History UsefulNotes / NASCAR

* '''Ross Chastain''' (1992-) grew up the son of a watermelon farmer in Florida, with Chastain's father racing for fun before the racing bug got Ross; who managed to collect 50 victories on local short-tracks as well as the World Series of Asphalt Limited Late Model Series championship for 2011. Chastain first entered NASCAR driving in the Truck Series; finishing 10th in his first race. 2012 saw Chastain make his full-time Truck Series debut run (fittingly, sponsored by the National Watermelon Association); losing out on Rookie of the Year honors to Ty Dillon but collecting his first Top 5 finish. 2013 saw Chastain move to Brad Keselowski's team, finishing 2nd twice along with a pole before moving to Ricky Benton Racing; only for comments made before and after and actions at the Martinsville race to lead to the team firing him. Chastain would then run in the K&N Pro Series East regional series while making his Xfinity Series debut in Charlotte in May 2014, later finishing 12th at Michigan after replacing Johnny Sauter at Hattori Racing Enterprises. 2015 saw Chastain's up-to-then journeyman career take him to JD Motorsports; where he replaced Jeffrey Earnhardt (Dale Earnhardt's eldest grandson; Jeffrey's father is Dale's eldest son Kerry). After finally sticking with a team for more than one season; Chastain began showing promise in 2017; getting a Top 5, 2 Top 10's and a career-best 13th in points (just outside the Xfinity playoffs) - though not before getting into fights later in the season with Jeremy Clements and Brendan Gaughan. 2018 would be his best season to date; collecting his first win that season in Las Vegas (which he would celebrate by [[SmashingWatermelons smashing a watermelon]] on the track). That drew the attention of Chip Ganassi, who eventually made a deal to sign Chastain for 2019 to drive for his Xfinity team with sponsorship by renewable energy firm DC Solar[[note]]incidentally, the sponsor of this particular race[[/note]]. However, Chastain would have to scramble for a ride in 2019 after DC Solar was shut down following an FBI raid that revealed it as a Ponzi scheme, resulting in Ganassi shutting down his Xfinity team. Returning to JD Motorsports and the Truck Series; Chastain managed to pick up his first Truck victory at Kansas Speedway, winning 3 races (though he was disqualified from another win in the Truck race in Iowa after his truck failed post-race inspection) in the Truck Series along with an Xfinity win and doing occasional Cup Series races. 2020 saw Chastain shift back to Xfinity full-time; though Chastain would also race as a substitute driver in the Cup Series for Roush Fenway Racing's #6 Ford while Ryan Newman recovered from injuries sustained at the end of the 2020 Daytona 500, running three races in the #6 before the season was paused following the COVID-19 pandemic, later moving to Spire Motorsports once the season resumed and Newman recovered. 2021 would see Chastain make his debut as a full-time Cup Series driver, driving for the team who had planned to sign him for the Xfinity Series two years earlier, Chip Ganassi Racing. This would be short-lived, however, as by mid-season Trackhouse Racing bought the Ganassi team effective for 2022. That season marked a breakout year for Chastain, who overcame poor showings at the Daytona 500 and the race at Fontana with a 3rd place finish at Las Vegas and consecutive 2nd place runs at Phoenix and Atlanta before taking his first Cup win at Circuit of the Americas[[note]]coincidentally on Trackhouse owner Justin Haley's birthday[[/note]]; followed by a win at Talladega en route to finishing 2nd in the points to Joey Logano and also gaining social media notice following his "wall rider" move in Martinsville's October race that saw Chastain climb from 10th to 5th and clinching a spot in NASCAR's Championship 4 (NASCAR would [[ObviousRulePatch ban the manuever]] for the 2023 season). Ross' younger brother, Chad, is a part-time driver in both the Xfinity and Truck Series.

* '''Carl Edwards''' (1979–) got into racing while studying engineering at the University of Missouri before deciding to drop out of college to pursue racing full-time, working as a substitute teacher before getting his first opportunity by racing for MB Motorsports in 2002 in the Truck Series; which led to his being hired by Jack Roush for his first full-time season in the Truck Series, winning 3 races and the 2003 Truck Series Rookie of the Year honors while appearing in a Busch Series race, adding another 3 wins in the Truck Series for 2004 while making his Cup Series[[note]]2004 was the first year after Winston cigarettes ended their longtime sponsorship of the Cup Series, with Nextel cell phones taking over as title sponsor[[/note]] after Jeff Burton left the team in the #99 Ford Taurus. Edwards would make his full-time debut in both the Nextel Cup (in the #60 Ford once driven in the Busch Series by fellow [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut championship bridesmaid]] Mark Martin below) and Busch Series in 2005 (during the height of what became known as "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buschwhacker Buschwhacking]]" due to drivers such as Kyle Busch above {who the gambit was named after} and Mark Martin below often racing in both of NASCAR's top 2 series. NASCAR would [[ObviousRulePatch change the rules in 2011]] to strongly discourage this gambit by forcing drivers to declare which of the three top series they would compete for points in, with later rule changes limiting Cup Series regulars to a maximum of 7 races in what's now the Xfinity Series and 5 in the Truck Series while barring Cup drivers from racing in the playoffs, regular-season finale or bonus money races); winning his first Busch and Nextel series wins in the same weekend in Atlanta (the first time that happened at that particular track) en route to winning 4 Cup Series and 5 Busch wins along with the Busch Series Rookie of the Year award[[note]]Edwards, since he ran more than 7 races in the Cup Series in 2004, was ineligible for Rookie of the Year honors in the Nextel Cup Series[[/note]]. After a sophomore slump in 2006 where he failed to win a race, he rebounded in 2007 with 3 wins in the Cup Series[[note]]including his win at Bristol that got him into the Chase for the Cup and which Edwards called the biggest of his career[[/note]] while adding 4 Busch Series wins and the 2007 Busch Series championship. 2008 would see Edwards win a career-high 9 races (including another win at Bristol where Edwards bumped Kyle Busch out of the way late, resulting in Busch driving into the side of Edwards' car and Edwards retaliating by spinning Kyle out) including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway; only to lose the Sprint (which bought out Nextel) Cup Series title to Jimmie Johnson by 69 points[[note]]due to Johnson finishing 15th and leading at least one lap[[/note]]. 2009 saw Edwards have a mixed season, failing to register a win in the Cup Series while winning 5 Busch Series races and finishing 2nd in points in that series to Kyle Busch. Edwards was also involved in a scary crash at the spring race in Talladega that also involved Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman that resulted in 8 fans being injured (Edwards, upon exiting the car, ran to the start-finish line in a move inspired by a scene in ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby''). That crash sparked an apparent rivalry with Keselowski, as in the 2010 spring Cup race in Atlanta Edwards - following being tapped by Keselowski that led to Edwards crashing into Joey Logano - retaliated later in the race by spinning Keselowski, causing him to go airborne and NASCAR to park Edwards and slap a three-race probation on him; part of a 2010 that saw Edwards win the last two Cup races (after entering the second half of the season in danger of missing the Chase altogether) and 3 Nationwide (which replaced Busch as title sponsor in the second-tier series in 2008) races (the second of which, at Gateway in Madison, IL, saw Edwards turn Keselowski on the final lap). 2011 would be Edwards' last running both Cup and Nationwide full-time due to the aforementioned rule changes above; winning 8 Nationwide races and allowing Jack Roush to win the owners' championship while running neck-and-neck with Tony Stewart in points in the Cup Series; losing the Sprint Cup title by way of a tiebreaker after ending the season tied in points (Stewart having won 5 races to Edwards' 1). Following a disappointing season in 2012; in 2013 Edwards would collect two victories, though controversy clouded the latter victory, the Federated Auto Parts 400 in Richmond, after it was discovered Edwards jumped past leader Paul Menard on a restart to take the lead late in the race, an action that NASCAR had penalized drivers for in the past[[note]]NASCAR would soon change rules to allow anyone to pass the leader to the start-finish line as long as they accelerate past the start-finish line first. Incidentally, that race would become infamous as a result of the "Spingate" controversy[[/note]]. After winning 2 races in 2014; Edwards left Roush for Joe Gibbs Racing to drive their new #19 entry, and in 2015 he picked up 2 more wins, both of which were his only Crown Jewel wins[[note]]in NASCAR venacular; the Crown Jewel refers to the Daytona 500, what's currently the GEICO 500 spring race at Talladega, the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte and the Southern 500 in Darlington. Winning all four of those at least once in a driver's career is termed a "grand slam"[[/note]] at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte and the Southern 500 in Darlington. 2016 would see Edwards winning twice only to be hooked in the championship race by Joey Logano with 10 laps to go, resulting in Jimmie Johnson winning his record-tying 7th championship. After this, Edwards surprised many by announcing his retirement, finishing with 28 Cup Series victories along with 38 Xfinity wins and the 2007 championship and 6 Truck Series wins. Edwards was noted for doing celebratory backflips following his victories[[note]]what turned out to be his last win, in Texas, ended with his not doing so due to that race being rained out[[/note]] and following his retirement was the subject of speculation of a possible political career[[note]]at one point being rumored to run as the Republican candidate against Democratic incumbent Senator Claire [=McCaskill=] in 2018. He declined, and [=McCaskill=] was defeated by Republican Attorney General Josh Hawley. Also in 2022; Edwards' name was mentioned as a possible candidate following Republican Senator Roy Blunt's retirement, only to decline again; with Hawley's successor as Attorney General Eric Schmitt winning that seat[[/note]]. Edwards has a couple of notable relatives, as his first cousin once removed is former NASCAR driver Ken Schrader; while his great-great-great grandfather was former President UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes.

