NASCAR: Top 10 drivers of all-time
By Asher Fair
#4 – Dale Earnhardt
Many people will also likely feel that Dale Earnhardt is underrated in these rankings. After all, he is one of only three seven-time champions in the sport and is arguably the most admired driver of those three with perhaps the most admired driving style, especially among many of the old school fans.
However, while he sits behind three other drivers, the gap between he and the top 3 is extremely small, so this should not be seen as a shot against him in any way. There is still definitely a case to be made for him as one of the sport’s all-time greats, perhaps even the greatest.
As one of three seven-time champions in the sport’s history, Earnhardt is a definite contender to be #1 on this list. He drove in 676 races over the course of his career and won as many as 11 races in a single season. He won two consecutive titles three times, something no other driver has ever done, and he did so in a nine-year span.
What keeps him from being ranked higher on this list is the fact that his win total is the lowest among the seven-time champions at 76, as is his win percentage. Unfortunately, he was killed in a Daytona 500 wreck at age 49 in 2001. While his career may not have lasted much longer than that anyway, we will never know how much he really could have accomplished in addition to what he did accomplish had he ended his NASCAR Cup Series career on his own terms.