NASCAR 75 Greatest Drivers Magazine

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

01

NASCAR LOGOS THROUGH THE YEARS

1948-1955

02

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

1956-1963

1964-1975 PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

CONTENTS 04 NASCAR 75 Greatest Drivers 06 Dale Earnhardt 08 The Earnhardt Effect 12 Jimmie Johnson 14 Richard Petty 16 Lee Petty 18 Bobby Allison 20 Davey Allison 22 Sam Ard 24 Buck Baker 25 Buddy Baker 26 Glen Wood 28 Greg Biffle 30 Geoff Bodine 31 Neil Bonnett 32 Jeff Burton 34 Kurt Busch 36 Kyle Busch 37 Red Byron

38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 48 50 51 52 54 56 58 59 60

Jerry Cook Ralph Earnhardt Dale Earnhardt Jr. Carl Edwards Bill Elliott Chase Elliott Richie Evans Red Farmer Tim Flock A.J. Foyt Harry Gant Jeff Gordon Denny Hamlin Kevin Harvick Ray Hendrick Ron Hornaday Jr. The History of Forney Industries 62 Jack Ingram 63 Ernie Irvin 64 Bobby Isaac

66 67 68 69 70 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 80 81 82 84 85 86 87 88

Dale Jarrett Ned Jarrett Junior Johnson Brad Keselowski Kasey Kahne Matt Kenseth What Matt Kenseth Means to Me Alan Kulwicki Bobby Labonte Terry Labonte Joey Logano Kyle Larson Randy LaJoie Fred Lorenzen Tiny Lund Sterling Marlin Mark Martin Hershel McGriff Ryan Newman Cotton Owens

90 Marvin Panch 91 David Pearson 92 Benny Parsons 94 Larry Phillips 95 Fireball Roberts 96 Tim Richmond 98 Ricky Rudd 99 Mike Stefanik 100 Tony Stewart 101 Marshall Teague 102 Martin Truex Jr. 103 Curtis Turner 104 Herb Thomas 106 Rusty Wallace 107 Darrell Waltrip 108 Joe Weatherly 109 Bob Welborn 110 Rex White 111 LeeRoy Yarbrough 112 Cale Yarborough

NASCAR 75 GREATEST DRIVERS COMMEMORATIVE MAGAZINE AN OFFICIALLY LICENSED PUBLICATION OF NASCAR | 23110 STATE ROAD 54, SUITE 293 LUTZ, FL 33549 | EMAIL: INFO@AE-ENGINE.COM | WEB: POLEPOSITIONMAG.COM; AE-ENGINE.COM THE CREW PUBLISHER CRAIG BARONCELLI COMMERCIAL VICE PRESIDENT: DAVID WATSON, DIRECTORS: MARK MORALES, WILL OVERTON, MATT SMITH, ROWLAND GEORGE, ARNOUT KOK CONTENT CREATIVE DIRECTOR: JOE RABUCK, DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR: NICOLE COOPER, DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR: JOSH MULL, EXECUTIVE EDITOR: ERIC ESTEPP, COPY EDITOR: KEITH WALTZ, EDITORIAL: CODY WILLIAMS, JOSHUA LIPOWSKI, SOCIAL MEDIA: PAIGE MARTIN, EVAN LIU, CHRISTOPHER HANSEN, CONTRIBUTORS: RICK HOUSTON, JARED TURNER, DUSTIN ALBINO, STAFF ASSISTANTS: AIDAN ANDERSEN, ETHAN ANDERSEN, SHOGUN & WINNIE, SPECIAL THANKS TO: ANDREW ENGEL (NASCAR) A.E. ENGINE SPECIFIES THAT POST-PRESS CHANGES MAY OCCUR TO ANY INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS PUBLICATION AND TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR GOODS OR SERVICES ADVERTISED. NASCAR® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR STOCK CAR AUTO RACING, INC. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

1976-2016 PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

2017-PRESENT

2023 75 GREATEST DRIVERS

03

75 GREATEST DRIVERS Bobby Allison Davey Allison Sam Ard Buck Baker Buddy Baker Greg Biffle Geoff Bodine Neil Bonnett Jeff Burton Kurt Busch Kyle Busch Red Byron Jerry Cook Dale Earnhardt Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Earnhardt Carl Edwards Bill Elliott Chase Elliott

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75 GREATEST DRIVERS

Richie Evans Red Farmer Tim Flock A.J. Foyt Harry Gant Jeff Gordon Denny Hamlin Kevin Harvick Ray Hendrick Ron Hornaday Jr. Jack Ingram Ernie Irvan Bobby Isaac Dale Jarrett Ned Jarrett Jimmie Johnson Junior Johnson Kasey Kahne Matt Kenseth

Brad Keselowski Alan Kulwicki Bobby Labonte Terry Labonte Randy LaJoie Kyle Larson Joey Logano Fred Lorenzen Tiny Lund Sterling Marlin Mark Martin Hershel McGriff Ryan Newman Cotton Owens Marvin Panch Benny Parsons David Pearson Richard Petty Lee Petty

Larry Phillips Tim Richmond Fireball Roberts Ricky Rudd Mike Stefanik Tony Stewart Marshall Teague Herb Thomas Martin Truex Jr. Curtis Turner Rusty Wallace Darrell Waltrip Joe Weatherly Bob Welborn Rex White Glen Wood Cale Yarborough LeeRoy Yarbrough PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

dale earnhardt

3

Dale Earnhardt was determined to follow the driving career of his father, 1956 NASCAR Sportsman champion Ralph Earnhardt. The seemingly impossible career path he set in motion is one of the greatest success stories in all of professional sports.

While racing on some of North Carolina’s most noted short tracks following his father’s death in 1973, Earnhardt struggled mightily to fund his racing operation.

He often borrowed money from a local bank on Thursday to race that weekend.

Payments had to be made the following Monday without fail. So Earnhardt had to race hard and had to win. Drivers were often left fuming when the checkered flag fell.

Beginning in 1975, four NASCAR Cup Series starts for Ed Negre, Johnny Ray and Walter Ballard helped Earnhardt make an impression at stock car racing’s highest level. His best ride materialized with five events for team owner Rod Osterlund in 1978 and a full schedule of races for the California businessman in 1979, the year he won Rookie of the Year honors with a victory at Bristol, 11 top-five finishes and 17 top-10 results. The next season, Earnhardt stunned the racing community by winning his first of seven Cup Series championships in Osterlund’s Chevrolet. When the team was sold to J.D. Stacy in 1981, Earnhardt exited with 10 races remaining and joined former Cup Series driver Richard Childress.

After parting ways for two seasons, they reunited in 1984 and created one of the greatest dynasties in NASCAR history. Six of Earnhardt’s seven Cup Series titles and 67 of his 76 victories came while driving for Childress, including the 1995 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the 1998 Daytona 500.

Earnhardt lost his life in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. His contributions to the sport he so dearly loved are considered immeasurable.

ANYTIME YOU GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO WIN A RACE, YOU’RE GOING TO WIN THE RACE. I AM NEVER GOING TO BACK OFF. I NEVER WANT TO RUN SECOND.

SAVVY CHAMPION

INTIMIDATING VICTORIOUS

BEST SEASON

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THE YEAR (1987) EARNHARDT

EARNHARDT IS THE ONLY

DURING A CAREER THAT

won his third Cup Series

driver to win the Cup Series

spanned from 1975 to the

championship, the Kannapolis,

Rookie of the Year title and

season-opening Daytona

N.C., native logged 11 victories,

the Cup Series championship

500 in 2001, Earnhardt was

21 top-five finishes, 24 top-10

in successive years (1979 and

one of the most aggressive

results and one pole position for

1980). A second championship

drivers in NASCAR history.

team owner Richard Childress.

came in 1986, followed by five

A member of the inaugural

Earnhardt led 3,354 of 9,043

more titles in 1987, 1990. 1991,

NASCAR Hall of Fame Class

total laps that season with an

1993 and 1994. Earnhardt

in 2010, he is recognized as

average finish of 5.9 during the

finished second in points during

an icon among the sport’s

29-race schedule.

his final full season in 2000.

greatest drivers.

06

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

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in the cabinet shelf back home, if that much. We lived from day to day. I did have a lot of friends who helped us out during this time. Some would even buy groceries for us. It was tough. That was my toughest year … 1974.”

That’s one part of the Earnhardt mystique.

RISING UP, STRAIGHT TO THE TOP Earnhardt got word in early 1978 that

After all these years, seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt remains one of the most revered icons the sport has ever known.

But how? The easy and most obvious answer is that his namesake, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has kept the name alive with a successful career of his own as a driver, businessperson and television personality.

In reality, there’s much more to the story – so much more.

team owner Will Cronkrite needed a driver for the World 600 at Charlotte. He showed up at Cronkrite’s South Carolina shop that same day to help get the car ready, with 4-year-old Dale Jr. waiting outside in his daddy’s pickup truck until the wee hours of the following morning.

While driving for Cronkrite, Earnhardt got the attention of team owner Rod Osterlund – and from that point forward, his life would never be the same.

“Damn right,” Earnhardt said. “I had been over to Osterlund’s to buy parts for my car. I had walked through Osterlund’s shops and seen all those cars and then suddenly, I’m walking around over there looking at all those same cars being prepared for Dale Earnhardt.

“Osterlund called me in December of 1978 and told me we were going to run for rookie of the year together, all 31 races in 1979. I couldn’t believe it.”

It wasn’t a dream. Earnhardt won his first Cup Series race at Bristol in early 1979, captured the freshman honor that year and then the Cup Series championship as a sophomore in 1980. The afterburners had been lit – and lit in a big way.

R AG S TO R I C H E S

U NTO LD G LO RY

THE EARNHARDT EFFECT

BY RICK HOUSTON

First of all, it’s not difficult for many of those who follow the sport to see themselves in Earnhardt’s rags-to-riches story.

There was a time in his life that glorious riches seemed impossibly hard to reach.

And if Dale Earnhardt could make something of himself despite such long odds, then maybe they could keep digging toward their own success stories.

The son of legendary short-track racer Ralph Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt was left reeling by his father’s death in 1973. Racing was all he’d ever known or cared about, but how was Earnhardt to continue without that steadying influence?

“We didn’t talk about a whole lot of

08

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

things, but if we needed to talk, we talked,” Earnhardt told writer Steve Waid in the March 1983 issue of Grand National Illustrated. “In other words, a lot of conversation between us really wasn’t needed. If I had a problem, we could talk.”

The year after the unexpected loss of his father was the worst of Earnhardt’s life. Already on his second marriage, Earnhardt was on shaky ground, at best.

“In 1974, we had a bad year,” Earnhardt told Waid. “I wasn’t working, so I had to take a job working all through Christmas in a paper mill in New Bern, North Carolina. I went to work as a welder for eight straight days, right through Christmas.

“There wasn’t but a can of beans or two

After Osterlund unexpectedly sold the team in mid-1981, Earnhardt finished the season driving for Richard Childress, who was hoping to trade life as a struggling independent driver for a more solid foothold in the sport of his own. After two years with Bud Moore, Earnhardt returned in 1984 to Richard Childress Racing, where he would remain for the rest of his career.

The pairing resulted in six championships between 1986 and 1994, giving Earnhardt seven for his career and tying him with Richard Petty for most in NASCAR history.

Worrying about putting food on the table was no longer an issue.

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“For a long time, I was in the unbelievable stage,” Earnhardt told Waid, this time in the February 1995 issue of Winston Cup Illustrated. “It took more time to set in. I remember talking to my mom about it. I spent several hours with her and we talked a lot about my dad and things we have accomplished.

It’s impressive.

“It’s hard to impress people this day and time, but I’ve impressed myself.

I’m amazed we’ve done what we’ve done. I’m not bragging or anything. I am just pretty much impressed myself when it comes to winning the races and championships we’ve won in the years we’ve been in it.”

Even after all that glory, fans could still see themselves in Earnhardt by way of an arduous path to victory in the Daytona 500. He’d lost the sport’s biggest race in virtually every way imaginable, and he’d won every single preliminary event leading up to it, but never the 500 itself.

They knew that kind of disappointment, too, and rejoiced when he finally won the Daytona 500 in 1998. It gave them hope in their own everyday walks of life.

Still, success on the race track is but one part of the equation. It’s how Earnhardt raced to those glorious riches that captured the hearts, minds and, yes, ire of millions upon millions of fans from around the world. He took no prisoners on the track, and even then, that’s putting it mildly.

There were rivalries aplenty: Geoff Bodine, Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Ricky Rudd, Jeff Gordon and, oh yeah, Geoff Bodine.

Fans soaked up each and every confrontation and took sides, sometimes quite vehemently so.

Long before the days of social media, they filled many a letters-to-the-editor column in Grand National Scene. Love him or hate him, everybody had an opinion.

They still do, more than two decades after

10

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

DALE JR. AND THEN THERE’S DALE Earnhardt Jr. From the seat of that pickup truck outside Will Cronkrite’s shop to his own early racing exploits, Dale Jr. wanted nothing more than to impress his father.

“All my life, he looked at me like, ‘When’s this kid gonna figure it out? When’s this kid going to show me something or – you know – quit disappointing me,’” Earnhardt Jr. admitted in a

Earnhardt lost his life as the result of an accident in the final turn of the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

B U S I N E S S E M PI R E Earnhardt’s nicknames fed into his Old West outlaw persona: One Tough Customer, The Man in Black and The Intimidator.

Earnhardt and his team slapped ’em all on Tshirts, caps, jackets and all manner of trinkets and laughed all the way to the bank.

“Money’s not a big part of it,” Earnhardt once said, before pausing and reconsidering. “It is a part of it, but the biggest thing is the fan support.

The stuff we introduce on QVC was new stuff for mid-season to the last half of the season. The fans really supported us by latching on to that stuff. It just sort of gives me a gauge on how many supporters I have out there.”

That kind of business acumen was passed along to his oldest daughter, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, who now helps Dale Jr. oversee their own burgeoning business empire at JR Motorsports and Dirty Mo Media.

“I think I have a lot of my dad’s street smarts,” Kelley said. “So many will attest that in doing business with him, he might not have been the smartest from a booksmart standpoint, but he had common sense that would just kill you.

I think I have a lot of that from him, being able to look outside the norm and think through different ways of doing something.”

deeply candid interview on The Scene Vault Podcast.

“I guess as a father, you just want your kids to be excellent. And you want them to excel, and you want them to show initiative and drive and determination. And I maybe wasn’t showing him what he was looking for.”

Earnhardt Jr. won the first of his two championships in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 1998, and this was would stay with him forever after.

“All those years, he was the center of the universe in Victory Lane or at the banquet speaking,” Earnhardt Jr. noted. “When I was at the banquet in ’98, my favorite part is video of him watching me speak. That was my favorite part of that whole experience – looking down there and watching him watch me on that stage.

It’s just incredible, because he’s so, so hard to please.

Gosh, he was hard to please.”

Rest easy, Junior. Dad is no doubt pleased – well pleased – with the Earnhardt past, present and future.

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48

Jimmie johnson

Jimmie Johnson excelled throughout a 20-year NASCAR Cup Series career that included 83 victories. He also joined Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the series’ only seven-time champions.

Born Sept. 17, 1975, in El Cajon, California., Johnson began racing motorcycles when he was 5 years old. Off-road racing followed and led to a chance meeting with Herb Fishel, head of motorsports at General Motors during the early 1990s.

Johnson’s short-track success opened the door for him to eventually drive for Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick.

Johnson began racing in the American Speed Association series in 1998, having made only six starts in a full-bodied race car before taking on his new role. He was fourth in points by season’s end and was crowned rookie of the year.

From there, the aspiring star joined the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 2000, Johnson raced the full Xfinity Series for Herzog Motorsports, finishing 10th in points. He notched his first and only Xfinity Series victory in 2001 at Chicagoland Speedway.

That same season, Johnson joined Hendrick Motorsports for three Cup Series races after becoming friends with four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon.

Johnson was then paired with crew chief Chad Knaus and they developed a magical chemistry for success. Starting in 2002, their on-track success established Johnson as one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers.

He retired from Cup Series competition in 2020.

MY BUCKET IS FULL. NASCAR HAS BEEN SO WONDERFUL FOR ME. THIS JOURNEY HAS BEEN MORE THAN I COULD HAVE EVER DREAMED OF OR EXPECTED OR HOPED FOR. BEST SEASON

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RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 48 CAR

DEDICATED CALM

TALENTED SMART DETERMINED KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 2007

JOHNSON WILL BE BEST

THROUGHOUT 20 YEARS OF

season, Johnson logged 10

known for collecting

Cup Series racing, Johnson was

victories with six coming on

seven NASCAR Cup Series

known as a smooth driver who

superspeedways and four

championships while competing

rarely became agitated in the

on short tracks, including

under several different

heat of battle. His ability to

four in a row near season’s

championship point systems.

perform quietly under extreme

end. His second Cup Series

Even though he didn’t make

pressure gave the impression

championship season also

the playoffs in his final season

of having a soft nature.

featured 24 top-10 finishes

(2020), he will be remembered as

Still, success through seven

in 36 starts. He held the

one of the sport’s most talented

championships and 83 Cup

championship point lead

racers in its most competitive

Series victories tells his story.

through the final three races.

era.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

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43

richard petty

Richard Petty entered his first NASCAR race at Canadian Exposition Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, on July 18, 1958, at age 20.

Over 35 seasons, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion recorded an incredible 200 career victories.

Born in Level Cross, North Carolina, on July 2, 1937, Petty is the older of Lee and Elizabeth Petty’s two sons. His father worked in the mills, farmed cotton and even sold moonshine before discovering NASCAR at age 35 in 1949. He was the first racer to make a living driving in NASCAR competition.

Young Richard and his cousin, Dale Inman, serviced Lee Petty’s Plymouth as teenagers after school. During many late nights, they turned wrenches on the family’s racing machine while Petty’s brother, Maurice, kept the engines running at full song.

Richard Petty helped his father win NASCAR championships in 1954, 1958 and 1959 before focusing on his own driving career. The second-generation speedster scored his first NASCAR victory on Feb. 28, 1960, at the Southern States Fairgrounds in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1964, he won his first of seven Daytona 500s and first of seven championships. Other titles followed in 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979.

Petty’s final victory came at Daytona International Speedway on July 4, 1984. All told, his 555 top-five finishes, 712 top-10 results and 123 pole positions chronicle the greatest success story in NASCAR history.

Petty’s 1,184th and final start came at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Nov. 15, 1992, where he finished 35th after being caught up in a crash.

Since then, Petty has fielded cars for many of the sport’s top drivers while also serving as NASCAR’s greatest ambassador. He is one of the most recognized icons in all of professional sports.

My name is beside all those wins, but it’s not just about Richard Petty. So many people have worked countless hours and contributed so much to all that success. It’s not about me.

INSIGHTFUL DEDICATED

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER PETTY’S SEVEN DAYTONA

THROUGHOUT A CAREER

greatest season with 27

500 victories and seven

that spanned from 1958 to

victories in 48 Cup Series starts.

championships as a NASCAR

1992, Petty was one of the

Driving the famed 1966 Petty

driver and team owner best

NASCAR’s most popular

blue No. 43 Plymouth, his

define his career. Many of

drivers, winning the Most

triumphs included a string of

his accomplishments still

Popular Driver Award from

10 in a row that began on Aug.

stand as records and it is

the National Motorsports

12 at Bowman Gray Stadium in

widely believed that no one

Press Association nine times.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina,

will ever reach the 200-win

He had a reputation for

and continued through Oct.

milestone that tops his list of

signing autographs for every

1 at North Carolina’s North

untouchable records.

fan requesting one, even after

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 43 CAR

PATIENT

IN 1967, PETTY ENJOYED HIS

Wilkesboro Speedway.

14

QUIET TALENTED

KNOWN FOR

winning 500-mile races.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

LEE

RICHARD

MAURICE

KYLE

ADAM

CONGRATULATIONS TEAM PETTY ON 75 YEARS GOD BLESS AMERICA

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Lee petty

42

Lee Petty drove his own Oldsmobiles and Plymouths to NASCAR championships in 1954, 1958 and 1959 and recorded 54 victories throughout a 16-year career. His accomplishments include 332 top-10 finishes and 18 pole positions.

Born March 14, 1914, in Randleman, North Carolina, Petty spent time working in local mills around Randolph County to support his wife and two sons. However, he longed to drive race cars and eventually became the first NASCAR racer to make a living as a stock car driver.

His winnings of $7,695 in 1950 would be equivalent to more than $83,000 today. Still, there were cars and equipment to buy as well as travel expenses for himself and his crew.

Petty’s biggest victory came in the inaugural Daytona 500 in February 1959 after a three-day review of the finish. Johnny Beauchamp was initially crowned the race winner, but NASCAR officials later determined Petty had crossed the finish line first. He received his trophy and check in his living room days after the race had ended.

Petty was severely injured at Daytona in 1961, leaving him hospitalized for two months. After his recovery, he ran sporadically on short tracks before his retirement from driving in 1964.

From there, Petty turned his attention to building Petty Enterprises. The team eventually earned 11 championships and 268 NASCAR Cup Series victories.

Lee Petty passed away in 2000 at age 86 due to an abdominal aneurysm.

I FIGURE YOU GET OUT OF LIFE WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

DETERMINED

FOCUSED

STRONG

DEDICATED

INNOVATIVE THE NO. 42 CAR

KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1959 NASCAR

ASIDE FROM HIS ABILITY TO

ASIDE FROM A SUCCESSFUL

Cup Series season, Lee Petty

win on all types of track

career as a three-time

won 11 of the 42 races he

configurations, Petty enjoyed

NASCAR champion, Petty was

entered. Of those wins, 10

a reputation for getting the

able to build a powerhouse

came on short tracks with

most performance out of his

organization utilizing the

one lone superspeedway win

race cars. His career average

talents of iconic drivers and

coming in the prestigious

start of ninth and average

mechanics that led to 11

Daytona 500. Petty amassed

finish of seventh made him

championships and 268

27 top-five results while failing

one of the most consistent

victories. Son Richard Petty

to finish only eight races that

NASCAR drivers during the

logged 198 of his 200 victories

year.

1950s.

under Lee Petty’s steady guidance and direction.

16

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

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22

Bobby Allison

Bobby Allison entered his first NASCAR premier series event on Feb. 24, 1961, at Daytona International Speedway in a 100-mile qualifying race. Many in the garage saw the newcomer possessed great talent for driving.

Born in Miami, Florida, on Dec. 3, 1937, Allison began racing Modifieds in his home state as a teenager. Because he was only 17 years of age, his parents signed permission for him to race.

When Allison discovered it was only for one race, he began using the alias of Bob Sunderman in hopes of not getting caught. Eventually, his father discovered a photo in the newspaper after a victory and decided to bless his son’s efforts.

Numerous short-track wins prompted Allison and his brother, Donnie, to move to Alabama to compete against even tougher competition. Both excelled as drivers and by the early 1960s, each found their way into NASCAR’s top series.

By 1965, Bobby Allison was fielding his own Chevrolet on a limited budget. A year later, he enjoyed wins at Islip (N.Y.) Speedway, Oxford (Maine) Plains Speedway and Beltsville Speedway in Maryland as part of NASCAR’s Northern Tour. Those wins opened the door to drive for top organizations such as Holman Moody, Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, DiGard Racing and Stavola Brothers Racing.

Allison enjoyed a reputation for quickly adapting to stock cars, open-wheel cars and sports cars on a variety of track configurations. Throughout his 25-year career, he won 84 NASCAR Cup Series races and claimed the series championship in 1983.

Highlights of his career include Daytona 500 victories in 1978, 1982 and 1988.

Sadly, his driving career ended on June 19, 1988, after suffering a near-fatal head injury in a crash at Pocono Raceway.

I WAS INCREDIBLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE ENJOYED SUCH AN AMAZING AND REWARDING CAREER. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY THAT HELPED ME FIND THE SUCCESS I ENJOYED IN NASCAR. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 22 CAR

INNOVATIVE REMARKABLE

SMOOTH

BELOVED KNOWN FOR

WHILE DRIVING

ALLISON’S AVERAGE

A TOUGH COMPETITOR

Mercurys fielded by his own

start of 8.5 and average

in everything he drove,

team and the powerhouse

finish of 11.5 is highly

Allison was known by

Holman Moody operation

respected by NASCAR

his fans for being down

in 1971, Allison logged

historians. From 1981 to

to earth. Allison had the

10 victories, 27 top-five

1988, he completed close

ability to get the most

finishes and 31 top-10

to 198,000 laps and led

out of an ill-handling

results. The numbers stand

27,551. Twenty-three of

car. As a result, team

as his overall best season

his 84 victories came on

owners from a variety

during his storied 25-year

short tracks, while six came

of racing organizations

career. He is still beloved

on road courses and 58 on

called on him to wheel

by fans as one of NASCAR’s

superspeedways.

their race cars.

greatest superstars.

18

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

THE SOUNDTRACK OF THE RACETRACK

Marty Robbins, pictured here with his race car, the El Paso Special, proved that country music and racing go hand in hand—competing in races even up until the year he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982.

WITNESS HISTORY

RESERVE TODAY

28

Davey Allison

Davey Allison entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race on July 28, 1985, at Talladega Superspeedway. All told, he competed in 191 Cup Series events, winning 19 and finishing among the top five 66 times.

Born in Hollywood, Florida, on Feb. 25, 1961, Allison began sorting nuts and bolts in

his father’s race shop in Hueytown, Alabama, as a child. He kept his grades just high enough in school to meet his parents approval to race on Alabama’s storied short tracks. By Allison’s senior year in high school, he knew every part of the race car and was a master mechanic.

His father, 1983 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Allison, encouraged him to race and gave him proper instruction. Davey Allison often competed at a variety of tracks with friends and cousins helping as his pit crew.

By the early 1980s, the youngster had established himself as a strong superspeedway racer in the ARCA series. When prominent NASCAR Cup Series team owner Hoss Ellington needed a driver, he called upon this young star to wheel a Chevrolet for a team his uncle Donnie Allison had already made famous.

Another call from championship team owner Junior Johnson to fill in for the injured Neil Bonnett in 1986 got his career off the ground.

When Cale Yarborough left team owner Harry Ranier to form his own Cup Series operation in 1987, Davey Allison was given his best opportunity to date. Ranier sold his team to Robert Yates in 1988 and together, Yates and Allison collected 19 Cup Series victories amid several championship challenges.

While attempting to land his helicopter in the infield at Talladega Superspeedway in July 1993, Allison crashed and suffered fatal injuries.

THERE’S NO QUESTION IN MY MIND THAT I WILL FINISH OUT MY CAREER AS A DRIVER IN NASCAR WITH ROBERT YATES. I SIMPLY DON’T WANT TO DRIVE FOR ANYONE ELSE. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

HELPFUL RESPECTED

DETERMINED

TALENTED SERIOUS

THE NO. 28 CAR

KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1992

ALLISON FINISHED

A TOUGH COMPETITOR

season, Davey Allison

third in both the 1991 and

in everything he drove,

won five NASCAR Cup

1992 NASCAR Cup Series

Allison developed a

Series races, including the

championship battles,

reputation for using his

prestigious Daytona 500.

posting 10 wins over two

talent for getting the most

He recorded 15 top-five

seasons. A crash triggered

out of his cars and often

finishes and 17 top-10

by another driver in the

won in them. He was also

results in 29 starts,

final race of 1992 at Atlanta

a huge fan favorite with a

driving Yates Racing’s No.

took him out of contention

large following throughout

28 Ford. His best starts

and ended his best shot at

a driving career tragically

that year came with poles

claiming the title.

cut short by a helicopter

at Michigan and Pocono.

20

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

accident.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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00

Sam ard

Although he only raced three seasons in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the late Sam Ard is widely regarded as one of the division’s all-time greats.

Born on Valentine’s Day in 1939, Ard was a big man with hands that seemed the size of

garbage-can lids. Still, he was known as much for his typically calm demeanor outside his car as he was for his ferocity once behind the wheel.

Ard served a stint in the United States Air Force before turning his attention to racing full time. Having already established himself as a force to be reckoned with, Ard kept right on winning once what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series was established in 1982.

Rival Jack Ingram edged Ard for the 1982 title by only 47 points. The following year, in 1983, Ard put together one of the most dominant seasons in the number-two national division’s history. He won four straight races late in the year, culminating in a victory over Dale Earnhardt at Charlotte.

Ingram was able to break the streak at Hickory, with Ard right behind in second place.

Then, in the season finale, Ard won yet again to seal an 87-point margin of victory over Ingram in the championship standings.

Ard picked right up in 1984 where he’d left off the year before. He was this close to victory at Daytona when a clogged fuel filter killed power and dropped him to fourth in the final rundown. It was one of Ard’s few disappointments in 1984 until Rockingham, in the next-to-last race of the campaign, when he sustained career-ending head injuries in an early accident.

After a handful of seasons as a car owner for drivers such as Jimmy Hensley and Jeff Burton, Ard retired quietly to his home in Pamplico, South Carolina. He was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1999.

He died on April 2, 2017, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s.

I NEVER TOOK ANY TIME TO KNOW HOW MANY RECORDS I HAD SET OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BECAUSE ALL I DID WAS RACE. WHEN I WENT THERE TO RACE, I WENT THERE TO WIN. I DIDN’T GO THERE FOR SECOND OR THIRD OR NOTHING LIKE THAT. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 00 CAR

VERSATILE TOUGH

HUMBLE

GENTLE GIANT KNOWN FOR

ALTHOUGH HE WON

ARD WAS COMPETITIVE

“(ARD’S) THEORY WAS

two fewer races than

on basically any

that if you win every race,

the year before, Sam

type of race track –

you ain’t gotta worry

Ard’s eight-win 1984

superspeedways,

about points.” – Sam

campaign was one for

intermediates and short

Ard’s crew chief, Gere

the ages. Despite missing

tracks. Combine that with

Kennon

the season finale due to a

an extraordinary amount

career-ending injury, Ard

of physical toughness, and

nevertheless captured

Ard was The Man.

the championship by an astounding 426 points over runner-up Jack Ingram.