* '''Robert Glenn "Junior" Johnson''' (1931–2019), no relation to Jimmie Johnson above, was among the earliest NASCAR stars when he began his career in 1953 at the Southern 500; collecting his first victory in 1955 (his first full-time season); where he would finish with 5 wins and 6th place in the points. After missing most of 1956 due to having been convicted on running an illegal still (Johnson's family was heavily involved in [[HillbillyMoonshiner moonshining]]); he returned and didn't seem to miss a beat, winning 6 races in 1958 and ultimately collecting 50 victories by the time he retired as a driver in 1966 (including 13 in 1965; his penultimate season); most prominently the second Daytona 500 in 1960 (it was during a practice session that Johnson introduced the concept of drafting - where two vehicles are caused to align in a close group, reducing the overall effect of drag while exploiting a leader's slipstream - to NASCAR); the most victories ever for a driver without a championship up to that time. Soon after, Johnson would turn his focus to running his Junior Johnson & Associates team. Despite often being accused of LoopholeAbuse if not outright cheating at times; Johnson would build one of NASCAR's most successful teams between the mid-1970s and early 1990s; including winning 6 Winston Cup Championships as a car owner (1976-78 with Cale Yarborough; 1981-82 and 1985 with Darrell Waltrip) while also employing a number of legendary drivers for much of the team's history[[note]]among them A.J. Foyt, Bobby Isaac, Bobby Allison, [=LeeRoy=] Yarborough - no relation to Cale, David Pearson, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott[[/note]]. The beginning of the end for the team came in 1992; when Elliott ended up losing the championship to Alan Kulwicki[[note]]as noted below and in the NASCAR folder of the sports page of WhatCouldHaveBeen; Johnson had tried to woo Kulwicki to his team in 1990 and 1991, only for Kulwicki to turn him down to remain an owner-driver. When this happened in 1991; Johnson then pulled the rug out from under Kulwicki by wooing away Maxwell House coffee, who Kulwicki was negotiating a sponsorship deal, to instead sponsor a second car for Johnson that was driven by Sterling Marlin[[/note]] by 10 points and Johnson, angered in part due to a miscalculation on pit strategy late in the race, fired crew chief Tim Brewer. Johnson would only win 3 more races, 1 with Elliott and 2 with Jimmy Spencer[[note]]Spencer's victories would be the only time a car with primary sponsorship from UsefulNotes/{{McDonalds}} would reach victory lane until Bubba Wallace took his first career win in 2021[[/note]]; both in 1994 before selling his teams after the 1995 season and retiring. Johnson, the subject of a 1965 Esquire article by Tom Wolfe titled "The Last American Hero" that was adapted into a VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory film in 1973 where Johnson was played by Creator/JeffBridges, ended up receiving a pardon from President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan in 1986 and in his later years partnered with Piedmont Distillers, at the time the only legal distillery in North Carolina, to launch a line of whiskey called Midnight Moon. Johnson, named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 and a member of the charter NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later years and died on December 20, 2019 at the age of 88.

** '''Richard Petty''' (1937–): His record speaks for itself... 200 Cup wins, 7 Cup Series titles, 7 Daytona 500s, to name just a few. Part of the inaugural NASCAR HOF class of 2010.

* '''William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough''' (1939–) developed a love for stock-car racing at an early age by managing to sneak into the 2nd running of the Southern 500 at Darlington in Yarborough's native South Carolina. After being a high-school football star who briefly played semi-pro football and becoming a Golden Gloves boxer; Yarborough first attempted to enter the Southern 500 as a teenager but was caught lying about his age and disqualified; resulting in his waiting until 1957 (at the same event) to make his debut. Yarborough would not get a full-time ride until 1963 and collected his first victory in Valdosta, GA in 1965. Yarborough would find consistent success and stability in 1968 after joining the Wood Brothers team, and despite running in only 17 races[[note]]NASCAR schedules were much longer prior to 1972, considered to be the start of the sport's modern era; with multiple races in a week being common and thus few true "full-time" racers due to many drivers working other jobs[[/note]], won 6 races; including the Daytona 500[[note]]holding off Lee Roy Yarborough - no relation to Cale[[/note]]; the Firecracker 400 on July 4 and his first Southern 500 victory on Labor Day[[note]]until 1984; the Southern 500 was held on Labor Day due to South Carolina blue laws prohibiting sporting events on Sundays[[/note]]; remaining with Wood Brothers until 1970 due to Ford withdrawing manufacturer support, and after four races driving Plymouths for Ray Fox in 1971; Yarborough turned his focus to U.S. Auto Club racing, or USAC, before returning to NASCAR full-time for 1973, making every race[[note]]the 2nd year of the modern-era with a more consistent, less demanding schedule[[/note]] driving for Howard & Edgerton Racing. 1974 would see Yarborough win a career-high 10 races but finish 2nd by nearly 600 points to Richard Petty[[note]]that season saw NASCAR introduce a [[ObviousRulePatch short-lived points system change]] - done in reaction to Benny Parsons winning the 1973 championship despite only one victory - where one would take purse winnings, multiply by number of starts and divide by 1,000. After much criticism - including the 1974 Southern 500 (won by Cale Yarborough) where Darrell Waltrip openly criticized the fact that Petty, despite crashing out early, managed to get more points than any other driver save for Cale. In 1975; this system would be changed to the system created by statistician Bob Latford that would be used in some fashion until 2013[[/note]]; a season that saw Junior Johnson buy the team. 1975 saw Yarborough struggle until gaining sponsorship by poultry supplier Holly Farms[[note]]since absorbed into Tyson Foods[[/note]] before hitting his stride in the late 1970s; winning 9 races in 1976 and 1977 (including his 2nd Daytona 500; Yarborough would also become the first of only two drivers to win the championship and finish every race; a feat matched only by Bobby Labonte in 2000) and tying a career-high 10 wins in 1978; winning the Winston Cup championship all three years. 1979 would see Yarborough finish 4th in the points, though that season was best remembered for his last lap crash with Donnie Allison at the Daytona 500 and the subsequent fight between the two and Donnie's brother Bobby. 1980 would mark Cale's last season with Junior Johnson and last full-time season; but he went out strong, winning 6 races and a modern-era record 14 pole positions; narrowly losing the championship by 19 points to 2nd-year driver Dale Earnhardt. Despite moving to a part-time career; Cale would collect 5 wins in a 2-year span with M.C. Anderson (including his final Southern 500 victory in 1982) before moving to the Hardee's-sponsored Ranier-Lundy Racing after the Anderson team shuttered; racing there from 1983-86, including winning the 1983 and 1984 Daytona 500s to become the second driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s[[note]]what made the 1983 win even more impressive was Cale's regular car, a Chevy Monte Carlo, having been totaled in qualifying. The team then found a Pontiac [=LeMans=] painted like the regular car outside a nearby Hardee's; got it in racing condition and entered the car at 8th position to start[[/note]], the 1984 Winston 500 at Talladega (which had a then-record 75 lead changes) and his final victory in the fall Charlotte race in 1985 for a total of 83 victories. After buying Jack Beebe's Race Hill Farm team in 1986; Yarborough ran his final two seasons as an owner-driver, bringing the Hardee's sponsorship with him before retiring after 1988. Yarborough would have much less success as a car owner, with only one victory in the 1997 Pepsi 400 in Daytona before selling the team in mid-2000 due to financial troubles. Outside of NASCAR; Yarborough dabbled in local politics as the first Republican member of Florence County's County Council since Reconstruction in 1972 (though he would later be re-elected as a Democrat and was a close supporter of UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter during Carter's successful campaign for President in 1976); won the International Race of Champions title in 1984 and ran 4 Indianapolis 500's in 1966-67 and 1971-72, with the last race being his best Indy finish at 10th place. Yarborough would be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

