Beyond the Flag
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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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LONG POND, PA – JULY 30: Kevin Harvick drives the #4 Mobil 1 Ford during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 30, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA – JULY 30: Kevin Harvick drives the #4 Mobil 1 Ford during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 30, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /

#4 – Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Ford

It took Kevin Harvick until he was 38 years old and in his 14th career season as a full-time Cup Series driver to finally win his first career championship in the 2014 season, making him the active former champion who had to wait the longest to finally secure his first title.

While he was the oldest and longest-tenured driver at the time of winning his first career Cup Series championship among the six active former champions, it wasn’t like he only started getting good in 2014. In three of the four seasons from 2010 to 2013 right before he won his maiden title, he finished in 3rd place in the championship standings, and he had another three top 5 finishes in his career even before that.

In the past 11 seasons, he has finished lower than 10th place in the championship standings just once, with that being in the 2009 season, his most recent winless season. He has not finished lower than 8th place in the standings since that 2009 season.

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So far, Harvick’s Cup Series career has featured 36 victories, a total that is 4th among active drivers and just three wins away from a 2nd place tie. The fact that he has won only one championship is misleading in terms of how good he has been.

Without playoffs, Harvick would be a three-time champion of the sport and he would currently be the two-time defending champion. Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson would also be a three-time champion, which shows just how great Harvick’s Cup Series career has been thus far from an overall race-by-race production standpoint and why he is deserving of such a high spot in these rankings.

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