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Top 10 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time

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  • Post last modified:February 8, 2023

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In this post, we will check out the top 10 greatest Nascar drivers of all time.

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) has been around for over 70 years and has produced some of the greatest drivers in the history of motorsports.

These drivers have captivated fans with their speed, skills, and competitiveness. From legends like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt to modern-day superstars like Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR has seen its fair share of incredible drivers. But who are the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time?

It’s a hotly debated topic, but here are the top 10 racers who have made the biggest impact on the sport.

Top 10 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time

10 Ned Jarrett

Ned Jarrett is an American former race car driver and two-time NASCAR Grand National Series champion.

He was best comprehended for his quiet behavior and he became known as “Gentleman Ned Jarrett“. Ned Jarrett debuted in 1953 and went on to win 50 Cup Series races before quitting in 1966.

Jarrett won the Cup Series crown in 1961 and 1965 and ended in the top five four different seasons. Ned Jarrett is number 10 in our list of the top 10 greatest Nascar drivers of all time.

9 Bobby Allison

Image credit- Racing Virginia

Bobby Allison is a former NASCAR driver who was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Allison raced competitively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1961 to 1988, while regularly contending in short track events throughout his career.

He is named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers and a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Bobby Allison conducted in more than 700 NASCAR Cup Series races in his career, and he grabbed the checkered flag in 84 of them. That’s something to be proud of, Bobby Allison is number 9 in our list of the top 10 greatest Nascar drivers of all time.

8 Darrell Waltrip

Image Credit- Autoweek

Darrell Waltrip is a retired NASCAR driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Waltrip is a three-time Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985). Waltrip won a total of 84 NASCAR Cup Series races, which also include the 1989 Daytona 500, a record five in the Coca-Cola 600 (1978, 1979, 1985, 1988, 1989).

He has also won numerous awards in NASCAR. That contains two for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award (1989, 1990), three for “American Driver of the Year” (1979, 1981, 1982), and “NASCAR’s Driver of the Decade” for the 1980s.

7 Glenn ‘Fireball’ Roberts

Image Credit- Autoweek

Glenn “Fireball” Roberts was a fantastic driver who has done wonders in NASCAR in the short form of time. Unfortunately, In 1964, while racing in NASCAR’S World 600 he crashed and his car caught fire, leading to his death at 35 years old.

His accident conducts too many protection advancements in the sport, including fire-retardant uniforms.

In a career that traversed more than 200 races in NASCAR’s earliest days, Roberts won a total of 33 Cup Series races and ended second in the running for the 1950 season championship.

6 Junior Johnson

Junior Johnson was an American NASCAR driver of the 1950s and 1960s. He won a total of 50 NASCAR races in his career before quitting in 1966.

Johnson is credited as the first to utilize the drafting technique in stock car racing. He was known by the nickname “The Last American Hero”.

Despite earlier racing more than 50 years ago, Johnson yet ranks among the top 15 for poles and laps led. Junior Johnson is number 6 in our list of the top 10 greatest Nascar drivers of all time.

5 Jeff Gordon

Image Credit- CBS Sports

Jeff Gordon is a well-known NASCAR driver who has been racing since 1993. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series and Sprint Cup Series.

He is considered one of the most significant drivers in NASCAR history, allowing the sport to gain mainstream popularity.

Jeff was the youngest driver to win a NASCAR title (24 years old). Gordon has achieved three career Grand Slams and has bested a total of sixteen Crown Jewel races.

He is third on the all-time Cup wins list with 93 career wins. In 1998, NASCAR anointed Gordon to its 50 Greatest Drivers list. 

He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019. Jeff Gordon is number 5 in our list of the top 10 greatest Nascar drivers of all time.

4 Jimmie Johnson

top 10 greatest nascar drivers of all time
Image Credit- American Racing Network

Jimmie Johnson is an American professional auto racing driver who contests in the NTT IndyCar Series.

He is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he contended full-time in the series from 2002 to 2020, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet with Hendrick Motorsports, before transitioning to open-wheel racing. 

He became the first and only driver in NASCAR history to win five successive championships. Jimmie Johnson is number 4 in our list of the top 10 greatest Nascar drivers of all time.

3 Dale Earnhardt

top 10 greatest nascar drivers of all time

Dale Earnhardt was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

He is most notably driving the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. His fierce driving style gained him the nicknames “The Intimidator“, “The Man in Black“, and “Ironhead“.

He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. He is the only driver in NASCAR history to win seven championships under one single points system, and he is also the only driver in NASCAR history to finish either 1st or 2nd in the standings ten times under one single point system.

Earnhardt had a profound impact on the sport of NASCAR racing as a whole with his aggressive driving style that would often lead to contact with other drivers or make them crash into each other.

2 David Pearson

Image Credit- Nascar

David Pearson was an American stock car driver, who raced from 1960 to 1986 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series.

NASCAR related his 1974 season as an articulation of his “consistent greatness”, finishing third in the season points having contested in only 19 of 30 races.

Pearson’s career paralleled Richard Petty’s, the driver who has won the most races in NASCAR history.

Pearson finished his career in 1986 and has the second position on NASCAR’s all-time win list with 105 victories; as well as completing 113 pole positions.

1 Richard Petty

top 10 greatest nascar drivers of all time
Image Credit- Outsider

Richard Petty is a NASCAR driver and the most recognized name in the sport. He was the first driver to win the Cup Series championship seven times while also besting a record 200 races during his career.

He is the most accomplished driver in the history of the sport and is one of the most esteemed figures in motorsports.

During his 35-year career, Petty amassed a record number of poles (123) and over 700 top 10 finishes in a record 1,184 starts, which also includes 513 consecutive starts from 1971 to 1989. Richard Petty tops our list of the top 10 greatest Nascar drivers of all time.

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Kamran Khan

A geek, who just loves to update sports, gaming, and tech updates from around the world to the other geeks out there. A passionate sports lover, a tech geek from the mind, and a gamer from the heart.

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