** '''Darrell Waltrip''' (1947–) started his Cup career in 1972 and raced his first full-time season in 1976. He was initially one of NASCAR's most polarizing drivers thanks to a take-no-prisoners driving style, but cleaned up his image and driving style after a harrowing wreck in the 1983 Daytona 500. By the end of the '80s, he became one of the circuit's most popular drivers, taking home the most popular driver award in 1989-90 after Rusty Wallace spun Waltrip in The Winston, resulting in Waltrip giving Wallace a tongue-lashing with the infamous "I hope he chokes on the 200 thousand". A three-time Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985), he also won the 1989 Daytona 500, a record 12 races at Bristol, a record five Coca-Cola 600s, and in one of his ''non''-title seasons (1983), had a modern-day record of 23 top-five finishes. He retired from racing in 2000 with 84 Cup wins, a modern-era record now held by Jeff Gordon, and moved to the broadcast booth, serving as Fox's lead analyst from 2001 until retiring from that role at the end of the 2019 season. During his time in the booth, he was in the NASCAR HOF's 2012 class. Waltrip voiced race commentator Darrell Cartrip in [[WesternAnimation/{{Cars}} all]] [[WesternAnimation/Cars2 three]] [[WesternAnimation/Cars3 films]] of the ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' franchise, notably using his most famous {{catchphrase}} from his Fox days: "Boogity, boogity, boogity – let's go racing, boys!"

* '''Tony Stewart''' (1971–) competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1999-2016[[note]]Having migrated over from UsefulNotes/IndyCar, where he was series champion in 1997[[/note]], first in the #20 Home Depot car for Joe Gibbs Racing, and then the #14 for Stewart-Haas Racing (co-owned with Gene Haas) from 2009 until his retirement in 2016. He won three Cup Series titles as a driver in 2002, 2005, and 2011, and a fourth as Kevin Harvick's car owner in 2014. Stewart's 2011 title was the first by a driver-owner since Alan Kulwicki nearly two decades earlier. Stewart was inducted into NASCAR's HOF in 2020. In that same year, he co-founded a new stock-car circuit, the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), which held its first season in 2021.[[note]]It's not a direct competitor to NASCAR; it concentrates on short races at short tracks, and randomly pairs drivers with crew chiefs for each race, making it somewhat similar to the former IROC series. Or the racing equivalent of golf's PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior Tour), as most SRX competitors are drivers that have retired from another series (mainly NASCAR or [=IndyCar=]/CART), along with a weekly guest driver that's active in some form of racing in North America.[[/note]] Stewart has since pivoted to drag racing, running in the NHRA's second level in the Top Alcohol dragster class and fielding two cars as an owner in the NHRA's top level (a Top Fuel dragster driven by his wife and a Funny Car with another driver.

* '''Tony Stewart''' (1971–) competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1999-2016[[note]]Having migrated over from UsefulNotes/IndyCar, where he was series champion in 1997[[/note]], first in the #20 Home Depot car for Joe Gibbs Racing, and then the #14 for Stewart-Haas Racing (co-owned with Gene Haas) from 2009 until his retirement in 2016. He won three Cup Series titles as a driver in 2002, 2005, and 2011, and a fourth as Kevin Harvick's car owner in 2014. Stewart's 2011 title was the first by a driver-owner since Alan Kulwicki nearly two decades earlier. Stewart was inducted into NASCAR's HOF in 2020. In that same year, he co-founded a new stock-car circuit, the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), which held its first season in 2021.[[note]]It's not a direct competitor to NASCAR; it concentrates on short races at short tracks, and randomly pairs drivers with crew chiefs for each race, making it somewhat similar to the former IROC series. Or the racing equivalent of golf's PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior Tour), as most SRX competitors are drivers that have retired from another series (mainly NASCAR or [=IndyCar=]/CART), along with a weekly guest driver that's active in some form of racing in North America.[[/note]]

* '''William Caleb "Cale" Yarborough''' (1939–) developed a love for stock-car racing at an early age by managing to sneak into the 2nd running of the Southern 500 at Darlington in Yarborough's native South Carolina. After being a high-school football star who briefly played semi-pro football and becoming a Golden Gloves boxer; Yarborough first attempted to enter the Southern 500 as a teenager but was caught lying about his age and disqualified; resulting in his waiting until 1957 (at the same event) to make his debut. Yarborough would not get a full-time ride until 1963 and collected his first victory in Valdosta, GA in 1965. Yarborough would find consistent success and stability in 1968 after joining the Wood Brothers team, and despite running in only 17 races[[note]]NASCAR schedules were much longer prior to 1972, considered to be the start of the sport's modern era; with multiple races in a week being common and thus few true "full-time" racers due to many drivers working other jobs[[/note]], won 6 races; including the Daytona 500[[note]]holding off Lee Roy Yarborough - no relation to Cale[[/note]]; the Firecracker 400 on July 4 and his first Southern 500 victory on Labor Day[[note]]until 1984; the Southern 500 was held on Labor Day due to South Carolina blue laws prohibiting sporting events on Sundays[[/note]]; remaining with Wood Brothers until 1970 due to Ford withdrawing manufacturer support, and after four races driving Plymouths for Ray Fox in 1971; Yarborough turned his focus to U.S. Auto Club racing, or USAC, before returning to NASCAR full-time for 1973, making every race[[note[[the 2nd year of the modern-era with a more consistent, less demanding schedule[[/note]] driving for Howard & Edgerton Racing. 1974 would see Yarborough win a career-high 10 races but finish 2nd by nearly 600 points to Richard Petty[[note]]that season saw NASCAR introduce a [[ObviousRulePatch short-lived points system change]] - done in reaction to Benny Parsons winning the 1973 championship despite only one victory - where one would take purse winnings, multiply by number of starts and divide by 1,000. After much criticism - including the 1974 Southern 500 (won by Cale Yarborough) where Darrell Waltrip openly criticized the fact that Petty, despite crashing out early, managed to get more points than any other driver save for Cale. In 1975; this system would be changed to the system created by statistician Bob Latford that would be used in some fashion until 2013[[/note]]; a season that saw Junior Johnson buy the team. 1975 saw Yarborough struggle until gaining sponsorship by poultry supplier Holly Farms[[note]]since absorbed into Tyson Foods[[/note]] before hitting his stride in the late 1970s; winning 9 races in 1976 and 1977 (including his 2nd Daytona 500; Yarborough would also become the first of only two drivers to win the championship and finish every race; a feat matched only by Bobby Labonte in 2000) and tying a career-high 10 wins in 1978; winning the Winston Cup championship all three years. 1979 would see Yarborough finish 4th in the points, though that season was best remembered for his last lap crash with Donnie Allison at the Daytona 500 and the subsequent fight between the two and Donnie's brother Bobby. 1980 would mark Cale's last season with Junior Johnson and last full-time season; but he went out strong, winning 6 races and a modern-era record 14 pole positions; narrowly losing the championship by 19 points to 2nd-year driver Dale Earnhardt. Despite moving to a part-time career; Cale would collect 5 wins in a 2-year span with M.C. Anderson (including his final Southern 500 victory in 1982) before moving to the Hardee's-sponsored Ranier-Lundy Racing after the Anderson team shuttered; racing there from 1983-86, including winning the 1983 and 1984 Daytona 500s to become the second driver to win back-to-back Daytona 500s[[note]]what made the 1983 win even more impressive was Cale's regular car, a Chevy Monte Carlo, having been totaled in qualifying. The team then found a Pontiac [=LeMans=] painted like the regular car outside a nearby Hardee's; got it in racing condition and entered the car at 8th position to start[[/note]], the 1984 Winston 500 at Talladega (which had a then-record 75 lead changes) and his final victory in the fall Charlotte race in 1985 for a total of 83 victories. After buying Jack Beebe's Race Hill Farm team in 1986; Yarborough ran his final two seasons as an owner-driver, bringing the Hardee's sponsorship with him before retiring after 1988. Yarborough would have much less success as a car owner, with only one victory in the 1997 Pepsi 400 in Daytona before selling the team in mid-2000 due to financial troubles. Outside of NASCAR; Yarborough dabbled in local politics as the first Republican member of Florence County's County Council since Reconstruction in 1972 (though he would later be re-elected as a Democrat and was a close supporter of UsefulNotes/JimmyCarter during Carter's successful campaign for President in 1976); won the International Race of Champions title in 1984 and ran 4 Indianapolis 500's in 1966-67 and 1971-72, with the last race being his best Indy finish at 10th place. Yarborough would be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2012.