22

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Buck baker

87

Buck Baker won 46 NASCAR Cup Series races during a career that ran from 1949 to 1976. His greatest success came at legendary Darlington Raceway, where he won the Southern 500 three times. Baker also earned NASCAR titles in 1956 and 1957.

Elzie Wylie “Buck” Baker was born March 4, 1919, during the Great Depression near Chester, South Carolina. His parents farmed but the youngster wanted more out of life.

As a teenager, he spent time hauling moonshine from South Carolina to Atlanta while trying his hand at boxing and playing amateur golf. A few years later, he began driving a city bus in Charlotte, North Carolina, before settling on a career as a stock car driver in NASCAR. When he wasn’t racing, Baker spent time making money any way he could.

Baker entered his first NASCAR race on June 19, 1949, at Charlotte Speedway, a halfmile dirt track. He had found his calling, finishing 11th in the 33-car field. His first NASCAR victory came on April 12, 1952, when he beat Lee Petty to the checkered flag in a 100-mile dirt-track race at Columbia Speedway in South Carolina.

During his NASCAR Cup Series career, Baker logged 45 additional victories and 45 pole positions, as well as 372 top-10 finishes. In 1956 and 1957, he became the first driver to win consecutive championships in NASCAR’s premier series.

From 1957 to 1959, Baker made 20 starts in NASCAR’s convertible division. He also raced in the NASCAR Grand National East Series during the early 1970s.

Baker passed away on April 14, 2002, at the age of 83. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Feb. 8, 2013.

I NEVER WON ANY POPULARITY CONTESTS. I WAS OUT TO WIN RACES BACK THEN. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 87 CAR

AGGRESSIVE

DIFFERENT

ADAPTIVE ROUGH TALENTED KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1956

DURING A CAREER THAT

BAKER’S LIFE AS A

NASCAR Cup Series

ran from 1949 to 1976,

determined race car

season, Baker won 14 of

Baker entered 635

driver earned him the

the 46 races he entered

NASCAR Cup Series races.

distinction of being one

and claimed the series

His average start was 10.9

of the NASCAR’s greatest

championship over second-

and his average finish was

drivers. He was quick

place Herb Thomas. Baker’s

11.4. He is 14th on the list

to adapt to a number of

stats that season included

of all-time winners with

race tracks, giving him a

31 top-five finishes, 39

46 victories in NASCAR’s

reputation for winning. In

top-10 results and 12 pole

premier stock car division.

1976, he began the Buck

positions in a Chryslers 300

Baker Driving School at

owned by businessman

Rockingham Speedway.

Carl Kiekhaefer.

24

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

88

Buddy baker

Buddy Baker entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race, a 200-lap short-track event, on April 24, 1959, at South Carolina’s Columbia Speedway and observers immediately recognized his ability to challenge the veterans.

Born in Florence, South Carolina, on Jan. 25, 1941, Wylie “Buddy” Baker knew

from an early age he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, NASCAR champion Buck Baker. His 6-foot-5 frame and good nature caused many in the sport to refer to the second-generation racer as the “Gentle Giant” of NASCAR Cup Series racing.

In high school, Baker participated in various sports but racing was his passion.

He made his driving debut in 1958 at the age of 17. Baker eventually used tire testing as a way to hone his craft, and he knew the only way to win was to be out front, no matter how early he made his move.

It was no surprise that Baker’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory came in the National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 15, 1967, as only two of his 19 victories were posted on short tracks.

During his time behind the wheel, Baker was the king of speed, winning at the fastest tracks on the schedule, most notably Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. He was a four-time winner at Talladega and visited Victory Lane at Daytona twice. Baker is still the all-time lap leader at Talladega with 1,099.

In 35 years of racing, Baker started 688 NASCAR Cup Series races, winning 19.

He recorded 198 top-five finishes, 299 top-10 results and 40 poles. His biggest victory came in the 1980 Daytona 500 when he established a race speed record that still stands.

I NEVER LOST MY JOB WHILE I WAS LEADING A RACE … MY PURPOSE IN LIFE WAS TO RUN 100 PERCENT. MAYBE IT COST ME SOME RACES, BUT NO ONE HIRED ME TO RIDE. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 88 CAR

FAST

RESPECTED

COMMITTED DEDICATED

GENTLE

KNOWN FOR

WHILE DRIVING FOR

BAKER’S AVERAGE

OF ALL OF NASCAR’S

team owner Bud Moore

start of 11.5 and average

Cup Series stars, Baker

in 1975, Baker entered 23

finish of 15.6 did not

was best known for

of 30 NASCAR Cup Series

accurately describe his

standing on the gas in

races and went to Victory

aggressive style. From

every race he entered.

Lane on four occasions.

1958 through three starts

Many times his engines

He won at Atlanta Motor

in 1992, he completed close

could not stand the

Speedway, Ontario Motor

to 152,000 laps and led

strain, but his dominance

Speedway and twice at

9,744. He holds the record

on the superspeedways

Talladega Superspeedway.

for the fastest Daytona

made him a fan favorite.

He logged 12 top-five

500, averaging 177.602

His victories came in

finishes, but fell out of 10

mph in his 1980 victory.

Dodges, Fords and

events.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Oldsmobiles.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

25

GLEN WOOD

21

A sawmiller by trade, Glen Wood had no idea what was in store when he built his first race car in 1950 on the grounds of the family homestead in the mountain valley community of Buffalo Ridge, Virginia.

Born just down the road in Stuart, Virginia, on July 18, 1925, Wood became one of NAS-

CAR’s most accomplished and beloved drivers and team owners prior to his death on Jan. 18, 2019.

Wood’s early efforts culminated in the formation of a NASCAR Cup Series team that has fielded cars for many of the sport’s most legendary names. Wood Brothers Racing has won 99 races and an owners’ championship in NASCAR’s premier division, and withstood the test of time.

How much time?

With second-generation driver Harrison Burton at the wheel of the No. 21 Ford this season, the Wood Brothers organization is entering its 75th season of continuous competition at NASCAR’s highest level.

But the first driver to hop in the No. 21 car was Glen Wood himself, who made 62 starts over 11 seasons as a part-time Cup Series competitor. But the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee made the most of his relatively little time behind the wheel, winning four races, capturing 14 poles and finishing in the top 10 in more than half of the NASCAR premier series events he entered between 1953 and 1964.

Not all of Wood’s racing adventures took place in NASCAR’s headline division, however.

That first car Wood built was a dirt Modified that he raced locally, with his first start coming at Morris Speedway just outside of Martinsville, Virginia. Wood’s chief mechanic in those days was younger sibling and fellow future NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood. Together with Leonard and help from fellow siblings Ray Lee, Delano and Clay Wood, Glen captured the North Carolina Sportsman championship in 1954 and came home third in the NASCAR Convertible division points in 1957.

Then, in 1959, the affable Virginian was named NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver. The following year, he scored three victories in NASCAR’s premier series, taking the checkered flag first in each race at historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He recorded his final triumph – also at Bowman-Gray – in 1963 and made his last start the following year at Starkey Speedway in Roanoke, Virginia.

THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT ME BEING INDUCTED IN THE HALL OF FAME. IT’S ALSO ABOUT THE WOOD BROTHERS. AND IT’S ABOUT NASCAR, AND I’M PROUD TO HAVE BEEN A NASCAR DRIVER AND CAR OWNER FOR THE PAST 60 YEARS, AND I’M PROUD OF THIS GREAT HONOR. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

DEDICATED

PERSEVERING

POPULAR

HUMBLE

INNOVATIVE KNOWN FOR

WOOD’S BEST SEASON AS A

ENTERING ITS 75TH YEAR OF

WOOD IS WIDELY CONSIDERED

driver was 1960 when he not only

competition, Wood Brothers Racing

one of NASCAR’s greatest

won three races but earned seven

carries the distinction of being

innovators, having built his first

top-10 finishes – including six top-

NASCAR’s longest continuously

race car under a beech tree at the

five runs – in only nine NASCAR Cup

operating team. Glen Wood, of

family’s Virginia home seven-and-

Series starts. That same year, Wood

course, was the visionary behind

a-half decades ago. Although the

also grabbed four poles and led 766

it all and the team’s first driver.

car burned up on the way home

of the 2,206 laps he completed in his

Although Glen died in 2019, the

after his first race, Wood was able

family-owned car.

Wood family continues to field their

to repair it and returned to racing

fabled No. 21 Ford.

within three weeks.

26

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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Visit the Patrick County Visitors Center at 126 N. Main St, Stuart, VA

16

greg biffle

One of NASCAR’s best drivers to never hoist a Cup Series championship trophy, Greg Biffle had no trouble winning titles at the next highest levels — and going to Victory Lane wasn’t a problem for him at any level.

Born in Vancouver, Washington, on Dec. 23, 1969, Biffle is a rare breed. Not only is he one

of the few Cup Series drivers to hail from Washington State, but he’s one of just three drivers to earn double-digit victories in each of NASCAR’s top three divisions – the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.

However, unlike Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick – the other two drivers with double-digit wins across the trio of divisions – Biffle’s victories are spread almost evenly among the three: 20 in the Xfinity Series, 19 in the Cup Series and 17 in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Biffle also earned a championship at the Truck and Xfinity Series level and finished one spot short of a Cup title. So to say Biffle was a versatile and well-rounded driver might be an understatement.

And, the same versatility that allowed him to achieve greatness in all three series also enabled him to find his way to Victory Lane at an array of race tracks. “The Biff,” as Biffle was widely known throughout much of his career, pulled into a Cup Series Winner’s Circle at 10 different venues, including three facilities that are notoriously challenging: Darlington Raceway, Pocono Raceway and Dover Motor Speedway.

Biffle put up by far his biggest numbers, though, at the 1.5-mile and two-mile tracks at which he claimed a total of 12 Cup Series trophies. Michigan International Speedway, a twomile track, is one of only two places where Biffle triumphed more than twice at the Cup Series level.

Biffle – who spent his entire full-time driving career with Ford Motor Co. and Roush Fenway Racing – took the checkered flag four times at Michigan in his No. 16 RFR Ford. Appropriately, Michigan was also the site of Biffle’s last Cup win, which came on June 16, 2013.

Although Biffle didn’t win in his final three seasons with Roush Fenway and never claimed the Cup Series’ top prize, his loyalty to NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Jack Roush – for whom he competed his entire career as a full-time driver in all three series – is both notable and commendable.

Let’s face it: Winning a Cup Series title is ‘it.’

It doesn’t matter if you ever win another race.

Having a Cup Series trophy is ‘it.’ If I retired with a Cup trophy, I would care less about a Daytona 500 and a Brickyard trophy.

28

LOYAL VERSATILE

AGGRESIVE

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

BY ANY REASONABLE

BIFFLE BECAME THE FIRST

THE NO. 16 CAR

NEVER ONE TO SHY AWAY

KNOWN FOR

measure, Biffle enjoyed a

driver to win a championship in

from a face-to-face

standout year in 2005 when

both the NASCAR Craftsman

confrontation with a fellow

he rolled up a career-high

Truck Series and the NASCAR

driver, Biffle sparred with

six wins on the way to a

Xfinity Series, doing so in 2000

multiple competitors over

second-place points finish.

and 2002, respectively. Johnny

the course of his NASCAR

Biffle, who was the runner-

Benson and Austin Dillon have

career. His most memorable

up to Tony Stewart in what

since followed suit, but Biffle

run-ins outside of the race

became Stewart’s second

will always be the first driver to

car included heated, physical

championship season,

accomplish this rare feat.

altercations with Jimmie

collected 21 top-10 finishes

Johnson (at Martinsville), Kevin

– including a career-high 15

Harvick (Bristol) and Jay Sauter

top-five results.

(Richmond).

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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Geoff Bodine

One of three Bodine brothers who left their mark on NASCAR, Geoff Bodine – older than siblings Brett and Todd – was by all measures the most successful of the trio, at least on the NASCAR Cup Series side.

Born in Elmira, New York, on April 18, 1949, Geoff Bodine began racing micro-midgets in

7

1955 and later achieved great success on the Modified Tour, finishing second in the 1977 national standings.

Bodine made his NASCAR Cup Series debut two years later with a three-race slate, but it wasn’t until 1984 that he ran his first full season.

His team that year? All-Star Racing, which later became Hendrick Motorsports. With legendary crew chief Harry Hyde calling the shots on his No. 5 Chevrolet, Bodine earned three Cup Series victories before his run with team owner Rick Hendrick concluded at the end of the 1989 season.

That’s when he left to drive for an already legendary team owner in Junior Johnson.

After a terrific first year with Johnson’s team that saw him set career highs in multiple statistical categories, Bodine never again finished in the top five or even the top 10 of the Cup Series standings, but he continued to win races on occasion and went to Victory Lane three times in 1994 with his own team – the former Alan Kulwicki Racing – that he bought in May of the previous year.

Bodine’s 18th and final visit to a Cup Series Winner’s Circle came in August 1996 and, in most appropriate fashion, at Watkins Glen International — the 2.45-mile road course in upstate New York not all that far from where he grew up.

After retiring from full-time Cup Series racing at the end of the 1999 season, Bodine planned to compete in select NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races.

However, he entered only one race — the 2000 season opener at Daytona, where he was caught up in the most vicious crash of his lengthy racing career. Bodine, whose truck landed upside down and on fire after going airborne and being struck multiple times at roughly 180 mph, was knocked unconscious but somehow survived.

“I wasn’t breathing when (the safety workers) came to me,” Bodine said during a March 2022 edition of the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

“They undid my seatbelt and I started breathing, they said. … I’m very blessed to be alive.”

AT FIRST, THE OTHER TEAMS, DRIVERS AND CREW CHIEFS THOUGHT, ‘WELL, BODINE NEEDS POWER STEERING. HE’S JUST A LITTLE GUY. HE DOESN’T HAVE ANY MUSCLE TO DRIVE THESE BIG CARS WITHOUT POWER STEERING.’ SO, THEY KIND OF GAVE ME THE ‘WIMP SYNDROME.’ BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 7 CAR

RESILIENT INNOVATIVE

THANKFUL

KNOWN FOR

DRIVING JUNIOR

BODINE SET THE

BODINE INTRODUCED

Johnson’s No. 11 Ford,

qualifying track record – a

power steering to

Bodine went to Victory

mark that still stands – at

NASCAR’s premier series in

Lane three times in 1990

Atlanta Motor Speedway

1982. Although some of his

and finished what would

in November 1997 with a

competitors were initially

be a career-best third in

lap at 197.478 mph on a

skeptical, power steering

the NASCAR Cup Series

freshly repaved and newly

became a standard

standings. In the process,

designed track. Previously,

component. “I’m kind of

he recorded 11 top-five

AMS featured a true oval

proud of that,” Bodine said.

results and 19 top-10

configuration, but it was

“It’s something I brought

finishes, both of which

converted to a quad-oval

into the sport, and it’s

were career bests.

layout during the summer

really extended the career

of 1997.

of a lot of drivers.”

30

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Neil Bonnett

21

Equal parts triumph and tragedy was the NASCAR career of the late Neil Bonnett, a friend of many and beloved driver who passed away on Feb. 11, 1994, from injuries suffered in a crash at Daytona International Speedway.

Born on July 30, 1946, in Bessemer, Alabama, Bonnett learned under the tutelage of 1983 Cup

Series champion Bobby Allison – a racing legend who took Bonnett under his proverbial wing.

“Bobby really opened the door for me,” said Bonnett, who worked on Allison’s cars during his days as an aspiring Cup Series driver. “He gave me stuff that made me a winner.”

Bonnett made his NASCAR premier series debut on May 5, 1974, and went on to make 362 starts over 20 years. Along the way, Bonnett – who drove for the Wood Brothers and team owner Junior Johnson, among others – posted 18 wins that included victories at the some of the sport’s most fabled tracks.

There were plenty of races, including the Daytona 500, that Bonnett didn’t win, however.

“I think the hardest thing in this sport is not to let losing whip you,” Bonnett once said.

Unfortunately, Bonnett’s career was marred by bad accidents, the first of which came at Darlington in the fifth race of the 1990 season. Bonnett suffered memory loss and was unable to identify some of his closest friends and loved ones for a period of time thereafter.

Eventually, Bonnett began regaining his memory and, once fully recovered, started his own TV show, “Winners,” in April 1991. Bonnett, who recorded the 30-minute weekly motorsports program out of his home, also spent time behind the microphone for live race broadcasts, which further endeared the already popular driver to fans. Being back at the track only fueled Bonnett’s desire to return to competition, though, and with help from close friend Dale Earnhardt and Earnhardt’s team at Richard Childress Racing, Bonnett did return on July 25, 1993, at Talladega but was caught up in a multicar crash that sent his car upside down, airborne and into a catchfence.

Bonnett walked away uninjured and entered one more race for RCR that season before making plans to run a handful of races in 1994, beginning with the Daytona 500. That never happened, though, due to Bonnett’s death in practice at Daytona just days before the official start of the season.

WINNING IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE WORST THINGS THAT EVER HAPPENS TO A RACE CAR DRIVER. IT’S THE WORST AND THE BEST THING. ONCE YOU START WINNING, YOU CAN’T BE SATISFIED WITH ANYTHING LESS. I PUT OUT A WINNING EFFORT EVERY SUNDAY, AND WHEN I DON’T WIN, I’M MAD – AT NEIL BONNETT. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 21 CAR

POLISHED

HUMBLE

CONGENIAL

PERSONABLE

SINCERE KNOWN FOR

THE 1985 SEASON

DESPITE RUNNING ONLY

AMONG OTHER THINGS,

wasn’t Bonnett’s

four full seasons over a

Bonnett is known for

winningest effort at

20-year career in NASCAR’s

pulling close friend and

NASCAR’s highest level,

premier series, Bonnett

longtime racer Red Farmer

and neither was it the

posted 18 wins and 20 poles

from the wreckage

season where he recorded

– both impressive numbers

of a helicopter that

a career-high in laps led.

for a driver who made limited

crashed in the Talladega

But taken altogether, ’85

starts. Had Bonnett been

Superspeedway infield in

was his best Cup Series

able to go racing more often,

July 1993. Bonnett also

effort. Bonnett won twice,

it’s hard to imagine how

tried to pull the pilot, Cup

finished a career-best

many wins and, perhaps,

Series driver Davey Allison,

fourth in points and posted

championships he might’ve

from the wreckage but was

18 top-10 finishes.

collected.

unsuccessful.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

31

JEFF BURTON

99

One of NASCAR’s most polished drivers both on and off the race track, Jeff Burton commanded respect from teammates and rivals alike while capturing 21 Cup Series victories over a career that spanned 22 years in NASCAR’s top division.

Born in South Boston, Virginia, on June 29, 1967, Burton worked his way through the ranks

– which included four full seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – before going NASCAR Cup Series racing in 1994. After struggling through two winless seasons with the Stavola Brothers racing team, Burton got the break that would ultimately catapult his career to the next level when he became the driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush Racing in 1996.

After going winless in Year One with the organization led by already legendary and currentday NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Jack Roush, Burton earned his first Cup Series victory in the inaugural race at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6, 1997. After picking up wins later that year at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway on the way to what would become a career-best fourth-place finish in the Cup Series standings, Burton continued his frontrunning ways over the next four seasons with Roush as he added another 14 trophies to his collection and racked up four consecutive top-five points finishes despite never being able to claim a championship.

After falling on hard times, Burton severed ties with Roush midway through the 2004 season to join Richard Childress Racing – the organization that claimed six Cup Series championships with the late Dale Earnhardt between 1986 and 1994. Over nine-and-a-half seasons with RCR, Burton went to Victory Lane four times but finished no better than sixth in the standings. His final trip to the Winner’s Circle came on Oct. 11, 2008, at Charlotte Motor Speedway where he led 58 of 334 laps in his No. 31 RCR Chevrolet.

Burton, who made his final Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 23, 2014, in a cameo outing for Stewart-Haas Racing, has remained close to the sport. Along with being the father of Harrison Burton, who in 2024 is competing for a third season as driver of the No. 21 Wood Brother Racing Ford, Jeff Burton has served as an on-air analyst for NBC Sports’ NASCAR coverage since 2015.

A GREAT RACE CAR DRIVER IN A BAD CAR DOESN’T MAKE GREAT RESULTS. A GREAT CAR AND A BAD RACE CAR DRIVER DOESN’T MAKE GREAT RESULTS. YOU HAVE TO HAVE BOTH. IT’S THE COMBINATION OF DRIVER AND CAR. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 99 CAR

INTELLIGENT

THOUGHTFUL

AGGRESIVE RESPECTED INFLUENTIAL KNOWN FOR

IN 1999, BURTON

BURTON BECAME THE

NICKNAMED “THE

went to Victory Lane a

first driver to score

Mayor,” Burton has never

career-high six times on

four Cup Series wins at

shied away from sharing

the way to a fifth-place

New Hampshire Motor

his thoughts – ever

points finish. Two of his

Speedway, doing so

so diplomatically – on

wins that year came

in just 12 starts at the

NASCAR’s most pressing

in two of the sport’s

“Magic Mile.” The last

issues. His ability to speak

biggest-races – the Coca-

of Burton’s triumphs

authoritatively and provide

Cola 600 at Charlotte

at NHMS came in

well-thought-out insights on

Motor Speedway and

September 2000

just about any topic involving

the Southern 500 at

when he pulled off an

the sport earned him a

Darlington Raceway.

extremely rare feat by

reputation among the media

leading the entire race –

and his peers as a driver

all 300 laps.

whose opinion mattered.

32

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

kurt busch

97

Kurt Busch made a name for himself with an aggressive ontrack driving style and a brash off-track personality. Through it all, the oldest of the racing Busch brothers showed his talent by winning 34 NASCAR Cup Series races.

Born Aug. 4, 1978, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Busch frequently accompanied his father to the

local race tracks, and he started competing in go-karts at age 6. The youngster eventually graduated to Dwarf cars and Legend Cars before getting his first NASCAR Late Model start in an rather unorthodox manner.

In 1997, Busch was selected to replace NASCAR Southwest Tour star Chris Trickle after Trickle suffered injuries in an unsolved shooting that eventually took his life. Busch quickly found his way to Victory Lane and was named the touring series’ top rookie during the following season.

In 1999, Busch won six races en route to the NASCAR Southwest Tour championship.

That effort caught the eye of team owner Jack Roush, and Busch was hired to drive for Roush Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He finished second in his debut race at Daytona International Speedway, and ended up winning four times as a rookie.

After finishing second in the 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings, Busch skipped the Xfinity Series and moved straight to the NASCAR Cup Series for 2001.

Busch eventually made his presence felt by winning four times in 2002, but a brewing rivalry with Jimmy Spencer was what dominated the headlines. This played a role in Busch being nicknamed The Outlaw.

Busch claimed his crowning achievement in 2004 when the 26-year-old racer drove Roush’s No. 97 Ford to the NASCAR Cup Series championship as NASCAR introduced a new playoff format.

In the years that followed, Busch often found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons. He could never replicate the championship magic of 2004, and his success began to wane.

Fortunately, Busch was able to rebuild his career with teams like Furniture Row Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing and 23XI Racing. He won at least one race every year from 2014 through 2022, including the 2017 Daytona 500.

His driving career ended after he suffered a concussion in a crash on July 23, 2022, at Pocono Raceway.

DALE EARNHARDT TOLD ME IT DOESN’T MATTER IF FANS BOO OR CHEER, AS LONG AS THEY’RE MAKING NOISE. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 97 CAR

RESILIENT DETERMINED

OUTLAW

KNOWN FOR

IN 2004, BUSCH

BUSCH DROVE FOR

BUSCH WAS AS BRASH ON

grabbed the new Chase

several different

the track as he was off the

for the Nextel Cup format

organizations throughout

track, and fans gravitated

by the horns. He won the

his career, and he

toward his outlaw persona.

playoff opener at New

performed well at all of

While it sometimes got him

Hampshire and recorded

them. He won for Roush,

into trouble, Busch matured

six top-10 finishes over

Penske, Stewart-Haas,

to become one of the most

the season’s final 10

Ganassi and 23XI, and

dependable and beloved

races. He beat Jimmie

he took Furniture Row

drivers on the grid later in his

Johnson for the title by

Racing to the playoffs

driving career.

eight points, despite

for the first time.

losing a wheel during the

Everywhere he went, he

final race.

made that team better.

34

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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kyle busch

18

The younger of the racing Busch brothers, Kyle Busch arrived in NASCAR at a very young age. While fans have not always been on his side, no one can deny Busch’s incredible ability to wheel a race car.

Born on May 2, 1985, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Kyle Busch displayed an unprecedented amount of

raw talent from the very start of his driving career, assembling an impressive trophy collection as he quickly advanced through racing’s lower divisions.

A champion at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring, Busch made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut for team owner Jack Roush in 2001. The 16-year-old ran six races that season before a rule change forced him back to the Late Model ranks.

An issue developed prior to the Truck Series race at Auto Club Speedway where the Indy cars were headlining the weekend. Officials determined that because of his age, legislation controlling tobacco advertising prevented Busch from competing at the track, which featured numerous Marlboro signs.

Shortly thereafter, NASCAR implemented a rule requiring its drivers to be at least 18 years old.

Busch returned to NASCAR racing full time in 2004, winning five Xfinity Series races for Hendrick Motorsports.

He was promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2005 and promptly made two visits to Victory Lane.

However, his temper and attitude often outshone his on-track performance.

Team owner Rick Hendrick dropped Busch from his driver lineup following the 2007 season. Joe Gibbs Racing signed him for 2008, and Busch enjoyed immediate success in his new role at JGR. Busch gradually matured, but a low point in his career came in 2015 when he broke his leg during an Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. More determined than ever, Busch was quickly back on track and he surprised many by capturing his first NASCAR Cup Series championship that same season.

From there, Busch entered the prime of his career as he made five consecutive Championship 4 appearances beginning in 2015, earning a second championship in 2019.

After a 15-year stint with JGR, Busch joined Richard Childress Racing in 2023 and drove the No. 8 Chevrolet to three victories.

Heading into the new season, Busch has 229 victories across NASCAR’s three national series – NASCAR Cup Series (63), NASCAR Xfinity Series (102) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (64).

IT’S FUN TO BE THE GUY THAT CAN BE SO POLARIZING AND HAVE THAT EFFECT ON SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 18 CAR

EXCITING ROWDY

AGGRESSIVE KNOWN FOR

IN 2019, BUSCH SET OUT

BUSCH HAS WON AT

BUSCH IS BEST DESCRIBED

to prove his 2015

least one race in each of

by his nickname Rowdy. His

championship was no fluke.

his full-time Cup Series

aggressive driving style,

After three consecutive

seasons, and he dominated

combined with his outbursts

Championship 4 appearances,

the sport during the early

both to the media and on his

Busch broke through with five

playoff era. Despite how

team’s two-way radio, turned

wins, including the season

random people claim

away some fans but attracted

finale at Homestead-Miami

the Championship 4

others. The incidents

Speedway, to claim his second

can be, Busch made it

demonstrated Busch’s intense

title. His son, Brexton, took

five consecutive times

passion for winning, which

a ride around the track after

beginning in 2015, and he

has driven him to unparalleled

the race.

won the title twice.

success on the race track.

36

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

RED BYRON

22

Red Byron overcame injuries sustained as a flight engineer on a B-24 Liberator in World War II to become NASCAR’s first champion.

Born March 12, 1915, in Virginia, Robert “Red” Byron moved as a child to Colorado and then settled back East in Anniston, Alabama. He was already a veteran racer by the time America was caught up in the horrors of World War II. Stationed in the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, Byron’s left leg was shredded by shrapnel during a bombing run and he spent more than two years convalescing and recovering from those wounds. Slowly, he returned to racing, driving with his mangled leg in a brace bolted to the clutch pedal.

It wasn’t exactly the safest of designs, but that didn’t seem to matter to Byron.

Nothing could be worse than flying into a firestorm of anti-aircraft fire, could it?

Remembered car owner Raymond Parks on ESPN.com, “Red said, ‘This is working.

Bolt it on there and let’s go!”

As awkward and physically painful as the setup must have been, Byron managed the best he could.

NASCAR was officially organized during a meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Dec. 17, 1947. Parks was at the meeting and mechanic Red Vogt suggested the new sanctioning body’s name … the National Association for Stock Car Racing, or NASCAR for short.

Together with Parks and Vogt, Byron captured not only NASCAR’s first Modified championship in 1948, but also its new-fangled Strictly Stock (what’s now the NASCAR Cup Series) title the following year.

They were the last two championships Byron would ever score. His health steadily deteriorating, Byron turned his attentions to sports-car racing for the rest of the 1950s. A heart attack claimed his life on Nov. 11, 1960.

Byron was inducted posthumously into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2018.

YOU MIGHT LOOK AT SOMETHING AND THINK, ‘WOW, ISN’T THAT PRETTY.’ BUT RED, HE WAS THINKING, ‘HOW IN THE WORLD DID THEY MAKE THAT?’ LIKE AN ENGINEER. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 22 CAR

VETERAN TRAILBLAZER

OVERCOMER

KNOWN FOR

RED BYRON WON TWO

LIKE CHARLES

DESPITE THE FACT THAT

races (Daytona’s Beach

Lindbergh, Edmund Hillary,

his car owner Raymond

and Road Course and

Tenzing Norgay and Neil

Parks was a moonshine

Martinsville) and finished

Armstrong, Red Byron

kingpin in and around the

third twice in six starts to

joined the Famous Firsts

Atlanta area … and given

capture the NASCAR Strictly

Club when he became

the reputation of most of

Stock championship in 1949,

NASCAR’s first champion.

his fellow competitors as

the first year for what is now

Many would follow in their

a bunch of good ol’ boy

the NASCAR Cup Series.

footsteps, but there could

hellraisers … Red Byron did

only be one person at the

not drink.

very front of the line.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

37

JERRY COOK

38

Jerry Cook never competed in a points-paying Cup Series race, but he left a lasting legacy as a NASCAR Modified driver for two decades and later spent more than 30 years working in NASCAR’s competition department.

