NASCAR: Top 10 active drivers from an all-time perspective

By Asher Fair | Aug 16, 2017

MARTINSVILLE, VA - APRIL 02: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, leads Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Tide Pods Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 2, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

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BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 11: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 11: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

#10 – Martin Truex Jr., Furniture Row Racing, No. 78 Toyota

To those of you who have watched NASCAR for decades, putting Martin Truex Jr. in these rankings may seem like a bit of a stretch. After all, in 11 full-time seasons as Cup Series driver, he has finished in the top 10 in the championship standings just once.

Conversely, if you just started watching NASCAR this season, Martin Truex Jr. may seem extremely low in these rankings because of how dominant he has been this season. His dominance so far this season is what allows him to be in these rankings, while the fact that his career really didn’t get going until this season keeps him from being higher up in them.

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Truex Jr., 37, has 11 career Cup Series wins to his name, a total that actually trails two active drivers who are not in these rankings. However, eight of those wins have come since the start of last season. His career really did not take off until the 2015 season, his 10th season of full-time competition, when he won his third career race at Pocono to lock him into the Chase.

Later in the 2015 season, he went on to qualify for the championship race as one of the final four drivers at Homestead-Miami. He finished that race in 12th place and ended up in 4th place in the standings, which to this day is his lone top 10 finish. However, that will more than likely change this season.

Given the fact that he has eight victories in the past 15 months and is by far the favorite to win his first career Cup Series championship this season, Truex Jr. is the #10 driver in these rankings, and rightfully so, especially given the fact that he has been unstoppable as of late driving the #78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.