** '''Darrell Waltrip''' (1947–) started his Cup career in 1972 and raced his first full-time season in 1976. He was initially one of NASCAR's most polarizing drivers thanks to a take-no-prisoners driving style, but cleaned up his image and driving style by the end of the '80s, becoming one of the circuit's most popular drivers. A three-time Cup Series champion (1981, 1982, 1985), he also won the 1989 Daytona 500, a record 12 races at Bristol, a record five Coca-Cola 600s, and in one of his ''non''-title seasons (1983), had a modern-day record of 23 top-five finishes. He retired from racing in 2000 with 84 Cup wins, a modern-era record now held by Jeff Gordon, and moved to the broadcast booth, serving as Fox's lead analyst from 2001 until retiring from that role at the end of the 2019 season. During his time in the booth, he was in the NASCAR HOF's 2012 class. Waltrip voiced race commentator Darrell Cartrip in [[WesternAnimation/{{Cars}} all]] [[WesternAnimation/Cars2 three]] [[WesternAnimation/Cars3 films]] of the ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' franchise, notably using his most famous {{catchphrase}} from his Fox days: "Boogity, boogity, boogity – let's go racing, boys!"

** '''Bill Elliott''' (1955–) began racing in the early 80's, completing his first full-time season (and earning his first win) in 1983. Throughout the 80's, he was known for his absolute ''dominance'' of superspeedway races; in 1985 at Talladega, an unscheduled pit stop for a mechanical problem put him a full two laps down--and Bill charged back through the field and still won the race! He also holds the all-time speed record for a NASCAR driver, recording an average speed of 212.809MPH for his qualifying lap at Talladega in 1987--a record which will likely never be broken, as NASCAR began mandating the use of restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega the next year. His humble, soft-spoken nature made him a fan favorite, having been voted NASCAR's "Most Popular Driver" every year from 1991-2000 and again in 2002.[[note]]In 2001, he kindly requested that everyone nominate Dale Earnhardt posthumously instead.[[/note]] He was inducted into NASCAR's HOF in 2015.
** Bill's son '''Chase Elliott''' (1995–) has followed in his father's footsteps as an eminently likable, down-to-earth guy...who just happens to be a badass race car driver, with an endearing awkwardness in front of cameras and a willingness to stand up for himself on and off the track that's quickly made him as beloved as his dad. Coming into the Cup Series, he was one of the most hyped-up prospects of the 21st century; while he struggled to perform for quite a while to begin his career, he scored his first Cup victory in 2018. Fittingly, it came on a road course (Watkins Glen), just as his father's first victory did 35 years earlier. He won his first Cup championship in 2020. He drives the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

** '''Kurt Busch''' (1978–) most recently drove the #45 Monster Energy Toyota for 23XI Racing, but retired from full-time racing after the 2022 season due to post-concussion effects. He's been one of NASCAR's most respected veterans, but it didn't start out that way for him--when he made his full-time Cup Series debut in 2001, his young age and give-no-flips attitude and driving style quickly rubbed veteran drivers and long-time fans the wrong way. This was emphasized with his ongoing feud with veteran Jimmy Spencer in 2002, where they [[EscalatingWar continued to intentionally wreck each other for several weeks]] until the sanctioning body finally brought the hammer down after Spencer punched Busch in the face hard enough to knock a couple teeth out. While he became the first champion of the Chase for the Cup era in 2004, he was also known for a HairTriggerTemper and a penchant for off-the-track controversy and inability to get along with his bosses and teammates, which along with a DUI in 2005 led to him leaving Roush Racing, joining Penske, then getting fired from them as well in 2011 after FlippingTheBird to ESPN cameras and verbally berating an interviewer. He reached a nadir in 2012, being relegated to driving for backmarker Phoenix Racing, getting put on probation for wrecking Ryan Newman and a post-race confrontation, then getting suspended for swearing at a reporter. He began to turn it around after making Furniture Row Racing a household name in 2013, continuing that trend with Stewart-Haas Racing (ironically, run by long-time rival Tony Stewart) from 2014-18, then driving for Chip Ganassi between 2019-21 before moving to his current ride. Having consistently outperformed his equipment and toned down his temper during the latter years of his career, the fan animosity he used to have has mostly dissipated and he's pretty well-respected today. Fun fact: he was the last driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. ever {{flipp|ingTheBird}}ed off (during the 2001 Daytona 500 that took his life).

** '''Brett Bodine''' (1959-), the [[MiddleChildSyndrome middle of the Bodine brothers]], had more success in modified racing; where he was named as one of the 50 greatest NASCAR Modified Series drivers of all time; but did have some success in NASCAR's main series, racing in the Busch (now Xfinity) Series from 1985 to 1999 with 5 victories[[note]]the second in only his second career Busch start; especially considering that [[PutMeInCoach he had to fill in for brother Geoff]]; who was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict involving his racing in the Cup Series at Martinsville[[/note]] and winning that series' Most Popular Driver Award for 1986 along with racing in the Cup Series from 1986 to 2003. In 1988; Bodine began racing in the Cup Series full-time for Bud Moore Engineering after the departure of Ricky Rudd; but despite some promising results (including finishing in the Top 5 in both of the races held at Charlotte Motor Speedway) his first season was marred by mechanical troubles (including 7 DNF's or "did not finish" results). Bodine managed to get 6 Top 10 finishes for 1989 but left after that season due to disputes with Moore over the chassis and sponsorship uncertainty[[note]]Bud Moore would eventually hire Brett's brother Geoff in 1992[[/note]]; eventually arriving at Kenny Bernstein's King Racing driving the #26 Quaker State Buick Regal (incidentally; replacing Ricky Rudd - who he replaced with Bud Moore) for 1990. That season saw Brett finish a career-best 12th place in the points standings while collecting what turned out to be his only career victory[[note]]in addition to being Brett Bodine's only career victory; it was also the last for King Racing - and only win on an oval; the final victory for Buick before parent company General Motors began phasing that brand out of NASCAR after 1991 before leaving entirely after 1993) and the first victory for crew chief Larry [=McReynolds=]; who would quickly move to greater success as crew chief for Robert Yates Racing alongside Davey Allison and Ernie Irvan and later still with Richard Childress Racing during the latter career of Dale Earnhardt[[/note]], where he was credited with the win in the spring race at North Wilkesboro despite allegations that NASCAR erred and that Darrell Waltrip should have won[[note]]on lap 318; Brett - who had led 63 laps earlier in the race - had retaken the lead after a short pit stop, only for a crash by Kenny Wallace three laps later to bring out a caution flag. However, the pace car ended up picking up Dale Earnhardt as the leader; which had the result of putting Brett nearly a full lap ahead, which Brett took advantage of as he didn't lose a position while pitting for fresh tires. It took NASCAR 17 laps to sort the confusion out (worth noting is that NASCAR would not have electronic scoring until 1993); after which Bodine was declared the leader, going on to lead the final 83 laps[[/note]], only for Bodine - hampered by crew chief Larry [=McReynolds=] leaving for Robert Yates Racing during the 1991 season - to fall back to 19th in points as reliability problems surfaced. Brett would remain with King Racing (which switched from Buick to Ford in 1992) until the 1994 season before moving to Junior Johnson & Associates (which older brother Geoff had driven for in 1990 and 1991), driving one season for that team before Johnson retired and sold the team to Brett, resulting in Brett joining [[RuleOfThree Geoff as a NASCAR owner-driver]] starting in 1996; but after Lowe's (which sponsored the #11 car dating to the final season under Junior Johnson's ownership) left; poor performances and sponsorship issues left Brett struggling, as by 2001 he was the [[LastOfHisKind lone owner-driver]] in the Winston Cup Series; with Bodine's career - further hampered by a bitter divorce in which he alleged his ex-wife [[DomesticAbuser hit him]] and threatened to financially ruin him - limping to a close in 2003, after which Brett was hired by NASCAR as cost director of NASCAR's research & development center (including the opportunity of driving the prototype for the Car of Tomorrow) and currently chairs the Driver Approval Committee. Also, like Geoff; Brett contributed to NASCAR's efforts to improve safety, as the first driver who began using the HANS (head and neck safety) device well before a series of fatal basilar skull fractures in auto racing (the most prominent being Dale Earnhardt) led to NASCAR [[ObviousRulePatch mandating the device]] in late 2001.

