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Who had the greatest season in NASCAR history? Vote now!
By Jay Busbee
Love him or loathe him, you can't deny that Kyle Busch is tearing up NASCAR this year. (You can't. Really. Check the stats. He's won a few.) Any time a driver racks up seven wins in the first half of the season, the conversation begins: How does this compare to the finest seasons in NASCAR history? (Okay, the conversation actually began after his first couple races.)
Outside of a video game, we'll never know how NASCAR's greatest drivers could have done against one another in their primes. What we can do is start to figure out who had the greatest individual season, based on competition with their peers. As you'd expect, the legends dominate this list.
Earlier this week, we asked for your nominations, and after supplementing them with a few choices of our own, we have your list. Afterward, you'll get your chance to vote and make your choice known. Ladies and gentlemen, your nominees for the finest individual season in NASCAR history:
Richard Petty, 1967: In the "pre-modern" era, Petty won 27 of the 47 races he entered, finishing in the top 10 in 40 and grabbing 18 poles. Whew.
Richard Petty, 1975: Petty set the modern record with 13 wins in 30 races; had 24 top 10s but only 3 poles.
David Pearson, 1976: The part-time racer took 10 wins and eight poles in just 22 races.
Bill Elliott, 1985: Eleven wins, 11 poles. As one commenter said, "Lest we forget, Elliott came from 2 laps down to win at Talladega...with NO CAUTIONS to help him out. That's right, kiddies, no "Lucky Dog" garbage for Awesome Bill, no laps "given back" by the leader, he made them up the old-fashioned way. Oh yeah, and he won that whole "Winston Million" thing. Something not even Earnhardt can say he accomplished."
Dale Earnhardt, 1987: The finest season of the Intimidator's dominating career, he had 11 wins and 24 top-10s in 29 races ... and did it while winning just one pole.
Alan Kulwicki, 1992: Another commenter nails this one: "Kulwicki overcame the 278-point deficit in the final six races of the season by ending with a fifth, a fourth, and two second place finishes. It was the closest title win in NASCAR Cup Series history until the implementation of the Chase for the Cup format in 2004. The championship was noteworthy for other reasons: he was the last owner/driver to win the title, the first Cup champion with a college degree, and the first Cup champion born in a Northern state."
Jeff Gordon, 1998: A simply unbelievable year when he tied Petty's modern record of 13 wins, and finished in the top 10 an astonishing 28 of 33 races.
Jimmie Johnson, 2007: Johnson put the hammerlock on the first back-to-back championship in almost ten years by winning four of the final five races and ten overall.
Kyle Busch, 2008: No, his season isn't over yet. But he drew several nominations, mainly for the way he has absolutely dominated the field on every kind of track, in every kind of conditions, all the while racing in the same boxy Car of Tomorrow as everyone else. If he can keep this run going through a Cup championship, though, he'll absolutely belong on this list.
And now it's your turn. Vote!
By Jay Busbee
Love him or loathe him, you can't deny that Kyle Busch is tearing up NASCAR this year. (You can't. Really. Check the stats. He's won a few.) Any time a driver racks up seven wins in the first half of the season, the conversation begins: How does this compare to the finest seasons in NASCAR history? (Okay, the conversation actually began after his first couple races.)
Outside of a video game, we'll never know how NASCAR's greatest drivers could have done against one another in their primes. What we can do is start to figure out who had the greatest individual season, based on competition with their peers. As you'd expect, the legends dominate this list.
Earlier this week, we asked for your nominations, and after supplementing them with a few choices of our own, we have your list. Afterward, you'll get your chance to vote and make your choice known. Ladies and gentlemen, your nominees for the finest individual season in NASCAR history:
Richard Petty, 1967: In the "pre-modern" era, Petty won 27 of the 47 races he entered, finishing in the top 10 in 40 and grabbing 18 poles. Whew.
Richard Petty, 1975: Petty set the modern record with 13 wins in 30 races; had 24 top 10s but only 3 poles.
David Pearson, 1976: The part-time racer took 10 wins and eight poles in just 22 races.
Bill Elliott, 1985: Eleven wins, 11 poles. As one commenter said, "Lest we forget, Elliott came from 2 laps down to win at Talladega...with NO CAUTIONS to help him out. That's right, kiddies, no "Lucky Dog" garbage for Awesome Bill, no laps "given back" by the leader, he made them up the old-fashioned way. Oh yeah, and he won that whole "Winston Million" thing. Something not even Earnhardt can say he accomplished."
Dale Earnhardt, 1987: The finest season of the Intimidator's dominating career, he had 11 wins and 24 top-10s in 29 races ... and did it while winning just one pole.
Alan Kulwicki, 1992: Another commenter nails this one: "Kulwicki overcame the 278-point deficit in the final six races of the season by ending with a fifth, a fourth, and two second place finishes. It was the closest title win in NASCAR Cup Series history until the implementation of the Chase for the Cup format in 2004. The championship was noteworthy for other reasons: he was the last owner/driver to win the title, the first Cup champion with a college degree, and the first Cup champion born in a Northern state."
Jeff Gordon, 1998: A simply unbelievable year when he tied Petty's modern record of 13 wins, and finished in the top 10 an astonishing 28 of 33 races.
Jimmie Johnson, 2007: Johnson put the hammerlock on the first back-to-back championship in almost ten years by winning four of the final five races and ten overall.
Kyle Busch, 2008: No, his season isn't over yet. But he drew several nominations, mainly for the way he has absolutely dominated the field on every kind of track, in every kind of conditions, all the while racing in the same boxy Car of Tomorrow as everyone else. If he can keep this run going through a Cup championship, though, he'll absolutely belong on this list.
And now it's your turn. Vote!
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