Born on June 20, 1943, in Lockport, New York, Cook built his first race car in his early teens and

fielded cars for other drivers for several years before jumping behind the wheel himself in 1963. It turned out to be one of the best decisions he would ever make.

Over the next 20 years, Cook became a short-track terror while competing at venues from the upper Northeast to the deep Southeast. Among the tracks where Cook claimed NASCAR Modified victories were Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway and fabled Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina.

From 1969 to 1981, Cook never finished worse than second in Modified points and captured six championships over an incredible seven-year span beginning in 1971. After going back-to-back in ’71 and ’72, Cook missed out on the title in ’73 before ripping off an astonishing four championships in a row.

“Just winning that thing once is pretty tough,” Cook said at the time of his 2009 induction into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. “It took a lot of preparation. We spent a lot of time in the garage before we went to the track.”

Cook was unable to claim another NASCAR Modified title at the national level after 1977, but he continued to pile up trophies for race wins until his retirement from driving at the end of 1982 – when he finished third in the overall Modified standings and claimed the track title at Spencer Speedway in New York.

By the time Cook hung up his helmet, he’d amassed more than 340 NASCAR-sanctioned wins and staged many furious battles with Richie Evans, who, like Cook, grew up in Rome, New York. Evans, who died in 1985, was crowned NASCAR’s Modified champion a record nine times and enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

Cook joined Evans in the Hall four years later.

“We’ve now finished off the battle of Rome,” Cook, who recorded 1,474 starts over his NASCAR Modified career, said at the time of his 2016 enshrinement. “For me and Richie to both be in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it kind of tops it off.”

WHEN I FIRST STARTED RACING, I WONDERED HOW LONG I COULD DO THIS BEFORE I HAD TO GET A REAL JOB, BUT SOMEHOW, I ALWAYS HAD MONEY IN MY POCKET, SO I JUST KEPT RACING. IN FACT, MY MOTHER NEVER THOUGHT I HAD A ‘REAL JOB’ UNTIL I WENT TO WORK FOR NASCAR. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 38 CAR

RESPECTED

DEDICATED

CONSISTENT

KNOWLEDGEABLE

DOMINANT KNOWN FOR

OVER THE 20 YEARS

COOK DIDN’T HAVE AS

COOK IS PERHAPS BEST

during which he competed

many Modified wins as

known for his consistency,

in Modified events, Cook

Richie Evans, his longtime

which allowed him to finish

collected six NASCAR

archrival and fellow New

in the top 10 roughly 85

Modified championships,

Yorker, but he still triumphed

percent of the time. Cook

finished second in the

a mind-boggling 342 times

became NASCAR’s Modified

standings six times and

in short-track feature events

division director in 1985 and

came home third on two

held in various parts of the

later assumed the role of

occasions. Given the absence

country. His first noteworthy

competition administrator

of any recorded year-by-year

victory came in a Modified

with NASCAR, helping write

history of his race results,

race at venerable Martinsville

the NASCAR Craftsman

it’s impossible to declare one

Speedway in 1969.

Truck Series rulebook. He has

particular season as his best.

38

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

since retired.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

8

ralph earnhardt Long before “Earnhardt” became one of the most legendary names in the sport’s history, Ralph Earnhardt, of Kannapolis, North Carolina, was making a name for himself – and his family – in NASCAR.

Born Feb. 23, 1928, Ralph Earnhardt could never have foreseen the dizzying heights to which his family name would one day rise.

It’s the ultimate rags-to-riches American Dream that began on tiny bullring race tracks around the Southeast and continues into its third generation today. From Ralph to Dale to Dale Jr., racing is a part of the Earnhardt family DNA. “We didn’t talk about a whole lot of things, but if we needed to talk, we talked,” Dale once said of his father. “He influenced my racing a lot. He didn’t encourage me when I got started, but after I did, he had his influence. He gave me the positive attitude. He guided me and set the stage for what kind of driver I am.”

Dale Earnhardt was keenly aware of the impact his father had on his career.

“The driving skill comes naturally. He knew that,” said the second-generation racer. “He would make me aware of my mistakes and try to guide me in the right direction. He wanted me to take a good look at things and be open minded.”

Did Dale stray from the path forged by his dad? Absolutely.

“He would have kicked my ass several times during my career for things I’ve done, probably,” Dale admitted. “Racing on credit – borrowing money.”

Here’s how taboo credit was to Ralph Earnhardt.

“I wanted him to sign for me to borrow some money,” Dale said. “He told me he didn’t have any credit, because he didn’t owe anybody. He never charged anything.

Sure enough, I went to the bank and daddy couldn’t sign for it.

“He bought a house, bought cars, bought trucks – and he saved up his money to buy them. He never made a payment. We thought we were rich. I was rich in a lot of ways, too, buddy.”

Sadly, the elder Earnhardt died as the result of a heart attack on Sept. 26, 1973.

IF THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT OF DIRT AND STUFF ON THE FRONT OF (MY FATHER’S RACE CAR), HE RAN SECOND OR THIRD TO SOMEBODY. IF THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ON THE FRONT, HE PROBABLY WON. RIGHT BEFORE I’D GO TO SCHOOL, HE’D BE UP AND I’D FIND OUT WHAT WENT ON. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 8 CAR

PATRIARCH

PIONEER CHAMPION KNOWN FOR

RALPH EARNHARDT WON

HE NEVER MADE MUCH

DALE EARNHARDT WAS

the 1956 national

of a mark in what is

known far and wide as “The

championship in the NASCAR

now known as the

Intimidator.” The example

Sportsman Series, which

NASCAR Cup Series, but

had been set many years

would today be akin to the

Ralph Earnhardt was

before by his father.

Late Model Stock division at

nevertheless a fearsome

numerous NASCAR Weekly

force on more short tracks

tracks across the country.

than anyone could ever count.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

39

88

Dale earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won 26 NASCAR Cup Series races between February 1999 and November 2017. His most significant triumphs came in the sport’s biggest race – the 2004 and 2014 editions of the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Jr. began his racing career in 1991 at age 17, wheeling a Street Stock at North Carolina’s Concord Motorsport Park. Two years later, he ran various tracks in Late Model competition while working at his father’s Chevrolet dealership as a mechanic and attending Mitchell County (N.C.) Community College, where he earned an associate’s degree in automotive technology.

Earnhardt Jr. ran nine Xfinity Series races in 1996 and 1997 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. as well as team owner Ed Whitaker. He joined DEI in 1998 and ran the full Xfinity Series, winning consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series championships in 1998 and 1999.

Also in 1998, he made his first NASCAR Cup Series start in an exhibition race at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. During the 1999 season, he also ran five Cup Series races in the No. 8 Chevrolet with his best finish being a tenth-place effort at Richmond in the fall race.

Earnhardt Jr. won races at Texas and Richmond in 2000 during his rookie season in the Cup Series. Over the next seven years with DEI, he logged 15 additional victories, including the 2004 Daytona 500.

Then in 2008, he joined team owner Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, where he added another nine victories to his résumé, including the 2014 Daytona 500.

Throughout his career, the 2022 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee was named the National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver 15 times and the NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver in 1999.

I’VE ALREADY DONE ENOUGH TO HAVE EARNED ‘GOOD DRIVER,’ SO IF I CAN BE KNOWN AS A GREAT PERSON AND A GOOD DRIVER, THAT’S BETTER THAN ONLY BEING A GREAT DRIVER.

40

POPULAR

HANDSOME

SMART

EASY-GOING DETERMINED SOFT-SPOKEN

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

EVEN THOUGH HE FINISHED

ON JULY 7, 2001, AT DAY-

THROUGHOUT HIS DRIVING

fifth in Cup Series points,

tona International Speedway,

career, Earnhardt Jr. was

Earnhardt Jr. enjoyed six

Earnhardt Jr. won the 400-

someone race fans could

wins in 2004. He started the

mile event with Michael Wal-

relate to as one of their own.

season with a victory in the

trip finishing second in DEI

His down-home demeanor

Daytona 500 in his No. 8 DEI

Chevrolets. Just five months

and similar background made

Chevrolet, followed by wins at

earlier, Earnhardt Jr.’s father

him a beloved superstar, and

Atlanta in March, Richmond

lost his life at the track on the

that popularity continues

in May, Bristol in August, Tal-

final lap of the Daytona 500.

today through his roles as a TV

ladega in October and Phoenix

The win helped bring closure

broadcaster, entrepreneur and

in November.

to that tragic day.

occasional short-track racer.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 88 CAR

KNOWN FOR

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

99

Carl edwards

Widely regarded as one of the best drivers to never win a NASCAR Cup Series championship, Carl Edwards made his mark by being a fierce competitor on the track with a winning smile off it.

Born on Aug. 15, 1979, in Columbia, Missouri, Edwards spent his formative years racing at

local dirt tracks. After briefly attending the University of Missouri, Edwards decided to pursue racing as a career while working as a substitute teacher to pay the bills.

He famously visited garage areas, handing out business cards that read, “If you’re looking for a driver, you’re looking for me.”

Edwards’ first opportunity came during 2002 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series when he ran seven races for team owner Mike Mittler. He had a best finish of eighth at his home track, Kansas Speedway, which caught the eye of Jack Roush.

Edwards ran full time for Roush in the Truck Series in 2003 and ’04, winning six times.

When Jeff Burton abruptly left Roush Racing’s Cup Series team in 2004, Roush tabbed Edwards as the replacement. Edwards impressed enough to land a full-time ride for 2005.

He won four races and finished an impressive third in the standings that season. His best weekend came in the spring at Atlanta when he swept the Xfinity Series race on Saturday and then beat Jimmie Johnson in the Cup Series race on Sunday.

Broadcaster Mike Joy called Edwards, “NASCAR’s newest star.”

Edwards continued winning races, and he even took home the 2007 Xfinity Series Championship. However, his career was marked by near-misses.

Despite nine victories in 2008, a pair of DNFs handed the title to Johnson. In 2011, Edwards lost the crown on a tiebreaker to Tony Stewart in the season finale. In 2015, Edwards moved to Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the new No. 19 car, but the close calls continued. That season at Phoenix, a poorly timed rain shower ended the race early, eliminating Edwards in the Round of 8.

He had the best car among the Championship 4 in 2016 but was turned into the wall on a late restart.

That following offseason, Edwards abruptly and surprisingly called it quits after 12 full-time seasons. It was a decision many still question.

LIFE IS SHORT. YOU’VE GOT TO DO WHAT YOUR GUT TELLS YOU.

BELOVED

PERSISTENT FUN

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

IN 2008, EDWARDS SET

EDWARDS BURST ONTO

EDWARDS HAD A VERY

career highs in wins (9),

the scene with four wins

outgoing and pleasant de-

top-five finishes (19), top-10

during his first full-time

meanor off the track, but don’t

results (27) and laps led

NASCAR Cup Series season

let that fool you. He was as

(1,282). He finished second in

in 2005. He is known for his

intense as any competitor on

points after only a crash with

near-misses at the sport’s

the track. If someone crossed

Roush Racing teammates at

top prize in 2008, 2011

Edwards, there was sure to be

Talladega and a failed ignition

and 2016, but they don’t

something coming their way.

box at Charlotte kept him

overshadow his 28 wins in

However, Edwards’ pleasant

from the crown.

what some consider a very

personality resonated with

short career.

NASCAR fans.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

THE NO. 99 CAR

KNOWN FOR

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

41

bill elliott

Bill Elliott began his driving career on the north Georgia dirt tracks near his home in Dawsonville. He won 44 Cup Series races from 1976 to 2012, logging 320 top-10 finishes and 55 pole positions.

9

Born Oct. 8, 1955, Elliott began driving makeshift race cars in his father’s junkyard against the likes of his brothers, Ernie and Dan. Of the three siblings, Bill emerged with the most desire and talent to drive cars on a local level.

Success on short tracks in the Southeast led to an eight-race NASCAR Cup Series effort in 1976 aboard a Ford owned by his father, George. Over the next seven seasons, the fledgling family team entered 71 races, recording eight top-five finishes, nine top-10 results and earning one pole.

At the start of the 1983 season, the Elliott family sold its team to Michigan businessman Harry Melling and collected their first Cup Series victory in the season finale at California’s Riverside International Raceway. Three wins in 1984 set the stage for a phenomenal 1985 season that featured 11 victories, including the 1985 Daytona 500 as well as the Winston Million bonus paid by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. for winning three of the four premier races on the schedule.

Elliott collected 18 additional victories as well as the 1988 Cup Series championship before leaving Melling Racing in 1991 to join Junior Johnson and Associates. After seven victories and a second-place finish in points through 1995, Elliott started his own team but did not break into the win column.

Elliott eventually joined forces with former crew chief and upstart team owner Ray Evernham. Together, they won three times, including the 2001 Brickyard 400. Elliott retired from the Cup Series in 2012.

I FEEL THE EXPERIENCE THAT I GAINED WORKING ON THE RACE CARS HELPED ME IMMENSELY AND REALLY MADE ME UNDERSTAND THEM A LOT MORE. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

BELOVED

INNOVATIVE

DETERMINED

FOCUSED KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1985

IN QUALIFYING FOR THE

THROUGHOUT HIS

season, Elliott entered 28

1985 Daytona 500, Elliott

NASCAR career, Elliott

Cup Series races and won 11

posted a record pole speed of

enjoyed a tremendous fan

times, with superspeedway

205.114 mph. Then, on May

following. Even though he

victories coming at Daytona,

5, 1985, he turned another

hasn’t driven in NASCAR

Talladega, Dover, Atlanta (2),

record lap of 209.398 mph at

competition since 2012,

Darlington (2), Pocono (2) and

Talladega Superspeedway.

Elliott was part of last year’s

Michigan (2). Elliott logged 16

Finally, on May 3, 1987,

six-race Camping World

top-five finishes and 18 top-

Elliott ran 212.809 mph at

SRX Series. He occasionally

10 results with an average

Talladega, a record that may

works as a spotter for

start of 4.9 and average

never be broken.

his son, 2020 Cup Series

finish of 8.7.

42

THE NO. 9 CAR

DEDICATED

champion Chase Elliott.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

chase elliott

Continuing a family tradition that started during the early 1970s, Chase Elliott has successfully followed his father as not only a NASCAR Cup Series champion, but also as stock car racing’s Most Popular Driver.

Born on Nov. 28, 1995, in Dawsonville, Georgia, Chase Elliott was destined to be a race car

9

driver. The son of 1988 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bill Elliott found early racing success in Bandoleros and Legends Cars before graduating to the various divisions of Late Models.

The youngster was even featured alongside 13 other potential sports stars, including golfer Jordan Spieth and basketball player Michail Kidd-Gilchrist, in a story headlined “Where Will They Be” that appeared in the July 13, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated.

While honing his race craft in the Late Model ranks, Elliott won at some of the nation’s most iconic race tracks, including North Wilkesboro Speedway, Five Flags Speedway, Winchester Speedway and the Nashville Fairgrounds.

He advanced to the ARCA Menards East Series in 2011, where his talent soon caught the eye of NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick who signed Elliott to a long-term contract.

In 2013, Elliott ran nine Craftsman Truck Series races for Hendrick Motorsports – winning once – and was promptly promoted to the NASCAR Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports.

As a series rookie in 2014, Elliott won three times en route to the Xfinity Series championship.

A runner-up effort followed in 2015 before Elliott was named to replace the retiring Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 Cup Series car for Hendrick Motorsports.

While he made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons, Elliott could not find Victory Lane.

After replacing the No. 24 with his dad’s famous No. 9, Elliott finally won his first Cup Series race in 2018 on the road course at Watkins Glen International. From there, he was off and running, adding two more victories that season and being named the series’ Most Popular Driver for the first time.

Two years later, Elliott claimed the Cup Series championship, and he became the undisputed face of the sport. Much like his father, Elliott has dominated the Cup Series’ Most Popular Driver voting, winning the award each year since 2018.

THIS IS THE DREAM. I’M JUST HOPING I DON’T EVER WAKE UP. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

POPULAR MODEST

FAMILY-ORIENTED KNOWN FOR

WHILE 2020 WAS A

BEING THE SON OF A

ELLIOTT PREFERS TO BE

difficult year for most of

NASCAR champion and

more reserved in a day and

the world due to COVID-19,

working your way up in top

age where social media

Elliott rewarded his massive

equipment would be too

makes drivers’ voices

fan base with something to

much pressure for some,

louder than ever. He’s also

cheer about. Three clutch

but not Elliott. He burst onto

renowned for his humility,

victories – Charlotte ROVAL,

the scene at every level of

but don’t mistake that

Martinsville and Phoenix –

NASCAR competition and,

soft-spoken demeanor for

in the final five races gave

like his father, garnered a

weakness. On the track,

Elliott a career-high five wins

massive fan following along

there are few more intense

and his first NASCAR Cup

the way.

and feared competitors than

Series title.

44

THE NO. 9 CAR

DILIGENT CHAMPION

Chase Elliott.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

richie evans

Simply put, Richie Evans was the greatest driver in the history of the NASCAR Modified Series.

61

Born July 23, 1941, Evans eventually became the first competitor from outside the NAS-

CAR Cup Series ranks to be elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Known as The Rapid Roman due to his roots in Rome, New York, Evans first tried his hand at drag racing – and he was good at that, too.

“Building hot rods to drag race at local tracks, Richie lined his service station walls with trophies,” said Billy Nacewicz, Evans’ longtime crew chief, during Evans’ 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony. “I remember his last drag car, a 427 ’54 Ford that was nearly unbeatable. A friend suggested that he try stock car racing at the newly built Utica Rome Speedway, where he could race for money instead of just trophies. Taking his advice, he and his friends cut up that old drag car and made a stock car.”

Nacewicz was skeptical – at best – about Evans’ future.

“Having watched him race the first couple years at Utica Rome, I remember mentioning to his friends, ‘It’s too bad he cut that drag car up because he’s never going to make it in stock car racing.’ Well, we can see where that came out.”

We can see, indeed. Evans eventually won nine NASCAR Modified championships, including eight in a row between 1978 and 1985. Put it this way. Richard Petty is the Richie Evans of the NASCAR Cup Series.

Evans is that big a deal in NASCAR Modifieds.

“As Richie’s crew chief for 11 years, he left me with two lifelong lessons,” Nacewicz concluded. “One, a hard work ethic, and two, to enjoy whatever you’re doing, because he would later say, we’re all just passing through.”

Evans died Oct. 24, 1985, as the result of injuries he sustained during a practice session at Martinsville Speedway. He had already clinched the NASCAR Modified championship the week before.

Evans’ crash, along with other fatal Modified accidents during the late 1980s, resulted in changes to reduce frame rigidity in the division.

Chassis were redesigned to bend during a hard impact rather transferring the energy to the driver.

THAT SON OF A BITCH WAS GOOD.

- JIMMY SPENCER

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

POPULAR

UNBELIEVABLE

SMOOTH

DOMINANT

HUMBLE

EVANS AND THE NO. 61 CAR

KNOWN FOR

AS BEST ANYONE CAN

RICHIE EVANS WON NINE

IN THE WORLD OF NASCAR

tell, Richie Evans won at

national NASCAR Modified

Modifieds, Evans Orange race

least 481 features at 14

championships – one in 1973

cars with the No. 61 were

different tracks in 14 states

and then eight consecutive

every bit as iconic as the No.

and two Canadian provinces.

between 1978 and 1985. He

43 Petty Blue machines were

Unofficial stats claim he

was also a nine-time winner

at the NASCAR Cup level.

topped 52 of the 84 features

of the division’s Most Popular

he started in 1980.

Driver Award.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

45

red farmer

97

Red Farmer never won a NASCAR Cup Series championship or even a race during his few starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

Make no mistake about it, though: Farmer knew how to get up on the wheel.

And, at the well-traveled age of 91, he apparently still does. How do we know?

As recent as September 2022, and about a month shy of his 90th birthday, Farmer prevailed in a 10-lap heat race at Talladega Short Track, a one-third-mile dirt track located near Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

Speaking of Alabama, Farmer – who was born Oct. 15, 1932, in Hialeah, Florida – moved from the Sunshine State to Alabama to pursue his racing dreams and eventually became a member of NASCAR’s “Alabama Gang.” The select group also included Alabama natives Hut Stricklin, Jimmy Means and Neil Bonnett, and Bonnett’s son David; along with Florida transplants Bobby and Donnie Allison and Bobby’s sons Davey and Clifford.

Farmer’s racing career began in 1948, the same year NASCAR was founded and the year before the first NASCAR Cup Series season was run.

“He came to Alabama and dominated when he got there,” Bobby Allison said. “In fact, I had made friends with some of the other competitors and one of them said to me, ‘What’d you bring that guy for?’ I said, ‘That’s who I want to beat.’”

Beating Farmer was easier said than done, especially on local short tracks, where he rang up more than 700 wins over roughly seven decades. Although not all of these wins are recorded in official history books, what is recorded is that Farmer captured the NASCAR National Late Model Sportsman championship three years in a row, from 1969 to ’71.

He also claimed the NASCAR Modified title in 1956 and earned Most Popular Driver Awards in both the Late Model and Modified ranks.

For all of his accomplishments and his longevity, it’s no surprise Farmer – who made two ARCA Menards Series appearances as recent as 2004 – earned enshrinement in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2021. Or that he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega Superspeedway 17 years earlier.

“Nobody compares to Red Farmer,” longtime motorsports announcer and magazine editor Dick Berggren said. “Nobody’s done what Red’s done, and nobody’s going to do that in the future, either.”

DRIVING ARCA RACES IN THE ’80S AND ’90S WAS LIKE SITTING IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR WITH A DRUNK GUY WHO WAS PLAYING WITH A SWITCH. YOU KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN; YOU JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHEN. SO, I GAVE UP ARCA AND WENT BACK TO MY SHORT-TRACK RACING.

PASSIONATE

AGELESS

RESPECTED COMICAL UNSATISFIED

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

KNOWN FOR

FARMER MADE ONLY 36 NASCAR

A CLOSE FRIEND OF THE ALLISON

FARMER IS KNOWN ABOVE ALL

premier series starts from 1953 to

family, Farmer teamed with brothers

for the passion he carries for the

’75, never running anywhere close to

Bobby and Donnie Allison in 1962 to

sport of auto racing. After all, it’s

a full season at the sport’s highest

run a total of 106 local short-track

virtually impossible to find anyone

level, as he preferred competing at

races. Among the three of them, they

else who’s competed as hard or as

the local level instead. Farmer did

won 96 times, Donnie recalls. “Red

long as him. “Red Farmer today is

enjoy some success in the premier

Farmer was 100 percent racer,” 2016

still one of the greatest, I think, that’s

division, though, finishing a career

NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Jerry

ever been in NASCAR,” said team

best fourth on two occasions.

Cook said.

owner Richard Childress.

46

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

START YOUREngiNeS CLASH AT THE COLISEUM

NASHVILLE

DUEL AT DAYTONA

CHICAGO STREET RACE

DAYTONA 500

POCONO

ATLANTA

INDIANAPOLIS

SUN | JUL 21 | 2:30 PM | NBC

CHAMPIONSHIP

LAS VEGAS

RICHMOND

SUN | NOV 10 | 3 PM | NBC

PHOENIX

MICHIGAN

BRISTOL

DAYTONA

COTA

REGULAR-SEASON FINALE

SUN | FEB 4 | 8 PM | FOX THU | FEB 15 | 7 PM | FS1

SUN | FEB 18 | 2:30 PM | FOX SUN | FEB 25 | 3 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 3 | 3:30 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 10 | 3:30 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 17 | 3:30 PM | FOX SUN | MAR 24 | 3:30 PM | FOX

RICHMOND

SUN | MAR 31 | 7 PM | FOX

SUN | JUN 30 | 3:30 PM | NBC SUN | JUL 7 | 4:30 PM | NBC

SUN | JUL 14 | 2:30 PM | USA

SUN | AUG 11 | 6 PM | USA SUN | AUG 18 | 2:30 PM | USA SAT | AUG 24 | 7:30 PM | NBC

DARLINGTON

SUN | SEPT 1 | 6 PM | USA ROUND OF 16

MARTINSVILLE

ATLANTA

TEXAS

WATKINS GLEN

TALLADEGA

BRISTOL

DOVER

ROUND OF 12

SUN | APR 7 | 3 PM | FS1 SUN | APR 14 | 3:30 PM | FS1 SUN | APR 21 | 3 PM | FOX SUN | APR 28 | 2 PM | FS1

KANSAS

SUN | MAY 5 | 3 PM | FS1

SUN | SEPT 8 | 3 PM | USA SUN | SEPT 15 | 3 PM | USA SAT | SEPT 21 | 7:30 PM | USA

KANSAS

SUN | SEPT 29 3 PM | USA

TALLADEGA

SUN | MAY 12 | 3 PM | FS1

SUN | OCT 6 2 PM | NBC

ALL-STAR RACE (N. WILKESBORO)

CHARLOTTE ROVAL

DARLINGTON

SUN | MAY 19 | 8 PM | FS1

CHARLOTTE

SUN | MAY 26 | 6 PM | FOX

WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY SUN | JUN 2 | 3:30 PM | FS1

SONOMA

SUN | JUN 9 | 3:30 PM | FOX

IOWA

SUN | JUN 16 | 7 PM | USA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

SUN | JUN 23 | 2:30 PM | USA

SUN | OCT 13 2 PM | NBC

ROUND OF 8

LAS VEGAS

SUN | OCT 20 | 2:30 PM | NBC

HOMESTEAD- MIAMI

SUN | OCT 27 | 2:30 PM | NBC

MARTINSVILLE

SUN | NOV 3 | 2 PM | NBC

PHOENIX

*ALL TIMES ET

91

Tim flock

One of the most engaging and accomplished drivers of his day, Tim Flock – who passed away on March 31, 1998 – was one of the first true NASCAR legends and is widely considered a pioneer of the sport.

Born in Fort Payne, Alabama, on May 11, 1924, Flock competed in NASCAR’s inaugural Cup

Series season of 1949, running five of eight races, including the first. The following season, Flock started 12 of 19 events and captured his first NASCAR premier series victory in a 200-lap race at the old Charlotte Speedway, a three-quarter-mile dirt track.

Tim’s brother, Bob, ran second that day, and the Flock siblings were the only drivers in the 25-car field to finish on the lead lap.

It was during the 1951 season, however, that Tim Flock began showing flashes of the greatness that would ultimately make him one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers. Campaigning the No. 91 car, Flock recorded seven wins in 30 starts on the way to a third-place points finish.

He was just getting warmed up, however. In 1952, the affable Alabama native cruised to his first premier series NASCAR title on the strength of eight wins in 33 starts while campaigning the now legendary Hudson Hornet. As ill fortune would have it, though, Flock actually ended that year in a crash that sent his car sliding on its roof.

Thankfully for Flock, wrecking with 36 laps left in the season finale at the half-mile Palm Beach Speedway dirt track didn’t keep him from securing the title.

“I bet I’m the only driver who ever won a championship on his head,” Flock, who finished his career in 1961 with 39 premier series victories, was later quoted as saying.

In between Flock’s first championship season and his second and final championship season, which came in 1955, he gained much acclaim for competing with a monkey – appropriately dubbed Jocko Flocko – strapped to the passenger seat of his Hudson Hornet for an eight-race stretch during the 1953 season.

Over that time, Flock led 158 laps and posted five top-five finishes, including a victory at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

Eventually, though, Flock had to part ways with his atypical passenger when the monkey worked its way out of its seatbelt and became unruly during a race in Raleigh, North Carolina.

IT WAS HARD ENOUGH TO DRIVE THOSE HEAVY, OLD CARS BACK THEN UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT WITH A CRAZED MONKEY CLAWING YOU AT THE SAME TIME, IT BECOMES NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.

48

CHARISMATIC

ADVENTUROUS

PIONEER SKILLED

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

DRIVING A CHRYSLER 300

FLOCK SHATTERED THE

FLOCK WAS NOTED FOR

owned by Carl Kiekhaefer

record for wins in a single

being born into a racing family

in 1955, Flock rolled up an

NASCAR season when he

that included three of his

amazing 32 top-five finishes

triumphed an incredible 18

siblings. Tim, Ethel, Fonty and

in 39 starts as he became the

times in 1955 on the way

Bob Flock actually competed

second two-time champion

to his second Cup Series

against each other in a 1949

of NASCAR’s premier

championship. Flock’s record

race on the Daytona Beach

division. That same year,

stood until 1967, when

and Road Course. They are

Flock also captured 18 poles

Richard Petty went to Victory

the only four siblings to

and led a whopping 3,495

Lane a stunning 27 times in

have competed in the same

laps – both career-highs.

48 starts.

NASCAR-sanctioned event.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 91 CAR

FUNNY

KNOWN FOR

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

a.j. foyt

14

Widely considered the most formidable race car driver the world has ever known, A.J. Foyt boasts an unrivaled and highly diversified list of motorsports accomplishments and accolades that will in all likelihood never be matched.

Born on Jan. 16, 1935, in Houston, Texas, Foyt began his racing career at age 18 on dirt

tracks around his hometown but has since competed on four continents – gaining international acclaim in the process.

With a record 67 victories and a record seven championships in what is now known as the NTT IndyCar Series, Foyt’s greatest success came in open-wheel racing. His crowning achievement was being the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 at fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway where he sipped the ceremonial winner’s milk in 1961, 1964, 1967 and 1977.

As a part-time NASCAR driver, Foyt also won NASCAR’s biggest race – the Daytona 500 – in 1972 when he led 167 of 200 laps in the Wood Brothers’ iconic No. 21 car. Although this was by far Foyt’s biggest NASCAR victory, it was by no means his only success in the world’s premier stock car series.

