NASCAR: Top 10 drivers of all-time, per formula
By Asher Fair
Who are the top 10 NASCAR Cup Series drivers in the history of the sport? This list contains all-time rankings that were calculated by using a formula.
Lists containing all-time rankings of players and athletes in all different sports can be seen almost anywhere you look nowadays. This is the case in the NASCAR Cup Series as well, much like it is in many other racing series.
Many of these lists of rankings ultimately come down the opinions of the people who create them. There are plenty of factors, particularly numbers and statistics, that go into creating these rankings, but the opinions of the creators are what ultimately determine who ranks where.
These top 10 NASCAR Cup Series driver rankings, however, were not based on anything except for key statistics and what weight each key statistic was given. Each statistic’s weight was consistent for each driver.
These rankings were compiled using a formula that involves the career championship total of each driver, the career win total of each driver, and the career Daytona 500 win total of each driver since the Daytona 500 is the staple on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule and is by far the one race that drivers want to win the most each season.
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These rankings were calculated using the following formula:
- Each driver’s championships are worth 10 points
- Each driver’s wins are worth 1 point
- Each driver’s wins in the Daytona 500, the NASCAR Cup Series signature race, are worth 3 points
| Rank | Driver | Championships | Wins | Daytona 500 wins | Points |
| 1 | Richard Petty | 7 | 200 | 7 | 291 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 7 | 83 | 2 | 159 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | 7 | 76 | 1 | 149 |
| 4 | Jeff Gordon | 4 | 93 | 3 | 142 |
| 5 | David Pearson | 3 | 105 | 1 | 138 |
| 6 | Cale Yarborough | 3 | 83 | 4 | 125 |
| 7 | Darrell Waltrip | 3 | 84 | 3 | 123 |
| 8 | Bobby Allison | 1 | 84 | 3 | 103 |
| 9 | Lee Petty | 3 | 54 | 1 | 87 |
| 10 | Tony Stewart | 3 | 49 | 0 | 79 |
As expected, Richard Petty ends up being by far and away the best NASCAR Cup Series driver of all-time when this formula is used, which can be expected seeing has how no other driver has won more championships, races or Daytona 500 races than he has. He is also typically the #1 driver on many opinion-based NASCAR Cup Series all-time driver rankings, so it stands to reason that he is ranked #1 here.
Next: Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time
Does this formula yield accurate results in terms of determining who the top 10 drivers are in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series, particularly from 2nd place through 5th place since everybody knows that Richard Petty deserves the #1 spot?