* '''Ernie Irvan''' (1959-) is a former driver who - after leaving his native California to pursue his dream of racing in NASCAR after having success in local go-kart and stock car racing[[note]]so passionate about racing was he that Irvan missed his high-school graduation ceremony to race at Riverside, CA[[/note]] - took a series of odd jobs including building racecars, welding seats at Charlotte Motor Speedway and unloading the moving van of future NASCAR colleague Ken Schrader, while still managing to find time to race in the late model series, winning 9 races in a 2-year span at nearby Concord Speedway. This got the attention of race car builder Marc Reno, who gave him his first Winston Cup opportunity in late 1987, driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the fall race at Richmond sponsored by Dale Earnhardt's Chevy dealership, making it only 35 laps before the engine overheated. D.K. Ulrich signed him up soon after, and in 1988 Irvan would race for Ulrich in all but 4 races that season; narrowly losing Rookie of the Year honors to Ken Bouchard by a margin of 3 votes. 1989 saw Irvan race the entire schedule, getting 4 Top 10 finishes only for sponsorship troubles to lead to Ulrich letting Irvan walk. 1990 would be a turbulent season for Irvan, as he started the season driving for longtime owner Junie Donleavey only for Donleavey's sponsor, True Cure, to fail to meet their financial commitments; leading to Irvan taking the Morgan-[=McClure=] #4 Kodak ride that opened up when Phil Parsons was let go. Irvan would collect two significant firsts at Bristol, taking his first pole in the spring race and the summer race taking his first win. However; Irvan would be the subject of controversy following the events in the spring race in Darlington when Irvan - 10 laps down - made contact with Schrader that triggered a major crash that nearly killed Neil Bonnett after Sterling Marlin bounced off the wall and hit Bonnett's car hard, resulting in Bonnett suffering amnesia as a result), with Irvan's reckless driving getting him the nickname "Swervin' Irvan". Irvan would have a career season in 1991 with 2 more victories in the Daytona 500 and at Watkins Glen[[note]]the latter race marred by an early crash that claimed the life of veteran independent driver J.D. [=McDuffie=][[/note]] en route to a career-best 5th in the points while also managing a Busch Series win and was able to shed his reckless reputation following a public apology to his fellow drivers at Talladega. 1992 would see him take a career-high 3 victories[[note]]at Sonoma, held just hours after the death of NASCAR founder "Big Bill" France and the summer races at Daytona and Talladega[[/note]] along with 2 wins in the Busch Series. 1993 would see Irvan win the spring race at Talladega with Morgan-[=McClure=] before finding himself in a controversy that July when Robert Yates asked Irvan if he could take over the #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford Thunderbird after Davey Allison died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash. A lawsuit ensued before Irvan was permitted to leave in September, going on to win twice with Robert Yates Racing[[note]]the first, at Martinsville, would see Irvan dedicate his victory to Allison while wearing a Davey Allison t-shirt under his fire suit. In addition, Yates and Irvan's crew were seen with [[ManlyTears visible tears]] on the final laps[[/note]]. 1994 looked to be Irvan's best shot at a championship, winning 3 races and trailing Dale Earnhardt by 27 points entering the August race at Michigan. During a practice session on August 20, 1994; crew chief Larry [=McReynolds=] called him into the pits because he wasn't liking how the car handled. Irvan decided to run one more lap, only for blow a tire and slam into the wall at 170 miles per hour; being diagnosed with [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat a basilar skull fracture]]—the same injury that would claim the life of the elder Dale Earnhardt a few years later—and given a 10% chance of surviving the night. Irvan miraculously made a slow but steady recovery; eventually managing to address fans at the fall Charlotte race while receiving the True Value Hard Charger Award at NASCAR's Awards Banquet[[note]]despite missing the last 11 races, Irvan had been such a dominant driver that he was still tied with Geoff Bodine for most poles and was first in most miles led[[/note]]. 1995 saw Irvan work a handful of races for [[Creator/ParamountNetwork TNN]] before being cleared to return to racing that September, making his return at North Wilkesboro in both the new Truck Series and Winston Cup races alongside Dale Jarrett, who filled in for Irvan for 1995; racing a handful of races in the #88. 1996 saw Irvan return to his usual #28 while Jarrett moved to the #88, qualifying second in the Daytona 500 and winning two more races. Irvan's final win came in 1997 at the track that nearly claimed his life: Michigan. That season saw Irvan leave Yates after a pair of controversies involving Irvan refusing to dance with a female patron on an Easter weekend event in Charlotte that escalated in a fight and later showing up late to an event thanking Texaco for 10 years of support; being replaced by Kenny Irwin Jr. for 1998. Irvan would move to upstart [=MB2=] Motorsports in 1998, racing for them until being injured in a Busch Series crash at Michigan on August 20, 1999; exactly five years to the day of his near-fatal crash at the same track. Irvan would eventually work on his son Jared in his racing endeavors and started a foundation called [=Race2Safety=] to raise awareness for head injuries. Additionally, Irvan was the favorite driver of longtime ''Radio/TheHowardSternShow'' contributor Ronald "Ronnie the Limo Driver" Mund.

* '''Jeff Gordon''' (1971–) is a retired NASCAR driver with four championships and 93 victories between 1993 and 2015. Hailing from California, Gordon helped spread NASCAR's popularity beyond the South, and his rainbow-colored #24 [=DuPont=] Chevrolet was one of the most recognizable paint schemes of the 1990s. However, his performance combined with his background made him as hated among long-time Southern NASCAR fans as he was loved by new ones. He retired after the 2015 season and joined the Fox broadcasting booth beginning in 2016. He was inducted into NASCAR's HOF in 2019.

* '''Ernie Irvan''' (1959-) is a former driver who - after leaving his native California to pursue his dream of racing in NASCAR after having success in local go-kart and stock car racing[[note]]so passionate about racing was he that Irvan missed his high-school graduation ceremony to race at Riverside, CA[[/note]] - took a series of odd jobs including building racecars, welding seats at Charlotte Motor Speedway and unloading the moving van of future NASCAR colleague Ken Schrader, while still managing to find time to race in the late model series, winning 9 races in a 2-year span at nearby Concord Speedway. This got the attention of race car builder Marc Reno, who gave him his first Winston Cup opportunity in late 1987, driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the fall race at Richmond sponsored by Dale Earnhardt's Chevy dealership, making it only 35 laps before the engine overheated. D.K. Ulrich signed him up soon after, and in 1988 Irvan would race for Ulrich in all but 4 races that season; narrowly losing Rookie of the Year honors to Ken Bouchard by a margin of 3 votes. 1989 saw Irvan race the entire schedule, getting 4 Top 10 finishes only for sponsorship troubles to lead to Ulrich letting Irvan walk. 1990 would be a turbulent season for Irvan, as he started the season driving for longtime owner Junie Donleavey only for Donleavey's sponsor, True Cure, to fail to meet their financial commitments; leading to Irvan taking the Morgan-[=McClure=] #4 Kodak ride that opened up when Phil Parsons was let go. Irvan would collect two significant firsts at Bristol, taking his first pole in the spring race and the summer race taking his first win. However; Irvan would be the subject of controversy following the events in the spring race in Darlington when Irvan - 10 laps down - made contact with Schrader that triggered a major crash that nearly killed Neil Bonnett after Sterling Marlin bounced off the wall and hit Bonnett's car hard, resulting in Bonnett suffering amnesia as a result), with Irvan's reckless driving getting him the nickname "Swervin' Irvan". Irvan would have a career season in 1991 with 2 more victories in the Daytona 500 and at Watkins Glen[[note]]the latter race marred by an early crash that claimed the life of veteran independent driver J.D. [=McDuffie=][[/note]] en route to a career-best 5th in the points while also managing a Busch Series win and was able to shed his reckless reputation following a public apology to his fellow drivers at Talladega. 1992 would see him take a career-high 3 victories[[note]]at Sonoma, held just hours after the death of NASCAR founder "Big Bill" France and the summer races at Daytona and Talladega[[/note]] along with 2 wins in the Busch Series. 1993 would see Irvan win the spring race at Talladega with Morgan-[=McClure=] before finding himself in a controversy that July when Robert Yates asked Irvan if he could take over the #28 Texaco-Havoline Ford Thunderbird after Davey Allison died from injuries sustained in a helicopter crash. A lawsuit ensued before Irvan was permitted to leave in September, going on to win twice with Robert Yates Racing[[note]]the first, at Martinsville, would see Irvan dedicate his victory to Allison while wearing a Davey Allison t-shirt under his fire suit. In addition, Yates and Irvan's crew were seen with [[ManlyTears visible tears]] on the final laps[[/note]]. 1994 looked to be Irvan's best shot at a championship, winning 3 races and trailing Dale Earnhardt by 27 points entering the August race at Michigan. During a practice session on August 20, 1994; crew chief Larry [=McReynolds=] called him into the pits because he wasn't liking how the car handled. Irvan decided to run one more lap, only for blow a tire and slam into the wall at 170 miles per hour; being diagnosed with [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat a basilar skull fracture]] and given a 10% chance of surviving the night. Irvan miraculously made a slow but steady recovery; eventually managing to address fans at the fall Charlotte race while receiving the True Value Hard Charger Award at NASCAR's Awards Banquet[[note]]despite missing the last 11 races, Irvan had been such a dominant driver that he was still tied with Geoff Bodine for most poles and was first in most miles led[[/note]]. 1995 saw Irvan work a handful of races for [[Creator/ParamountNetwork TNN]] before being cleared to return to racing that September, making his return at North Wilkesboro in both the new Truck Series and Winston Cup races alongside Dale Jarrett, who filled in for Irvan for 1995; racing a handful of races in the #88. 1996 saw Irvan return to his usual #28 while Jarrett moved to the #88, qualifying second in the Daytona 500 and winning two more races. Irvan's final win came in 1997 at the track that nearly claimed his life: Michigan. That season saw Irvan leave Yates after a pair of controversies involving Irvan refusing to dance with a female patron on an Easter weekend event in Charlotte that escalated in a fight and later showing up late to an event thanking Texaco for 10 years of support; being replaced by Kenny Irwin Jr. for 1998. Irvan would move to upstart [=MB2=] Motorsports in 1998, racing for them until being injured in a Busch Series crash at Michigan on August 20, 1999; exactly five years to the day of his near-fatal crash at the same track. Irvan would eventually work on his son Jared in his racing endeavors and started a foundation called [=Race2Safety=] to raise awareness for head injuries. Additionally, Irvan was the favorite driver of longtime ''Radio/TheHowardSternShow'' contributor Ronald "Ronnie the Limo Driver" Mund.