Foyt made 128 Cup Series starts over 30 years and took the green flag for at least one Cup Series race every year from 1963 to 1990, going to Victory Lane seven times and claiming nine poles. He also earned 36 top-10 finishes, including 29 top-five results, and led 1,518 laps.

Foyt’s best NASCAR track was the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, where he triumphed in three points races and rang up 17 top-10 finishes – including 15 top-five efforts – in 54 starts. The only other track Foyt competed at more than 20 times as a Cup Series driver was Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he made 22 starts and recorded a win from the pole in 1971.

Foyt’s three Cup Series wins outside of Daytona and Atlanta all came in the state of California – two, both from the pole, at Ontario Motor Speedway (in 1971 and 1972), and one at the now-extinct Riverside International Raceway road course where he prevailed in the 1970 season opener.

Appropriately, Foyt logged his final NASCAR Cup Series start at Indianapolis in 1994 during the inaugural Brickyard 400, an event in which he finished 30th while driving a No. 50 Ford campaigned by his own AJ Foyt Racing team.

WHEN I WAS RUNNING, ALL I WANTED TO DO WAS WIN, AND THAT’S THE REASON I PROBABLY WON AS MUCH AS I DID. I NEVER DID WANT TO SETTLE FOR SECOND OR THIRD. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

FIERCE

CONFIDENT

OUTSPOKEN VERSATILE DRIVEN KNOWN FOR

FOYT’S BEST SEASON IN NASCAR

FOYT IS THE ONLY DRIVER TO

FOYT IS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS

was easily 1972. Making six starts

claim victories in the NTT IndyCar

ability to win in different types of

in the No. 21 Mercury fielded by

Series’ most prestigious race (the

vehicles, including open-wheel

Wood Brothers Racing, Foyt posted

Indianapolis 500), NASCAR’s most

cars, NASCAR stock cars and sports

five top-five finishes that included

prestigious race (the Daytona 500)

cars. A winner of multiple races in

his NASCAR career-defining win in

and the annual 24 Hours of Le Mans

all three genres of motorsports,

the Daytona 500, a race in which he

– the world’s most famous sports-

Foyt has been enshrined in several

lapped the field and spent the final

car and endurance race, which Foyt

motorsports Halls of Fame and was

120 laps out front.

captured in 1967 at the age of 32.

voted Driver of the Century.

50

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

harry gant

33

Harry Gant won 18 NASCAR Cup Series races between 1973 and 1994. His biggest victories came in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway with team owners Hal Needham (1984) and Leo Jackson (1991).

Gant was born in Taylorsville, North Carolina, on Jan. 10, 1940. He was raised on a farm before working in construction during his early 20s. He later formed his own construction company that he continues to operate at age 82.

Gant became interested in stock car racing during the mid-1960s. He and a few friends built a hobby class car that they took turns driving at Hickory Motor Speedway. Gant eventually became the full-time driver and won his first race in the track’s Sportsman division during the 1967 season.

Gant won more than 300 races with car builder and crew chief Kenneth Sigmon in NASCAR’s Sportsman division, earning national championships in 1972, ’73 and ’74.

In 1973, Gant entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race with team owner Junie Donlavey and made six starts over the next four years with two top-10 finishes. His first full season of Cup Series racing was in 1979 when he competed for rookie-of-the-year honors against Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte.

In 1982, he moved to the No. 33 Skoal Bandit Pontiac owned by movie director Hal Needham and actor Burt Reynolds with his first win coming at Martinsville Speedway on April 25 of that year. Gant joined car owner Leo Jackson in 1989 and remained with the team for the remainder of his career. All told, he logged 474 starts and recorded 18 victories.

I BUILT HOUSES BEFORE I STARTED RACING. IF RACING STOPPED, THAT’S WHAT I’D DO AGAIN. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 33 CAR

TALENTED

CALCULATING

AGGRESSIVE

HANDSOME QUIET KNOWN FOR

LATE IN THE 1991 NASCAR

GANT’S CAREER AVERAGE

THROUGHOUT HIS LONG

Cup Series season, Gant

start was 12.5 and average

and rewarding career, Gant

won consecutive races at

finish was 15.9 over a period

was identified through

Darlington, Dover, Richmond

of 22 Cup Series seasons.

various nicknames such as

and Martinsville, prompting

His highest finish in points

“Handsome Harry,” “The

the nickname

came in 1984 when he ended

Bandit” due to his longtime

“Mr. September” from the

up second to Terry Labonte

SKOAL sponsorship and

media and his fans. His

in the Cup Series standings.

“High Groove Harry.”

No. 33 Leo Jackson Racing

Gant led 8,446 laps during

Gant was also known for

Oldsmobile was seemingly

his 474 starts in NASCAR’s

his ability to keep a car

unstoppable in each of those

top division.

in contention for the win

races.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

throughout a race.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

51

24

Jeff gordon

Jeff Gordon entered his first NASCAR Cup Series event on Nov. 15, 1992, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the beginning of a career that featured some of the greatest accomplishments in NASCAR’s modern era.

Born Aug. 4, 1971, in Vallejo, California, Gordon’s formative years were spent building a very successful career as an open-wheel Midget and Sprint Car driver. Even though he dreamed of joining the Indy Car ranks, an opportunity to drive in NASCAR proved to be a fateful decision.

The rising star came to stock car racing in 1990 in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series. During the 1992 season, he claimed three victories and a fourthplace finish in the series standings while driving a Ford owned by Bill Davis.

That same year, Gordon joined team owner Rick Hendrick in NASCAR’s premier series, making his debut during the season finale. He earned rookieof-the-year honors in 1993 and two years later, in 1995, Gordon became the youngest driver in the modern era to claim a championship at the age of 24.

He went on to win three more titles in 1997, ’98 and 2001.

Gordon currently sits third on NASCAR’s list of all-time winners with 93 Cup Series victories. His stats show 325 top-five finishes, 477 top-10 results and 81 poles in 805 starts. Among his victories are three Daytona 500s and five in the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

After his retirement from driving, the 2019 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee turned his attention to co-ownership of Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports, as well as a promising career as a television broadcaster. Gordon remains one of NASCAR’s most popular personalities.

DRIVING FOR RICK HENDRICK THROUGHOUT MY ENTIRE CUP SERIES CAREER WAS ONE OF MY GREATEST REWARDS. THE PHENOMENAL PEOPLE AROUND ME THROUGHOUT MY CAREER ARE WHAT MADE IT SO GREAT. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 24 CAR

TALENTED

SAVVY

ADAPTIVE

FEARLESS AMAZING RESPECTED KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1998

GORDON’S AVERAGE

GORDON IS KNOWN FOR

NASCAR Cup Series season,

start of 10.5 and average

his respect for fans, his

Gordon and crew chief Ray

finish of 12.5 are considered

team members and the

Evernham amassed a modern-

impressive statistics. From

media. His amazing ability

era record 13 victories in 29

1992 to 2016, he completed

as an open-wheel race car

starts. Also that year, Gordon

231,223 laps and led 24,936.

driver at times helped him

posted 26-top five finishes, 28

Fifteen of his 93 victories

to make moves in stock cars

top-10 results and seven poles.

came on short tracks with

that were nothing short of

Those incredible numbers led to

nine on road courses and the

miraculous. He was named

him winning his second of four

remainder on tracks of one

one of NASCAR’s 50 Great-

championships.

mile or more in length.

est Drivers in 1998.

52

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

The City of Vallejo

CONGRATULATES OUR LOCAL LEGEND,

Jeff Gordon!

Denny Hamlin

11

Denny Hamlin’s NASCAR journey has taken him from brash newcomer to elder statesman. He’s excelled on the sport’s biggest stage, winning three Daytona 500s, but has repeatedly fallen short in his attempts to become a Cup Series champion.

Born on Nov. 18, 1980, in Tampa, Florida, Hamlin grew up in Chesterfield, Virginia. He began

racing at age 7 and spent his formative years navigating the notoriously tough short tracks of Virginia and the Carolinas.

Hamlin started in go-karts and worked through the various Late Model divisions, but his dreams of competing in NASCAR nearly didn’t come to fruition. His blue-collar family mortgaged their house, sold cars and did whatever it took financially to keep Hamlin behind the wheel.

In 2006, Hamlin’s mother, Mary Lou, told the media, “There were many conversations where his dad would say, ‘Look, we can’t go on any further,’ And I’d say, ‘Gosh, we’ve gone this far, we really need to do whatever we can to keep on going.’”

And keep going they did, but during an era when many drivers were signing contracts in their late teens, Hamlin had to wait until he was 23 to finally secure a home in NASCAR. In 2004, he inked a developmental contract with Joe Gibbs Racing.

After running the full Xfinity Series and making seven Cup Series starts in 2005, Hamlin was promoted to drive the No. 11 NASCAR Cup Series entry for JGR. His year started with a bang as Hamlin won the season-opening Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.

His stellar rookie effort continued with a season sweep at Pocono and a third-place points finish in 2006. He was the first rookie to earn a spot in the playoffs. However, try as he might, the championship has always eluded Hamlin.

He came close in 2010, but a fuel-mileage miscue at Phoenix and a spin during the season finale at Homestead kept him from the title.

He was the top seed in the 2012 playoffs but came up short. Recently, Hamlin’s made the Championship 4 four times but is still chasing the ultimate prize.

In 18 seasons behind the wheel of Joe Gibbs’ No. 11 car, Hamlin has 51 Cup Series victories, including three Daytona 500s.

He joined the ownership ranks in 2021, founding 23XI Racing with basketball legend Michael Jordan.

HEY, I BEAT YOUR FAVORITE DRIVER… ALL OF ’EM. BEST SEASON

54

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 11 CAR

TENACIOUS

EXCITING

POLARIZING

LOYAL

OUTSPOKEN KNOWN FOR

HAMLIN MADE THE JUMP

HAMLIN MADE HIS MARK

INCREDIBLY SMART AND

from race winner to title

on the sport early by

savvy, Hamlin has become

contender in 2010. He

becoming the first Cup Series

quite outspoken. Fans either

recorded eight victories

rookie to qualify for the

love or hate his podcast,

and went toe-to-toe with

playoffs in 2006. From there,

“Actions Detrimental,” and

then four-peat Cup Series

he has won at least one race

his on-track aggression

champion Jimmie Johnson.

in every season since except

showcases his fiercely

However, a collapse during

2018. He did all of this while

competitive mentality. He’s

the final two races kept

driving for the same No. 11

also adapted well to his new

Hamlin from the Cup Series

Joe Gibbs Racing team.

role as co-owner of 23XI

crown. Still, he set a career-

Racing alongside basketball

high for wins.

icon Michael Jordan.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Kevin HArvick

4

Thrust into the national spotlight under tragic circumstances, Kevn Harvick became a NASCAR Cup Series champion while often serving as the voice of reason among his fellow competitors in the NASCAR garage area.

Born on Dec. 8, 1975, in Bakersfield, California, Harvick received a go-kart at age 5 as a kinder-

garten graduation present, launching a racing career that has spanned more than four decades.

As a teenager, Harvick honed his craft by racing Late Models and his first full-time NASCAR season came during 1995 when he was among the race winners in the Southwest Tour. Over the next few years, the youngster added occasional starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to his résumé.

In 1998, Harvick won five races en route to the ARCA Menards West Series championship.

Harvick’s success on the West Coast caught the eye of team owner Richard Childress, and Childress signed him to run the 2000 Xfinity Series schedule for RCR. That effort produced three wins and a third-place points finish. The plan for 2001 was for Harvick to run full time in the Xfinity Series while making select NASCAR Cup series starts – until tragedy struck.

Dale Earnhardt, driving RCR’s iconic No. 3 car, was killed in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Childress tapped Harvick to replace Earnhardt, which meant Harvick would race full time in both the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series.

The rest, as they say, is history.

In only his third Cup Series start, Harvick edged Jeff Gordon in a photo finish to win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He won again in the inaugural Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway and was named the Cup Series rookie of the year. In addition, he claimed the 2001 Xfinity Series title.

Harvick, who eventually became known as “The Closer,” won 23 Cup Series races in 13 seasons at RCR before moving to Stewart-Haas Racing for 2014. He earned his first Cup Series championship that year after winning the final two races.

Following a season-long celebration in 2023, Harvick ran his 826th and last NASCAR Cup Series race on Nov. 5, at Phoenix Raceway. His final Cup Series stats line shows 60 victories with 444 top-10 results and 31 poles.

Harvick will join the NASCAR on FOX broadcast team as an analyst for 2024 and beyond..

IN LIFE IN GENERAL, YOU’RE NEVER BULLETPROOF. ABOUT THE TIME YOU START THINKING THAT, I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE, THE KARMA TRAIN WILL COME RUN YOU OVER. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 4 CAR

NO-NONSENSE

FIERY

FOCUSED KNOWN FOR

IN 2014, HARVICK MOVED

HARVICK’S CUP SERIES

HARVICK HAD A KNACK

to Stewart-Haas Racing and

career started under difficult

for closing out races that he

won five races in the No.

circumstances, but he found a

seemed to have no business

4 car. During the first year

way to perform at the highest

winning. However, he also

of the “win-and-you’re-in”

level. He won in his third

had his fair share of dominant

style of playoffs, Harvick

series start and his victories

wins and seasons, leading

topped the final two races

with Richard Childress Racing

200-plus laps in 10 of his 60

of the season at Phoenix

included the 2007 Daytona

career victories. Harvick also

and Homestead en route to

500. He moved to Stewart-

had his fair share of run-ins,

his only NASCAR Cup Series

Haas Racing and continued

especially early in his career.

championship.

winning, including his lone Cup Series title.

56

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

THE SOUND OF

Entertainment

THE SOUND OF

Festivals

THE SOUND OF

The Unexpected

VISIT .COM

THE SOUND OF

Adventure

THE SOUND OF

Family Fun

THE SOUND OF

Thrills

ray hendrick

11

During a driving career that spanned more than three decades, Richmond, Virginia’s Ray Hendrick would race anywhere – in most any kind of vehicle.

Hendrick was born on April 1, 1929 – April Fool’s Day – but he was nobody’s laughingstock,

not when it came to the race track.

Legendary motorsports journalist Randy Hallman covered Hendrick’s racing exploits and saw up close and personal the driver’s talent and versatility.

“He could win anywhere,” Hallman said. “I like to point to two trophies I saw in the all-fourwalls trophy case in his pool room at his home. One was from Talladega for a 300 miler and another from the quarter-mile Moyock Dog Track Speedway in North Carolina.

“I also saw him flying on Daytona’s road course in a modified before the 500 one year. Ray didn’t win but when his engine blew, he was closing on Bobby Allison for the lead.”

If a track operator had a driver who was winning a little too often, a call would go out to Hendrick to come and help settle the score. When Hendrick came through the gate – it was on.

“Ray drove the best cars, either his regular ride or something lined up for him,” Hallman continued. “He wouldn’t get in something that couldn’t compete.”

Getting behind the wheel of the best equipment helped run up Hendrick’s win totals and so did racing so often. He might compete three to five times a week in NASCAR Modifieds and/or NASCAR Late Model competition. He could race an afternoon event at one track and under the lights somewhere else the same day.

And if his car happened to have a little extra “oomph” under the hood, so be it.

“You can bet that if Ray’s car included an ‘innovation’ (not to say anything illegal!) no promoter was going to have him disqualified or have his result stricken,” Hallman continued. “Promoters wanted fans to be able to say they saw the great driver race, and win. And they sure wanted to be able to get Ray to come back again.”

Hendrick, who died on Sept. 28, 1990, was remembered by fellow Virginian Denny Hamlin with a throwback Flying 11 paint scheme in the 2017 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

(RAY HENDRICK) RAN UP AND DOWN THE EAST COAST, GOING WHERE THE CLIMATE WAS RIGHT AND THE MONEY WAS GOOD. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 11 CAR

HIRED-GUN

WINNER

VERSATILE KNOWN FOR

HENDRICK NEVER WON A

UNFORTUNATELY,

GIVE HENDRICK A

national championship, but

records on Hendrick’s career

steering wheel, decent

not because he didn’t race

are incomplete at best. Stats

engine, tires, helmet and

or win enough. He did that,

compiled by Auto Racing

uniform – and a paycheck,

big time. Simply put, chasing

Research Associates have

don’t forget the paycheck

points was never a priority.

documented a total of 415

– and he would very gladly

He went where the money

victories for Hendrick in

head to tracks far and wide

was – different tracks,

several different divisions

to take on the local hot shots.

different divisions – it didn’t

between 1951 and 1980.

More often than not, he left

matter.

There are those who estimate

with the trophy.

Hendrick’s actual victory total at more than 700.

58

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

16

ron hornaday jr.

The only four-time champion in the 29-year history of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Ron Hornaday Jr. is the most accomplished driver to run a full season in NASCAR’s No. 3 division without dabbling in other divisions.

Born in Palmdale, California, on June 20, 1958, Hornaday made a name for himself compet-

ing at short tracks on the West Coast before getting a call ahead of the 1995 NASCAR season that would ultimately change his life.

That came call came from the legendary Dale Earnhardt, a seven-time Cup Series champion who wanted Hornaday to drive the No. 16 Chevrolet truck for Dale Earnhardt Inc. during the inaugural season of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Hornaday agreed to the arrangement and quickly solidified himself as one of the series’ top stars, winning six of 20 races and finishing third in points in the first truck season.

The following year, Hornaday captured his first truck title on the strength of four victories and then went to Victory Lane a career-high seven times on the way to a fifth-place points finish in 1997.

In 1998, Hornaday won six times and became the series’ first two-time champion when he edged archrival Jack Sprague for the championship by a mere three points. After going to Victory Lane only twice and finishing a career-worst seventh in the standings in 1999, Hornaday went NASCAR Xfinity Series racing with DEI in 2000.

But after four full seasons and one partial season in NASCAR’s No. 2 division where he won a total of four races and competed for multiple teams, Hornaday returned to the truck ranks and joined forces with Kevin Harvick Inc. Over seven seasons with KHI — the organization owned by Cup Series superstar Kevin Harvick and Harvick’s wife, DeLana — Hornaday collected 25 wins and two more championships to become the series’ first four-time champion. But when KHI ceased operations at the end of 2011, Hornaday’s days as a top contender were over.

He never won again over two full seasons and one partial season with lower-caliber teams, calling it quits at the end of 2014. Hornaday, whose lone full season at the Cup Series level in 2001 proved to be largely unproductive, became the first predominantly Truck Series driver to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame when he was enshrined as part of the Class of 2018.

I MIGHT BE GETTING A LITTLE GRUMPY IN MY OLD AGE, BUT I STILL ENJOY LIFE. I STILL HAVE A LOT OF FUN. I JUST ENJOY PEOPLE. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

DETERMINED

HOSPITABLE

HARD-NOSED

THE NO. 16 TRUCK

KNOWN FOR

HORNADAY ENJOYED

HORNADAY IS THE ONLY

ABOVE ALL, HORNADAY IS

many amazing seasons,

four-time Truck Series champion

known for his hospitality,

finishing in the top five of

and the only series driver to win

which he and his wife, Lindy,

the Truck Series standings

multiple championships with

have shown to numerous

on nine occasions. In

multiple teams. His 51 Truck

racers by inviting them to take

two of Hornaday’s four

Series victories are second only

temporary residence at their

championship seasons, he

to Kyle Busch – a Cup Series

Mooresville, North Carolina,

scored six wins. His overall

regular who has never run a

home. Among those who’ve

stats from those two years,

full Truck Series season. In

slept on the Hornadays’ couch

1998 and 2009, were also

2009, Hornaday ripped off five

before making it big are Cup

remarkably similar, so let’s

consecutive truck victories –

Series champions Jimmie

call it a tie.

another record.

Johnson and Kevin Harvick.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

59

NASCAR BUILDS

PRESENTED BY

THE HISTORY OF

Forney Industries

Forney Industries, one of America’s oldest family-owned welding and metalworking companies, welcomes the 2024 new year with a look back on its 92 years in business.

BY BLAIR WEILNAU

1930s

IT ALL STARTED IN 1932 WHEN JAMES DONOVAN

“J.D.” Forney created the first Instant Heat Soldering Iron.

He went door-to-door selling his invention across the nation. J.D. was a pioneering inventor all his life creating the first 110-volt welders, vacuum systems, airplanes, and even a two-man water ski sled.

1940s-50s

2000s-Present

in 1945 when the Rural Electric Associations (REA) began

relaunched and rebranded to the Forney

delivery of 230-volt service to farms and ranches. The Forney

green trademarked color. By 2015, the

sales staff acquired permission from the REA to climb utility

company’s Atlanta warehouse was closed

poles to connect welders on-site for demonstrations and Forney

and replaced with a new distribution

added metal repair and tool hardening to farmers’ capabilities.

facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, near the

That year, Forney moved its headquarters and warehouse

company’s headquarters. To better serve

into a larger space in Fort Collins, Colorado, expanding to 500

its customers, the company moves its

employees and turning out 500 welders a week.

eastern warehouse facility from New York

THE COMPANY’S GROWTH RECEIVED A MAJOR BOOST

IN 2009, FORNEY WELDERS WERE

to a larger warehouse in Ohio.

Dane Anderson, fourth generation,

1960s-90s

joined the Forney team in 2019 and

IN 1963, FORNEY ADDS METALWORKING SUPPLIES TO

currently serves as Forney Industries

its line of welding machines. The product line jumped to

Chief Operating Officer. In 2020, Forney

1,400 products and Forney opened an additional warehouse

launched their next generation of welding

in Atlanta, Georgia. By the late 1960s, Forney moves from a

and cutting machines that reflect the

direct door-to-door business to now calling on the hardware,

company’s roots of innovative and

automotive aftermarket, and farm & ranch stores.

dependable products.

J.D. Forney passed away in 1986 after 54 years in the business he created. Second-generation Jack D. Forney is the new CEO, and Ted G. Anderson is named President. Through the 1990s and 2000s, Forney continues to grow as a leading manufacturer and distributor of welding and metalworking supplies, expanding to $30 million, and requiring additional warehouse space in Horseheads, New York. In 2007, Steven G. Anderson, the third generation to lead the business, takes over as the company’s President and CEO.

Forney continues to evolve and innovate welding and metalworking products to support the everyday metalworker. With an experienced and talented group of engineers and product managers leading the way, each product released has been intentionally created For Welders, Built by Welders™. From solving

60

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

the simple need to repair metal in the 60s, to crafting thousands of products for a wide spectrum of metalworkers today, adapting to the ever-changing needs of their customers continues to be paramount to Forney Industries.

Find your next machine and metalworking supplies at forneyind.com or a dealer near you.

SERVING EVERY GENERATION OF NASCAR FANS FOR OVER 90 YEARS. We’re your one-stop shop for high-quality welding and metalworking products whether you’re a professional or DIY enthusiast. We’ve got the top-notch welding equipment you need for precision and efficiency.

VISIT YOUR LOCAL FORNEY DEALER OR FORNEYIND.COM

jack ingram

Along with Sam Ard, Jack Ingram was one of the two greatest drivers in the earliest years of what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

11

Born on Dec. 28, 1926, Ingram was a proud man.

The easiest way to get Ingram going was to hint that his career started in 1982, the first year of what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Not so, he’d insist in no uncertain terms whatsoever.

The resident of Asheville, North Carolina, had been racing for years before then with countless wins and three national championships in NASCAR Late Model Sportsman competition. But once the division was reorganized in 1982, those records no longer counted – and Ingram didn’t like it one little bit.

He and Sam Ard were fierce – but friendly enough – rivals during the 1982, ’83 and ’84 seasons. Ingram captured the first and Ard the second and third championships in the new division’s history, although Ard missed the final race of the 1984 season due to a career-ending accident.

“I didn’t want to win a championship, races or anything in the future without Sam Ard, but that’s the way it ended up being,” Ingram said years later.

Of course, Ingram was notable for more than just his rivalry with Ard. In 1984, he became one of the first drivers in the series to be backed by a national, corporate sponsor when U.S. Tobacco’s famous Skoal brand came on board.

Ingram went on to a second title in 1985 and was atop the standings when he was suspended for two late-season races for his involvement in a controversial skirmish during a Late Model Stock event in his hometown of Asheville, North Carolina.

He got fired up about that one, too, right up until his final days. Ingram died June 25, 2021.

No one could compete with me as a driver. I was so good on the race tracks we were going to. When I went to South Boston, Orange County, Hickory or wherever, it was a ‘gimme’ almost because Sam wasn’t around.

THE NO. 11 CAR

RESOLUTE PROUD

IRON MAN

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

KNOWN BEST AS A

BEFORE MARK MARTIN

INGRAM CAPTURED

KNOWN FOR

short-track ace, Jack

arrived on the scene and

three consecutive

Ingram also won a 1975

became the first person to

championships (1972, ’73

NASCAR Late Model

break it, Jack Ingram held

and ’74) in the NASCAR Late

Sportsman event at

the record for most wins in

Model Sportsman Series,

Daytona International

the history of what is now

the precursor to what is

Speedway.

the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

now the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

62

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

ernie irvin

28

Nicknamed “Swervin’ Irvan” for his notoriously aggressive driving style, Ernie Irvan was one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ most exciting drivers of the early- to mid-1990s when he seemed to almost always be in the mix for the win.

Born in Salinas, California, on Jan. 13, 1959, Irvan ascended the racing ranks and arrived in

NASCAR’s premier division when some of the sport’s greatest drivers – among them Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin – were in their heyday.

In the middle of the 1993 season, Irvan took over Robert Yates Racing’s beloved No. 28 car after Davey Allison was killed in a helicopter crash.

Irvan had firmly established himself as one of the drivers to beat week in and week out when a violent crash during a practice session at Michigan International Speedway in August 1994 changed both his life and his career.

Given only a 10 percent chance to live after suffering critical head injuries and being placed on life support, Irvan defied all odds and returned to NASCAR’s top series in the fall of 1995. But it wasn’t until the summer of 1996 that Irvan’s comeback was truly complete.

Driving RYR’s familiar black and red No. 28 Texaco-Havoline Ford, Irvan ran competitively in his first full season back but needed half a year to return to Victory Lane.

The big day finally came at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14 when Irvan skated away to a more than five-second win over RYR teammate Dale Jarrett.

“It was unbelievable. I get tears in my eyes just talking about it just because of how rewarding it felt,” Irvan said in 2020. “The thing is it seems like you never appreciate things as much at the time, as you do later. I’m never going to have another Cup victory, so now it’s like, ‘Oh, OK, this is history.’ So these are the things I always think about.”

Irvan went on to claim two more victories at the Cup Series level before hanging up his helmet in the middle of the 1999 season while dealing with another head injury – which he also suffered in a crash at Michigan.

He retired with 15 career Cup Series victories, the biggest of them coming in the 1991 Daytona 500 with long since disbanded MorganMcClure Motorsports.

I don’t want to retire, but I know the smartest thing for me to do is retire, because I don’t know if I’m going to be able to survive another wreck like I had at Michigan. Two of them at Michigan.

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 28 CAR

AGGRESSIVE

RESILIENT

COMPETITIVE KNOWN FOR

IRVAN WAS ENJOYING THE

IN 1996, HIS FIRST FULL

ONE OF THE GREATEST

best season of his career and

season after returning from

comeback stories in NASCAR

was in a close fight with Dale

his injuries, Irvan captured

history took place when Irvan,

Earnhardt for the 1994 Cup

the pole for the Daytona 500,

just over 13 months removed

Series championship when a

edging seven-time champion

from an accident that nearly

wreck at Michigan in August

Dale Earnhardt for the top

claimed his life, returned

sidelined him for the rest of

starting spot. Although Irvan

to competition at North

the season. Entering only 20

didn’t win the 500 that year,

Wilkesboro Speedway on Oct.

of 31 races, Irvan matched

he went to Victory Lane twice

1, 1995. Wearing an eye patch

his career-high for victories

– an amazing accomplishment

to prevent double vision, Irvan

with three.

for a driver who had overcome

led 31 laps and finished sixth.

so much.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

63

Bobby Isaac

71

Bobby Isaac ran his first NASCAR premier series race in 1961 after a successful short-track career. The 1970 NASCAR Cup Series champion amassed 37 victories in 308 starts and is 20th on the list of all-time race winners.

Born in Catawba, North Carolina, in 1932, Isaac was the second to the youngest of nine children. The family income came from the cotton and corn crops they raised.

At age 12, he began working in a saw mill. After years of cutting trees into planks and 2-by-4s, he wanted out and decided to make a living driving race cars.

In the early 1950s, Isaac built a hobby stock car to race at nearby Hickory Speedway and also found success on various dirt tracks around the Tar Heel State. He began racing full time in 1956, but seven years passed before he broke into NASCAR’s premier division.

Isaac gained a reputation for winning pole positions, logging 49 during his NASCAR career. His first victory came during a 100-mile event at Daytona International Speedway in 1964 for team owner Ray Nichels.

A victory dry spell set in for three years before Isaac finished runner-up in the series standings in 1968 while driving for team owner Nord Krauskopf. In 1969, Isaac finished sixth in the standings for Krauskopf after posting 17 wins and 19 pole positions.

His breakthrough season came in 1970 when he won the series championship, posting 11 victories, 32 top-five finishes and 38 top-10 results in 47 starts.

In September 1971, Isaac drove his Harry Hyde-prepared Dodge to 28 speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. He succumbed to a heart attack on Aug. 14, 1977, while racing in Hickory, North Carolina.

During NASCAR’s 50th anniversary celebration in 1998, Isaac was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers.

