winner.
24. Tim Flock
Years active: 1949-1961
Cup Series wins: 39
Top points finish: Champion (1952, 1955)
Highest panel ranking: 15
Lowest panel ranking: 62
A two-time champion considered one of the great drivers of his generation, Flock had the second-best winning percentage in premier series history. His 18 wins during the 1955 season set a then-record for most victories in a season, later topped by Richard Petty’s 27 in 1967. His 19 poles that year remains a record. Flock is also one of only two drivers to win consecutive races on the historic Daytona Beach Road Course.
23. Kurt Busch
Years active: 2000-2022
Cup Series wins: 34
Top points finish: Champion (2004)
Highest panel ranking: 12
Lowest panel ranking: 32
Busch had a long and consistent career, racing against everyone from Dale Earnhardt Sr. to Tyler Reddick. His lone championship, in 2004, came in dramatic fashion as the finale of the first Chase for the Cup and seemed to validate NASCAR’s move to a playoff. Busch won at least one race in 19 of his 22 seasons, including the Daytona 500 (2017) and Coca-Cola 600 (2010). Though his fiery personality caused self-inflicted issues at times, he was known to elevate organizations and became a sought-after addition to teams later in his career.
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22. Matt Kenseth
Years active: 1998-2020
Cup Series wins: 39
Top points finish: Champion (2003)
Highest panel ranking: 15
Lowest panel ranking: 32
The last driver to win the championship under the season-long points format (2003), the Wisconsin native is regarded as one of the best and most consistent drivers of his generation. In addition to his 2003 title, he finished fifth or better in the final standings six other times. His 39 wins rank 22nd on the all-time list and include victories in three of four crown-jewel races — the Daytona 500 (twice), Coca-Cola 600 (2000) and Southern 500 (2013).
21. Buck Baker
Years active: 1949-1976
Cup Series wins: 46
Top points finish: Champion (1956, 1957)
Highest panel ranking: 14
Lowest panel ranking: 35
NASCAR’s first back-to-back Cup champion, Baker finished top five in points for eight straight years (1953-60). Though he won three Southern 500s, 40 of his 46 career victories came on dirt tracks. Baker’s racing career began a decade before the formation of NASCAR, so he likely would have collected more wins for this list had the timing been different.
20. Mark Martin
Years active: 1981-2013
Cup Series wins: 40
Top points finish: Second (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2009)
Highest panel ranking: 12
Lowest panel ranking: 31
Widely recognized as one of the best drivers to never win a Cup championship, Martin finished runner-up in the championship five times. He is 20th on the all-time wins list and his 56 poles are seventh-best. The Arkansas native owns crown-jewel wins in the Southern 500 (twice) and Coca-Cola 600 (2002); he also finished second to Kevin Harvick by two-hundredths of a second in one of the most memorable finishes in Daytona 500 history. Notably, Martin finished top five in the point standings 13 times during his career.
19. Herb Thomas
Years active: 1949-1962
Cup Series wins: 48
Top points finish: Champion (1951, 1953)
Highest panel ranking: 10
Lowest panel ranking: 57
Though Thomas had a short career (he essentially ran seven seasons), it was highly productive. Thomas ranks No. 1 in career winning percentage (21 percent) and is fifth in top-10 percentage (68 percent). In a four-year period from 1951-54, Thomas never finished outside the top two in points and had more than double the number of victories as the next-closest driver.
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18. Denny Hamlin
Years active: 2005-present
Cup Series wins: 48
Top points finish: Second (2010)
Highest panel ranking: 11
Lowest panel ranking: 39
Entering the 2023 season, Hamlin’s 48 victories are tied with Herb Thomas for 16th on the all-time wins list. Along with Mark Martin, Fred Lorenzen and Junior Johnson, Hamlin is considered one of the greatest drivers without a Cup title. One of only six drivers to win the Daytona 500 three or more times, Hamlin has also won the Southern 500 on three occasions and the Coca-Cola 600 (2022). He has advanced to the Championship 4 round four times, including three consecutive years. Hamlin is now the co-owner of 23XI Racing with NBA legend Michael Jordan.
