Top 10 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR History
Three Part Series from Different NASCAR Era's
Part One: All-Time
By Richard Tix
First of a three part series ranking the greats in NASCAR history. Part one is ranking NASCAR's all time greats from the beginning of its start until current day. (Note, it does not include active NASCAR drivers).
11. Bill Elliott (Dropped out of the Top 10 when Jeff Gordon Retired).
Wins: 44
Top 5: 175
Top 10: 320
Championships: 1
Million Dollar Bill is 19th in career top 5's (175) and was also the 1988 Winston Cup Championship. During his long career he was also a two time Daytona 500 winner. He made the tail end of this list not only for his career stats but because of his longevity in the sport and the fact that he was also a very popular driver (won NASCAR's most popular driver award 16 times). He has a good chance at making the NASCAR HOF this year.
10. Rusty Wallace
Wins: 55
Top 5: 202
Top 10: 349
Championships: 1
Rusty Wallace shows up number 9 on this list and is also a new NASCAR HOF member (2013 class). Rusty ran NASCAR full time for the first time in 1984 and finished that season as NASCAR's Rookie of the Year. He went on to win the 1989 Winston Cup Championship.
9. Ned Jarrett
Wins: 50
Top 5: 185
Top 10: 239
Championships: 2
Ned Jarrett has to make most fans list as a top 10 driver, but where do you place him? Ned comes in at 8 on NASCAR Behind the Wall's list. He has 50 wins, 185 top 5's, 239 top 10's all in a modest 352 races. Before Jarrett retired at the young age of 34 he had already won 2 Championships. He is also a member of the NASCAR HOF (2011 class).
8. Lee Petty
Wins: 54
Top 5: 231
Top 10: 332
Championships: 3
The first ever winner of the Daytona 500 has to make the top 10 right? Aside from that fact, and that he was one of the first real super stars of Stock Car racing, Lee also won 54 races, 231 top 5's, 333 top 10's, and ran in 427 career races. Lee won the Championship 3 times during his career. Side note: Being Richard Petty's father doesn't hurt his resume.
7. Darrell Waltrip
Wins: 84
Top 5: 276
Top 10: 390
Championships: 3
DW's spot can be debated by many. Some will say he could be higher based on his achievements but some may have him lower giving credit to guys from the past and there full impact on the sport. For the most part I am looking at a mix of stats AND impact (my opinion probably weights towards stats more, but I considered both). He can also find his spot high or low just like his career. At one time he was one of the most hated drives and then became one of the most popular. DW's stats can go on and on, but lets start with the fact that he is a 3-Time Champion and also a 3-Time runner up. He had 7 straight wins at Bristol Motor Speedway (12 total). DW won 84 career Cup races (Tied for 4th most with Bobby Allison). He also had 276 top 5's, 390 top 10's, 59 Poles (2nd all time), and ran 809 career races. To top it off he won the Daytona 500 in 1989 and is in the NASCAR HOF (2012 class).
6. Bobby Allison
Wins: 84
Top 5: 336
Top 10: 446
Championships: 1
2011 HOF inductee Bobby Allison comes in number 5 and could have been higher if he had won at least one more Championship. However, you still have to look at his career and respect what he did. Allison won the Winston Cup Championship in 1983 and was also a 3 time Daytona 500 winner. He is "tied" with DW for the fourth most wins in NASCAR history with 84 (this is debated, as he could have a win or two more). He was also a 7 time Most Popular Driver.
5. Cale Yarborough
Wins: 83
Top 5: 255
Top 10: 319
Championships: 3
If you have any question about Cale, you just have to look at his three title run from 1976-78. 3 straight is something not many have done, not Richard Petty, not Dale Earnhardt, only Jimmie Johnson has done it. He is a four time Daytona 500 winner and is 6th in all time wins with 83 total. If you only count drivers with 500 career races he is second in win percentage (14.82%), 9th among all drivers.
4. David Pearson
Wins: 105
Top 5: 301
Top 10: 366
Championships: 3
When we get to the top 3 we find a couple "what could haves" that will forever riddle someone trying to rank NASCAR's greats, the first is David Pearson. He only ran three season's in NASCAR's top level in his career and he won the Championship in all three. If that isn't enough, he finished 3rd in the standings during a season he only ran 19 of 30 races (1974). He is second all time in wins with 84, had 301 top 5's (4th), 366 top 10's (9th) and he did it all in 574 races. He has one of the best winning percentages of any NASCAR driver including being better then Petty, DW, and Dale. Just how many Titles could he have won?
3. Jeff Gordon
Wins: 93
Top 5: 325
Top 10: 475
Championships: 4
When I originally released these rankings Gordon didn't appear on them, why? Well he was still active. Now, Jeff Gordon qualifies and boy did he come from off the board to a nice spot on the All-Time Rankings. Jeff Gordon changed NASCAR in more ways then just one. Not only was he a very successful driver (Third in all time wins with 93 and has 4 career Championships), but he also was a major factor in NASCAR going main stream. Gordon opened up a whole new world of where drivers could come from and also where NASCAR's fan base was from. If it not for the Chase Gordon would have probably had a few more Championships and possibly even pushed his name up higher on this list. Either way, Gordon had one of the best NASCAR careers on and off the track.
2. Dale Earnhardt
Wins: 76
Top 5: 281
Top 10: 428
Championships: 7
The Intimadator, he is still one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR even though he passed away much too young. When you think of NASCAR you think of the black three. If you need more then just the impact he had on the sport, you can take a glimpse at his stats as well. He had 76 total wins, 281 top 5's (5th), and 428 top 10's (5th). He is tied with Richard Petty with 7 Winston Cup Championships. Many believe he was destined to win a NASCAR leading 8th Championship before he was taken from the NASCAR world too early and left many wondering what if.
1. Richard Petty
Wins: 200
Top 5: 555
Top 10: 712
Championships: 7
Most fans have different top 10's, but almost all of them have either Dale or Petty as number one. The Kings 200 wins will never be touched (never say never, but they just ran way more races then, and he ran too well). He is tied with Dale with 7 Championships and is also a 7-Time Daytona 500 winner. Even though he ran 1,185 career races he still had a very high winning percentage of 16.9%. In his career he has 555 top 5's (1st) and 712 top 10's (1st). When you think NASCAR there is no way you don't think of Petty pretty close to right away. Want more? Check out NASCAR Behind the Wall's Birthday article, Birthday Fit for a King.
Just missing the list: Junior Johnson, Terry Labante, Fireball Roberts, and Dale Jarrett.
So where do Modern Era Drivers fit into the equation? Part Two is Modern Era (1972-Present) Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All-Time. Three Parts in Three days during Media Week and leading up to the HOF induction. Check back for Part Two!
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