Who has the most wins in NASCAR history? Richard Petty holds the all-time Cup Series record with a mark that will likely never be broken in the current format. However, there are a few active NASCAR drivers who could wind up being among the 10 winningest ever in the Cup Series.
Let’s dive into the list of the top 10 of the NASCAR Cup Series All-Time wins list as of right now.
Richard Petty is the winningest driver in NASCAR Cup Series history and his mark of 200 wins is likely among those all-time records in sports that will never be broken. Petty won 200 races from 1960-1984 and also recorded seven titles. One reason Petty’s record won’t be broken is because the modern NASCAR Cup Series only has one race per week and the cars have been redesigned to create more parity. So, Petty’s career-best of 27 wins in a season and his record of eight years with double-digit wins will never be touched.
Racing in the same era as Richard Petty feels about the equivalent of one of the all-time greats in the NBA playing in the same era as Michael Jordan. Still, David Pearson firmly established himself as one of the best NASCAR drivers ever. A three-time champion, Pearson is the only other driver in NASCAR history with 100-plus Cup Series wins. From 1960-1980, he recorded five seasons with double-digit wins and had six-plus wins in three other years.
Jeff Gordon is probably going to be the only modern NASCAR driver to reach 90-plus wins in the Cup Series. The legendary driver of the No. 24 car, Gordon’s first winning season came in 1994 (two wins) and he followed that up with three consecutive seasons of double-digit wins (33 from 1996-98) shortly after. A four-time NASCAR champion, Gordon is now racking up wins as a top executive for Hendrick Motorsports. Gordon’s protégé, Kyle Larson, could eventually make his way onto this list years from now.
Bobby Allison is the only driver who ranks in the top eight on the NASCAR Cup Series all-time wins list without multiple championships. Allison’s lone title came in 1983, preventing a three-peat for Darrell Waltrip, and his path to 85 wins included two seasons with double-digit win. Allison had at least one win every year from 1966-1975, then after a two-year drought, followed that up with 35 wins from 1978-1984.
Not only does Darrell Waltrip rank fifth all-time in NASCAR Cup Series wins, he also gave us the iconic “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity, let’s go racing boys!” line. A three-time champion, Waltrip won his first race in 1975 and went on to win a race every season for 15 consecutive years. After winning his last race in the 1992 Southern 500, Waltrip went winless in the last eight years of his racing career.
With the Daytona 500 in 2027 poised to be the last Cup Series race ever for Jimmie Johnson, he almost certainly won’t break out of a two-way tie with Cale Yarborough for the sixth-most Cup Series wins in NASCAR history. No matter, Johnson made the No. 48 car legendary by winning five consecutive Cup Series championships and seven total. Johnson won all 83 of his races from 2002-2017, winning multiple races each season during that 15-year run of greatness.
A three-time Winston Cup Series champion, Cale Yarborough joined the exclusive club of drivers to win 80-plus Cup Series races in 1983. He added three more victories to that total in 1984, when he was 45 years old. Yarborough’s remarkable career included 10-win seasons in 1974 and ’78, establishing himself as arguably the best NASCAR driver of the 1970s.
Dale Earnhardt earned his nickname “The Intimidator” on the track, receiving both the respect that came with it from his peers and adoration from a generation of NASCAR fans. Prior to his death at 49 years old, Earnhardt had recorded 76 victories from 1979-2000. He was still winning races into his late 40s and if not for that fateful day, he might’ve at least had a chance at 80 wins. Still, his legacy lives on.
Denny Hamlin stated just two years ago on his Actions Detrimental podcast that his goal was to reach 60 career Cup Series wins before he retires. Fast forward to 2026 and Hamlin is now thinking about his very real chances of climbing even higher on the all-time list after overtaking Kevin Harvick (60) following the No. 11’s victory at the Pennzoil 400 and then tying Kyle Busch’s all-time Cup Series wins total with a victory at Michigan. Hamlin, at age 45, has won three-plus races in a season for the fourth consecutive year. In fact, he looks better than ever. We don’t expect him to catch up to Dale Earnhardt, at least given his plans to retire after 2027, but having the ninth-most wins in NASCAR Cup Series history would still be a massive accomplishment.
Kyle Busch holds the all-time record in NASCAR for career wins (233) across all three levels. That’s thanks to historic domination of both the Craftsman Truck Series (68 wins, most all-time) and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (102 wins, most ever). Unfortunately, tragedy once again robbed NASCAR of one of its all-time greats. Rowdy’s career should’ve ended with a few more wins, but his sudden passing instead reminded us all how short life can be and how our time should be cherished.
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