NASCAR Announces 75 Greatest Drivers for 75th Anniversary

• Andreanna Ditton


• 12 May 2023

As part of it’s 75th Anniversary celebrations, NASCAR has added to it’s Top 50 list of greatest drivers (compiled to celebrate it’s Golden Anniversary). Fans and racers watched in anticipation as the list appeared over several weeks until its conclusion last night with Jimmie Johnson’s name rounding out the 25 additional drivers in preparation for honoring the bunch at the upcoming Darlington Speedway event this weekend.

The list was compiled by a ” a blue-ribbon committee of former drivers, team owners, industry personnel, NASCAR executives and current and former media members.” The makeup of the list is shouldn’t be surprising to most longtime NASCAR fans, in part due to its lack of diversity. But the drivers on the list have shown remarkable talent on the track.

To keep everyone on the edge of their toes, the committee rolled out five drivers names a week over a period of five weeks, and the entire group of 75 will be feted at the annual Throwback Weekend in Darlington.

This is part of the larger celebration, acknowledging 75 years of NASCAR’s place in motorsports history, which includes events throughout the year and a section on the NASCAR website dedicated to the past 75 years:  NASCAR 75

Newly Added 25 Greatest NASCAR Drivers

• Sam Ard – Back-to-back NASCAR Xfinity Series champion (1983-84).
• Greg Biffle – Won 19 NASCAR Cup Series races. 2002 Xfinity Series champion and 2000 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion.
• Jeff Burton – Won 21 NASCAR Cup Series races and 27 Xfinity Series races.
• Kurt Busch – 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion won 34 Cup races including the 2017 Daytona 500.
• Kyle Busch – Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (2015, ’19) and 2009 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 15-time Most Popular Driver won 26 times in the Cup Series, including two Daytona 500s. Won back-to-back Xfinity Series championships in 1998-99.
• Carl Edwards – Won 28 NASCAR Cup Series races. 2007 Xfinity Series champion.
• Chase Elliott – 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2014 Xfinity Series champion.
• Denny Hamlin – Won 49 NASCAR Cup Series races including three Daytona 500s (2016, ’19, ’20).
• Kevin Harvick – 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion has 60 Cup wins. Two-time Xfinity Series champion (2001, ’06).
• Ron Hornaday Jr. – Four-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champion (1996, ’98, 2007, ’09).
• Jimmie Johnson – Record-tying seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (2006-10, ’13, ’16).
• Bobby Labonte – 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 1991 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
• Randy LaJoie – Won consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series championships in 1996-97.
• Kyle Larson – 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion.
• Joey Logano – Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (2018, ’22) has 32 Cup Series wins including the 2015 Daytona 500.
• Kasey Kahne – Won 18 NASCAR Cup Series races.
• Matt Kenseth – 2003 NASCAR Cup Series champion won 39 Cup races including two Daytona 500s.
• Brad Keselowski – 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2010 Xfinity Series champion.
• Sterling Marlin – Won 10 NASCAR Cup Series races including back-to-back Daytona 500s (1994-95).
• Ryan Newman – Won 18 NASCAR Cup Series races, including the 2008 Daytona 500, and 51 poles.
• Larry Phillips – Five-time NASCAR Weekly Series champion (1989, ’91-92, ’95-96).
• Mike Stefanik – Record-tying nine NASCAR championships – seven Whelen Modified Tour (1989, ’91, ’97-98, ’01-02, ’06) and two East Series (1997-98).
• Tony Stewart – Three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (2002, ’05, ’11).
• Martin Truex Jr. – 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion and back-to-back Xfinity Series champion (2004-05).