17. Joey Logano
Years active: 2008-present
Cup Series wins: 31
Top points finish: Champion (2018, 2022)
Highest panel ranking: 6
Lowest panel ranking: 28
Given his age (32) and already-long list of accomplishments, Logano seems destined to end up among the top 10 drivers of all time. He has two championships, five Championship 4 appearances, a Daytona 500 (2015) and has won on every type of track (short, intermediate, superspeedway, road course and dirt). Logano has also shown a knack for adapting quickly; he is the inaugural race winner for the Bristol Dirt Race, the Clash at the Coliseum and the Gateway race.
16. Ned Jarrett
Years active: 1953-1966
Cup Series wins: 50
Top points finish: Champion (1961, 1965)
Highest panel ranking: 11
Lowest panel ranking: 31
“Gentleman Ned” was a two-time champion whose 50 wins are tied for 13th all time. Jarrett retired prematurely in the prime of his career, at age 34, to pursue outside business interests, then later returned to become one of the most well-known NASCAR broadcasters of his generation with stints on CBS, ESPN and MRN. Notably, Jarrett won the 1965 Southern 500 by a whopping 14 laps. He is the father of 1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett.
15. Bill Elliott
Years active: 1975-2012
Cup Series wins: 44
Top points finish: Champion (1988)
Highest panel ranking: 12
Lowest panel ranking: 28
Two Daytona 500 wins. Three Southern 500 wins. The 1988 Cup Series title. And the famed Winston Million in 1985. Bill Elliott seemingly did it all during his NASCAR career, which also saw him win a record 16 Most Popular Driver awards. “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville” still holds the mark for the fastest lap in NASCAR history — his 1987 qualifying lap at Talladega, which saw him record a 212 mph average speed.
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14. Lee Petty
Years active: 1949-1964
Cup Series wins: 54
Top points finish: Champion (1954, 1958, 1959)
Highest panel ranking: 10
Lowest panel ranking: 29
The patriarch of the legendary Petty Family, Lee was NASCAR’s first driver to win three championships. He also won the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959 over Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish that took three days to determine the victor. When Petty retired, he ranked first in wins — a record son Richard would eventually claim for himself with 200 victories.
13. Junior Johnson
Years active: 1953-1966
Cup Series wins: 50
Top points finish: Sixth (Never ran a full season)
Highest panel ranking: 3
Lowest panel ranking: 29
The former moonshine runner became the “Last American Hero” who was part of the inaugural five-member NASCAR Hall of Fame class. His driving career included 50 victories (which is still among the top 15 all time) and a win in the 1960 Daytona 500 before he retired at age 35. Though team ownership wasn’t considered as part of these rankings, Johnson-owned cars also won six Cup titles. He is also credited with bringing R.J. Reynolds/Winston to NASCAR, which helped launch the sport to national prominence.
12. Rusty Wallace
Years active: 1980-2005
Cup Series wins: 55
Top points finish: Champion (1989)
Highest panel ranking: 11
Lowest panel ranking: 28
With the 11th-most wins in Cup history, Wallace was often at his best on short tracks and road courses with more than half his victories coming on those circuits. He had a streak of winning at least one race in 16 straight years. The 1989 Cup champion and 1990 Coca-Cola 600 winner, Wallace also had a noted rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr. — which was one of the catalysts for NASCAR’s growing popularity in the late 1980s through the 1990s.
11. Kevin Harvick
Years active: 2001-present
Cup Series wins: 60
Top points finish: Champion (2014)
Highest panel ranking: 9
Lowest panel ranking: 20
Set to retire after this season, Harvick is currently tied for ninth on the all-time wins list. But wherever he ends up, his career will go down as one of the best. Entering the Cup Series under the most difficult of circumstances — the replacement for Dale Earnhardt Sr. after his death at the 2001 Daytona 500 — “Happy” won the 2014 Cup title and an impressive eight crown-jewel races (three Brickyard 400s, two Southern 500s, two Coca-Cola 600s and the 2007 Daytona 500). Harvick has finished among the top five in points 13 times during his 22-year career and once went 12 consecutive years inside the top 10.
