NASCAR’s top series, now known as the NASCAR Cup Series, has been crowning champions since 1949. In the many decades since, dozens of legendary drivers have made their mark by racking up race wins and multiple championships.
Summary of Cup wins leaders
The all-time Cup Series wins leader is Richard Petty, with 200 victories. He’s followed by David Pearson with 105 wins, Jeff Gordon with 93, Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip tied with 84 each, and Cale Yarborough with 83.
Here’s a quick rundown of the drivers with the most Cup Series wins in NASCAR history:
- Richard Petty – 200 wins
- David Pearson – 105 wins
- Jeff Gordon – 93 wins
- Bobby Allison – 84 wins
- Darrell Waltrip – 84 wins
Now let’s take a deeper look at each of these legendary drivers and their accomplishments.
Richard Petty – 200 wins
Richard Petty is known simply as “The King” for good reason – he has more race wins than any other driver in NASCAR history by a wide margin. Over his 35-year Cup Series career from 1959-1992, Petty racked up a record 200 wins.
He won the Cup championship 7 times, also a record he shares with Dale Earnhardt Sr. His 200 wins included victories in some of NASCAR’s most prestigious events:
- Daytona 500 – 7 wins
- Coca-Cola 600 – 5 wins
- Southern 500 – 8 wins
Petty’s incredible career peaked from 1971-1975, when he won an astonishing 57 races over 5 seasons. His best single season came in 1967 when he won 27 races, a mark that has never been approached before or since.
Richard Petty’s Notable Statistics
Category | Total |
---|---|
Cup Series Championships | 7 (1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979) |
Cup Series Wins | 200 |
Cup Series Top 5s | 556 |
Cup Series Top 10s | 712 |
Cup Series Poles | 123 |
Cup Series Starts | 1,184 |
Richard Petty still stands alone atop the all-time Cup Series wins list, with no active or recently retired driver coming close to his mark of 200 victories.
David Pearson – 105 wins
While Richard Petty boasts quantity with his 200 Cup wins, David Pearson made his mark through quality. Pearson won “only” 105 races – but his Cup win percentage of 22% is the highest of all-time.
Pearson competed in just 574 career Cup races in the 1960s and 1970s, meaning he won an astonishing 18% of all the Cup races he entered. His 105 wins included:
- Daytona 500 – 3 wins
- World 600 – 3 wins
- Southern 500 – 10 wins
Pearson’s rivalry with Petty was legendary. While Petty won more total races, Pearson won 3 championships to Petty’s 7 and often showed a flair for winning the biggest events. Their on-track battles were frequent and intense.
David Pearson’s Notable Statistics
Category | Total |
---|---|
Cup Series Championships | 3 (1966, 1968, 1969) |
Cup Series Wins | 105 |
Cup Series Top 5s | 366 |
Cup Series Top 10s | 304 |
Cup Series Poles | 113 |
Cup Series Starts | 574 |
Jeff Gordon – 93 wins
Jeff Gordon raced head-to-head against Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the 1990s and into the 2000s, claiming 4 championships and 93 Cup Series wins – 3rd most all-time.
Gordon’s first Cup win came in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600, and he went on to win several Crown Jewel events multiple times:
- Daytona 500 – 3 wins
- Brickyard 400 – 5 wins
- Coca-Cola 600 – 5 wins
Gordon’s championship seasons were 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2001. His 93 career wins are a testament to his consistency over more than two decades in NASCAR’s top division.
Jeff Gordon’s Notable Statistics
Category | Total |
---|---|
Cup Series Championships | 4 (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001) |
Cup Series Wins | 93 |
Cup Series Top 5s | 475 |
Cup Series Top 10s | 736 |
Cup Series Poles | 82 |
Cup Series Starts | 806 |
Bobby Allison & Darrell Waltrip – 84 wins each
Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip each won 84 Cup Series races over long, decorated careers that saw them battle Petty and Pearson, as well as each other.
Allison’s first Cup win came in 1966, while Waltrip’s came in 1975. The two rivals traded the Cup title back and forth for much of the late 1970s and early 1980s:
- Allison won in 1983 after Waltrip’s 1981-1982 titles
- Waltrip reclaimed it in 1985
- Allison took it back in 1988
Waltrip’s 84 wins were more spread out across his career from 1975-2000, while Allison piled up 62 of his 84 wins from 1971-1983 during his prime.
Bobby Allison’s Notable Statistics
Category | Total |
---|---|
Cup Series Championships | 1 (1983) |
Cup Series Wins | 84 |
Cup Series Top 5s | 421 |
Cup Series Top 10s | 700 |
Cup Series Poles | 51 |
Cup Series Starts | 765 |
Darrell Waltrip’s Notable Statistics
Category | Total |
---|---|
Cup Series Championships | 3 (1981, 1982, 1985) |
Cup Series Wins | 84 |
Cup Series Top 5s | 271 |
Cup Series Top 10s | 390 |
Cup Series Poles | 59 |
Cup Series Starts | 809 |
Cale Yarborough – 83 wins
Cale Yarborough won 83 Cup Series races over his career, which was spent mostly driving for car owner Junior Johnson from 1973-1980.
Yarborough is one of only two drivers to win 3 straight Cup championships, taking the title from 1976-1978. His 83 wins included several Crown Jewel events:
- Daytona 500 – 4 wins
- Coca-Cola 600 – 4 wins
- Southern 500 – 5 wins
Yarborough won 28 races during his final 3 championship seasons from 1976-1978, battling Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip throughout.
Cale Yarborough’s Notable Statistics
Category | Total |
---|---|
Cup Series Championships | 3 (1976, 1977, 1978) |
Cup Series Wins | 83 |
Cup Series Top 5s | 425 |
Cup Series Top 10s | 631 |
Cup Series Poles | 69 |
Cup Series Starts | 860 |
Conclusion
Richard Petty’s 200 Cup Series wins makes him the clear all-time wins leader in NASCAR’s modern era. But David Pearson, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, and Cale Yarborough were also all-time greats with 80+ wins each.
Petty and Pearson were the standard-bearers with 200 and 105 wins respectively in the 1960s and 1970s. Gordon carried the torch through the 1990s and 2000s. And Allison and Waltrip racked up their 84 wins battling both Petty and Pearson along the way.
While no active driver is close to Petty’s 200 wins, today’s top drivers aspire to surpass Gordon’s 93 wins someday. But Richard Petty’s all-time Cup wins record appears untouchable and will likely stand forever.