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

By Asher Fair

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)
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: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, 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: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Ford, 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) /

#5 – Brad Keselowski, Team Penske, No. 2 Ford

Among active former Cup Series champions, Brad Keselowski, 33, was the second youngest at age 28 at the time he won his first career championship back in the 2012 season. He is currently older than only one other former champion, a driver who is in the top 4 in these rankings.

The 2017 season is only Keselowski’s eighth season of full-time competition in the Cup Series, meaning he won that championship in just his third season as a full-time driver. No other former champion in these rankings won a championship that early in their Cup Series career.

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In under eight full seasons, Keselowski has already won 22 career Cup Series races, a total that trails only seven current full-time drivers. While his win total is the lowest among the six active former champions, the other five have driven for an average of 16.2 full-time seasons each, with four of those five having driven full-time for more than twice as long as Keselowski has.

While giving Keselowski the #5 spot in these rankings may seem too generous since he is the active champion with the lowest career win total, you could also make the case that he could be much higher in these rankings given the great amount of success he has had in a time frame much shorter than that of any of the other five active former champions.

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