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10. Tony Stewart
Years active: 1999-2016
Cup Series wins: 49
Top points finish: Champion (2002, 2005, 2011)
Highest panel ranking: 5
Lowest panel ranking: 23
One of the most all-around talented drivers in motorsports history, Stewart burst onto the stock car scene in 1999 by becoming the first rookie to win a Cup race in a dozen years — except he did it three times. Stewart went on to win three Cup championships, which came under three different points formats. His last title run in 2011 is considered legendary, as he won five of 10 playoff races with cocksure bravado, seemingly willing himself to the championship over Carl Edwards. Though Stewart never won the Daytona 500 (despite being one of the best drivers at that track), he twice won the Brickyard 400 at his beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’s also the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing where he’s twice won the championship as a team owner — himself in 2011 and Kevin Harvick in 2014.
9. Kyle Busch
Years active: 2004-present
Cup Series wins: 60
Top points finish: Champion (2015, 2019)
Highest panel ranking: 4
Lowest panel ranking: 12
Despite a turbulent career, Busch has shown record-setting consistency — entering 2023, he is tied with Richard Petty for the most consecutive years with a win (18). In fact, Busch has never run a full season without winning a race. His 60 Cup victories (tied with Harvick for ninth on the all-time list) include two Brickyard 400s, a Coca-Cola 600 and a Southern 500 — though notably not a Daytona 500 win. He also has two Cup Series championships and made five straight Championship 4 appearances from 2015-19. Notably, Busch also has a NASCAR-record 224 victories across the top three national series, where he is the all-time leader in both Xfinity and Truck Series wins.
8. Darrell Waltrip
Years active: 1972-2000
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Cup Series wins: 84
Top points finish: Champion (1981, 1982, 1985)
Highest panel ranking: 6
Lowest panel ranking: 14
One of NASCAR’s biggest personalities, Waltrip was also one of NASCAR’s most prolific winners. His 84 wins is tied with rival Bobby Allison for fifth-most and he is one of only nine drivers to win the Cup championship three or more times. Waltrip won the Daytona 500 (1989), Southern 500 (1992) and Coca-Cola 600 (five times), and remarkably had a seven-race winning streak at Bristol Motor Speedway. He finished ranked in the top 10 in points 15 consecutive years, the impressive display of consistency only broken due to him missing several races in 1990 after being injured in a crash. Upon retirement, Waltrip went into broadcasting, becoming a popular TV analyst for Fox Sports.
7. Cale Yarborough
Years active: 1957-1988
Cup Series wins: 83
Top points finish: Champion (1976, 1977, 1978)
Highest panel ranking: 5
Lowest panel ranking: 12
Yarborough’s three straight championships seemed like an untouchable achievement until Jimmie Johnson reeled off five straight three decades later. Even so, Yarborough’s career had plenty to celebrate: an incredible five Southern 500 wins and four Daytona 500 wins among his 83 victories (which are tied for fifth all-time). Yarborough is also fourth on the all-time poles list (69) and holds the Modern Era record for most poles in a single season (14 in 1980).
6. Bobby Allison
Years active: 1961-1988
Cup Series wins: 84
Top points finish: Champion (1983)
Highest panel ranking: 2
Lowest panel ranking: 11
One of the founding members of the famed “Alabama Gang,” Allison finished runner-up in the championship five times before finally winning the 1983 title in a heated battle over rival Darrell Waltrip. His 84 wins include multiple victories in NASCAR’s biggest races: the Daytona 500 (three), the Southern 500 (four) and Coca-Cola 600 (three). His fistfight with Cale Yarborough during the 1979 Daytona 500 is considered one of the seminal moments in NASCAR history, helping elevate the regional sport into the national consciousness.
GO DEEPER
Best NASCAR Cup Series drivers of all time, Nos. 75-51: Alex Bowman to Curtis Turner
GO DEEPER
Best NASCAR Cup Series drivers of all time, Nos. 50-26: Geoff Bodine to Dale Jarrett
GO DEEPER
Best NASCAR Cup drivers of all time, Nos. 5-1: Who has the best case for No. 1?
(Top illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; photos: Robert Laberge, Brian Lawdermilk, The Sporting News / Getty Images)