NASCAR: Final driver heavily rumored to 75 Greatest Drivers list

With one spot still open, the 75th and final driver on the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers could not possibly be any more obvious.

Over the last few weeks, NASCAR has been adding drivers to the list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, which was revealed back in 1998 to celebrate the sport’s 50th anniversary season. To celebrate the sport’s 75th anniversary season, 25 more drivers are being added to the list to turn it into a list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.

Following the announcement that 2003 Cup Series champion and 38-time race winner Matt Kenseth had been added to the list, there is just one more spot open.

Driver number 75 could not be more obvious — so obvious, in fact, that Kenseth even joked about who it is going to be when expressing his gratitude for being included as the 74th.

As of the morning of Thursday, May 11, 2023, a seven-time Cup Series champion and 83-time Cup Series race winner is not included.

Jimmie Johnson is not yet on the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.

It does, however, go without saying that this is going to change in the very near future. And of course, we can’t neglect to mention the fact that the drivers on the list aren’t being revealed in any particular order.

The upcoming addition of Johnson to the list means that 10 of the new 25 drivers are active drivers. In alphabetical order, the others are Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex Jr.

The former — though not necessarily retired — drivers included among the additions are, in alphabetical order, Sam Ard, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Ron Hornaday Jr., Kasey Kahne, Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Randy LaJoie, Sterling Marlin, Larry Phillips, Mike Stefanik, and Tony Stewart.

Long story short, if a driver isn’t already on the list, and his name isn’t Jimmie Johnson, he isn’t going to be included.