THIS HAS BEEN A LIFE-LONG AMBITION FOR ME SINCE I’VE BEEN IN RACING, TO BE THE GRAND NATIONAL CHAMPION. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 71 CAR

QUIET TALENTED

DEMANDING KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1969

DURING THE 1970 SEASON,

THROUGHOUT HIS

NASCAR Cup Series season,

Isaac put his No. 71 Dodge

incredible NASCAR career, Isaac

Isaac collected 17 victories in

Charger into high gear with

was always a favorite during

50 starts. He also amassed

a total of 11 victories and an

qualifying, especially on the

29 top-five finishes, 33

average finish of 6.8 in 47

superspeedways. Short tracks

top-10 results and 19 pole

starts. A total of 38 top-10

were also a specialty. Isaac

positions. His disappointing

finishes paved the way to his

was extremely quiet around his

sixth-place finish in points

lone NASCAR championship

fellow competitors and media

came from falling out of 19

that year.

members as he let his talent

events. He also led 5,053

on the track do his talking each

laps, the most of his 15-year

time green flag fell.

career.

64

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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When it comes to making living better, Catawba County checks all the boxes.

Check us out at makinglivingbetter.com.

88

Dale jarrett

One of the most popular drivers of his era, Dale Jarrett was among NASCAR’s top stars from the early-to-mid ’90s through the early 2000s when he was often at his very best on some of the sport’s biggest stages.

Born in Hickory, North Carolina, on Nov. 26, 1956, Jarrett was seemingly destined to race

for a living. Not only did he grow up in the heart of NASCAR country, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, but his father, Ned, is a driving legend who captured a remarkable 50 premier series wins over a career that stretched from 1953 to 1966.

In 1984, Dale Jarrett made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Martinsville Speedway where he finished 14th. Four years later, he went full time Cup Series racing, and three years after that, in 1991, he earned career victory No. 1 at Michigan International Speedway where he edged Davey Allison in a photo finish that has been replayed countless times since.

Jarrett, who was driving for the legendary Wood Brothers Racing at the time, would eventually land with the team Allison drove for that day – Robert Yates Racing – but not before a three-year stint at Joe Gibbs Racing, for which he won the 1993 Daytona 500 over Dale Earnhardt in a thrilling last-lap duel perhaps most remembered for Ned Jarrett calling his son to victory from the CBS Sports broadcast booth.

In 1995, the younger Jarrett left JGR for Robert Yates Racing in a move that proved to be the major turning point of his career. After going to Victory Lane just three times over seven full seasons with other teams, Jarrett was one of the sport’s most dominant drivers from 1995 through 2002, his final multi-win season.

Before leaving Yates at the end of 2006 and transitioning into a part-time driving role with Michael Waltrip Racing for his final two seasons, Jarrett went to Victory Lane an amazing 29 times – including a career-high seven times in 1997, when he finished a close runnerup to Jeff Gordon in the Cup Series standings. Two years later, Jarrett moved up a spot in the final points tally and joined his father as a Cup Series champion.

Jarrett was enshrined in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2014, joining his father to become the third father-son duo to earn this prestigious honor.

ONCE YOU TRY TO DO MORE THAN YOUR EQUIPMENT IS CAPABLE OF DOING, YOU GET YOURSELF IN TROUBLE AND YOU START WRECKING. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 88 CAR

CLUTCH

DOMINANT

OUTGOING KNOWN FOR

JARRETT ENJOYED A

IN 1996, JARRETT BECAME

MUCH LIKE HIS FATHER

number of tremendous

the first driver to win the

Ned, a two-time Cup Series

seasons, but his best overall

Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600

champion, Jarrett has always

effort came in 1999 when

at Charlotte Motor Speedway,

been polished and well-spoken

he scored four wins on the

and the Brickyard 400 at

in front of a camera. This was

way to his first and only Cup

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

true during his driving career,

Series title. Jarrett was also

– all among NASCAR’s crown

when his eloquence earned him

remarkably consistent that

jewel events – in the same

great respect, and it continues

year, collecting a career-high

season. Jarrett also carries the

today in his role as an analyst

24 top-five finishes in 34

rare distinction of winning the

for NBC Sports’ NASCAR

starts while leading 1,061

Daytona 500 with two different

coverage.

laps.

teams: Joe Gibbs Racing and Robert Yates Racing.

66

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Ned jarrett

11

Ned Jarrett entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race on April 29, 1953, at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway. Driving a Ford for team owner Mellie Bernard, Jarrett finished 11th in the 200-lap race.

Born Oct. 12, 1932, in Newton, North Carolina, among four children, Jarrett began driving the family car to church while sitting on his father’s lap at age 9. By his 16th birthday, he had visited several North Carolina dirt tracks where moonshine runners showcased their smooth driving skills.

In May 1952, Jarrett drove a Ford in his first stock car race at Hickory Motor Speedway. He finished 10th in a Sportsman event while racing under an assumed name.

Jarrett drove in more races using an undetectable alias until his father found out, and eventually agreed to allow his son to race.

Jarrett won a NASCAR Sportsman championship in 1956 and, three years later, turned his full-time attention to the NASCAR Cup Series. He paid $2,000, much more than he had in his bank account, for a Ford that Junior Johnson had driven. In miraculous fashion, Jarrett won the only two races he entered that year and was able to cover the check he had written.

In 1961, he was victorious only once but logged 23 top-five results in 46 races. In doing so, he claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series title over defending champion Rex White.

Jarrett rose to superstardom in 1965 when he earned 13 wins and claimed a second-career premier series championship.

He retired from driving in 1966 with 50-career victories and turned to real estate investing while also working as a radio and television broadcaster. Jarrett was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2011.

I ACTUALLY FELT PHYSICALLY FIT TO CONTINUE ON IN 1966. STILL, I WAS MISSING OUT ON A LOT OF GREAT THINGS THAT MY CHILDREN HAD GOING ON IN THEIR LIVES. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 11 CAR

DEDICATED

SMART

REMARKABLE QUIET

INNOVATIVE KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1964

JARRETT WILL BE

THROUGHOUT HIS 13-

NASCAR season, Jarrett

remembered for winning

year career as a NASCAR

logged 15 victories, 40

the 1965 Southern 500 at

driver and his decades-

top-five finishes and 45

South Carolina’s Darlington

long run as a TV and radio

top-10 results in 59 starts.

Raceway by a record 14 laps

broadcaster, Jarrett was

His average start of 5.7 and

over second-place Buck

known as “Gentleman Ned”

average finish of 7.2 were

Baker. Racing on a very hot

for his calm demeanor during

high on the list among full-

Labor Day afternoon, Jarrett

any circumstance. Even on

time competitors that year.

routinely turned off his

the track, fellow drivers held

On five different occasions,

engine in the turns to make

great respect for him as a

he collected back-to-back

sure his Ford’s engine didn’t

clean but aggressive racer.

victories on various tracks.

overheat.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

67

27

Junior johnson Junior Johnson won 50 NASCAR Cup Series races, second most among drivers who never claimed a series title.

The biggest victory of his Hall of Fame career came in the 1960 Daytona 500.

Born June 28, 1931, in Ronda, North Carolina, the fourth of seven children, Johnson’s

family was known for being heavily involved in the illegal whiskey business since the 1800s.

His father, Glenn Johnson, was a lifelong bootlegger and spent more than half his life in prison for making and selling moonshine. The Johnson homeplace was frequently raided by revenue agents.

Junior Johnson began helping with the family business as a youngster. He also spent one year in an Ohio prison in 1956 for having an illegal still but was never caught hauling moonshine on mountain roads throughout North Carolina.

Johnson’s racing career was just beginning when he went to prison. During his first full season in 1955, he won five races and finished sixth in points. Over the next 10 years, Johnson logged 45 additional victories, including the 1960 Daytona 500, which he won driving a car owned by John Masoni and prepared by Raymond Fox. Johnson’s victories included 11 superspeedway triumphs and 39 short-track wins. He retired from driving in 1966 and forged a second career as a car owner at NASCAR’s highest level.

Johnson was instrumental in bringing R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to NASCAR as a series sponsor, saving the sport in 1971.

From 1967 through 1995, Johnson’s teams earned six NASCAR Cup Series championships with drivers Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip, as well as 132 Cup Series victories over a 30-year period with a variety of drivers.

Johnson died on Dec. 19, 2019, at the age of 88.

I CERTAINLY FEEL THAT I GAVE A LOT MORE TO STOCK CAR RACING THAN I TOOK AWAY FROM IT. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 27 CAR

LASER-FOCUSED

TALENTED

DRIVEN DEDICATED

STRONG-WILLED KNOWN FOR

JOHNSON LOGGED 13 OF

AS A DRIVER IN NASCAR,

HIS PAST LIFE AS A

his 50 NASCAR Cup Series

Johnson completed 51,988 laps

moonshine runner in Wilkes

wins during the 1965 season.

and led 13,021 of them. His

County, North Carolina, added

His biggest victory that year

highest rank in the points was

to the lore of outlaw turned

came on May 8 at Darlington

seventh in 1955, his third year

racer and drew fans to the

Raceway. Johnson was the

of NASCAR competition. His

tracks to watch him drive.

driver to beat during the

highest season in winnings came

When Johnson retired from

54-race season, notching 18

in 1960 – the year he won the

driving and became a car

top-five finishes while driving

Daytona 500 – when he banked

owner, he looked for wheelmen

a Ford he fielded himself.

$38,989.

who were as fearless as he was.

68

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

2

Brad Keselowski Sometimes, one chance is all you need. Brad Keselowski’s performance as a one-race substitute launched a journey that has taken him from the back of the pack to NASCAR Cup Series champion and respected team owner.

Born in Rochester Hills, Michigan, on Feb. 12, 1984, Keselowski is part of a racing family. His

father, Bob, and uncle, Ron, were successful short-track racers who eventually found success in ARCA and NASCAR. His brother, Brian, is also active in the sport.

Brad Keselowski was turning wrenches in the family race shop long before he began honing his driving skills at race tracks throughout the Wolverine State. He made his NASCAR debut in 2004, running eight Craftsman Truck Series races in a Ford owned by his father.

The youngster struggled to find his place. Top-10 finishes were few and far between, his family team ran out of money and a NASCAR Xfinity Series ride flamed out after only 15 races during the 2007 season.

Then, Keselowski was selected to sub for Truck Series regular Ted Musgrave when he was suspended for fighting. Keselowski won the pole and led 62 laps at Memphis before being taken out during the closing laps.

That effort convinced car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. to hire Keselowski to drive the remainder of the Xfinity Series season for JR Motorsports.

Keselowski won his first Xfinity Series race in 2008 at Nashville Superspeedway for JR Motorsports, and he claimed his first Cup Series victory at Talladega in 2009 for car owner James Finch.

His first full Cup Series season with Team Penske in 2010 was a struggle, but he did win the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship while doing double duty. The pieces finally began to fall into place the following year as Keselowski won three times and finished fifth in the Cup Series standings. Five victories in 2012 carried Keselowski and the No. 2 team to the series championship.

After 12 seasons at Team Penske, Keselowski assumed a new challenge. He joined the ownership group at Roush Fenway Racing to form RFK Racing. Despite a difficult first season, the team showed considerable improvement in 2023 with both Keselowski and teammate Chris Buescher making the playoffs. While he has yet to win a race with his new team, Keselowski is credited for the turnaround at RFK Racing.

MY NO. 1 GOAL IN RACING WAS NEVER TO BE THE MOST POPULAR DRIVER.

AGGRESSIVE

RESILIENT

CHAMPION

OUTSPOKEN

CALCULATED

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

IN 2012, KESELOWSKI

A 35-TIME RACE WINNER

THE NO. 2 CAR

FROM THE MOMENT HE

KNOWN FOR

went door to door with Jimmie

and Cup Series champion,

arrived in NASCAR, Keselowski

Johnson and emerged with the

Keselowski has been a full-

was an aggressive racer

Cup Series title. A combination

time premier series driver

who often antagonized his

of unorthodox, yet clever

since 2010. He departed

competitors. He let no driver

pit strategy by crew chief

Team Penske at the end of the

stand between him and Victory

Paul Wolfe and consistent

2021 season and joined the

Lane. However, as Keselowski

finishes gave Keselowski the

ownership group of what is now

matured, he’s shown a more

advantage. He won five races

RFK Racing. Keselowski has led

calculated side by skillfully

in securing team owner Roger

a resurgence of the formerly

balancing aggression with

Penske’s first NASCAR Cup

struggling operation.

calculated risk.

Series championship. .

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

69

kasey kahne

Kasey Kahne enjoyed a solid NASCAR career highlighted by wins in some of the sport’s marquee events. He also secured multiple victories in all three national NASCAR series: the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.

Born in Enumclaw, Washington, on April 10, 1980, Kahne advanced through the open-wheel

9

ranks in his home state before becoming a USAC champion and eventually working his way up to the Cup Series in 2004.

Despite never coming all that close to winning a Cup Series championship due to his inconsistency, Kahne was widely considered one of the sport’s top stars in most of the years from his rookie season through his 15th and final year on the circuit.

Kahne was typically at his best on the 1.5- and two-mile “intermediate” tracks that made up the largest portion of the Cup Series schedule during his years behind the wheel. Ten of his 18 Cup Series trophies came from these venues.

He was a three-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600 – NASCAR’s longest race, held at Charlotte Motor Speedway – and his last Cup Series victory came in 2017 Brickyard 400 on the legendary 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Kahne drove for multiple organizations throughout his career, but only one of them – Hendrick Motorsports – is still in existence. Rick Hendrick hired Kahne to drive his No. 5 Chevrolet beginning in 2012, and the team newcomer promptly went out and recorded a career-best championship finish of fourth that year.

But Kahne never again finished this high in the standings over six seasons with the organization, which he left at the end of 2017. Kahne joined Leavine Family Racing for the 2018 season but, due to issues with dehydration inside the race car, called it quits from Cup Series competition with 11 races still remaining.

Other than the lack of a championship, the biggest blemish on Kahne’s résumé is the absence of a victory in the Daytona 500 – unquestionably NASCAR’s most important race — but his Brickyard 400 triumph and multiple Coca-Cola 600 wins make him one of the elite drivers from his time in the sport.

At 43 years old, Kahne is still active as a sprint car driver and team owner. His Kasey Kahne Racing team has won five consecutive World of Outlaws sprint car championships with driver Brad Sweet.

ANYONE WHO QUESTIONS MY COMMITMENT DOESN’T KNOW ME VERY WELL AND DOESN’T KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS SPORT.

70

SOFT-SPOKEN

RESERVED

POPULAR

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

KAHNE WAS VIRTUALLY

IN 2006, KAHNE ACHIEVED

ONE OF THE MOST

unstoppable at times in 2006,

something only six others

reserved drivers of his era,

a season when he posted a

had in the 48-year history of

Kahne somehow managed not

career-high six Cup Series wins

Charlotte Motor Speedway

to ruffle many, if any, feathers

in the No. 9 Dodge for team

when he won both Cup Series

during his decade-and-a-half

owner Ray Evernham. Working

points races at the fast quad-

as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.

with crew chief Kenny Francis,

oval. In recognition of Kahne’s

Appropriate given his boyish

Kahne also rang up 19 top-10

season sweep, Charlotte

good looks and easy-going

finishes – a career high at the

president and general manager

nature, Kahne was especially

time, and a number he would

H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler

beloved by the sport’s female

match just once more and

presented the young driver

fan base.

never eclipse.

with a golden broom.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 9 CAR

KNOWN FOR

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Matt Kenseth

17

A hero on the short tracks of his native Wisconsin, Matt Kenseth became a NASCAR Cup Series champion at a time during which the sport of stock car racing celebrated unprecedented growth across the country.

Kenseth was born on March 10, 1972, in Cambridge, Wisconsin. He didn’t start racing until he

was 16 but went to Victory Lane in only his third Late Model start.

Loaded with natural talent, Kenseth quickly made a name for himself on the Wisconsin short tracks. He ventured into the NASCAR arena for the first time in 1994, participating in the sanctioning body’s Southeast Series. Over the next three years, he made sporadic starts with the nomadic Late Model tour, posting a best finish of second at the Nashville Fairgrounds in 1996.

Robbie Reiser, who formerly traded paint with Kenseth on the short tracks, hired his rival to drive a NASCAR Xfinity Series car for Robbie Reiser Racing in 1997. With Reiser as the car owner and crew chief, Kenseth broke through in 1998 with three Xfinity Series wins, his first coming at Rockingham Speedway.

He also made his Cup Series debut that year, subbing for Bill Elliott. It resulted in an impressive sixth-place finish at Dover.

Eventually, Kenseth caught the eye of team owner Jack Roush and he was hired to drive the team’s No. 17 car in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Kenseth shocked the sport in May 2000 when his first series victory came in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. He went on to claim rookieof-the-year honors, topping two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champ Dale Earnhardt Jr. Soon, Kenseth became a Cup Series star. He won five races in 2002 and claimed the series title in 2003. He finished outside the top eight in the championship only three times between 2002 and 2017.

In 2013, Kenseth moved to Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the team’s No. 19 car. Seven wins, three poles and a second-place finish in the Cup Series championship produced his best year since 2003.

Kenseth parted ways with Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2017 campaign. He returned to Roush Fenway Racing for 15 races in 2018 and then made 32 starts in 2020 for Chip Ganassi Racing, replacing Kyle Larson.

Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2023, Kenseth remains active in the sport as an adviser to Legacy Motor Club.

TRY NOT TO LET THE HIGHS BE TOO HIGH AND THE LOWS BE TOO LOW. I TRY TO STAY SOMEWHERE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE. IN RACING IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY TO DO.

OPPORTUNISTIC

HUMOROUS

CONSISTENT CONSISTENT

THE NO. 17 CAR

MILD-MANNERED

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

IN 2003, KENSETH’S LONE

KENSETH CAPITALIZED ON

KENSETH HAS AN

KNOWN FOR

victory came at Las Vegas

every opportunity as he

incredible sense of humor and

Motor Speedway as 25

progressed from local short-

a laid-back personality. He

top-10 finishes in 36 starts

track hero to NASCAR champion.

was one of NASCAR’s most

carried the Wisconsin native

A fill-in drive for Bill Elliott in 1998

likable drivers during his time

to the NASCAR Cup Series

launched his Cup Series career,

in the NASCAR Cup Series and

championship. He clinched the

and he outperformed Dale

NASCAR Xfinity Series. On

title at Rockingham Speedway

Earnhardt Jr. for rookie-of-the-

the track, Kenseth was never

with one race remaining and

year honors in 2000.

flashy but remained true to his

ended up beating Jimmie

Kenseth is also a two-time

blue-collar roots and focused

Johnson by 90 points.

Daytona 500 winner – 2009

on the job at hand.

and 2012. .

72

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

CONTENT CREATOR

WHAT

Matt Kenseth MEANS TO ME

BY ERIC ESTEPP

HOST OF “OUT OF THE GROOVE” “Not a lot of flash, but a whole lot of substance.”

Those were the words PRN’s Doug Rice chose when calling Matt Kenseth’s win in the 2011 Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Kenseth had led nearly half of the 334 laps and had opened up a huge lead over the rest of the field.

That vintage Matt Kenseth performance got me back into NASCAR after a couple of years away.

I became a Kenseth fan shortly after I discovered NASCAR. Jeff Gordon had a bright car, and Tony Stewart may have been the most colorful personality, but there was something about the black-and-yellow DeWALT Ford that stuck with me. I respected Kenseth’s work ethic. He never sought out the cameras or the credit. He was driven by competition and a desire to be the best in his field.

NASCAR is a spectator sport, but results matter more than anything.

For most of his career, Kenseth was rarely involved in drama, didn’t make a fool of himself in the media, and had a reputation for being one of the fairest racers in the field. He didn’t have a ton of highlights and rarely had the spiciest soundbites, but he quietly put together a Hall of Fame driving career.

That isn’t to say he didn’t have his signature moments.

At Rockingham in 1998, Kenseth wasn’t afraid to use slight contact to pull off the upset. He used a similar move to secure the 2004 All-Star Race victory. He won two Daytona 500s in two completely different fashions. And in 2017, he managed one final win one week (!) after announcing his impending departure from Joe Gibbs Racing.

Natural talent is a beautiful thing, but there’s something inspirational about a person who works extremely hard to achieve success.

Even now that his driving career is over, Kenseth continues to push himself. He’s run marathons across the U.S. and the world in recent years.

What’s crazy is that Matt Kenseth is just a normal guy. He’s a father. He loves football. He’s a living reminder that with the right attitude, and a strong work ethic, anyone is capable of doing great things.

It was a joy and a pleasure to cheer on Matt Kenseth for many years.

He is easily one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. You’ll be hardpressed to find many drivers with more substantive racing careers.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

73

Alan kulwicki

Alan Kulwicki entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race on Sept. 8, 1985, at Richmond Raceway in Virginia. All told, he competed in 207 Cup Series races, winning five times and recording 38 top-five finishes.

7

Born in Greenfield, Wisconsin, on Dec, 14, 1954, Kulwicki began racing go-karts at age 13. His father, Gerry Kulwicki, worked as an engine builder and crew chief for several USAC stock car racers, including Norm Nelson and Roger McCluskey.

Kulwicki eventually moved from dirt to asphalt tracks, and in 1977 he claimed the Late Model championship at Wisconsin’s Slinger Super Speedway. That’s the same year he earned his mechanical engineering degree.

In 1978, Kulwicki added Wisconsin International Raceway to his schedule and finished third in points during his rookie season at the track. Over the next two years, he won a pair of titles at WIR. By 1984, Kulwicki had realized his goal of racing in NASCAR, entering several events in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 1985, he loaded everything he owned onto a pickup truck and trailer and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to pursue a career in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Originally driving for Bill Terry while assembling Alan Kulwicki Racing, Kulwicki debuted his own car, the No. 35 Quincy’s Steakhouse Ford, on Aug. 31, 1986, at Darlington Raceway. He ended up making 23 starts that season and was named Rookie of the Year.

From 1987 through 1991, Kulwicki claimed victories at Phoenix Raceway, Rockingham Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway as an owner/driver. Then, in 1992, victories at Bristol Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway paved the way for him to claim the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

Sadly, Kulwicki died when his private plane crashed on April 1, 1993, near Bristol, Tennessee.

IN EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE, HAVE A GAME PLAN AND THEN DO YOUR BEST TO ACHIEVE IT.

TA L E N T E D

STUBBORN

THOUGHTFUL

DETERMINED

KIND RESPECTED

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

DURING THE 1992 SEASON,

KULWICKI’S AVERAGE

RACE FANS GREATLY

Kulwicki posted victories at

Cup Series start of 10.6 and

appreciated Kulwicki as an

Bristol Motor Speedway and

average finish of 10.6 in

independent thinker and someone

Pocono Raceway, as 11 top-five

1992 offered a foundation

who felt he could be successful

finishes and 17 top-10 results

from which to build his

with a lower budget than most

carried him to his lone NASCAR

championship effort. In the

teams. Fans called him “Special K”

Cup Series championship. The

final race of the season,

as he was a Cinderella-type figure

consistency of Kulwicki’s team

Kulwicki won the title by

and his Fords were known as

proved that a title could be

10 points over Bill Elliott

“Underbirds” because they were

won with fewer personnel and

by leading a lap and then

underfunded but successful in

greater technology.

leading the most laps.

NASCAR’s premier division.

74

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 7 CAR

KNOWN FOR

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

18

Bobby Labonte

Bobby Labonte entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race on June 2, 1991, at Dover Motor Speedway. It was the beginning of a successful career that included 21 victories and the 2000 Cup Series title.

Born May 8, 1964, in Corpus Christi, Texas., Labonte began racing Quarter Midgets at age 5 with the help of his father, Bob Labonte.

As a teenager, stock cars became Labonte’s focus. While other drivers were seeking rides from team owners, the Labonte family opted to field their own race car on short tracks throughout Texas.

They moved to North Carolina in the late 1970s where Labonte raced at local tracks while working as a fabricator and mechanic for brother Terry Labonte, a NASCAR Cup Series driver for team owner Billy Hagan.

Bobby Labonte eventually won Late Model track championships at Caraway Speedway and Concord Motorsports Park. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 1982 at Martinsville Speedway and ran 16 Xfinity Series races throughout the 1980s for his familyowned team.

Labonte became a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series driver in 1990, wheeling the No. 44 Oldsmobile built and prepared in his family’s race shop. He recorded six top-five finishes and 17 top-10 results in 31 starts that season.

He won twice – at Bristol Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park – en route to claiming the 1991 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. Labonte then added three more victories in 1992 but had to settle for second to Joe Nemechek in the title fight.

Labonte’s performance eventually prompted a call from team owner Bill Davis with the offer of a full-time NASCAR Cup Series ride for 1993. Two years later, Labonte began his first of 11 seasons at Joe Gibbs Racing.

I GUESS THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MY CAREER HAVEN’T REALLY HIT ME BECAUSE IT’S NOT SOMETHING I THINK ABOUT TOO MUCH. ONE DAY I’LL SIT BACK AND SAY, ‘WOW. THAT’S COOL.’

DETERMINED

SMART

REMARKABLE

BELOVED TALENTED

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

WHILE DRIVING THE NO. 18

LABONTE’S AVERAGE START

THE NO. 18 CAR

THROUGHOUT LABONTE’S

KNOWN FOR

Chevrolet for team owner

of 19.6 and average finish of

driving career, his quiet

Joe Gibbs, Labonte won four

19.6 showcased his ability

nature outside the car was

times en route to claiming

to find consistency, lap after

a misnomer for how he

the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series

lap. From 1993 to 2016, he

performed behind the wheel.

title, visiting Victory Lane at

completed 203,423 laps,

He was able to carefully

Rockingham, Indianapolis,

leading 4,060 of them.

conserve his race cars until it

Darlington and Charlotte. He

Ironically, Labonte logged

was time to make aggressive

recorded 19 top-five finishes

only one short-track win, at

moves on the track. On

and 24 top-10 results with an

Martinsville Speedway in 2002,

numerous occasions, his

average finish of seventh.

as 20 of his victories came on

strategy paid off and translated

superspeedways.

into victories.

.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

75

Terry Labonte

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Nov. 16, 1956, Terry Labonte became the first driver not from the Southeast to win a NASCAR premier series championship since Conewango Valley, New York’s Bill Rexford in 1950.

Labonte’s first title came in 1984 – 34 years after Rexford’s – and he ascended NASCAR’s

5

highest mountain once again a dozen years later, in 1996. Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016 and named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in the sport’s 50th anniversary season of 1998, Labonte competed at NASCAR’s highest level from 1978 to 2014.

Over his impressive 37-year career in the premier division, Labonte made 890 starts and captured 22 victories to punctuate his two championships. All of his wins came between 1980 and 2003, with his final trip to Victory Lane coming in one of the sport’s biggest races – the Southern 500 at fabled Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.

While Labonte had no trouble finding Victory Lane, he was better known for his quiet consistency that appropriately augmented his quiet, laid-back demeanor outside of the race car – a demeanor that, in combination with his ability to remain cool under pressure, earned him the nickname “The Iceman.”

Over his Hall-of-Fame career, Labonte recorded an amazing 361 top-10 finishes that included 182 top-five results. That means Labonte finished in the top 10 more than 40 percent of the time – an astonishing statistic when considering it wasn’t until 1994 that he joined the powerful Hendrick Motorsports organization where he competed full time through the 2004 season.

It was during Labonte’s time at Hendrick that he became NASCAR’s new “Ironman” when he broke the record for most consecutive starts at the Cup Series level. Labonte, who won from the pole at North Wilkesboro Speedway on the same date he eclipsed the record, held the “Ironman” title from 1996 to 2002 until Ricky Rudd surpassed his mark of 655 consecutive starts.

One of NASCAR’s best drivers to never win the sport’s most prestigious race, the Daytona 500, Labonte enjoyed his greatest success on short tracks. Nine of his 22 career wins came at short tracks, which made up only a small portion of the Cup Series schedule. North Wilkesboro, the same track where he became NASCAR’s “Ironman,” was fittingly the track where he did his most winning, picking up four victories.

HE (DALE EARNHARDT) NEVER HAS ANY INTENTION OF TAKING ANYBODY OUT. IT JUST HAPPENS THAT WAY. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 5 CAR

COOL

RESPECTED

METHODICAL CONSISTENT

QUIET

KNOWN FOR

IN 1996, LABONTE CLAIMED

LABONTE HOLDS THE

LABONTE IS WELL-

his second Cup Series

record for longest drought

known for his infamous

championship 12 years after

between championships in

dustup with seven-time

winning his first, doing so with

NASCAR’s premier series,

Cup Series champion Dale

Hendrick Motorsports rather

going a dozen years between

Earnhardt during the Bristol

than the now-extinct Hagan

his first title in 1984 and his

Night Race in 1999. While

Enterprises outfit he drove

second in 1996. Labonte and

Earnhardt might have won

for in 1984. Although both

his younger brother, Bobby,

the race, Labonte won the

championship years included

are one of only two sibling

sympathy of the NASCAR

two wins, Labonte enjoyed a

duos to win the NASCAR Cup

world after being punted

slightly better overall season

Series championship.

from the lead by Earnhardt

en route to title No. 2.

76

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

on the final lap.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

22

joey logano

Throughout his NASCAR career, Joey Logano has cared a lot more about collecting trophies than making friends – and the approach has paid off. A generational talent, Logano has enjoyed success matched by few others over the past decade-and-a-half.

Born in Middletown, Connecticut, on May 24, 1990, Logano went NASCAR Cup Series racing

in 2009 at the tender age of 18 after enjoying enormous success two years earlier in what’s now known as the ARCA Menards Series East, where he won the championship as a rookie on the strength of five wins in 13 starts.

The following season, Logano made history by becoming the youngest winner of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race, going to Victory Lane from the pole in his third career start as a part-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing.

In moving to the Cup Series with JGR, Logano took over the iconic No. 20 Home Depot-sponsored car that Tony Stewart drove to championships at JGR in 2002 and ’05. Although Logano was declared the winner of a rain-shortened race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway during his rookie Cup Series season, the transition from NASCAR’s No. 2 series to the sport’s premier division proved to be challenging. He finished P1 on the leaderboard just twice in four seasons with the organization founded and owned by three-time Super Bowl-winning coach Joe Gibbs.

