It is said that records are made to be broken…
Earlier this week, National Hockey League player Alex Ovechikin broke a scoring record that had stood for 31 years when he surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s 894 career goals.
Earlier this year LeBron James set a new NBA scoring record and before he retired, Tom Brady set a new record for passing yards in the NFL. What records in NASCAR could be broken over the next few years???
Last weekend Denny Hamlin earned career win number 55; the current leader of active drivers is Kyle Busch with 63 Cup Series wins. With his win last week, Hamlin tied Busch for wins as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. Could Hamlin break both the JGR career wins and the active driver wins before retiring?
While Kyle Busch has earned a total of 232 wins across the Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series, it is unlikely that anyone will ever reach Richard Petty’s 200 Cup Series wins.
Richard Petty also holds the record for wins in a season with 27; Jeff Gordon is second on the list with 13. However, in 2021, Kyle Larson came close to matching Gordon with 10 wins.
In his day, Richard Petty dominated the sport; he has the record for career poles at 123 with Jeff Gordon in second with 89. Denny Hamlin currently has 43 career poles and may be able to catch Gordon’s 89 but it is very unlikely that he can match The King!
When it comes to Championships; Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr, and Jimmie Johnson all have seven each. Jeff Gordon is the closest behind them with four.
Last year Joey Logano earned his third championship to tie with Tony Stewart; but does he have enough time to make it to seven before he retires??? The reigning champ has had a slow start in 2025, but is known for coming on late in the season.
Last season Kyle Busch broke a streak that was 19 years in the making – he had won at least one race in every year since becoming a Cup Series driver. Busch passed Richard Petty’s 18 years in a row with a win with 19 in 2023. The closest driver to have a chance at breaking the streak is Joey Logano who currently has 13 and Brad Keselowski with eleven.
It is well known that as we age certain reflexes have a tendency to slow down; but NASCAR drivers are a rare breed that have found some magic potion to keep the pedal to the metal for longer. When Harry Gant won the race at Michigan in 1992, he became the oldest driver to win a race. He was 52years old (seven months and six days). It was his second win of the season. Mark Martin was 50 in 2009 when he won the race at Loudon. It is unsure how much longer Dale Earnhardt Sr would have continued racing when he died at Daytona in 2001 at the age of 49.
While there are a few older drivers who run occasionally in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series races, the oldest active driver in the Cup Series is Denny Hamlin at 44. Depending on how much longer Hamlin continues to drive, he may have the opportunity to break Gant’s record.
While drivers at time have dominated a race leading a vast majority of the laps; it has been some 25 years since a driver won a race after leading every lap. The feat has been done three times – Cale Yarborough in 1973 and 1978 and by Jeff Burton in 2000.
Kyle Larson came close last season after leading 462 or 500 laps at Bristol Motors Speedway and last week at Darlington Raceway William Byron sat on the pole and led 243 of 293 laps before giving up the lead. Drivers can lead numerous laps from the pole but it takes the right amount of luck for caution flags and pit stops for that driver to maintain the lead…but it could be done.
When it comes to career to 10’s, Richard Petty dominates the list with 712. The closest driver is Jeff Gordon with 477. Kyle Busch leads among active drivers with 386. Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott are also within reach of the 400 mark by the time their career ends.
When it comes to career race starts, no one is ever likely to catch Richard Petty’s 1,184. Ricky Rud came the closest with 906. Of the active drivers, Kyle Busch has the most with 722, but would have to drive for at least five more seasons to reach Rudd.
At 35, Joey Logano has 587 race starts and could possibly match Ricky Rudd’s 906.
For many years, the NASCAR Cup Series ran just two road course races each year, so racking up a record race wins took a bit more work. Jeff Gordon holds the all time record with nine; but current driver Chase Elliott is right on Gordon’s bumper with seven. And there are plenty of drivers just getting their careers started who could easily top Gordon’s road course win record before they hang up the fire suit.
For many years there was just one racing series; but then NASCAR added what is known today as the Xfinity Series and then the Craftsman Truck Series joined the sport. For a while Cup Series drivers were permitted to race as often as they liked in the lesser series; then NASCAR limited it to seven and now five races in the Xfinity and five races in the Truck Series, limiting their opportunities for more wins.
However, Kyle Busch is a master when it comes to racing the Trucks and Xfinity cars. He has amassed a grand total of 232 wins – 63 Cups Series wins, 102 Xfinity Series wins, and 67 Truck Series wins. Busch surpassed Richard Petty in 2019 when he won a Truck Series race at Martinsville.
The closest active drivers are Brad Keselowski in 12th and Denny Hamlin in 13th with 76.