First 10 of the 25 Greatest Drivers Added in 2023

NASCAR's first 50 Greatest Drivers list was presented to the fandom in 1998 to celebrate the sport's 50th anniversary. With the 75th anniversary of the sport coming this season, NASCAR will be announcing the next 25 over a period of 5 weeks running up to Darlington where all 75 will be honored. As of Friday the 21st of April, the first 10 have been announced by NASCAR. Here they are with many of their accomplishments. 

Randy LaJoie 1985-2006

Randy LaJoie celebrating his 1996 Busch Series Title. Image: FB

Randy LaJoie is a 2x NASCAR Busch Series (Now Xfinity Series) champion in both 1996 & 1997 racing for BACE Motorsports. Randy competed in all 3 NASCAR National Series winning 15 times in the Busch Series. LaJoie also won 19 Pole awards in the Series. He ran a total of 401 races in NASCAR.

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Tony Stewart 1996-2016

Climbing the fence. A tradition of Stewart's. After winning the 2005 Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Image: Nick Layham

As a driver, Tony Stewart accomplished an incredible amount in our sport. He won the NASCAR Cup title 3x in 2002, 2005 & 2011. He became the first driver/owner to win the Cup Series title since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 In that timeframe he won 62 combined National Series races, 49 in Cup. in his tenure in NASCAR he won 21 Pole Awards and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2020. 

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Chase Elliott 2013-

Elliott won the 2023 Nashville race. Image: Chase Elliott Fb

Chase Elliott joins his father Bill on this list making them the 6th father/son duo to make it. Elliott is the 2014 Nationwide Series Champion and 2020 Cup Series Champion. In his 10 years in NASCAR, Elliott has 26 Combined wins with 17 Pole Awards. 

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Sterling Marlin 1976-2009

Sterling Marlin waves the American Flag after he won the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway in Oct. 2001. Image: AP Photo/Rusty Burroughs

Sterling Marlin is likely best known as the driver who got out of his #40 Coors Dodge during a red flag while leading the 2002 Daytona 500 to pull his right fender from the wheel. He is a 2x 500 champ in 1994 & 1995. Over his long career, Marlin scored 12 Pole Awards with 12 National Series wins. 

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Mike Stefanik 1985-2014

Mike Stefanik after winning the TitanRoof 150 at Bristol in 2013. Image: John Harrelson. NASCAR HoF

Most of you younger fans may have never heard of Mike Stefanik and this comes because he never ran a Cup Series race and he only had 52 National Series starts to his name. But what solidifies him to this list is the lower of the NASCAR sanctioned series, Busch North Series & the Whelen Modifieds. He is a 9x NASCAR Champion as he won the Whelen Modified Series title in 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002 and again in 2006. He also won the Busch North title in 1997 & 1998. He was the 1999 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year. He only scored 11 Top-10s in the National Series, but Mike would go on to score 74 combined wins and 48 Pole Awards. He was inducted into the NASCAR HoF in 2022

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Denny Hamlin 2004-

Denny Celebrating his 3rd Daytona 500 victory. Image: Denny Hamlin FB

Denny Hamlin is arguably the greatest driver to never win a championship (so far). But his 3 Daytona 500 wins, 3 Southern 500 wins and Coke 600 win make him the Crown Jewel King. But a combined 67 Combined wins and 58 Pole Awards bring him toward the top in the entirety of the sport's history being 5th all-time. 

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Greg Biffle 1996-2022

2013 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan, Greg Biffle won for the last time in the Irish Hills. Image: Biffle FB

Greg Biffle got his big break in 1998 racing the Roush Racing F-150 in the Craftsman Truck Series. He stayed loyal to the Cat in the Hat, Jack Roush until he left full-time competition in 2016. In that time, Greg cracked off 55 National Series victories and 39 Pole Awards. He came back to racing in NASCAR in 2019 and won in a truck for Kyle Busch Motorsports giving him a grand total of 56 wins. That was his first truck win since 2001.

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Ryan Newman 2001-2021

Ryan Newman at the 2021 FireKeepers Casino at MIS. Image: Ryan Newman FB

Rocket Man Ryan Newman won an amazing 51 Cup Series Pole Awards with a combined 64 in the National Series. The 2002 Rookie of the Year,  he won 2008 Daytona 500, the 2013 Brickyard 400 and the 2002 Winston. A combined 26 National Series wins and the stigma of being the hardest driver in the series to pass, Newman is firmly on this list.