But although Logano didn’t win much during his time at JGR, he established a reputation as a gritty competitor who refused to back down to anyone, including the likes of series veteran Kevin Harvick with whom he had a memorable confrontation that’s remembered most for Logano brashly claiming that Harvick’s wife, DeLana, “wears the fire suit in the family.”

At the end of 2012, Logano and JGR parted ways, with Logano taking the reins of Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford. In his first season with the company led by motorsports tycoon Roger Penske, Logano picked up a win at Michigan International Speedway and finished a careerbest eighth in the standings.

Since then, Logano has finished outside the top eight in points just twice, collecting two Cup Series championships and more than 30 wins along the way. Meanwhile, he’s cemented his place as one of the sport’s elite drivers who will undoubtedly find this way into the NASCAR Hall of Fame when his driving days are over.

You don’t want to mess with me. I’m not going to get pushed around. I’ve done that plenty in my career. It doesn’t work like that for me anymore. So, I think it’s for everyone’s best interests that we just focus on racing, the playoffs and trying to win championships.

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

CLUTCH

UNAPOLOGETIC

TALENTED

THE NO. 22 CAR

KNOWN FOR

WHILE LOGANO’S

LOGANO IS THE ONLY ACTIVE

LOGANO IS KNOWN AS A

winningest season to date has

NASCAR Cup Series driver with

driver who will do whatever

been 2015, when he went to

two championships in the sport’s

it takes to win and refuses to

Victory Lane six times, the 2022

premier division and a victory

be intimidated or bullied by

Cup Series campaign has been

in the Daytona 500, which he

anyone. This type of take-no-

his overall best season — even

captured in 2015. Logano also

prisoners approach has helped

better than 2018, the year

holds the rare distinction of

propel Logano to monumental

Logano captured his first title.

having competed for both Team

success that includes his two

That’s because, in 2022, Logano

Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing,

championships and more

not only won the championship

two championship-contending

than 30 wins in NASCAR’s

but scored four wins compared

organizations year in and

top series. And he’s only 33

to three in 2018.

year out.

years old.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

77

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson is a once-in-a-generation talent who has proven he can win in virtually any type of race car. Since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, he’s recorded 17 Cup Series victories.

Larson was born July 31, 1992, in Elk Grove, California. His parents, Mike and Janet, are devoted

5

race fans and they took their son to the local tracks early and often.

After achieving considerable success in outlaw karts as a child, Larson moved to the Midwest and ran USAC races as a teenager. Winning in midgets, sprint cars and Silver Crown machines, Larson’s natural talent was on full display.

His most impressive early accomplishment came during the 2011 4-Crown Nationals at Ohio’s Eldora Speedway where he won in all three USAC divisions on the same night.

The following year, he tried pavement racing and the ARCA Menards Series East. Many talented drivers were in the series that season, including Chase Elliott, Corey LaJoie, Brett Moffitt, Bubba Wallace and Daniel Suarez. Larson won two races and claimed the championship in his rookie year.

After a winless Xfinity Series season in 2013 with Turner-Scott Motorsports, Chip Ganassi signed Larson to drive the No. 42 car during the 2014 Cup Series season. Many wondered if it was too soon, but Larson quickly proved his worth. He posted 17 top-10 finishes, including three runner-up efforts.

It took until 2016 at Michigan Speedway for Larson to finally get his first Cup Series victory, and he followed it with four wins in 2017. He regressed some in 2018 and 2019 with only one win combined. Then, the following year, he hit rock bottom.

Larson made an insensitive remark while participating in an iRacing event during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He apologized immediately but was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR and released from Chip Ganassi Racing.

When pandemic restrictions eased and racing resumed, Larson spent the rest of the year competing at short tracks across the country.

He completed NASCAR’s reinstatement requirements and soon afterward was hired to fill retiring Jimmie Johnson’s slot at Hendrick Motorsports. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 2021, Larson won 10 times en route to the Cup Series championship. He finished runner-up to Ryan Blaney in last year’s title fight, and he enters the new season with 23 career Cup Series victories.

THE GOAL FOR ALL OF US DRIVERS IS TO GET A CHAMPIONSHIP, BUT I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE KNOWN AS ONE OF – IF NOT THE GREATEST – ALLAROUND RACE CAR DRIVERS EVER. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

OPPORTUNISTIC

VERSATILE

THE NO. 5 CAR

KNOWN FOR

IN 2021, LARSON JOINED

LARSON’S TALENT AND

LARSON IS KNOWN FOR HIS

Hendrick Motorsports and

versatility are on display every

versatility and he runs as

took NASCAR by storm. He

time he hits the track. When

many races as possible over

won 10 Cup Series races and

drivers think they’ve found the

the course of a season. His

had 26 top-10 finishes. During

limit, Larson will push the edge

short-track résumé includes

the championship finale at

out just a little further. He puts

victories in marquee events

Phoenix, a great final pit stop

his car in places no one else is

such as the Knoxville Nationals,

put Larson in the lead and he

willing to go, and it often puts

Turkey Night Grand Prix and

held off Martin Truex Jr. to win

him in Victory Lane.

Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. He

the race and the title.

hopes to qualify for the 2024 .

78

DRIVEN

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

Indianapolis 500.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Proud Heritage.

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Randy lajoie

74

Randy LaJoie never made it to the NASCAR Cup Series as a full-time driver, but he’s one of the best to ever sit behind the wheel of a stock car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

LaJoie was born into a racing family on Aug. 28, 1961. His father, Don, was a top competitor

at local short tracks near the family home in Norwalk, Connecticut.

The younger LaJoie began racing go-karts at age 12 and eventually enjoyed great success as he advanced through the various stock car divisions in the Northeast.

LaJoie earned an opportunity to compete in what is now the ARCA Menards Series East beginning in 1983 – and compete he did, collecting 10 wins over three seasons to go along with the series championship in 1985.

The following year LaJoie made his Xfinity Series debut with a four-race stint in NASCAR’s No. 2 division and earned his first top-10 finish in just his third outing.

He drove the full Xfinity Series schedule for the first time in 1996 and promptly went out and captured the championship on the strength of five victories. After another five-win championship season in 1997, LaJoie reached Victory Lane once in each of the next three seasons and then twice in 2001 — his penultimate year as a full-time Xfinity Series driver.

With 15 wins and a pair of Xfinity Series championships, LaJoie was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.

LaJoie, who learned of the news during an appearance on the Stacking Pennies podcast hosted by son and Cup Series driver Corey LaJoie, couldn’t help but turn emotional when Corey informed him of his inclusion in such an elite club.

“Damn, that’s cool,” Randy LaJoie said. “That’s way cool. You don’t wake up when you’re 10 years old and racing go-karts and think you’re going to get something like this.”

Even though he never landed the full-time Cup Series ride, LaJoie finished his career in 2006 feeling satisfied.

“I had some chances to go Cup racing full time, but I always wanted to spend more time with my family and I just didn’t want to be away from home as much as I would have been,” he said. “I was able to compete to win races and championships in the (Xfinity) Series, and I was happy.”

I did whatever I had to do to pay the bills there for a while after I got married. I always worked on cars, so I thought I could use my skills to make a living while I still chased my dream to drive full time.

PASSIONATE

DEVOTED

INNOVATIVE MOTIVATED CONFIDENT

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

SIMILAR IN MANY WAYS,

IN REPEATING AS A

LAJOIE’S CONTRIBUTIONS

LaJoie’s back-to-back

champion of the NASCAR Xfinity

to auto racing go beyond his

championship seasons in the

Series, LaJoie became the first

accomplishments on the race

NASCAR Xfinity Series were

driver to ever go back-to-back

track. Around 28 years ago,

equally remarkable. LaJoie won

in the sport’s No. 2 division.

LaJoie started a company – The

five races in both the 1996 and

Since LaJoie accomplished this

Joie of Seating – dedicated

1997 season, and although he

feat, four others – beginning

to improving driver safety,

recorded more top-10 finishes

with Dale Earnhardt Jr. – have

especially for those who

in the latter campaign, the

followed suit. But LaJoie will

compete at the grassroots

difference was likely a result of

always hold the distinction of

levels. The company specializes

the 1997 schedule featuring an

being the first.

in building molded, aluminum

additional four races.

THE NO. 74 CAR

KNOWN FOR

racing seats. .

80

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

28

Fred Lorenzen

Fred Lorenzen built his NASCAR career by initially wheeling his own race cars and later the driver known as “Golden Boy” won 26 Cup Series races while driving for the powerful Holman Moody operation.

Born Dec. 30, 1934, Lorenzen began listening to NASCAR races on the radio in the family car as a teenager in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, Illinois.

Short tracks in the Chicago area drew him to NASCAR competition in 1956 and he claimed USAC stock car championships in 1958 and ’59. He returned to NASCAR’s premier series in 1960, but a disappointing season threatened to send him home to Chicago.

Sitting alone on Christmas Eve with no hope of returning to racing, Lorenzen got an unexpected phone call from Ralph Moody, offering a top ride with the legendary Holman Moody team in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Lorenzen won three of the 15 NASCAR Cup Series races he entered in the powerful pearl white No. 28 Ford during the 1961 season.

In 1962, there were two more wins with 11 top-five finishes and three pole positions in 19 starts. The next year, he logged six wins and 21 top-five results in 29 races.

From 1964 to 1967, Lorenzen won 15 additional races, including the 1965 Daytona 500. But the loss of his idol and teammate Fireball Roberts in a 1964 crash at Charlotte Motor Speedway and health issues of his own prompted an early retirement from driving on April 24, 1967.

Stock car racing’s handsome superstar said goodbye to a distinguished career as one of the sport’s most revered and respected drivers of the era.

Lorenzen briefly returned to NASCAR from 1970 to 1972, but he did not win. His career earnings totaled $496,572.

I WANT TO GO OUT WHILE I’M ON TOP. I’VE WON EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN WIN AND THERE’S NO WAY TO GO BUT DOWN. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

OPTIMISTIC INNOVATIVE

DETERMINED STRONG-WILLED FOCUSED

THE NO. 28 CAR

KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1964 SEASON,

LORENZEN ENTERED RACES

LORENZEN WAS

Lorenzen entered 16 NASCAR

with the highest purses and

handsome and had quite a

Cup Series events and won

put his cars up front when lap

female fan following. He was

eight, including superspeedway

money was on the line. His

known to date movie stars

races at Atlanta, Charlotte and

total earnings of $122,587

and magazine models when

Darlington. Lorenzen had his

in 1963 made him the first

his schedule allowed. He never

No. 28 Ford out front for 2,375

NASCAR driver to win more than

partied the night before a race

of 5,375 laps completed. He

$100,000 in a single season. He

and felt getting a good night’s

was a fan favorite everywhere

was often spotted calling his

sleep was a huge advantage

he raced throughout his

stockbroker after victories.

on the track against his fellow

12-year career.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

competitors.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

81

Tiny lund

55

Dewayne “Tiny” Lund was known as one of the most jovial competitors in NASCAR competition. Sadly, the native of Harlan, Iowa, died in a multi-car crash at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway on Aug. 19, 1975.

Lund was born into a farming family. He raced motorcycles at a young age and then moved to four wheels in midgets and sprint cars. After military duty in the United States Air Force, he returned home and attended dirt-track events across the Midwest as a spectator and competitor. He quickly discovered he had a natural talent for driving a race car – and for winning races.

Lund’s first start in NASCAR’s premier series came on dirt in Lehi, Arkansas, on Oct. 9, 1955, where he was involved in a series of flips on lap 65 of the 200-lap race.

He suffered bruises and a broken arm but soon returned to pursue his dream of becoming a winner in NASCAR. From 1956 to 1962, he logged 109 starts in NASCAR’s premier series, collecting 16 top-five finishes and 62 top-10 results with a variety of team owners, including Gus Holzmueller, A.L. Bumgarner, Petty Enterprises, Sam Rice and Bob Welborn, to name a few.

While at Daytona International Speedway in February 1963 without a ride, fate set the stage for the biggest victory of Lund’s 20-year career.

Marvin Panch of Wood Brothers Racing crashed while practicing for the upcoming American Challenge Cup race. The NASCAR star’s Ford-powered Maserati landed upside down and burst into flames. Lund ran to Panch’s aid and helped pull him from the wreckage. As a reward for his heroism, Lund filled in for the injured Panch in the Daytona 500 and won the race.

Lund was voted most popular driver four times, was elected to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1994 and was included on the list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

A REALLY GOOD GUY. BUT YOU DIDN’T WANT TO GET HIM MAD AT YOU. HE WAS BUILT LIKE A BULL. IF HE HIT YOU, THE LIGHTS WENT OUT. – M A R V I N PA N C H

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

JOVIAL

DETERMINED

OUTGOING SMART RESPECTED KNOWN FOR

LUND, A JOURNEYMAN PART-

IN 303 NASCAR STARTS, LUND

STANDING 6-FOOT-5 AND 270 POUNDS,

time racer in NASCAR, scored

logged five Cup Series victories, 54

Lund was one of the sport’s toughest

his biggest victory in the 1963

top-five finishes, 119 top-10 results

competitors. In addition to NASCAR, he

Daytona 500 while using only

and six pole positions. He averaged

was a fan favorite in USAC, ARCA and

one set of tires. The No. 21 Wood

15.2 in starts and 15.6 in finishes in

the Pacific Coast Racing Association.

Brothers Mercury he piloted as a

cars often considered strong enough

He won the NASCAR Grand American

replacement for the injured Marvin

to win. Even though he raced limited

championship three times (1968, 1970

Panch was strong while leading

schedules, he was often in top rides

and 1971) and the NASCAR Grand

the final 17 of 200 laps.

during his two-decade career.

National East championship in 1973.

82

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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4

sterling marlin

Sterling Marlin thought of nothing but following in his father’s tire tracks as a NASCAR driver. The Tennessee native started 748 Cup Series races, winning 10 with 83 top-five finishes and 216 top-10 results from 1976 to 2009.

Born June 30, 1957, in the farming community of Columbia, Tennessee, Sterling Marlin grew up working on the Chevrolets driven by his father, Clifton “Coo Coo” Marlin, in NASCAR’s premier series from 1966 to 1980.

Sterling’s first start as a driver came on May 8, 1976, at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee, where he finished 30th.

Marlin entered 11 additional NASCAR Cup Series races through 1982 in his father’s cars before joining Roger Hamby’s team for the full schedule in 1983 and won rookie-of-the-year honors. There were limited Cup Series starts from 1984 to 1986 before he joined championship-winning team owner Billy Hagan in 1987. Through 1993, Marlin logged 145 top-10 finishes.

Marlin finally found Victory Lane by winning the 1994 Daytona 500 while driving for Morgan-McClure Racing. The next season, he repeated the incredible feat, as well as logging victories at Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.

He also posted his best championship finish of third behind Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon.

Victories came at Talladega and Michigan with MMR in 1996 before Marlin joined team owner Felix Sabates at SABCO Racing in 1998.

Marlin logged two wins in 2001 and finished third in points for a second time while driving for Chip Ganassi. Victories at Las Vegas and Darlington opened his 2002 season on a high note, but an injury eventually ended his championship hopes.

Marlin competed in 261 additional Cup Series events from 2003 to 2009 and in recent years has returned to his roots, racing a late model at Fairgrounds Speedway.

If you can win the Daytona 500, it makes a good start for the season. I’ve been fortunate enough to win it a couple of times. … It’s pretty neat to be introduced as a two-time Daytona 500 champion.

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

SMART

APPRECIATIVE

DETERMINED

THE NO. 4 CAR

KNOWN FOR

IN 1995, STERLING MARLIN

MARLIN WON THE POLE

THROUGHOUT HIS NASCAR

finished third in NASCAR’s

position at Phoenix Raceway on

career, Marlin’s genuine easy-

Cup Series point standings,

Oct. 29, 1994. His lap of 129.833

going personality and quiet

never dropping lower than his

mph broke the qualifying mark

demeanor served him well

finishing position at any point

of 129.203 mph set in 1993 by

as personal trademarks. His

during the season. That year, he

Bill Elliott. Marlin also became

lifelong love of American Civil

recorded the most wins of any

the 16th Cup Series pole winner

War history has kept him busy

of his 33 Cup Series seasons,

that year, breaking the NASCAR

for many years as he travels to

visiting Victory Lane at Daytona,

modern-era record of 15 set in

numerous states looking for

Darlington and Talladega.

1982.

lost relics pertaining to that time period.

84

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Mark Martin

Mark Martin came to NASCAR’s Cup Series after building an impressive résumé on the paved short tracks of the Midwest.

He won 40 races and recorded 453 top-10 finishes during a 31-year Cup Series career.

6

Born Jan. 9, 1959, Martin began driving on short tracks in the area around his Batesville, Arkansas, home at the age of 14. Having been a bit short for his age, he would place phone books in the seat of his race car in order to comfortably see through the car’s windshield.

That small detail didn’t stop him from quickly becoming one of the most successful drivers to continually collect checkered flags week after week.

A move to the American Speed Association was a natural progression and soon Martin was racing against such stars as Bobby Allison, Rusty Wallace, Dick Trickle and Jim Sauter, all icons he would face later in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Martin earned the 1977 ASA National Tour rookie-of-the-year title. Before leaving the ultra-competitive division, Martin won 22 ASA races with championships coming in 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1986.

Funding the venture he co-owned with Bud Reeder, Martin moved to NASCAR’s Cup Series in 1981, earning two pole positions and a top-five finish in five series starts. He struggled to find success in NASCAR and eventually returned to the ASA circuit.

At the end of 1987, a call from team owner Jack Roush changed his destiny.

Roush offered Martin the Cup Series ride of a lifetime with the new team he was forming. Together, they collected 35 of Martin’s 40 victories and finished second in Cup Series points on five occasions.

I DIDN’T DRIVE RACE CARS FOR THE JOY OF GOING FAST, MAN. IT WAS TO SEE THAT CAR AT THE TOP OF THE SCOREBOARD. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 6 CAR

LASER-FOCUSED

TALENTED

DEDICATED DRIVEN

STRONG-WILLED KNOWN FOR

EVEN THOUGH HE FINISHED

MARTIN WON 49 TIMES IN

MARTIN WAS KNOWN FOR

second in Cup Series points to

what is now the NASCAR Xfinity

his intensity, both on and

Jeff Gordon during the 1998

Series, holding the record for

off the track. Whether doing

season, Martin scored seven

series wins for 14 years. He

interviews or inside the race

victories for team owner Jack

retired from driving in 2013 with

car, he was incredibly focused

Roush and was named one of

96 wins across NASCAR’s three

on the job at hand, often

NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers

national series, seventh on the

admitting he had difficulty

that year. He set career highs

all-time list. He was recognized

relaxing between races. When

for top-five finishes with 22 and

for winning in all types of cars.

behind the wheel of his cars,

laps led with 1,730.

he was totally consumed with winning.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

85

04

Hershel McGriff Hershel McGriff retired from racing at least three times – the first time concentrating on other business ventures, the second because he’d been in the sport for more than 50 years and the third because he was in his 90s.

Born Dec. 14, 1927, McGriff has an important handshake deal with fellow NASCAR Hall of

Fame member Richard Childress.

Once McGriff turns 100 years old, Childress will field a race car for the ageless wonder. Don’t laugh. Chances are, McGriff might very well take Childress up on the offer. He’s been behind the wheel of some sort of race car that long.

From his roots on the West Coast and Mexico to Daytona and Le Mans – and countless places in between – McGriff is the very definition of a hard-core racer.

“I grew up loving to drive,” McGriff said during his NASCAR Hall of Fame induction speech. “I started at 7 years old with a cart that was pulled by a goat that I bought from my uncle for $4. At 14, I was just starting eighth grade and I was the only person in school who had a car, including the teachers and the principal.”

McGriff first gained the attention of NASCAR founder Bill France in 1950 when he won the 2,178-mile Carrera Panamericana road race across Mexico.

“Bill noticed me because I was competitive throughout the race with him and Curtis (Turner). I think out of 132 entries, at 22 years old, I ended up winning the race. … After the race, Bill invited me to come to the first Southern 500 at Darlington, which was four months later.”

Sure enough, McGriff drove the car he was to enter in the event from Portland, Oregon, to the heart of South Carolina. He started 44th and finished ninth, 26 laps down to race winner Johnny Mantz.

McGriff went on to make his mark in what is now the ARCA Menards Series West. In an amazing 42 different seasons, he won a total of 34 races, as well as the 1986 division championship.

Returning to Le Mans as a NASCAR ambassador in mid-2023, McGriff was greeted by yet another NASCAR Hall of Famer – Chad Knaus.

“Come on, let’s get you in a driver’s suit,” Knaus said. “Do you have your helmet?”

With McGriff – you never know. It could happen.

MY SPEECH SHOULDN’T BE TOO LONG, BECAUSE MOST OF THE PEOPLE I HAVE TO THANK ARE DEAD. - MCGRIFF DURING HIS NASCAR HALL OF FAM E I N DU CTI ON S PE EC H

86

CHAMPION

AGELESS

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

ALTHOUGH HE MISSED THE

DESPITE THE FACT HE’D

MCGRIFF IS A MEMBER OF

first 10 races of the season,

announced his “retirement”

the inaugural class of the

McGriff finished sixth in what

16 years earlier, McGriff was

West Coast Stock Car Hall

is now the NASCAR Cup

an astounding 90 years old

of Fame and has also been

Series in 1954. He went on

when he started a 2018 ARCA

inducted into the Motorsports

a late-season tear with four

Menards Series West race at

Hall of Fame of America and

wins in the final nine races,

Tucson Speedway in Arizona.

the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He

which turned out to be his only

That extended his own record

is the father-in-law of Chuck

victories at NASCAR’s highest

as the oldest driver ever to

Bown, the 1990 champion

level.

start a NASCAR-sanctioned

of what is now the NASCAR

event.

Xfinity Series.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 04 CAR

PIONEER

KNOWN FOR

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

39

ryan newman

A legend in quarter-midget racing long before he ever strapped in a NASCAR stock car, Ryan Newman established a reputation from a young age as a driver who was both fearless and would stop at nothing to win.

Born in South Bend, Indiana, on Dec. 8, 1977, Newman won 18 races – including two of the

Cup Series’ biggest events – over 20 years as a full-time driver in NASCAR’s premier division.

Newman’s victories came at a variety of tracks and with three different teams: Team Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing and Richard Childress Racing.

Although the vast majority of Newman’s success came at Team Penske, the organization with which he made his Cup Series debut in 2000 and scored the biggest win of his career in the 2008 Daytona 500, it was while competing with the Tony Stewart co-owned Stewart-Haas outfit in 2013 that the native Hoosier prevailed in the prestigious Brickyard 400 at fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway in his home state.

The driver whose nickname is “Rocket Man” never made it to Victory Lane with Roush Fenway Racing – the last team he competed for on a full-time basis – but it was during his three-year run with RFR that Newman experienced hands-down the most horrifying moment of his racing career.

Leading on the final lap of the 2020 Daytona 500, Newman crashed in the most violent fashion imaginable just feet from the checkered flag before his No. 6 Ford eventually came to rest upside down in a shower of sparks.

It took safety personnel more than 15 minutes to extricate Newman from his mangled vehicle, before he was rushed to a nearby hospital and placed in a medically inducted coma. But somehow Newman managed to escape with a bruised brain and non-life threatening injuries.

He was released from the hospital only two days after being admitted, and he returned to competition at Darlington in the season’s fifth race.

“If you look at the car and my helmet, you wouldn’t believe I’m sitting here,” Newman said roughly a year after his frightening accident.

“You’d be like, ‘No, there’s just no way.’ But I believe it was thanks to somebody from above.”

Newman’s career as a full-time driver concluded at the end of the 2021 season, but he returned last season in a part-time role and could make select starts in future seasons.

If you’ve ever been in a car accident or you know somebody that has been in a car accident and they were conscious the whole time, they will always carry that fear with them. I have no memory.

Therefore, I have no fear.

THE NO. 39 CAR

RESILIENT

RESPECTED

UNAFRAID

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

NEWMAN’S BEST SEASON

DRIVING THE NO. 39

ONE OF THE MOST

KNOWN FOR

from a statistical standpoint

Stewart-Haas Racing

prolific qualifiers in NASCAR

was easily 2003, when he

Chevrolet, Newman set a

Cup Series history, Newman

captured 11 poles and scored

NASCAR Cup Series track

earned the nickname

a career-high eight victories.

qualifying record in earning

“Rocket Man” for his ability

That said, it was in 2014 that

the pole for the 2013

to consistently get up on

he finished a career-best

Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis

the wheel during time trials.

runner-up in points, qualifying

Motor Speedway. However,

Newman’s 51 career starts

for the inaugural Championship

Newman’s record lap of

from P1 rank ninth on the list

4 and coming home a single

187.531 mph around the

of all-time pole winners in

point behind champion Kevin

legendary 2.5-mile Indy oval

NASCAR’s premier series.

Harvick.

was eclipsed the following year by Kevin Harvick.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

87

Cotton owens

Along with David Pearson and Bud Moore, driver-turned-car owner Cotton Owens made up one-third of a triumvirate of NASCAR legends who based their operations in and around Spartanburg, South Carolina.

6

Born May 21, 1924, Everett “Cotton” Owens would’ve loved to have seen the sight of grandson Kyle Owens standing before the crowded ballroom.

Kyle’s job that night was to induct his grandfather into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s 2013 class. How do you talk about a loved one in front of the sport’s elite? That’s easy. Just speak from the heart.

“This is a biased opinion, but in our family’s book, there was no greater racer than Cotton Owens,” Kyle said during his remarks. “My grandfather was one of the most humble, most loyal, hardest workingmen I’ve ever met. He took great pride in the fact that he could build a race car from the ground up, the engine, chassis, transmission, didn’t matter.

“You name it, he could build it, then he could drive it to the track and drive it at the track straight to Victory Lane. There’s not a whole lot of people that can say that. He was a wizard, truly, turning wrenches and behind the wheel.”

David Pearson was there that night as well. Pearson won the first of his three NASCAR championships in 1966 while driving for Owens, and despite parting ways midway through the following season, they remained friends for the rest of their lives.

Pearson, who was almost as legendary for his reticence as his astounding skill behind the wheel of a race car, spoke as well that grand night. “(Cotton Owens) was not only a good guy to drive for but he was a good guy, he was a friend, and one of the best friends I guess I had as far as running with,” Pearson said.

“Every Sunday after church I’d go by and pick him up and take him and his daughter out to eat, and it’s been that way for years, I guess. Everybody thought when we split up we would be mad at each other or something, but we were both happy.”

Owens died on June 7, 2012, about a year before his enshrinement.

POP LIVED HIS LIFE BY FOUR UNWAVERING PRINCIPLES THAT HE HELPED SAVOR … AND THAT WAS GOD, FAMILY, COUNTRY AND THE 426 HEMI. - K Y L E O W E N S , AT H I S G R A N D FAT H E R C O T T O N OWENS’ FUNERAL

BEST SEASON

88

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 6 CAR

LOYAL PROUD

WIZARD KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1959

FOLLOWING HIS WARTIME

OWENS WAS A TALENTED

campaign, Owens made a visit

service in the United States

driver. Of that, there can

to Victory Lane in what is now

Navy, Owens won more than

be absolutely no doubt

known as the NASCAR Cup

100 NASCAR Modified races

whatsoever. As a team owner,

Series. He scored a total of 22

during the 1950s. He then

Owens’ cars were driven by

top-10 finishes in 37 starts

turned his attentions to what

NASCAR Hall of Famers such

and finished second to fellow

is now the NASCAR Cup Series,

as David Pearson, Buddy

future NASCAR Hall of Famer

where he captured at least

Baker, Ralph Earnhardt, Bobby

Lee Petty in the championship

one victory in six consecutive

Isaac, Junior Johnson, Benny

standings.

seasons – 1957 - 1962.

Parsons and Fireball Roberts.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Union County, SC

SALUTES IT’S

n o i n y U t HOMETOWN Coun

DRIVERS

Everett “Cotton” Owens Born in Union, South Carolina “Cotton” Owens was a NASCAR driver. For five straight years (1957–61) Owens captured at least one Grand National Series win. Owens was known as the “King of the Modifieds” for his successes in modified stock car racing.

His career began after his tour in the U.S. Navy in 1946, in the Modified division that would eventually be organized by NASCAR and pre-dated their Stock Car (Grand National, later Cup) division.

Owens deservedly earned the nickname “King of the Modifieds” by claiming over 200 feature wins, including the prestigious Gulf Coast championship race. In 1949 he entered 23 races and won 19 of them. Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s 2013 class.

Billy Scott Born in Union, South Carolina on August 9, 1935 Billy Scott is a former NASCAR driver. He competed in two Nextel Cup events in his career. Scott debuted at Charlotte in 1973, competing for Ronald Howard. Starting the event in 23rd place, Scott would place 22nd despite being sixty laps down. Scott ran again at the track in 1974 starting in the 22nd. Mr. Scott passed away December 26, 2023.

PHONE

ADDRESS

WEB

210 W. Main Street Union, SC 29379

864-429-1600 gearupunionsc.com

Union County Court House

98

Marvin Panch

Marvin Panch’s 17 Cup Series victories include two of the sport’s biggest races – the 1961 Daytona 500 and the 1966 World 600. After his retirement, Panch became one of NASCAR racing’s greatest ambassadors.

Marvin Panch was born May 28, 1926, in Wisconsin and moved to California before finally

settling in Daytona Beach, Florida, to pursue a racing career.

In 1961, Panch was facing Speedweeks at the still-new Daytona International Speedway without a ride. He went to fellow Daytona Beach resident Smokey Yunick – proprietor of the Best Damn Garage in Town – with a proposition. How about allowing Panch to run a second car as a teammate to Yunick’s primary driver, Glenn “Fireball” Roberts?

