NASCAR Cup Series: Top 5 active superspeedway drivers

Top superspeedway drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon have retired. Who now holds the title of best superspeedway driver?

Since 2001, the names to watch out for at the NASCAR Cup Series superspeedways of Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway had been Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

From the 2001 Pepsi 400 through the 2015 Coke Zero 400, Earnhardt and Gordon combined to win 16 superspeedway races, with Earnhardt Jr. winning 10 and Gordon winning six. When you add Gordon’s six wins before 2001, these two drivers combined to win 22 superspeedway races.

With both of those drivers having now retired, new drivers have taken over as the best superspeedway drivers.

The best way to rank these drivers is by looking specifically at the last nine races at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, which are the first nine races since Earnhardt retired following the 2017 season. These nine races include every points-paying race at those two tracks from the 2018 Daytona 500 to the 2020 Daytona 500.

Also taken into consideration is any past success at the superspeedways. The package has changed several times, so success from the past and the present shows adaptation from each driver.

There have been some winners that have shown up once or won by good fortune, so making it onto this list does not a require a win in any of the most recent nine superspeedway races.

For example, Justin Haley has led one lap in his Cup Series career and it came when he stayed out under caution in the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Before the wreck that led to the caution flag period, he was running in 27th place. The skies opened up and handed him his first career Cup Series victory.

With all of that said, here are the top five active superspeedway drivers as NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway for this Sunday’s GEICO 500.