Two weeks ago at Richmond Raceway, Kevin Harvick won the 60th race of his NASCAR Cup Series career. This milestone victory moved him into a tie for ninth on the list for most all-time wins in NASCAR history. It just so happens that the man Harvick is now tied with, Kyle Busch, is also still competing in the Cup Series on a full-time basis. Needless to say, we likely haven’t seen the last of either Harvick or Busch in victory lane.
Following Harvick’s historic victory that put him into a tie for ninth on the all-time list, it begs the question of exactly which names remain ahead of him. To say that Harvick and Busch are on a list comprised of legends would be an understatement.
From the late Dale Earnhardt to “The King”, Richard Petty, the following looks at the ten winningest drivers in NASCAR Cup Series history. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch will be hard-pressed to move up even a single spot on this list between now and the end of their careers!
Top 10 Winningest Drivers All Time in NASCAR Cup Series History
Note: * — denotes drivers who are still actively competing in the NASCAR Cup Series
* — T-9: Kevin Harvick, 60 Career Wins
Last Win: Federated Auto Parts 400 (2022)
We kick off this list with the man who just recently earned back-to-back victories to move into a ninth-place tie for all-time wins. Kevin Harvick started his NASCAR Cup Series career taking over for Dale Earnhardt Sr. after his fatal crash in the 2001 Daytona 500. Harvick managed to put the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing car into victory lane in just his third race after taking over for Earnhardt. With a little “No. 3” decal on the side, he earned his first career victory in Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Since then, Harvick has won 59 more races. Remarkably, 29 of those wins have come after he turned 40 years old.
* — T-9: Kyle Busch, 60 Career Wins
Last Win: Food City Dirt Race (2022)
Kyle Busch is now tied for the ninth-most NASCAR Cup Series wins of all time. He earned his 60th career win earlier this year at the Bristol Dirt Race. Busch earned his first career win driving for Hendrick Motorsports in Fontana at the 2005 Sony HD 500. He left HMS after three more wins to align with Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch won eight races in his very first season with JGR in 2008. The soon-to-be free agent has had a tougher time finding victory lane recently. However, “Rowdy” has now won at least one race in 18 consecutive seasons, tying the longest such streak in NASCAR history.
8: Dale Earnhardt Sr., 76 Career Wins
Last Win: Die Hard 500 (2000)
“The Intimidator” comes in at No. 8 on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. It took just 16 starts for Dale Earnhardt to earn his first-ever win which came at Bristol Motor Speedway. In 1987, Sr. put on a clinic by winning 11 of 29 races on his way to his third series championship. Earnhardt had championship aspirations once again going into the 2001 season. Unfortunately, he would not get the opportunity to go for the championship or any more wins as he tragically lost his life on the final lap of the season-opening Daytona 500.
T-6: Cale Yarborough, 83 Career Wins
Last Win: Miller High Life 500 (1985)
The first driver on this list who truly falls into the “old-school” category is Cale Yarborough. It took a few years for Yarborough to get his first NASCAR Cup Series win. It’s worth noting that he never raced a full season until his 16th year in the Cup Series. When he did, he took full advantage. Buoyed by a pair of 10-win seasons, Yarborough rattled off an incredible 41 wins in the span of just five years. His final win came in the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1985.
T-6: Jimmie Johnson, 83 Career Wins
Last Win: AAA 400 Drive for Autism (2017)
The current NTT Data IndyCar Series driver certainly won his fair share of races in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Lowe’s company used to have a commercial saying “I am Jimmie Johnson, BOOM confetti”. On several occasions during his record-setting career, that’s how simple Johnson made winning races look. From 2002 to 2017, he was one of the best drivers in the sport. His 83 wins helped push him to seven series championships. After winning at Dover in 2017, Johnson went winless in his last 130 starts. he was unable to break the sixth-place tie with Yarborough on the all-time list.
T-4: Bobby Allison, 84 Career Wins
Last Win: Daytona 500 (1988)
One of the “Alabama Gang” drivers finds himself in the top-5 on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. Bobby Allison won 84 races over the course of his 25-year Cup Series career. The first of those victories actually came in his very first race. Allison drove to victory in the Maine 100 at Oxford Plains Speedway in 1966. After that remarkable debut, he achieved back-to-back 10-win seasons in 1971 and ’72. Allison won “The Great American Race” in 1988. This marked his final season before he had to retire due to injuries sustained during a crash at Pocono.
Related | Updated 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Standings After Kevin Harvick’s Win at Richmond
T-4 Darrell Waltrip, 84 Career Wins
Last Win: Southern 500 (1992)
The former color commenter for NASCAR on FOX was also a great racer in his day. Darrell Waltrip won 84 races in his career which spanned 29 years. Waltrip was able to find victory lane for the first time at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in 1975. The 1981 and ’82 seasons proved to be particularly fruitful for Waltrip as he rattled off 12 race wins in each. The success powered him to be crowned the NASCAR Cup Series Champion in both seasons. Waltrip earned his final win at Darlington Raceway in one of the sport’s crown jewel races, the Southern 500. He then went winless in his last eight seasons.
3: Jeff Gordon, 93 Career Wins
Last Win: Goodys Headache Relief 500 (2015)
“The Wonder Boy” finds himself on the podium with the third-most all-time wins in NASCAR Cup Series history. Jeff Gordon earned the first of his 93 career wins in 1994 at the Coca-Cola 600. Just a couple of months later, “The Rainbow Warrior” followed it up by winning yet another crown jewel race in the Brickyard 400. Gordon won the Brickyard 400 five times over the course of his career, the most of anyone who has raced at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gordon won 40 races between 1995 and 1998 on his way to winning three series championships. With 2008 and 2010 being the lone exceptions, Gordon won a race in every season between 1994 and 2015.
2: David Pearson, 105 Career Wins
Last Win: CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 (1980)
Despite never racing a full season, David Pearson won 105 NASCAR Cup Series races in a career that spanned across 28 years. Like Bobby Allison, Pearson won his first-ever start which came in the 1961 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Pearson overcame the fact that he never ran a full Cup Series schedule to still record five double-digit win seasons in his career. He also won three season championships. Pearson earned the final win of his career at Darlington Raceway in the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500. He continued to race a partial schedule for six years after that, going winless in 47 starts.
1: Richard Petty, 200 Career Wins
Last Win: Firecracker 400 (1984)
The man with the most NASCAR Cup Series wins in history both now and for the foreseeable future is “The King” himself, Richard Petty. With an astounding 200 victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, Petty’s record will be tough, if not impossible, to beat. It actually took Petty a few years to get his first win. He finally broke through at Southern States Speedway in 1960. Plenty more trips to victory lane would follow over the course of his 35-year career.
24 years after his first triumph, Petty earned his 200th career win on the 4th of July at Daytona International Speedway. Following that Firecracker 400 victory in 1984, Petty went winless over the final eight years of his career. In reality, this only makes it that much more remarkable that he still has 95 more NASCAR Cup Series wins than any other driver has achieved in the sport’s history.