“Marvin has no ride worth a damn so he spends a lot of time around my shop,” Yunick wrote in his infamous memoir, “Best Damn Garage in Town – The World According to Smokey.” “He wants to drive a second car in the Daytona 500 in Feb. ’61. Well, I was surprised Fireball didn’t object too much. He liked Panch.”

Roberts dominated the 500, leading three times for a total of 170 of the event’s 200 laps. Panch was running second to Roberts when the unthinkable happened. The engine in Roberts’ car exploded, handing the lead – and eventually, the win – to Panch.

“I’m glad (Panch) talked me into running the year old car for him cause with 13 laps to go Fireball’s Pontiac suddenly looks like a mosquito spray truck. Bye-bye one/two finish. But ‘Starvin Marvin’ is right there, and ends up with all the money ($20,500) and fame.”

Panch and Yunick ran a few more races together, with not nearly the same kind of success. But they made for quite the sight together, especially on this long-ago road trip.

“Marvin hated tobacco smoke,” Yunick wrote. “I smoked a pipe then and he’d really (complain) and get feeling really bad from the smoke. So, next time we towed to Atlanta, fifty miles out of Daytona I threw him a World War II surplus gas mask. What do you think people thought as we passed ‘em towing a race car and the driver or passenger looking like a little elephant?”

After his retirement, Panch became a regular at various old-timers’ racing events. He died on Dec. 31, 2015.

Everybody liked Panch ’cept cigarette, alcohol companies and wild women race fans. He don’t smoke, drink or chase (women). You might say he was ‘a freak among racers.

- SMOKEY YUNICK BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 98 CAR

SUPPORTIVE

WINNER

LIKABLE

FRIENDLY

PERSISTENT KNOWN FOR

PANCH STARTED THE 1957

THE BIGGEST VICTORY OF

WHILE TESTING A

NASCAR season driving a Ford

Panch’s career came in the

Maserati at Daytona prior the

owned by Pete DePaolo. When

1961 Daytona 500. Lee and

1963 Daytona 500, Panch

Ford ended its factory support

Richard Petty were involved

was involved in a fiery crash.

midway through the season,

in vicious crashes during

Tiny Lund pulled Panch from

Panch joined the legendary

their qualifying races that

the inferno and was later

Holman-Moody operation.

year, with Lee’s all but ending

awarded the Carnegie Hero’s

In all, he tallied six wins with

his driving career. Ironically

Medal for his efforts. Lund

22 top-five finishes that year

enough, Panch scored his

then drove Panch’s Wood

and wound up second to Buck

final win in the 1966 World

Brothers Racing Ford in the

Baker in the championship

600 while driving for Petty

Daytona 500 – and won.

standings.

Enterprises.

90

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

17

David pearson

David Pearson ran his first race in NASCAR’s premier series in February 1960. He eventually claimed three Cup Series titles and amassed 105 victories in 574 series starts, second only to Richard Petty (200) in the win column.

Born in Whitney, South Carolina, in 1934, Pearson’s first race came in a 1952 Hobby Stock event at a track in nearby Woodruff. He earned $13.

In February 1960, Pearson built a Ford for Late Model competition and hauled it to Daytona International Speedway. The next year, he collected major Cup Series victories at Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway en route to rookie-of-the-year honors.

By 1966, Pearson had joined team owner and fellow South Carolinian Cotton Owens and logged 15 victories and his first Cup Series championship. Two more titles came with Ford’s powerhouse Holman Moody organization in 1968 and 1969.

In 1970 and 1971, Pearson began running a limited schedule of Cup Series races for Holman Moody and car owner Ray Nichels. He enjoyed his best years with Wood Brothers Racing from 1972 to 1979 as he won 43 races with the Virginia-based team, including 11 of 18 starts in 1973.

Pearson and team owner Glen Wood parted ways in April 1979 after a pit road miscue at Darlington Raceway. Pearson returned to the track that September to win as a substitute driver for the injured Dale Earnhardt. Pearson’s final Cup Series victory came at Darlington in April 1980 in Hoss Ellington’s Chevrolet, while his final start was six years later at Michigan International Speedway.

Throughout his career, Pearson’s reputation for laying back and striking late unnerved his rivals. Of those, he and Richard Petty finished first and second 63 times with Pearson winning 33 and Petty coming out on top 30 times.

I ENJOYED BEING WITH THE WOOD BROTHERS. WHEN WE WERE AT THE RACE TRACK, WE WERE ALWAYS JOKING AND KIDDING EACH OTHER. IT WAS THE JOY AND HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE.

INGENIOUS MOTIVATED SMOOTH

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

PEARSON WON HIS

ONE OF PEARSON’S

DURING A 26-YEAR

second of three NASCAR

greatest victories came

career, Pearson was

premier series championships

in the 1976 Daytona

considered to be one of

in 1968 with 16 victories, 36

500 at just 20 mph after

the smartest, yet elusive

top-five finishes, 38 top-10

a last-lap crash with

drivers in NASCAR’s long

results and 12 pole positions

Richard Petty. Pearson

and storied history. Even

for team owners John Holman

was chosen Driver of

his own crew members

and Ralph Moody. Pearson

the (20th) Century by a

and team owners didn’t

led 3,950 of 13,907 laps

select group of NASCAR

know his strategies for the

that season with an average

media members who

closing laps of races. He

finish of 5.8 over the 48-race

covered the sport in

was known for saving his

schedule.

that era.

cars until the final 50 laps.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

THE NO. 17 CAR

SAVVY UNASSUMING

KNOWN FOR

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

91

72

benny parsons

Benjamin Stewart “Benny” Parsons ran his first NASCAR Cup Series race on Aug. 9, 1964, at North Carolina’s AshevilleWeaverville Speedway for the legendary Holman Moody Ford operation.

The 1973 NASCAR Cup Series champion went on to amass 21 premier series victories in 565 career starts.

Born on July 12, 1941, Parsons spent his formative years in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. At age 18, he moved to Detroit, Michigan, to work with his father in the taxi cab business. In 1963, he worked at a gas station, the place where he was accidentally introduced to stock car racing. A patron needing gas for his race car hauler invited Parsons to go along to nearby Mt. Clemens Speedway. The team’s regular driver didn’t show up, giving Parsons his first ride.

In a short time, Parsons gained a reputation for winning races. Enough so that Ford’s powerful Holman Moody factory team found a place for him within its fleet of drivers. Still, he only ran that one race – at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway – in NASCAR’s premier series until 1968. He joined the ARCA Racing Series that year, winning championships in 1968 and 1969. He also logged three top-10 finishes in four Cup Series starts in 1969.

Parsons’ best season came in 1973 when he won the NASCAR Cup Series championship while driving for team owner L.G. Dewitt. His near impossible return to the track after a car-crippling crash at North Carolina’s Rockingham Speedway to claim the title is considered the most miraculous comeback in the sport’s history. Parsons is still the only driver to win both the ARCA and NASCAR championships. In 1975, Parsons won the Daytona 500, putting him among the sport’s elite drivers. He retired from driving in 1988 and went into broadcasting. Parsons died of lung cancer on Jan. 16, 2007.

BENNY PARSONS WAS THE KINDEST, SWEETEST, MOST CONSIDERATE PERSON I HAVE EVER KNOWN. HE WAS ALMOST TOO NICE TO BE A RACE CAR DRIVER AND I SAY THAT AS A COMPLIMENT. – D A R R E L L W A LT R I P

92

STUDIOUS

INSIGHTFUL

COMPETITIVE

DETERMINED SMART

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

DURING THE 1977 NASCAR

IN QUALIFYING FOR THE

THROUGHOUT HIS

Cup Series season, Parsons

1982 Winston 500 at

incredible NASCAR career,

collected a season high four

Talladega Superspeedway,

Parsons was a quiet

victories – Nashville, Pocono,

Parsons became the

competitor and often didn’t

Dover and Charlotte – in L.G.

first man to qualify for a

show his hand until the

Dewitt’s Chevrolet. He also

NASCAR event at over 200

closing laps of races. Most

collected 20 top-five finishes

mph (200.176). He was

of his 21 victories and 283

and 22 top-10 results along with

driving a Pontiac Le Mans

top-five finishes came after

poles at Nashville, Talladega and

for team owner Harry

watching the competition

Richmond. His average start

Ranier. Parsons logged

battle for position as he

that season was 4.7 while his

20-career poles during his

saved his car for the final

average finish was 7.8.

24-year career.

push to the checkered flag.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 72 CAR

KNOWN FOR

ONCE A DREAM, NOW A REALITY During Parson’s 21-year career in broadcasting, the studios collectively gathered information stating he mentioned Wilkes County or North Wilkesboro/ Wilkesboro 92,826 times on the air.* To say Benny was proud to be from Wilkes County was an understatement. Upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, he made a bucket list for his wife, Terri. She managed to cross 9/10 items off the list over the years, but her focus was set on the seemingly impossible task of re-opening North Wilkesboro Speedway. With lots of help from key players in the community, Terri and all of Wilkes County had the privilege of welcoming race fans back to North Wilkesboro Speedway in May 2023 for the NASCAR All-Star Race. e us

g the ho 1. Finish buildin nty. ou C es in Wilk ing the 2. Finish grow d get our wdine an rd ya vine stribute bottled andedimaker. in w r with ou tting 3. See about ge boro Speedw.ay es ilk W North this county r fo ed reopen

*https://wilkescountyhalloffame.org/

@LuffmanFarmsPhotography

Terri Parsons admiring the Turn 1 and 2 Grandstand name reveal as it was named the ‘Benny Parsons Grandstand’ honoring her late husband and Wilkes County legend.

WILKES COUNTY WELCOMES YOU BACK TO

NORTH WILKESBORO SPEEDWAY North Wilkesboro Speedway In the shadows of the Brushy Mountains sits North Wilkesboro Speedway. A unique short track with a backstretch that goes uphill, it played a key role in helping moonshiners turn their illegal whiskey business into a multimillion-dollar sport – stock car racing.

Stone Mountain State Park

Soon after World War II ended and during the 1950s, tucked away in the mountains, the tree-covered valleys and coves camouflaged a moonshine factory. The rugged terrain and the creeks’ pristine water was ideal for making illegal corn liquor and stills were easy to hide in the hills.

Call Family Distillers

Wilkes County in the 1940s, 50s, 60s was the epicenter to the moonshine industry that was booming in North Carolina.

Named ‘The Uncatchable,’ Willie Clay Call made a name for himself by hauling his famed moonshine all over NC. Stop in to try some shine or dine at the new Mash House Bar & Grill!

Fan Fest in the Wilkesboros Thursday, May 16th

ALL-STAR WEEKEND Starting Friday, May 17th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Race Saturday, May 18th Scan the QR code for more info on this trail and to read more about all the named locations.

NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race Saturday, May 19th

OCTOBER 2024

Copper Barrel Distillery & Speakeasy

Copper Barrel creates handcrafted spirits that are the epitome of authenticity and come from the legendary heritage of Wilkes County, the Moonshine Capital of America. The 100% true shine is made from a blend of rye, corn and cane sugar using a unique process and still design perfected

by Master Distiller Buck Nance.

Stop in to try their fruit-flavored moonshine, a handcrafted blend of the finest 96 proof White Lightning and locally sourced fruits.

MAY 2024 CARS Pro Late Model Tour Tuesday, May 14th Wednesday, May 15th

Wilkes Heritage Museum

The Wilkes Heritage Museum is located in the restored 1902 Wilkes County Courthouse.

Since it’s official opening in 2005, the museum has undoubtedly contributed to the education and culture of the county’s present and future. Stop by to learn more about the collection of Wilkes County artifacts and images where numerous stories come to life.

2024 SCHEDULE

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Saturday, October 5th

SCAN QR CODE TO stay up-to-date with Wilkes County news

ZMAX CARS Pro Tour Season Championship Friday, October 18th Saturday, October 19th

75

Larry Phillips

In the world of NASCAR short-track racing, there was no bigger legend than Larry Phillips. People from different parts of the country will always have their hometown heroes, but no light shined brighter than Phillips.

Born July 3, 1942, Phillips wasn’t exactly the sentimental type.

According to a story in the Oct. 8, 2003, edition of The Kansas City Star by journalist Joe Posnanski, young James Ince went to work for Phillips right out of high school. His first task was simple enough – clean out the shop.

The biggest part of the job was figuring out what to do with all the trophies – hundreds of ’em, from pole awards on the tiniest out-of-the-way bullrings all the way up to big ol’ championship monstrosities.

Ince asked twice what Phillips wanted to do with them all, and twice, the legendary hot shoe told him to get rid of them.

All of them.

When Ince finished loading everything, the trophies took up a full two-thirds of a tractor trailer. The youngster had enough foresight to make sure that a few made their way to various charitable auctions, after which they no doubt became treasured artifacts from one of the greatest short trackers in history.

Otherwise, everything got tossed into the local landfill.

“Larry didn’t care much for trophies,” Ince told Posnanski, as if he needed to spell it out. “He wanted the checks.”

Future NASCAR Hall of Famers Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace both worked for Phillips at one time or another, as did Ince. They all saw this side of Phillips.

“To me, there are only two things that can ruin a race car light and lazy,” Phillips said in The Kansas City Star piece. “That’s it. Either your equipment is too light or you were too lazy to get the car right. Sometimes, you can’t help but be too light. But I sure as heck wasn’t going to be too lazy … and I wasn’t going to let anyone else be lazy around me.”

“Once you get to know Larry, you realize he has a heart of gold,” Ince concluded.” The problem is, few people get to know Larry.”

Phillips, a two-time nominee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, died Sept. 21, 2004.

I’D SAY OF THE 10 MOST AMAZING THINGS I’VE SEEN DONE IN A RACE CAR, LARRY PHILLIPS DID NINE OF THEM. - JAMES INCE, PHILLIPS’ CREW CHIEF

BEST SEASON

94

RECORD SETTER

AMAZING

FOCUSED

INDEPENDENT

KIND CHAMPION

THE NO. 75 CAR

KNOWN FOR

AFTER SWITCHING FROM

PHILLIPS STANDS ABOVE

“LARRY PHILLIPS GAVE ME

dirt to asphalt racing in 1989,

and beyond any other

a summer job in 1977, just out

Phillips went on to record an

competitor when it comes to

of high school. He did most of

astounding 23 wins in the 27

the NASCAR Weekly Series.

the work himself on his cars.

NASCAR-sanctioned races

He captured that division’s

I don’t think he liked the idea

in which he competed that

national championship a

of having a big team of people

season. That’s a winning

stunning five times in the span

who controlled his destiny or

percentage of approximately

of just eight years. His titles

success.” – NASCAR Hall of

85 percent and helped propel

came in 1989, 1991, 1992,

Famer Mark Martin

him to his first NASCAR Late

1995 and 1996. He also won

Model national championship.

seven regional championships.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

22

fIreball roberts

Few people have made a bigger impact on the sport of NASCAR in as short of a time as the late, legendary Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, who, sadly, left this world at the young age of 35.

Born in Daytona Beach, Florida – the birthplace of NASCAR – on Jan. 20, 1929, Roberts

didn’t plan to have a career in racing when he enrolled at the University of Florida to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. But during his time as a college student, Roberts – who had done some amateur racing – experienced a change of heart.

Instead of graduating, he dropped out of college and decided to chase his high-speed dreams. He made his NASCAR premier series debut on the old beach course in Daytona Beach on Feb. 5, 1950, and went on to enter nine races that year – winning on the 1-mile dirt track at Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsborough, North Carolina, in just his third career start.

Although Roberts never won a premier series championship and may be the best driver to have never done so, he recorded 33 wins and 32 poles in just over 200 starts in what today is known as the NASCAR Cup Series. In addition, the driver whose nickname “Fireball” came from his days as a baseball pitcher at the sport’s lower levels finished in the top 10 over half of the time, a significant portion of which he spent driving for the legendary Holman Moody outfit.

Roberts appropriately enjoyed some of his greatest moments at his home track of Daytona International Speedway, which opened for business in 1959. He earned an impressive seven victories – most notably, the 1962 Daytona 500 – at the 2.5-mile superspeedway built by NASCAR founder William H.G. “Big Bill” France.

One place where Roberts never won was Charlotte Motor Speedway, which opened in 1960. In his 10th and what would be his final start at this track, or any track, Roberts suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body when he wrecked to avoid another crash and his car burst into flames on lap seven of the 1964 Memorial Day weekend race.

Although Roberts survived, he had to be airlifted to a hospital, and he passed away more than a month later. Roberts has since been inducted posthumously into multiple motorsports Halls of Fame, including the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte where he was permanently enshrined as part of a five-member class in 2014.

A lot of the fans will root for a certain make of car, rather than be a fan of the driver.

It’s really putting down a man’s individual effort, but I think this is the basis for the sport’s popularity. People identify with what they drive to the supermarket in.

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 22 CAR

BELOVED

CHARISMATIC

FEARLESS KNOWN FOR

ROBERTS ENTERED ONLY

AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS

EVEN WITH ALL THAT HE

10 races in the 1958 season

career, Roberts had a knack

accomplished, Roberts is most

but went to Victory Lane

for setting track records. He

widely known for his career-

an incredible six times and

set no fewer than six major

ending fiery crash in the 1964

finished 11th in the standings

track records in 1962 – a

World 600 at Charlotte Motor

of NASCAR’s premier series

season when he won three

Speedway where he suffered

despite his absence from most

races, captured eight poles

severe burns that forced him to

of the races. Roberts finished

and led 960 laps in spite of

be hospitalized for roughly five

second, third, ninth and 30th in

running only 19 of the 53

weeks. While still in the hospital,

his other four starts.

races held for NASCAR’s

Roberts died after contracting

premier division.

pneumonia and sepsis.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

95

25

tim richmond

One of the first NASCAR drivers to boast true rock star appeal, Tim Richmond had influence that stretched far beyond that of the typical 1980s Cup Series driver – and most drivers both before and since.

Born on June 7, 1955, in Ashland, Ohio, Richmond was one of the few NASCAR competitors

of his day who didn’t hail from the Southeast, but, in all reality, it didn’t matter where Richmond was from.

The bottom line is that he marched to the beat of his own drummer and made absolutely no apologies for it, despite having a reputation for living his life outside of the race car a little too close to the proverbial edge.

Sadly, Richmond’s life was cut short at the age of 34 due to complications from AIDS, but not before he became universally recognized as one of the Cup Series’ most talented drivers and left a lasting mark on the sport.

Just how impactful was Richmond over his eight full or partial seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series? Impactful enough for Hollywood filmmakers to pattern the character of Cole Trickle – aka Tom Cruise – after Richmond in the 1990 blockbuster hit movie “Days of Thunder.”

Richmond passed away on Aug. 13, 1989 – about a year before “Days of Thunder” premiered – but he’ll be forever remembered not just for his movie-star good looks and infectious personality but for his abilities behind the wheel of a race car. Between 1982 and 1987, Richmond went to Victory Lane 13 times despite running only four full seasons.

Had Richmond not fallen ill, there’s a strong possibility he would’ve added a Cup Series championship and a Daytona 500 victory to his already impressive résumé.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know how much Richmond might have accomplished if his life had taken a different course. He ran only eight races in the season that turned out to be his last, making his final Cup Series start on Aug. 16, 1987, at Michigan International Speedway.

Incredibly, Richmond won his first two races back that year after sitting out the first 11 races of the ’87 season with an undisclosed illness. After later missing most of the season’s second half on the heels of his brief return, Richmond made plans to make a second comeback at the 1988 Daytona 500, but those plans never materialized.

I AM TRYING TO PROVE THAT I WAS PUT ON THIS EARTH TO HAVE FUN ... TO SUCCEED IN THE FUN DEPARTMENT. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

CONFIDENT

HANDSOME

CHARISMATIC

THE NO. 25 CAR

KNOWN FOR

DRIVING THE NO. 25

RICHMOND IS THE ONLY

EVER THE FREE SPIRIT,

Chevrolet for Hendrick

driver in NASCAR Cup

Richmond loved being the life

Motorsports, Richmond put

Series history to return

of the party during his limited

on a driving clinic when he

from an extended absence

days as a NASCAR Cup Series

captured a career-high seven

by winning his first two

driver. Although he and

victories during the 1986

races back. This happened

Bill France Jr. – NASCAR’s

Cup Series season on the

in 1987 when Richmond,

second-generation leader –

way to a career-best third in

after being sidelined for the

didn’t always see eye to eye,

points. That year, Richmond

first 11 events, triumphed

Richmond was able to build

gave eventual champion Dale

at both Pocono Raceway in

a passionate and loyal fan

Earnhardt – a friend and rival –

Pennsylvania and the Riverside

base that ultimately helped

all he could handle.

International Raceway road

grow the sport.

course in California.

96

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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10

Ricky Rudd

Ricky Rudd’s NASCAR Cup Series career lasted more than three decades and featured a lot of highs, lows and whatcould-have-beens. This much is certain, though: Rudd’s time in NASCAR’s top division was rarely, if ever, dull.

Born in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Sept. 12, 1956, Rudd made his NASCAR Cup Series debut

in March 1975 at the tender at age 18 but didn’t go full-time racing in NASCAR’s premier division until the 1981 season.

Rudd picked up his first win in 1983 on the road course at Riverside Raceway in California and found his way to Victory Lane once or twice in each of the next 15 seasons. Ultimately, he won 23 times, going to Victory Lane with several teams, including Hendrick Motorsports, Yates Racing and a team that he personally owned.

Rudd’s most prestigious triumph came in the 1997 Brickyard 400 at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he never managed to capture the Daytona 500 or a championship.

His nearest title miss was in 1991, when he finished second to Dale Earnhardt in the final standings.

That same season produced one of the most controversial moments of Rudd’s career when NASCAR black-flagged him in shocking fashion for wrecking Davey Allison on the final lap at the Sonoma Raceway road course.

While Rudd was certainly on the receiving end of some bad breaks, he also angered numerous drivers at various points in his career.

Drivers with whom Rudd didn’t always get along so well included Kevin Harvick, Rusty Wallace, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt.

After tangling with Earnhardt – a fan favorite – on the final lap of the fall 1989 race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Rudd recalls being fearful for his own safety.

“It was nearly a riot,” he said during an October 2019 episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast hosted by Earnhardt’s son, Dale Jr. “Half of the fans were yelling against me, and half of them were yelling for me. It was a mixed crowd.

“It was the closest thing to a riot. We were parked in the infield and when we went to leave, I laid in the bottom of (crew chief) Larry McReynolds’ van with a blanket over me. It got nasty.”

I was in trouble from about lap 5. My helmet (air) wasn’t working. It was really hot in the car, and I’ve got blisters on my back, on my butt and everywhere you can think of. I said, ‘If we can get this win, I’ll enjoy Monday in a hospital room somewhere recovering.’

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

INDESTRUCTIBLE

UNSATISFIED

CONSISTENT

RUGGED RESILIENT

THE NO. 10 CAR

KNOWN FOR

WHILE RUDD COLLECTED

RUDD’S 788 CONSECUTIVE

GOOD LUCK FINDING A

his best career points finish

Cup Series starts, stretching

NASCAR driver who is

of second in 1991, his best

from the first race of the 1981

any tougher than Rudd. In

season by most statistical

season through the final race

addition to being NASCAR’s

measures came fairly late in

of 2005, were unmatched

“Iron Man,” he once raced

his career, in 2001, when he

until Jeff Gordon broke Rudd’s

with his swollen eyes quite

posted a career-high 22 top-10

record in September 2015. In

literally taped open so

finishes – including two wins.

total, Rudd competed in 906

he could compete in the

Driving for Yates Racing, Rudd

Cup Series races over 33 years

Daytona 500 after being

finished fourth in the standings

prior to calling it quits at the

injured in a vicious crash

and enjoyed his strongest

end of 2007.

during an exhibition race at

season overall.

98

Daytona a week earlier.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

mike stefanik

6

One of the lesser known but most accomplished stars of NASCAR’s 75-year history, Mike Stefanik was a rare talent who was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame despite never running a single Cup Series race.

Born on May 20, 1958, in Coventry, Rhode Island, Stefanik died on Sept. 15, 2019, from inju-

ries suffered in the crash of a single-seat private plane he was piloting.

At the time of his death, Stefanik had been out of racing just five years. From 1985 to 2014, he logged 453 starts in the series that became known as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

Two of his seven Modified championships – which he captured between 1989 and 2006 – came in years (1997 and 1998) when he also won the title in the NASCAR Busch North Series, now known as the ARCA Menards Series East.

Stefanik went to Victory Lane 12 times in 164 Busch North starts that stretched from 1991 to 2005. Those wins in combination with his Modified triumphs meant Stefanik prevailed a total of 86 times in NASCAR events.

One NASCAR series in which Stefanik never won but enjoyed success nevertheless was the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he earned top rookie honors in 1999 and collected nine top-10 finishes – including a career-best second-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway – in what would be his lone full season of truck competition.

Two years later, Stefanik returned to the Modified ranks and continued to pad his already wildly impressive résumé in that division by winning three more championships and over a dozen more races before hanging up his driving helmet on the heels of a 2014 season during which he entered only four races.

Stefanik made his final Modified appearance on Sept. 20, 2014, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, finishing 10th in the 27-car field.

“Mike Stefanik was one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, but even more so, he was a true representative of our sport,” NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said at the time of Stefanik’s death. “His tough, competitive nature and excellence on the race track won him the respect and admiration of fans and competitors alike. … He recorded achievements in this sport that are likely untouchable, and his legacy as a champion will endure.”

Stefanik was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2021.

I feel a lot more pressure in the Busch North Series than I do in the Modified.

It’s fun to run the Modified, it’s a fun car, and it’s just fun fun fun. The Busch cars are concentration, sweat, and frustration, wicked competition.

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

VERSATILE

AMBITIOUS

RESPECTED TENACIOUS POPULAR KNOWN FOR

STEFANIK ENJOYED A BANNER

STEFANIK HOLDS THE RECORD FOR

STEFANIK WAS KNOWN FOR HIS

year in 1998 when he rolled to a

both race wins (74) and poles (48) on

methodical approach to racing. “He

record-breaking 13 NASCAR Whelen

the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. In

was an unusual driver because he

Modified Tour wins, the most ever

addition, Stefanik owns the record for

was courteous and he was fast,”

recorded in a single season on the

most wins in a single Modified season

well-known NASCAR pit reporter and

Tour. On his way to the Modified title,

and is tied with legendary Modified

motorsports magazine editor Dick

Stefanik posted a mind-boggling 21

driver Richie Evans for most NASCAR

Berggren said. “So, the people he raced

top-10 finishes – including 20 top-

championships, the two drivers having

against – even though he beat them –

fives – in 22 starts.

both earned nine.

they liked him.”

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

99

20

tony stewart

Tony Stewart won 49 NASCAR Cup Series races as well as series championships in 2002, 2005 and 2011. His biggest victories came in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2005 and 2007.

Stewart set his sights on winning at an early age. He captured his first gokart championship in 1980 and earned a World Karting Association title seven years later.

Stewart was named USAC’s rookie of the year in 1991 and he won the USAC National Midget Series championship in 1994.

In 19995, Stewart became the first driver to win USAC’s version of the Triple Crown, earning championships in all three of the sanctioning body’s major divisions – Sprint Cars, Midgets and Silver Crown. His victories in the Hut Hundred and 4-Crown Nationals were the highlights of the year.

The Columbus, Indiana, native made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 1996, driving for car owner Harry Rainer. In the 1997 Indianapolis 500, Stewart led 64 laps and finished fifth. He went on to win the 1997 IndyCar Series championship.

A year later, Stewart ran a majority of the Xfinity Series events for team owner Joe Gibbs. In 1999, he collected his first Cup Series victory at Richmond International Raceway, becoming the first rookie driver to win in NASCAR’s premier series since Davey Allison in 1987.

Stewart remained with JGR through 2007, recording 32 race wins and Cup Series championships in 2002 and 2005. Then, he and businessman Gene Haas formed Stewart-Haas Racing in 2008 and claimed 17 additional victories and the 2011 Cup Series title. He was the first driver-team owner since Wisconsin native Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to win a Cup Series championship.

Stewart was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020.

RACE CARS, NO MATTER WHAT SIZE OR SHAPE THEY ARE, THEY DO THE SAME THINGS. IT IS NOT COMPLICATED. BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

ADAPTIVE

HEADSTRONG

OUTSPOKEN AGGRESSIVE TALENTED

THE NO. 20 CAR

KNOWN FOR

WHEN HE NEEDED TO SHINE

DURING HIS NASCAR CUP

THROUGHOUT HIS DRIVING

his brightest, Stewart won

Series career, Stewart logged

career, Stewart was one

three of the final four races in

49 wins, 308 top-10 finishes

of motorsports’ very best

2011, leading to his third-ca-

and 15 pole positions. He is

and displayed a signature

reer Cup Series championship.

the most successful driver

determination all his own.

The Columbus, Indiana, native

to move from open-wheel

However, if ever he felt he had

tied Carl Edwards of Roush

racing to stock cars. Others

been wronged by other drivers

Fenway Racing in champion-

have made the move but only

on the track or the sanctioning

ship points but won the title by

Stewart won championships

body, Stewart never shied

virtue of race wins with five to

in both IndyCar and NASCAR

away from speaking his mind.

Edwards’ one.

racing.

100

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

6

marshall teague From mechanic and driver to early NASCAR officer and Hudson Hornet stalwart, Marshall Teague achieved more in a few short years than many do over the course of their entire racing careers.

Born Feb.22, 1921, Teague accomplished what many would have considered to be difficult,

if not downright impossible. He was admired and respected by the legendary – some would say infamous – racing pioneer and innovator Smokey Yunick.

Yunick’s epic three-volume memoir “Best Damn Garage in Town – The World According to Smokey” isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. In writing the self-published work, Yunick seemed to go about almost gleefully telling things as they were – or as he saw them, whichever the case might actually have been.

Few seemed safe from Yunick’s over-the-top critiques, but Teague was different.

“Marshall Teague was the first driver I ever worked with,” Yunick wrote. “He was a real good human, a damn good driver and one of the top three mechanics in racing in the ’40s and ’50s.

