NASCAR legend Richard Petty‘s 200 career wins, putting him at the top of the all-time wins list, will probably never be matched because of how much the sports has changed in the last few decades since his last win in 1984.
But there’s plenty of competition further down on the list as drivers try to get as close as possible. There is also a huge drop-off on the all-time wins list after Dale Earnhardt Sr. at No. 8 (76 wins), but Kyle Busch at No. 9 (56 wins) is slowly shrinking that gap.
In addition to Busch — the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion — the only active full-time drivers among the best of the best on the all-time wins list are Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.
So, looking at Cup Series wins only, here are the top-25 winningest NASCAR drivers of all time, as of March 17, 2020 and according to data from Racing-reference.info.
*Active full-time driver
No. 25 Dale Jarrett, 32 wins
Jarrett's first win was in 1991, and his final one was in 2005.
No. 24 Fireball Roberts, 33 wins
Roberts' first win was in 1950, and his final one was in 1964.
No. 23 Bobby Isaac, 37 wins
Isaac's first win was in 1964, and his last was in 1972. He won 17 of…
Isaac's first win was in 1964, and his last was in 1972. He won 17 of NASCAR's 54 races in 1969.
No. 22 Denny Hamlin, 38 wins*
Hamlin's first win was in 2006, and his most recent one was at the beginning of…
Hamlin's first win was in 2006, and his most recent one was at the beginning of the 2020 season when he won his second straight Daytona 500.
T-No. 20 Matt Kenseth, 39 wins
Kenseth's first win was in 2000, and his last was in 2017 at Phoenix Raceway in…
Kenseth's first win was in 2000, and his last was in 2017 at Phoenix Raceway in the penultimate race of his full-time Cup Series career.
T-No. 20 Tim Flock, 39 wins
Flock's first win was in 1950, and his final one came in 1956. He won 18…
Flock's first win was in 1950, and his final one came in 1956. He won 18 of NASCAR's 45 races in 1955.
No. 19 Mark Martin, 40 wins
Martin's first win was in 1989, and his last was in 2009, when he won five…
Martin's first win was in 1989, and his last was in 2009, when he won five races.
No. 18 Bill Elliott, 44 wins
Elliott's first win was in 1983, and his final one was in 2003.
No. 17 Buck Baker, 46 wins
Baker's first win was in 1952, and his last win was in 1964. He won 14…
Baker's first win was in 1952, and his last win was in 1964. He won 14 of NASCAR's 56 races in 1956.
No. 16 Herb Thomas, 48 wins
(Pictured left) Thomas' first win was in 1950, and his last was in 1956. In 1953…
(Pictured left) Thomas' first win was in 1950, and his last was in 1956. In 1953 and 1954, he won 12 of NASCAR's 37 races in each of those seasons.
T-No. 14 Tony Stewart, 49 wins
Stewart's first win was in 1999, and his last was in 2016.
T-No. 14 Kevin Harvick, 49 wins*
Harvick's first win was in 2001, and his most recent one was in the 2019 playoffs…
Harvick's first win was in 2001, and his most recent one was in the 2019 playoffs at Texas Motor Speedway. His next win will break the tie he has with his current team owner.
T-No. 12 Junior Johnson, 50 wins
Johnson's first win was in 1955, and his last was in 1965, when he won 13…
Johnson's first win was in 1955, and his last was in 1965, when he won 13 of NASCAR's 55 races.
T-No. 12 Ned Jarrett, 50 wins
Jarrett's first win was in 1959, and his last was in 1965, when he won 13…
Jarrett's first win was in 1959, and his last was in 1965, when he won 13 of NASCAR's 55 races that season.
No. 11 Lee Petty, 54 wins
Petty's first win was in NASCAR's inaugural season in 1949, and his last came in 1961.
No. 10 Rusty Wallace, 55 wins
Wallace's first win was in 1986, and his last was in 2004.
No. 9 Kyle Busch, 56 wins*
Busch's first win was in 2005 during his rookie season, and his most recent win was…
Busch's first win was in 2005 during his rookie season, and his most recent win was in the 2019 championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he won his second career title.
No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Sr., 76 wins
Earnhardt's first win was in 1979, and his last was in 2000.
T-No. 6 Cale Yarborough, 83 wins
Yarborough's first win was in 1965, and his last was in 1985.
T-No. 6 Jimmie Johnson, 83 wins*
Johnson's first win was in his rookie season in 2002, and his most recent victory was…
Johnson's first win was in his rookie season in 2002, and his most recent victory was in 2017.
T-No. 4 Darrell Waltrip, 84 wins
Waltrip's first win was in 1975, and his last came in 1992.
T-No. 4 Bobby Allison, 84 wins
(Pictured right) Allison's first win was in 1966, and his last was in 1988.
No. 3 Jeff Gordon, 93 wins
Gordon's first win was in 1994, and his last came in 2015 at Martinsville in his…
Gordon's first win was in 1994, and his last came in 2015 at Martinsville in his fourth-to-last race before retiring from full-time racing.
No. 2 David Pearson, 105 wins
Pearson's first win was in 1961, and his last was in 1980.
No. 1 Richard Petty, 200 wins
Petty's first win was in 1960, and his last came in 1984.
