NASCAR: Top 10 drivers of all-time

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LONG POND, PA – JULY 29: NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

#1 – Richard Petty

It would be impossible to not have “The King” at #1 on the all-time NASCAR driver rankings. Richard Petty does not belong anywhere else, and there may never be a driver who even comes close to taking this spot away from him.

Petty drove in 1,184 races on NASCAR’s top level over the course of his 35-year career, and he owns just about every record in the book. His 200 career race victories put him in the #1 spot on the all-time wins list by far, and it is extremely unlike that anybody will ever catch him.

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Only one other driver has more than half of that win total, and he only barely has it. That driver, who won 105 races, is David Pearson, who also earned a spot on this list at #2.

Petty also won a record 27 races in the 48-race 1967 season, with 10 of those wins coming in a row. Only 27 other drivers in the history of the sport have even won 27 races throughout their entire careers!

Petty’s seven career championships put him in a three-way tie on the all-time titles list with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson, who also earned themselves a spot on this list. He won his titles in 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1979. Out of all of Petty’s records, this one may be the first to fall, if any actually fall, as Johnson is still driving, and he is still doing so at a high level. All of Petty’s other records would seem to be permanent.

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Do you agree with the top 10 drivers in these all-time NASCAR Cup Series rankings? Which drivers do you think are deserving of higher spots, and which drivers do you think should be ranked lower? Are there any drivers not in the top 10 who you think should be?

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