* '''Robert Glenn "Junior" Johnson''' (1931-2019), no relation to Jimmie Johnson above, was among the earliest NASCAR stars when he began his career in 1953 at the Southern 500; collecting his first victory in 1955 (his first full-time season); where he would finish with 5 wins and 6th place in the points. After missing most of 1956 due to having been convicted on running an illegal still (Johnson's family was heavily involved in [[HillbillyMoonshiner moonshining]]); he returned and didn't seem to miss a beat, winning 6 races in 1958 and ultimately collecting 50 victories by the time he retired as a driver in 1966 (including 13 in 1965; his penultimate season); most prominently the second Daytona 500 in 1960 (it was during a practice session that Johnson introduced the concept of drafting - where two vehicles are caused to align in a close group, reducing the overall effect of drag while exploiting a leader's slipstream - to NASCAR); the most victories ever for a driver without a championship up to that time. Soon after, Johnson would turn his focus to running his Junior Johnson & Associates team. Despite often being accused of LoopholeAbuse if not outright cheating at times; Johnson would build one of NASCAR's most successful teams between the mid-1970s and early 1990s; including winning 6 Winston Cup Championships as a car owner (1976-78 with Cale Yarborough; 1981-82 and 1985 with Darrell Waltrip) while also employing a number of legendary drivers for much of the team's history[[note]]among them A.J. Foyt, Bobby Isaac, Bobby Allison, [=LeeRoy=] Yarborough - no relation to Cale, David Pearson, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott[[/note]]. The beginning of the end for the team came in 1992; when Elliott ended up losing the championship to Alan Kulwicki[[note]]as noted below and in the NASCAR folder of the sports page of WhatCouldHaveBeen; Johnson had tried to woo Kulwicki to his team in 1990 and 1991, only for Kulwicki to turn him down to remain an owner-driver. When this happened in 1991; Johnson then pulled the rug out from under Kulwicki by wooing away Maxwell House coffee, who Kulwicki was negotiating a sponsorship deal, to instead sponsor a second car for Johnson that was driven by Sterling Marlin[[/note]] by 10 points and Johnson, angered in part due to a miscalculation on pit strategy late in the race, fired crew chief Tim Brewer. Johnson would only win 3 more races, 1 with Elliott and 2 with Jimmy Spencer[[note]]Spencer's victories would be the only time a car with primary sponsorship from UsefulNotes/{{McDonalds}} would reach victory lane until Bubba Wallace took his first career win in 2021[[/note]]; both in 1994 before selling his teams after the 1995 season and retiring. Johnson, the subject of a 1965 Esquire article by Tom Wolfe titled "The Last American Hero" that was adapted into a VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory film in 1973 where Johnson was played by Creator/JeffBridges, ended up receiving a pardon from President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan in 1986 and in his later years partnered with Piedmont Distillers, at the time the only legal distillery in North Carolina, to launch a line of whiskey called Midnight Moon. Johnson, named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 and a member of the charter NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his later years and died on December 20, 2019 at the age of 88.

** '''Kyle Busch''' (1985–) drives the #8 Cheddar's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, joining that team in 2023 after 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing in the #18 Advertising/MAndMs Toyota. He's one of the winningest—and most hated—drivers in the sport. After growing up around his father and older brother's racing operations in UsefulNotes/LasVegas, he quickly proved to be a can't miss prospect by posting a top-10 finish during his first race in the Truck Series at the age of ''16''. He was chosen to drive the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports full-time in 2005, and that year became the youngest driver to win a Cup race at the age of 20, winning two races that year (since surpassed by Joey Logano, see below). After moving to Gibbs in 2008, he had his breakout season and has continually set records ever since, becoming the winningest driver in all three combined national series with 222, the all-time wins leader in both the Grand National/Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity and Truck Series, a two-time Cup champion in 2015 and 2019, the first driver to win all three top series races in one weekend, and the driver with Cup race wins in the most consecutive seasons (19),[[note]]Busch took sole possession of this last record, previously shared with Richard Petty, by winning the last race at Fontana before its planned conversion to a short track.[[/note]] just to name a few. At the same time, he was almost more well known for an infamous temper and frequent {{Freak Out}}s that were frequently compared by his detractors to childish tantrums. After wrecking the beloved Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win at Richmond in 2008, he quickly became the most hated driver in the sport, and it's never let up from there, with every single one of his wins or temper-driven incidents like wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution in 2011 bringing out more and more detractors. To his credit, he's embraced his role as NASCAR's biggest heel of the [=21st=] century, as it seems like he enjoys doing things that piss the fans off [[LoveToHate just as much as they enjoy booing him]]. With a surefire Hall of Fame career in the books, it's caused even many of his detractors to have a grudging respect for him, as despite the many things he's done to rankle them over the years, he is nothing if not entertaining. Mars, the maker of [=M&Ms=], announcing it was leaving NASCAR after 2022 led to Busch eventually being signed to Richard Childress Racing beginning in the 2023 season.

** '''Kyle Busch''' (1985–) drives the #8 Cheddar's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, joining that team in 2023 after 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing in the #18 Advertising/MAndMs Toyota. He's one of the winningest—and most hated—drivers in the sport. After growing up around his father and older brother's racing operations in UsefulNotes/LasVegas, he quickly proved to be a can't miss prospect by posting a top-10 finish during his first race in the Truck Series at the age of ''16''. He was chosen to drive the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports full-time in 2005, and that year became the youngest driver to win a Cup race at the age of 20, winning two races that year (since surpassed by Joey Logano, see below). After moving to Gibbs in 2008, he had his breakout season and has continually set records ever since, becoming the winningest driver in all three combined national series with 222, the all-time wins leader in both the Grand National/Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity and Truck Series, a two-time Cup champion in 2015 and 2019, and the first driver to win all three top series races in one weekend, just to name a few. At the same time, he was almost more well known for an infamous temper and frequent {{Freak Out}}s that were frequently compared by his detractors to childish tantrums. After wrecking the beloved Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win at Richmond in 2008, he quickly became the most hated driver in the sport, and it's never let up from there, with every single one of his wins or temper-driven incidents like wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution in 2011 bringing out more and more detractors. To his credit, he's embraced his role as NASCAR's biggest heel of the [=21st=] century, as it seems like he enjoys doing things that piss the fans off [[LoveToHate just as much as they enjoy booing him]]. With a surefire Hall of Fame career in the books, it's caused even many of his detractors to have a grudging respect for him, as despite the many things he's done to rankle them over the years, he is nothing if not entertaining. Mars, the maker of [=M&Ms=], announcing it was leaving NASCAR after 2022 led to Busch eventually being signed to Richard Childress Racing beginning in the 2023 season.

