Bet you didn't know (I certainly didn't) that the all-time wins list for NASCAR Cup Series drivers is not as cut and dried as many of us thought.
In fact, a deeper dive into the numbers shows it would be easy to make a case for Dale Earnhardt that the Intimidator should really have 12 more wins on his ledger. And Richard Petty's magical number of 200 Cup Series wins could, or maybe should, be 201.
Give Jeff Gordon five more wins and toss three more Tony Stewart's way while you're at it.
So, what gives?
It all goes back to the history of the Daytona Duels qualifying races—those 125-mile sprints used to help determine the starting order for the season-opening Daytona 500. From 1959 through 1971, each winner of a Duel was also credited with a NASCAR Cup Series race win.
Yes, for those scoring at home, that meant that the Daytona 500 and each of the Duels counted as one win apiece on the all-time race wins competition in the Cup Series. That meant three Cup Series winners in one race week.
Then, beginning in 1972, NASCAR changed things up and only credited drivers for wins if the driver won a points-paying Cup Series event. Those post-1971 points-paying events also had to be scheduled for 250 miles or more to count in what will forever be known as the Modern Era for the sport.
While the 250-mile minimum went out the window with the addition of road and street courses (many of those races have been less than 250 miles), the rule of no longer counting victories in the Duels as official Cup Series wins stuck.
Some of the fallout of the rule change includes:
• Dale Earnhardt won a record 12 Daytona Duel races in his career that aren't part of his wins total. Had he won those Duels in the pre-1972 era, that would have given him 88 wins and moved him from eighth to sixth on the all-time wins list.
• Three drivers—David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, and Bobby Isaac—won Duel races on both sides of the 1971 cut line. Each of those three drivers' Duel wins that came pre-1972 counted on their career wins list; those won after 1971 didn't count.
• Richard Petty won Daytona Duel No. 1 in 1977. Had that counted on the King's wins list, that would have meant he had 201 wins in his career. And his milestone 200th win would not have been on that famous July 4, 1984 Firecracker 400 in front of President Ronald Reagan. Instead, No. 200 would have been the Budweiser 500 at Dover on May 20 of that year.
• IndyCar great Johnny Rutherford is one of three drivers, along with Shorty Rollins and Earl Balmer, whose only official NASCAR Cup Series victory came in a Daytona Duel. Rutherford won his Duel in 1963. Had he won his Duel after 1971, his career record would show zero official Cup Series victories.
• Coo Coo Marlin and Mike Skinner did the same thing that Johnny Rutherford, Shorty Rollins, and Earl Balmer did—win a Daytona Duel. Marlin and Skinner, however, won their Duels after 1971, so they are officially still winless in NASCAR Cup Series history.
• Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts has 33 wins on his all-time record sheet. Three of those wins, however, wouldn't have counted in today's game.
• Junior Johnson will go down as one of 15 drivers—so far—to reach the 50-win mark in the Cup Series. Four of those wins, however, came in pre-1972 Duels—meaning he would have only 46 wins if all those races were counted (or not counted) as they are today.
Official All-time NASCAR Cup Series Wins Leaders
(Pre-1972 Duels victories; wins that wouldn't have counted under Modern Era rules)
1. Richard Petty, 200
2. David Pearson, 105 (2)
3. Jeff Gordon, 93
4. Bobby Allison, 85
5. Darrell Waltrip, 84
6. Jimmie Johnson, 83
6. Cale Yarborough, 83 (1)
8. Dale Earnhardt, 76
9. Kyle Busch, 63
10. Kevin Harvick, 60
11. Denny Hamlin, 58
12. Rusty Wallace, 55
13. Lee Petty, 54
14. Ned Jarrett, 50
14. Junior Johnson, 50 (4)
16. Tony Stewart, 49
17. Herb Thomas, 48
18. Buck Baker, 46
19. Bill Elliott, 44
20. Mark Martin, 40
Hypothetical All-time NASCAR Cup Series Wins Leaders, Using Pre-1972 Rules
(Wins gained by adding Daytona 500 Duals wins post-1971)
1. Richard Petty, 201 (1)
2. David Pearson, 106 (1)
3. Jeff Gordon, 98 (5)
4. Bobby Allison, 90 (5)
5. Darrell Waltrip, 89 (5)
6. Cale Yarborough, 88 (5)
6. Dale Earnhardt, 88 (12)
8. Jimmie Johnson, 85 (2)
9. Kyle Busch, 67 (4)
10. Kevin Harvick, 62 (2)
11. Denny Hamlin, 61 (3)
12. Rusty Wallace, 55
13. Lee Petty, 54
14. Tony Stewart, 52 (3)
15. Ned Jarrett, 50
15. Junior Johnson, 50
17. Herb Thomas, 48
17. Bill Elliott, 48 (4)
19. Buck Baker, 46
20. Matt Kenseth, 41 (2)
Note: Drivers in bold would move up on the top-20 all-time Cup Series wins list if pre-1972 rules were still in effect.
Drivers Whose Only Official Cup Series Win Was a Daytona Dual, 1959–71
Shorty Rollins (1959 Dual 2, 43 career Cup starts)
Johnny Rutherford (1963 Dual 2, 35 career Cup starts)
Earl Balmer (1966 Dual 3, 32 career Cup starts)
Drivers Who Won a Daytona Dual Between 1972–2025 and Don't Have an Official Cup Series Win to Their Credit
Coo Coo Marlin (1973 Dual 2, 165 career Cup starts)
Mike Skinner (2001 Dual 2. 286 career Cup starts)
Comments