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100 Top NASCAR Drivers Of All-Time | Best Of The Best

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Dale Jr., Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dale Jr., Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Short track ace Jim Paschal won 25 Sprint Cup races in a 421-race career, winning what is now known as the Coca-Cola 600 twice, in 1964 and 1967. He was elected to the “Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame” in 1977 and was a participant in the first 18 Southern 500s. Paschal finished his Sprint Cup Series career with 25 victories.

Wendell Scott was NASCAR’s first African-American driver at the Sprint Cup level, and a 2015 inductee into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame. Scott is also a 1999 inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Scott’s only win in his 495 race career came in the 1963 Jacksonville 200. Despite not winning a lot he had a great impact on the sport.

Enjoy Scott’s story with this short video:

Carl Edwards – Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Carl Edwards – Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

Versatility can be a fitting description for 2007 Xfinity Series champion Carl Edwards. He is a Truck Series Rookie of the Year (2003,) Xfinity Series Rookie of the Year (2005) and 2007 Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver. Cousin Carl also won the 2011 Sprint All-Star race and the 2007 “Prelude” to The Dream late-model dirt charity race at Eldora Speedway. Edwards currently has 28 wins in the Sprint Cup Series. Edwards has never won a title, but he came close in both 2011 and 2016.

1977 Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year Ricky Rudd is commonly known as “The Rooster,” or “Ironman.” Rudd had 906 career starts, a record 788 of them consecutive (although that record could be broken in 2015 by Jeff Gordon). Rudd was a popular winner of the 1997 Brickyard 400 and an IROC series champion in 1992.

Enjoy this nice look at Rudd’s distinguished career.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports /

Two-time Xfinity Series champion (1998-1999) Dale Earnhardt Jr. has also won the prestigious Daytona 500 in 2004 and 2014. Other big wins include the Winston in 2000 and the Budweiser shootout in 2003 and 2008. Earnhardt Jr. is a 14-time consecutive Most Popular Driver in the Sprint Cup Series, where he has 26 career victories. Earnhardt returned to the track in 2017 after missing the second half of the 2016 season due to concussion-related issues, but he has now retired.

Next: No. 35 to No. 31