* '''Jimmie Johnson''' (1975–) is a driver most famous for winning seven Cup Series championships, the first five of which were won consecutively. With nothing left to prove, he left NASCAR at the end of the 2020 season and began competing part-time in the UsefulNotes/IndyCar Series. Johnson became full-time in 2022, but struggled on road and street courses, and ended up returning to NASCAR for 2023 as a new part-owner of the Petty GMS team (yes, ''that'' Petty) and a part-time Cup driver. No relation to Junior Johnson below.

** '''Kyle Busch''' (1985–) is the driver of the #8 Cheddar's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. From 2008–2022, he had been with Joe Gibbs Racing, most famously in the #18 Toyota, but Advertising/MAndMs exited NASCAR sponsorship and JGR chose to cut costs and release Busch. He's one of the winningest—and most hated—drivers in the sport. After growing up around his father and older brother's racing operations in UsefulNotes/LasVegas, he quickly proved to be a can't miss prospect by posting a top-10 finish during his first race in the Truck Series at the age of ''16''. He was chosen to drive the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports full-time in 2005, and that year became the youngest driver to win a Cup race at the age of 20, winning two races that year (since surpassed by Joey Logano, see below). After moving to Gibbs in 2008, he had his breakout season and has continually set records ever since, becoming the winningest driver in all three combined national series with 222, the all-time wins leader in both the Grand National/Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity and Truck Series, a two-time Cup champion in 2015 and 2019, and the first driver to win all three top series races in one weekend, just to name a few. At the same time, he was almost more well known for an infamous temper and frequent {{Freak Out}}s that were frequently compared by his detractors to childish tantrums. After wrecking the beloved Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win at Richmond in 2008, he quickly became the most hated driver in the sport, and it's never let up from there, with every single one of his wins or temper-driven incidents like wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution in 2011 bringing out more and more detractors. To his credit, he's embraced his role as NASCAR's biggest heel of the [=21st=] century, as it seems like he enjoys doing things that piss the fans off [[LoveToHate just as much as they enjoy booing him]]. With a surefire Hall of Fame career in the books, it's caused even many of his detractors to have a grudging respect for him, as despite the many things he's done to rankle them over the years, he is nothing if not entertaining. Mars announcing they were leaving NASCAR after 2022 led to Busch eventually being signed to Richard Childress Racing beginning in the 2023 season.

** '''Kyle Busch''' (1985–) is the driver of the #18 Advertising/MAndMs Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and one of the winningest--and most hated--drivers in the sport. After growing up around his father and older brother's racing operations in UsefulNotes/LasVegas, he quickly proved to be a can't miss prospect by posting a top-10 finish during his first race in the Truck Series at the age of ''16''. He was chosen to drive the #5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports full-time in 2005, and that year became the youngest driver to win a Cup race at the age of 20, winning two races that year (since surpassed by Joey Logano, see below). After moving to Gibbs in 2008, he had his breakout season and has continually set records ever since, becoming the winningest driver in all three combined national series with 222, the all-time wins leader in both the Grand National/Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity and Truck Series, a two-time Cup champion in 2015 and 2019, and the first driver to win all three top series races in one weekend, just to name a few. At the same time, he was almost more well known for an infamous temper and frequent {{Freak Out}}s that were frequently compared by his detractors to childish tantrums. After wrecking the beloved Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win at Richmond in 2008, he quickly became the most hated driver in the sport, and it's never let up from there, with every single one of his wins or temper-driven incidents like wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution in 2011 bringing out more and more detractors. To his credit, he's embraced his role as NASCAR's biggest heel of the [=21st=] century, as it seems like he enjoys doing things that piss the fans off [[LoveToHate just as much as they enjoy booing him]]. With a surefire Hall of Fame career in the books, it's caused even many of his detractors to have a grudging respect for him, as despite the many things he's done to rankle them over the years, he is nothing if not entertaining. Mars announcing they were leaving NASCAR after 2022 led to Busch eventually being signed to Richard Childress Racing beginning in the 2023 season.
** '''Kurt Busch''' (1978–) currently drives the #45 Monster Energy Toyota for 23XI Racing. He's currently one of NASCAR's most respected veterans, but it didn't start out that way for him--when he made his full-time Cup Series debut in 2001, his young age and give-no-flips attitude and driving style quickly rubbed veteran drivers and long-time fans the wrong way. This was emphasized with his ongoing feud with veteran Jimmy Spencer in 2002, where they [[EscalatingWar continued to intentionally wreck each other for several weeks]] until the sanctioning body finally brought the hammer down after Spencer punched Busch in the face hard enough to knock a couple teeth out. While he became the first champion of the Chase for the Cup era in 2004, he was also known for a HairTriggerTemper and a penchant for off-the-track controversy and inability to get along with his bosses and teammates, which along with a DUI in 2005 led to him leaving Roush Racing, joining Penske, then getting fired from them as well in 2011 after FlippingTheBird to ESPN cameras and verbally berating an interviewer. He reached a nadir in 2012, being relegated to driving for backmarker Phoenix Racing, getting put on probation for wrecking Ryan Newman and a post-race confrontation, then getting suspended for swearing at a reporter. He began to turn it around after making Furniture Row Racing a household name in 2013, continuing that trend with Stewart-Haas Racing (ironically, run by long-time rival Tony Stewart) from 2014-18, then driving for Chip Ganassi between 2019-21 before moving to his current ride. Having consistently outperformed his equipment and toned down his temper during the latter years of his career, the fan animosity he used to have has mostly dissipated and he's pretty well-respected today. Fun fact: he was the last driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. ever {{flipp|ingTheBird}}ed off (during the 2001 Daytona 500 that took his life).

* '''Kevin Harvick''' (1975–) was a Busch and Truck series regular whose Cup career began under rather tragic circumstances, when Richard Childress appointed him to replace Dale Earnhardt a week after the 2001 Daytona 500.[[note]]Although it was largely the same team, Childress changed Harvick's car number from 3 to 29 out of respect; the number 3 remained unofficially retired in the Cup series until 2014, when Childress' grandson Austin Dillon began using it again.[[/note]] He quickly proved he belonged, however, when he edged out Jeff Gordon by only 6 thousandths of a second to win the spring race at Atlanta that year--in just his third career Cup series start. He continued to win races here and there until joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, now driving the #4 Ford (Chevrolet from 2014-16), winning his first championship that same year and firmly establishing himself as one of NASCAR's elite contenders. He gained a reputation as a driver who could pull off wins [[DarkHorseVictory seemingly out of nowhere]], and also gained an even bigger reputation for an infamous temper, leading to him gaining the IronicNickname "Happy". Seemed to be on track for a similarly dominant year in 2020, but a late-season slump saw him knocked out of the playoffs in the next-to-last race at Martinsville. He's announced that the 2023 season will be his last as a driver.