“Marshall needed help to get to (the) track on time, so when he asked for help, I’d help at night, and go to some races to help. Soon I was the ‘chief’ in the pits for both he and Herb Thomas. I guess he and Red Vogt were (the) sharpest mechanics in stock car racing in the late ’40, early ’50s. They both taught me a lot.”

Teague was present at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Dec. 14, 1947, for the first of several meetings that would eventually create the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.

Although Teague served as the fledgling sanctioning body’s first secretary and treasurer, he had a parting of the ways with “Big Bill” France and left in 1953 to concentrate on AAA and USAC competition.

Teague’s open-wheel record includes two starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of seventh in 1957.

Teague died Feb. 11, 1959, as the result of injuries he sustained in an Indy car crash during a speed run at the new Daytona International Speedway.

“Adios one stock car pioneer,” wrote Yunick, who served as a pall bearer at Teaue’s funeral. “They named a grandstand after him, and put him in a couple Halls of Fame. He was finally back in good standing with NASCAR.”

In ’49, I started racing and I went all over the country looking for a Hudson Hornet because I wanted to play second to Marshall Teague, because he was the greatest there was in his time. There was nobody better than Marshall Teague.

- H I L LY R I F E , P I O N E E R R A C I N G P R O M O T E R

ADMIRED

RESPECTED KIND

RESOURCEFUL

BEST SEASON BETWEEN 1951 AND ’52,

RECORD SETTER TEAGUE IS CREDITED WITH

Teague ran a total of 19 races

convincing officials of the

into the National Motorsports

in what is now the NASCAR

Hudson Motor Car Co. to

Press Association Hall of Fame

Cup Series. The Daytona

support a factory-backed

in 1968 and is recognized as one

Beach, Florida, native captured

NASCAR team. The company

of NASCAR’s greatest drivers.

seven wins and had nine

went against the grain, using

His coolest claim to fame,

top-five finishes. Included

a six-cylinder-powered entry

however, was being nicknamed

in Teague’s totals during

dubbed the “Fabulous Hudson

“King of the Beach” for his

that short span of time were

Hornet” to compete against

performances on the historic

consecutive victories on

the bigger eight-cylinder

Beach and Road Course in

Daytona’s infamous Beach and

engines powering the General

Daytona Beach, Florida.

Road Course.

Motors, Ford and Chrysler cars.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

THE NO. 6 CAR

FEARLESS

KNOWN FOR TEAGUE WAS INDUCTED

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

101

19

Martin Truex jr.

Martin Truex Jr. is one of only six drivers to earn both NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series titles. He claimed backto-back Xfinity Series championships in 2004 and 2005, while his Cup Series crown came in 2017.

Truex Jr. was born into a racing family on June 29, 1980. His dad, Martin Truex, was a long-

time competitor in what is now known as the ARCA Menards East Series and made occasional appearances in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Truex Jr. made a name for himself on the short tracks of New Jersey before his father gave him the keys to the family race car. Truex Jr. then spent four seasons in the ARCA Menards East Series, winning five times in 62 starts.

During that period, he befriended Dale Earnhardt Jr. The two became roommates and their friendship turned into an opportunity for Truex.

In 2004 and 2005, Truex drove the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s Xfinity Series team, Chance2 Motorsports. He won 12 races and claimed two series championships, which resulted in a promotion.

However, his early Cup Series career was rocky. While Truex won his first race in 2007 and made the playoffs, DEI was on a downward slope.

Truex moved to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010, and his results slowly improved. He made the playoffs in 2012 and won a race at Sonoma in 2013. Then, Truex was part of a controversial incident during the regular-season finale that resulted in him being knocked him out of the playoffs.

Frustrated, he left MWR and joined the single-car Furniture Row Racing team. Truex fell to a career-worst 24th in points in 2014, and it seemed his Cup Series career was back at square one.

But just like he had done before, Truex made a resurgence. In 2015, he won the third race of his career at Pocono and earned a spot in the Championship 4. A year later, he won four races, including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 in which he led 393 of the 400 laps.

In 2017, Truex and his single-car, Colorado-based team won eight times en route to the NASCAR Cup Series championship.

After Furniture Row Racing shut down following the 2018 season, Truex joined Joe Gibbs Racing. The winning continued as the driver from Mayetta, New Jersey, now has 34 victories in 657 Cup Series starts.

NEVER GIVE UP, TOUGH RESILIENT DIG DEEP. RESPECTFUL BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 19 CAR

KNOWN FOR

IN 2017, TRUEX TOOK

WHEN HE FINALLY HAD

TRUEX AND HIS

NASCAR’s new stage racing

consistently good race cars,

longtime partner Sherry

format by the horns. A five-win

Truex became a NASCAR star.

Pollex, who passed away in

regular season followed by

Between 2015 and 2021, he

September 2023, started the

two playoff victories paved

made the Championship 4

Martin Truex Jr. Foundation in

the way to the season finale

in five of the seven seasons.

2007. Today, the foundation

in Homestead, Florida. There,

He also recorded 29 of his 34

works to improve the lives

Truex held off a hard-charging

career Cup Series wins during

of children with cancer, the

Kyle Busch for the race win and

that span and finished runner-

lives of women with ovarian

the Cup Series championship.

up in points three times.

cancer and the lives of the individuals and families impacted.

102

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

curtis turner

41

Curtis Turner was one of the most popular and competitive drivers in NASCAR history. The native of Floyd, Virginia, competed in 184 NASCAR premier series races from 1949 to 1968 and collected 17 victories.

Turner discovered stock car racing in 1946 when he finished last in a field of 18 cars during a dirt-track event in Mt. Airy, North Carolina. The famed moonshiner from the foothills of Virginia returned the next week and won the race in only his second start.

Turner saw stock car racing as the perfect way to find fortune and fame. Racer and promoter Bill France invited Turner to join a group at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Dec. 14, 1947, to set the rules for a new sanctioning body known as NASCAR. During his driving career, Turner won more than 350 races with a variety of different racing series, including 22 in NASCAR’s Convertible Division during the 1956 season.

Turner was considered a showman who brought fans into the grandstands. His ability to master roads with loads of moonshine translated well to the skills required to be successful on the track.

The tall and handsome driver was banned for life from NASCAR in 1961 after a failed attempt to unionize the drivers. France reinstated him in 1965 to help bring fans back to the sport.

In the late 1950s, Turner gained the nickname “Pops” because he would often pop the rear bumpers of competitors ahead of him. He also called everyone by the same name as an easy way to address them.

Turner’s last NASCAR start came on Sept. 15, 1968. Sadly, he perished in a private airplane crash on Oct. 4, 1970, near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

Curtis was one of the finest race car drivers we ever had,” said H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler. “Had Curtis been in a different era of NASCAR, he would have won a lot more races than he did. He was exciting to watch. He could slide those cars around on dirt and people loved to see that.

BEST SEASON

TOUGH RESPECTED

COMPETITIVE

MAGICAL FEARED

RECORD SETTER

KNOWN FOR

TURNER ENJOYED HIS BEST SEASON IN

PRIOR TO THE 1967 DAYTONA 500 AT

TURNER WAS MOST COMFORTABLE

1958 when he won three times – at

Daytona International Speedway, Turner

leading as he could get the most out of

Champion Speedway in Fayetteville, North

posted a track record speed of 180.831 mph

every car he drove. His hard-charging

Carolina; Lakewood Speedway in Atlanta,

in qualifying. He was considered a favorite

style was a delight to his fans, especially

Georgia; and Southern States Fairgrounds

to win each time he took the green flag. He

during his final victory in 1965 at

in Charlotte, North Carolina – while driving

logged 54 top-five finishes, 73 top-10 results

Rockingham Speedway. It came in only

for the famed Ford factory team of Holman

and 16 pole positions during his NASCAR

his seventh race after being reinstated for

Moody. He led 320 total laps in those three

premier series career.

competition by NASCAR.

races.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

103

92

herb thomas

Herb Thomas was widely considered NASCAR’s first superstar before a terrible accident ended his racing career.

Born April 6, 1923, in Olivia, North Carolina, Thomas became NASCAR’s earliest record setter.

• First two-time Cup Series champion.

• First three-time Southern 500 winner.

• First to lead NASCAR in wins two years in a row.

• First to lead NASCAR in pole positions three years in a row.

• Biggest percentage of available purse money won.

And, at a time when NASCAR competitors were a notoriously rough-and-rowdy bunch, Thomas was anything but. After winning the 1954 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, he was offered a celebratory beer.

He declined, saying, “My favorite drink is ice water.”

As dominant as Thomas was, his career was like a meteor that blazed brightly across the NASCAR sky before quickly fading out.

Having earlier quit Carl Kiekhaefer’s team, Thomas was leading former teammate Buck Baker in the point standings as the 1956 season neared a conclusion. Just 10 days prior to the finale, Kiekhaefer managed to get a race added to the NASCAR schedule on Oct. 23, 1956, at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds in Shelby, North Carolina.

Just past the midway point, Thomas was badly injured in an accident triggered by contact with another former teammate.

“I started on the outside of Speedy Thompson and he spun me around,” Thomas recalled. “I stayed on the track and everybody hit me, according to eyewitnesses. I don’t have any recollection of the accident after I started around Speedy. It was a couple, three years before I regained full use of my right arm and leg.”

Thomas’ career was essentially over.

“I made a couple or three comebacks, but I backed off in the corners, places that I used to pass them,” Thomas admitted. “I decided to get out then for good.”

For years, Thomas stayed away from race tracks. It was only later in life that he began to return and accept the accolades he so richly deserved. Thomas was a charter member of the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and was inducted posthumously to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013.

Thomas died Aug. 9, 2000.

It has been a good life. I’d like to call back 40 years and show them how it ought to be done. I would love to put one of those engines (used in the late 1990s) in a Hudson today. They wouldn’t know where that car went.

BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

THE NO. 92 CAR

GRITTY

OLD-SCHOOL

GIFTED KNOWN FOR

AFTER CAPTURING THE

THOMAS WON 48 RACES IN

THOMAS, WHO MADE THE

championship in 1951 and

less than six years and boasts

Hudson Hornet a household

1953, Thomas became the

a career winning percentage

name during the early 1950s,

first driver to win two titles

of 20.9 – 48 wins in 230

was the inspiration for the Doc

in what is now the NASCAR

starts. He had an overall

Hudson character in the Disney/

Cup Series. He also finished

average finish of 9.0 in

Pixar CARS movies. What could

runner-up in the series

NASCAR’s premier series.

get any better than that?

standings three times.

104

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

rusty wallace

Rusty Wallace entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race on March 6, 1980, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, driving for team owner Roger Penske. The newcomer proved he possessed a great deal of driving talent.

2

Born in Fenton, Missouri, on Aug. 14, 1956, Wallace began racing on short tracks in his home state as a teenager.

Prior to joining the NASCAR circuit, Wallace won more than 200 short-track events as he found himself racing from Florida, where he claimed a pair of local track championships, to Wisconsin, where he routinely won races sanctioned by the American Speed Association.

In 1979, Wallace was named rookie of the year with the United States Auto Club’s stock car division after finishing third in points behind A.J. Foyt and Bay Darnell. Two years later, he finished second in the USAC stock car championship standings behind eventual NASCAR driver Joe Ruttman.

Wallace finally collected an elusive ASA title in 1983, topping a star-studded field that included future NASCAR wheelmen such as Mark Martin, Alan Kulwicki and Dick Trickle.

From 1980 to 1983, Wallace entered only nine NASCAR Cup Series races. The following year, he joined the Cup Series circuit full time, driving for Cliff Stewart, and earned rookieof-the-year honors.

He joined Raymond Beadle’s Blue Max operation in 1986 where he won 18 times over five seasons and claimed the 1989 Cup Series championship. Wallace returned to Team Penske in 1991 and won 37 more races before retiring in 2002.

After stepping out of the cockpit, Wallace spent some time as a NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner and he has more recently served as an analyst for television and radio coverage of NASCAR races. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2013.

I am honored to have enjoyed such an awesome career in NASCAR. I am so thankful to my team owners and crews for helping to make my dream come true.

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

VERSATILE

CHAMPION

OUTSPOKEN

THE NO. 2 CAR

KNOWN FOR

DURING THE 1989 NASCAR

WALLACE’S AVERAGE

ALWAYS A TOUGH COM-

Cup Series season, Wallace

start of 13th and average

petitor, Wallace was known

managed to log six victories,

finish of 14th is consid-

for his ability to put his cars

13 top-five finishes, 20 top-10

ered enough to produce a

up front on a variety of track

results and four pole positions

consistent winning effort.

configurations, especially

in Pontiacs owned by drag

From 1980 to 2002, he led

short tracks. He was also

racing legend Raymond Beadle.

19,995 of the 204,818 laps

a consistent championship

By season’s end, he bested

he completed. Twenty four

contender, finishing among

Dale Earnhardt by only 12

of his 55 victories came

the top-five in points seven

points to secure his lone Cup

on short tracks with 26 on

times and the top-10 on 17

Series championship.

superspeedways and five on

occasions.

road courses.

106

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

17

darrell waltrip

Darrell Waltrip entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race on May 5, 1972, at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway. Throughout a 29-year career, he won 84 Cup Series races and claimed championships in 1981, 1982 and 1985.

Born on Feb. 5, 1947, in Owensboro, Kentucky, Waltrip began his racing career in go-karts at the age of 12. By the age of 16, he was racing stock cars, beginning with a 1936 Chevrolet coupe at a local dirt track near his home.

After high school graduation in 1965, he became one of the most successful asphalt racers in the region. Local car owners such as Harry Pedley and P.B. Crowell helped Waltrip make a name for himself at Kentucky Motor Speedway, Ellis Raceway and Fairgrounds Speedway at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville, where he won track championships in 1970 and 1973.

Waltrip proved he was a showman by talking up rivalries between himself and Coo Coo Marlin (father of two-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin) and James Buford. Track management loved his antics as they helped sell tickets.

Waltrip’s short-track success prompted a move to NASCAR’s premier series at age 25 where he competed against superstars Richard Petty, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison, among others. Even though he didn’t hesitate to make his voice known, Waltrip eventually earned the respect of his more experienced peers. His first NASCAR Cup Series victory came at his home track, Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway, on May 10, 1975, as he beat the field by two laps in his own No. 17 Chevrolet.

Waltrip went on the score 83 additional Cup Series victories for such premier racing organizations as DiGard Racing, Junior Johnson and Associates, Hendrick Motorsports and his own Darrell Waltrip Motorsports.

ALL I EVER WANTED TO DO WAS DRIVE IN NASCAR. I WAS BLESSED WITH A TREMENDOUS CAREER WITH SOME OF THE VERY BEST TEAMS AND TEAM OWNERS IN THE SPORT. BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

VERBAL

DARING

BOLD

INSIGHTFUL AGGRESSIVE SHOWMAN

THE NO. 17 CAR

KNOWN FOR

DURING HIS FIRST YEAR

FORTY OF WALTRIP’S 84

A TOUGH COMPETITOR IN

driving Junior Johnson’s No.

victories came on short tracks

anything he drove, Waltrip

11 Chevrolet in 1981, Waltrip

such as Bristol, Martinsville,

developed a reputation

logged 12 victories, 21

North Wilkesboro and

for provoking his closest

top-five finishes and 11 pole

Richmond. His average start was

rivals and working on them

positions en route to his first

13.7 and average finish was 15.1.

mentally, causing them to

of three NASCAR Cup Series

An aggressive style on and off

make mistakes. His boisterous

championships. His biggest

the track made him a hero and

personality was new to

victory that year came in the

a villain throughout his 29-year

NASCAR, often predicting he

fall race at Charlotte Motor

driving career that ended in

would win the race and then

Speedway.

2000.

backing up his words.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

107

joe weatherly

Anybody who ever knew two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Joe Weatherly, affectionately known as the clown prince of stock car racing, had a story about him – and some were even true.

Born May 29, 1922, in Norfolk, Virginia, Weatherly would come to be known as much for

8

his anything-goes, devil-may-care personality as he was for his epic talent behind the wheel of a race car.

Weatherly and fellow NASCAR legend Curtis Turner were friends off the track, but that did not mean they cut each other any slack whatsoever on it.

“You couldn’t have met a finer feller than Joe Weatherly,” said car owner Bud Moore on The Scene Vault Podcast. “He was a heck of a race driver. He loved to run against Curtis Turner. Him and Turner beat and banged on each other quite a bit. They run around together, too, quite a bit. When he got to outrun Turner, he’d walk over to him and say, ‘Pops, I’ll tell ya what. I believe I done tore you up today.’ He was something else.”

Moore was only getting started.

“He had this one box … it was about a foot-and-a-half long and had a piece of screen wire over top of it and a fox tail in it,” Moore continued. “He called it a mongoose. He had everybody believing it. He said, ‘That’s the meanest thing in the world. It’d snap a snake’s head off so quick it’d make your head spin.”

Just as Weatherly would get bystanders good and curious – and more importantly – peering close into the box, he’d trip the springloaded furry tail and cause it to leap out of the box.

Weatherly wasn’t particular in who he pranked, either. No one was immune, not even the time at Darlington Raceway when he showed the “mongoose” to the wives of the track president and several major manufacturers.

“These were the big-wheel ladies,” Moore said with a smile – and then an outright laugh. “He ran and got that mongoose. He’s got these ladies standing right around there. He started all that bull, talking about that mongoose. He got ’em all bent down over that thing … and I’m telling you right now … he turned that thing loose on ’em … and there was five wet spots right there on pit road.”

Weatherly died Jan. 19, 1964, as the result of a racing accident at California’s Riverside International Raceway.

Joe and Curtis (Turner) put a mule in a hotel room down at Daytona. I was there when that happened, but they paid for room damages. I never knew of Joe getting in any serious trouble.

- F O R M E R R I C H M O N D R A C E W AY T R A C K OWN E R PAU L SAW YE R BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 8 CAR

PRANKSTER

TALENTED

ENTERTAINING TOUGH

FAN-FAVORITE KNOWN FOR

WEATHERLY CAPTURED HIS

BEFORE TURNING HIS

WEATHERLY USED NO. 8

second consecutive NASCAR

attention to stock car racing,

while driving for car owner

Cup Series championship in

Weatherly was a professional

Bud Moore. “That way,”

1963 despite making starts

motorcycle racer. During a

he claimed, “the fans can

for no less than eight different

brief, five-year pro career

always tell where I am, even

team owners. The 41-year-old

on two wheels, he won

if I’m upside down.” He was

racer won three times and had

three AMA national events,

posthumously inducted

35 top-10 finishes that season

including the prestigious

into the NASCAR Hall of

in 53 starts.

Laconia Classic 100-mile

Fame (2015) and the AMA

road race in 1948 and ’49.

Motorcycle Hall of Fame (1998).

108

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

49

bob welborn

Bob Welborn was a winner in what is now the NASCAR Cup Series, but it was in the sanctioning body’s short-lived Convertible Series that he found his greatest and most consistent successes.

Born May 5, 1928, here’s how tough Bob Welborn would one day become.

Just as the battle for the NASCAR Convertible Series championship was beginning to heat up in the autumn of 1957, Welborn learned that he needed an operation to remove his appendix.

Rather than heading to the nearest hospital, however, Welborn kept right on driving to claim his second Convertible crown in a row.

According to Outside the Groove.com contributor Lee Ackerman, the driver’s ever-present cigar served as a barometer for Welborn’s mood. If the cigar was pristine, and Welborn was leisurely taking a drag now and then, things were going well.

If the poor thing was chomped and burned down nearly to a nub, then, no, the ol’ race car just wasn’t quite runnin’ right. And if he was simply holding it between a couple of fingers with a faraway look on his face – he was contemplating his next move, thinking two or three steps ahead.

Who knows quite how many cigars Welborn must’ve gone through in 1956, the NASCAR Convertible Series’ first official year of competition. He ran 45 of the division’s 47 races and won three of them.

Curtis Turner, on the other hand, charged to an astounding 22 victories. Nevertheless, Welborn won the championship on the strength of his 32 top-five finishes and 39 top 10s, as opposed to Turner’s 28 and 29, respectively.

It was a crazy season. In the next-to-last race, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway in the mountains of western North Carolina, all but one car remaining in the race was involved in a late-race crash. The race was halted 19 laps early, with Turner – the only car that could still run at that point – declared the winner.

Welborn clinched the championship a couple of weeks later, despite yet another victory by Turner.

“I congratulate him,” Turner was quoted as saying in historian Greg Fielden’s extraordinary book, “Rumblin’ Ragtops: The Story of NASCAR’s Fabulous Convertible Division.” “I won the most races, but he got the most points.”

Welborn died Oct. 4, 1970. Twelve years later, he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame.

Despite over 60 years of time passing since the NASCAR Convertible Series last had a race, when you think of the division, the first name that comes to mind is Bob Welborn.

- LEE ACKERMAN, OUTSIDE THE GROOVE.COM BEST SEASON

RECORD SETTER

TOUGH

CHAMPION

CONSISTENT

THE NO. 49 CAR

KNOWN FOR

WELBORN STARTED THE 1958

THE HISTORY OF THE NASCAR

IN ONLY ONE OF HIS THREE

season driving his own

Convertible division is comprised

convertible championship

Chevrolet convertibles and

of only four seasons – 1956-

seasons was Welborn the

partnered the rest of the way

1959 – and Welborn won the

division’s top winner. Curtis

with car owner Julian Petty, the

series title in three of those

Turner topped that category

brother of NASCAR pioneer Lee

years. He also posted nine wins

in both 1956 and 1957, and

Petty. Welborn won in eight

in what is now the NASCAR

by a good margin, too. When

of his 19 starts and, best of

Cup Series, as well as the pole

Turner faltered, though,

all, captured his third straight

position for the inaugural

Welborn was able to finish

championship in the division.

Daytona 500.

consistently well enough to win the title.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

109

4

Rex white

Rex White entered his first NASCAR Cup Series race on Feb. 26, 1956, on the Beach and Road Course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Amazingly, he finished 22nd among the 80 drivers in the starting field.

Born Aug. 17, 1929, in Taylorsville, North Carolina, White left school as a teen and moved to the Washington, District of Columbia, area where he found work as a cook and later as an attendant at a gas station.

In 1951, a race promoter placed a placard in the window of the station advertising races at West Lanham (Maryland) Speedway. With no money to buy a ticket, White sneaked into the pits and loved what he saw.

He eventually began working for 1952 NASCAR Modified champion Frankie Schneider but decided to leave to pursue his own racing career, initially picking up a ride here and there. In 1954, he bought a 1937 Ford and began winning on numerous short tracks in the Northeast.

His success led to joining the Cup Series ranks in 1956 where he logged many impressive finishes. White’s first-career NASCAR premier series victory came at North Carolina’s Asheville-Weaverville Speedway on June 9, 1958, while driving for Julian Petty. The following year, White fielded his own Chevrolets and collected five wins that season.

Then in 1960, White recorded six more wins, finishing among the top 10 in 35 of 40 races and claimed the championship over Richard Petty by almost 4,000 points.

White scored 28 NASCAR Cup Series victories before retiring in 1964. The 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee is listed among NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers and is also a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame and the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame.

ONCE I SAW THE CARS ON THE TRACK, I KNEW THAT WAS FOR ME. I WORKED HARD AND FOUND A WAY TO DO IT. I’M STILL AMAZED ABOUT WHAT WE ACCOMPLISHED.

WITTY

QUIET

APPRECIATIVE

ADVANTAGEOUS AGGRESSIVE

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

WHILE HEADING TOWARD

WHITE’S AVERAGE START

WHITE WAS SHORT IN

the 1960 NASCAR Cup Series

of 8.1 and average finish of

stature but strong behind

championship, White earned six

9.0 is considered to be an

the wheel of his famed

wins, 25 top-five finishes, 35

impressive statistic. From 1956

No. 4 gold-and-white

top-10 results and three pole

to 1964, he completed 48,512

Chevrolets. His ability to

positions. He was a threat to

laps and led 4,370. Twenty-

adapt to cars and make

win everywhere he raced, set-

seven of his 28 victories came

them finish better than

ting the foundation for scoring

on short tracks with one

intended gave him a

his lone Cup Series champion-

superspeedway victory coming

reputation as a skilled driver.

ship. White was the underdog

in October 1962 at Atlanta

Team owners asked but he

against the top teams.

Motor Speedway.

liked driving his own cars.

110

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 4 CAR

HONORED KNOWN FOR

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

98

leeroy yarbrough Lonnie “LeeRoy” Yarbrough was victorious in NASCAR’s most prestigious superspeedway events. Sadly, the native of Jacksonville, Florida, died as a result of a fall on Dec. 7, 1984 – 11 years after his driving career came to a close.

Born on Sept. 17, 1938, Yarbrough attended high school while fueling a need for

speed on the highways and back roads of his hometown. When he was 16 years old, Yarbrough built his first race car – a 1934 Ford coupe – from unwanted parts, including a Chrysler engine. He eventually found his way to a local dirt track at age 19 and won the first race he entered. That victory came at Jacksonville Speedway in the spring of 1957.

Yarbrough moved up quickly and found NASCAR’s fledgling Sportsman division as his next quest. Eleven wins there prompted a move to the more powerful and more prestigious Modified division. Remarkably, he collected 83 victories during three seasons.

By 1964, Yarbrough had reached what is now the NASCAR Cup Series. In 14 starts that season, he grabbed the attention of the circuit’s top car owners by scoring victories on the short tracks in Savannah, Georgia, and Greenville, South Carolina.

Yarbrough notched his first superspeedway victory in October 1966 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, leading 301 of 334 laps in a Dodge owned by Jon Thorne.

In 1968, Yarbrough joined forces with former driver and team owner Junior Johnson and together they won 10 superspeedway races over the course of three seasons.

During his 13-year career in NASCAR’s top series, Yarbrough competed in 198 races, scoring 14 wins. His best season was 1969 when he won the Daytona 500, the World 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington to become the first driver to collect NASCAR’s Triple Crown.

He was voted to the list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.

LeeRoy was about the best race car driver I have ever seen. He could handle a car on dirt or on a superspeedway and make it look smooth and easy. He was the best in my opinion.

- JUNIOR JOHNSON BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

THE NO. 98 CAR

HUNGRY

DRIVEN

RESPECTED KNOWN FOR

LEEROY YARBROUGH

IN 198 NASCAR STARTS,

EVEN THOUGH HE STOOD

scored his biggest victory in

Yarbrough logged 14 premier

just 5-foot-11, Yarbrough was

the 1969 Daytona 500 driving

series victories, 65 top-five

one of the sport’s toughest

for Junior Johnson. Driving the

finishes, 92 top-10 results and

competitors. He never

No. 98 Ford Torino, Yarbrough

10 pole positons. His average

competed for NASCAR’s

also scored wins in the grueling

start was 10.5 and average

coveted championship but

World 600 at Charlotte and

finish was 15.0, even though

made his presence known as

the prestigious Southern 500

he only ran a limited number of

one of the very best drivers

at Darlington, becoming the

events. Yarbrough’s winnings

in stock car racing history. His

first driver to win NASCAR’s

totaled $465,544 or slightly

aggressive style and never-

three biggest races in the same

more than $3 million in today’s

give-up attitude resonated

season.

dollars.

with the fans.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

111

11

cale yarborough

Having grown up just miles from the storied 1.366-mile superspeedway, Cale Yarborough entered his first NASCAR race at South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway on Sept. 2, 1957. Yarborough went on to claim three series championships and 83 victories in 560 starts.

Born in Timmonsville, South Carolina, on March 27, 1939, Yarborough is the oldest of three boys born to Julian and Annie Yarborough. His family made their living through owning a local store and farming tobacco and cotton. After his father died in a private plane crash during the late 1940s, young Cale began working hard to help his mother manage the family business.

Yarborough famously slipped under a fence to see the inaugural Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in September 1950 at age 11. He began his fledgling driving career with one event in 1957. Seven years later in 1965, Yarborough logged his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Georgia’s Valdosta Speedway for team owner Kenny Myler. The victory shifted his career into high gear, prompting several of the sport’s iconic team owners, such as Banjo Matthews, Glen Wood, Junior Johnson, M.C. Anderson and Harry Ranier, to hire him as their driver.

Yarborough eventually spent several years as a NASCAR Cup Series team owner with John Andretti notching the operation’s lone victory in 1997. Yarborough sold the team in 2000, and he was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

In addition to his racing activities, Yarborough engaged in various business ventures, including his longstanding Honda dealership in Florence, South Carolina.

Yarborough passed away Dec. 31, 2023, at the age of 84.

I’VE BEEN BLESSED TO HAVE ENJOYED A VERY SUCCESSFUL NASCAR CAREER, BUT I DEFINITELY DIDN’T DO IT ON MY OWN. I HAD SOME GREAT PEOPLE HELP ME ALONG THE WAY.

112

DETERMINED

STRONG PATIENT

BEST SEASON

RECORD-SETTER

IN 1978, THE YEAR OF

ONE OF YARBOROUGH’S

DURING A CAREER

Yarborough’s third Cup

greatest accomplishments

that spanned 31 years,

Series championship, he

as a NASCAR driver came

Yarborough was

logged 10 victories, 23

on March 25, 1973, during

considered to be one of

top-five finishes, 24 top-10

the Volunteer 500 at

the sport’s toughest and

results and claimed eight

Bristol Motor Speedway.

most determined drivers.

pole positions while driving

While driving for team

He had a reputation for

for Junior Johnson. He also

owner Richard Howard, he

driving cars to better

enjoyed a 10-win season

miraculously led every lap

positions than expected,

four years earlier in 1974

of the 500-lap race and

giving his very best effort

in Johnson’s famed No.11

logged his 15th of 83 series

during every lap of the

Chevrolet.

victories.

race.

75 GREATEST DRIVERS

THE NO. 11 CAR

QUIET TOUGH SMART

KNOWN FOR

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

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