NASCAR: Top 10 drivers of all-time

#9 – Lee Petty

Lee Petty is another one of the five three-time champions of the NASCAR Cup Series, all of whom made it into these rankings. He ranks ahead of just one of those three-time champions in these rankings, that driver being Tony Stewart, who is ranked at #10.

The primary reason that Petty comes in at #9 in these rankings ahead of Stewart despite the fact that they both won three titles is the fact that Petty won 54 races, which is more than Stewart’s win total of 49, and Petty pulled that off in just 427 starts while Stewart competed in nearly 200 more races than Petty did.

Petty’s 54 career wins put him in 10th on the all-time wins list as well, so he is in the top 10 in career victories as well as a 5th place tie in career championships with three. Seeing as how he pulled all of this off in just a 16-year career in the sport during which he never raced in all any season’s races, there is no doubt that he is deserving of the #9 spot in these rankings.

Petty became the second driver in NASCAR history to win back-to-back championships when he won the titles in the 1958 and 1959 seasons, his second and third career titles. He became the first three-time champion and thus the first three-time champion to win consecutive championships at any point during his career. And remember, he never drove for a full season. In fact, he only drove in a majority of a season’s races 11 times in his 16-year career.