* '''Brian Vickers''' (1983-) began by driving go karts and by 2001 had worked his way up to what was then the Busch (now Xfinity) Series, making his full-time debut in that series the following year driving for his father's team. After that team ran into financial problems in 2003; Vickers got hired by Rick Hendrick to replace his son Ricky in the #5 GMAC-sponsored Chevrolet as the younger Hendrick decided to move to an ownership role, winning 3 races and becoming the youngest Busch Series champion up to then at the age of 20. Vickers moved to a full-time Cup Series ride in 2004 and finished 3rd in that circuit's Rookie of the Year vote. Vickers' first Cup Series win was in the 2005 Nextel Open[[note]]the open being a last-chance opportunity for drivers to win their way into the All-Star Race[[/note]] by dumping teammate Mike Bliss on the final lap (Vickers would finish 3rd in the All-Star Race). More controversy came the following year when Vickers[[note]]who had announced he was leaving Hendrick after the season[[/note]] decided during the fall 2006 race at Talladega to [[HistoryRepeats dump teammate]] Jimmie Johnson to take his first points-paying win; though getting blasted by the media and Johnson (whose crew chief, Chad Knaus, would say that Vickers "ran out of talent"). 2007 saw Vickers move to upstart Red Bull Racing; one of the first teams to field Toyotas in NASCAR, and the change appeared promising with Vickers scoring Toyota's first Top 10, Top 5 and first laps led; though the Top 5 - at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte - was a disappointing finish after Vickers led 70 laps before his power steering failed and Vickers ended up failing to qualify for 13 races. 2008 saw history repeat again at the Coca-Cola 600 when Vickers led 63 laps before disaster struck (this time, losing a left rear tire). 2009 saw Vickers make the Chase for the Cup on the strength of 6 poles[[note]]second behind 2009 Cup Series runner-up Mark Martin[[/note]] and his second career win[[note]]Vickers also got a pole in the Carfax 250 race at Michigan in what was now the Nationwide Series; but another round of rough racing between Vickers and one-time teammate Kyle Busch allowed rookie Brad Keselowski to win[[/note]]; ultimately finishing a career-best 12th in points. However, in May 2010, Vickers missed the spring Dover race due to blood clots in his legs and - more seriously - near his lungs, ultimately missing the remainder of the season. Vickers returned in 2011 but despite 7 Top 10 finishes a series of wrecks led to his finish 25th. Red Bull Racing closed its doors after 2011; but instead of moving to BK Racing[[note]]which was not officially sponsored by Burger King; but rather was partly owned by a Burger King franchise owner[[/note]] Vickers left for Michael Waltrip Racing, running part-time in 2012 and then (after a stint as a substitute driver for an injured Denny Hamlin) returning in 2013; picking up his third career win and securing a full-time ride for 2014 and 2015, only to be embroiled in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Federated_Auto_Parts_400#Race_manipulation_controversy Spingate]] controversy[[note]]specifically; Vickers being told by spotter and MWR vice-president Ty Norris to make a green lap pit stop to allow Martin Truex Jr., in danger of being knocked out of the Chase, to gain another position on Ryan Newman on top of Clint Bowyer spinning out[[/note]]; which was followed by another blood clot ending his season (by which time Vickers did commercials for the prescription blood thinner Xarelto). Vickers ran the 2014 season but [[RuleOfThree missed much of 2015 due to health reasons]], this time a patch inserted into a hole in the heart during his initial health troubles in 2010 being rejected by his body. After Michael Waltrip Racing closed in 2015; Vickers last raced in 2016 as a substitute driver for Tony Stewart. Vickers was last known to be working as an interior decorator; but found himself at the center of controversy in 2019 when it was revealed that Vickers' wife, Sarah Kellen, had been a scheduler under the alias Sarah Kensington for [[PaedoHunt sex trafficker]] Jeffrey Epstein but had received immunity as part of Epstein's non-prosecution deal. While whether Vickers had any involvement himself is unknown; his decision to go dark on social media raised a number of eyebrows, and [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment that's all that will be said of that matter]].

* '''Jimmie Johnson''' (1975–) is a driver most famous for winning seven Cup Series championships, the first five of which were won consecutively. With nothing left to prove, he left NASCAR at the end of the 2020 season and began competing part-time in the UsefulNotes/IndyCar Series. Johnson became full-time in 2022, but struggled on road and street courses, and ended up returning to NASCAR for 2023 as a new part-owner of the Petty GMS team (yes, ''that'' Petty) and a part-time Cup driver.

-->The highest level of NASCAR racing. In the current format, a Cup Series season consists of 36 races and is divided into two segments: The "regular season", which consists of the first 26 races, and the "Playoffs", where the top 16 drivers, seeded based on their total number of wins or playoff/points, will compete against each other in the last ten races for the championship. In the Playoffs, the first nine races are divided into three rounds, with four participants being eliminated after each round before the surviving four participants compete in the GrandFinale at Homestead where the highest finisher of the four will be declared as champion. Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson are tied for the most titles in the series with 7. Petty is also the most successful driver statistically with a staggering ''200'' race wins, a number that is practically impossible to beat today due to the fact that Petty raced in seasons where there were ''50''+ races in a single season, as well as having a longer career than most modern-day drivers (Petty raced from 1958 to 1992, while a typical career these days lasts, at most, 20 years). The current "modern era" (1972 onwards) record for the most race wins is 4-time champion Jeff Gordon, with 93. Kyle Larson is the current champion of the series, having earned his first title with 10 wins in the 2021 season.

The 2022 season was one of the most competitive in modern times. In all, 19 drivers won a race, tying the modern-era[[note]]NASCAR defines the start of its "modern era" as 1972, when the schedule was reduced from 48 to 31 races.[[/note]] record set in 2001. Five of these drivers collected their first Cup race win, and two other drivers won their first non-rain-shortened races. NASCAR also signaled that it would treat technical violations much more harshly than in the past, which it did at the July Pocono race. Denny Hamlin became the first driver to have had a Cup race win stripped for failing the postrace technical inspection since ''1960''.

The 1960s and 70s were a time of growth for the organization and the sport of stock car racing. This is the time when the sport and organization really began to gain attention around the country and the world. Despite some races run in the Northern United States (and Canada) in the early years, stock car racing was still considered a Southern sport. However, with TV coverage, the sport began to find some popularity outside the South. In the 1960s, the Daytona 500 was usually taped and presented as part of ABC's ''Series/WideWorldOfSports'' package. However, in 1974, ABC began to broadcast the race itself live, starting with the halfway point at lap 101. The first live, flag-to-flag coverage of the race was done in 1979 by CBS, which included a memorable last-lap crash between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough, which resulted in a fistfight between the two drivers and Donnie's brother Bobby. The 60s and 70s were dominated by UsefulNotes/RichardPetty, who later became known as "The King", winning 7 Grand National (now Cup Series) championships and 200 races total. (Even now, almost thirty years after his retirement, no driver has even come '''close''' to that number of wins; second-place goes to Petty's early days rival David Pearson, with 105).

* '''Kevin Harvick''' (1975–) was a Busch and Truck series regular whose Cup career began under rather tragic circumstances, when Richard Childress appointed him to replace Dale Earnhardt a week after the 2001 Daytona 500.[[note]]Although it was largely the same team, Childress changed Harvick's car number from 3 to 29 out of respect; the number 3 remained unofficially retired in the Cup series until 2014, when Childress' grandson Austin Dillon began using it again.[[/note]] He quickly proved he belonged, however, when he edged out Jeff Gordon by only 6 thousandths of a second to win the spring race at Atlanta that year--in just his third career Cup series start. He continued to win races here and there until joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, now driving the #4 Ford (Chevrolet from 2014-16), winning his first championship that same year and firmly establishing himself as one of NASCAR's elite contenders. He gained a reputation as a driver who could pull off wins [[DarkHorseVictory seemingly out of nowhere]], and also gained an even bigger reputation for an infamous temper, leading to him gaining the IronicNickname "Happy". Seemed to be on track for a similarly dominant year in 2020, but a late-season slump saw him knocked out of the playoffs in the next-to-last race at Martinsville.

The 1980s saw a slow, steady rise in NASCAR's popularity, in part thanks to a driver by the name of UsefulNotes/DaleEarnhardt, who won four Winston Cup championships in that decade. The dawn of cable TV also provided NASCAR with significantly more national exposure, as ESPN and other channels began broadcasting the majority of Winston Cup races live and flag-to-flag. Starting in 1981, the cars became less and less "stock" and turned into actual, purpose-built race cars; the days of buying a car and driving it to the track to race were over. The sport's slow expansion would turn into a boom in the 1990s, thanks largely to a driver by the name of Jeff Gordon, who was from -- ''shock!'' -- UsefulNotes/{{California}}[[note]]Extra shock: Though born in California, he moved with his family to Indiana, also not within NASCAR's traditional orbit, as a teenager so he could be closer to the racing scene in that state.[[/note]] and -- ''horrors!'' -- clean-cut, photogenic, and a good interview. In 2001, NASCAR lost Earnhardt, its biggest star, who had won seven Cup championships by that time. He was killed in a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500, which forced the organization to review its safety policies.

The 2022 season was one of the most competitive in modern times. In all, 19 drivers won a race, tying the modern-era[[note]]NASCAR defines the start of its "modern era" as 1972, when the schedule was reduced from 48 to 31 races.[[/note]] record set in 2001. Five of these drivers collected their first Cup race win, and two other drivers won their first non-rain-shortened races. NASCAR also signaled that it would treat technical violations much more harshly than in the past, which it did at said Pocono race. Denny Hamlin became the first driver to have had a Cup race win stripped for failing the postrace technical inspection since ''1960''.

The 2022 season has been one of the most competitive in modern times; as of the Pocono race in late July (the 21st of the season), 14 drivers had won a race, with five of them collecting their first Cup race win. NASCAR also signaled that it would treat technical violations much more harshly than in the past, which it did at said Pocono race. Denny Hamlin became the first driver to have had a Cup race win stripped for failing the postrace technical inspection since ''1960''.

* NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

-->'''Current Drivers Champion:''' Zane Smoth

-->'''Former Names:''' NASCAR Super Truck Series (1995), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (1996-2008), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2009-2018, 2021-onward); NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (2019-2020)