NASCAR
The 101 Greatest NASCAR Cup Series Drivers by Car Number
Luke Norris began his sportswriting career in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2020. The former Section Editor of the NFL and Motorsports sections, he now spends his time here in the role of Senior Writer-Programmer. His well-rounded sports knowledge allows him to cover the NFL, NBA, PGA Tour, MLB, boxing, WWE, and NASCAR for Sportscasting. Luke is an avid golfer who finds inspiration in the way sports can bring people together and provide a distraction from the real world. He hopes to provide a little entertainment or an escape from the real world with every article he writes, even if only for a few minutes. In addition to his work here at Sportscasting, Luke's work has appeared on The Sportster, Inquisitr, GiveMeSport, FanSided, Yahoo! Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated.
Get to know Luke Norris betterPublished17 Sep 2022
Welcome to Sportscasting’s 10-part series, “The 101 Greatest NASCAR Cup Series Drivers by Car Number.”
Given the success of our “101 Greatest NFL Players by Uniform Number” series, we decided to go the same route with NASCAR. Only it was a tad trickier. You see, in the NFL, exactly 101 different numbers have been worn since the league was founded in 1920.
Since the formation of NASCAR in 1948, however, 110 different car numbers have been used as zeroes have been used in front of the single digits in years past (01, 02, etc.). But to keep things a touch tighter, we’re lumping those in with the standard numbers, outside of double zero anyway.
So you’ll see 00, 0, and 1-99 to get to our grand total of 101. To check out each installment, simply click on the sets of digits above each image below to see which NASCAR Cup Series driver we chose as the best to drive every number. Easy enough, right?
Some choices were indeed easier than others, and we’re sure you won’t agree with all of them. So I encourage you to get involved in our comments section below to make your case for those in which you’d go in a different direction.
The first three installments are live, and we’ll add a new list of 10 every week during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. So be sure to bookmark this page, so you remember to return for each new portion of the list.
Enjoy the ride.
Nos. 00-9
Obviously, one of the easiest calls of the entire list came in this installment with the late, great Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the No. 3 slot. But a couple of entries in this lone list of 11 might surprise you.
Nos. 10-19
This portion of the list featured perhaps the most challenging decision of the entire series with the No. 11, the winningest number in NASCAR Cup Series history. One driver also takes up two of the 10 slots here. Can you guess who it is before you click in?
Nos. 20-29
This portion of the list features another easy call with Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 slot. It also features a driver making his third consecutive appearance and another representing a number with which he’s not most associated.
Nos. 30-39
There were some challenging decisions to make in the 30-39 installment, but for far different reasons than many of the others we faced in other portions of the list. We’re not going to lie and tell you this is the sexiest 10, but we’ve gotta cover all bases, right?
Nos. 40-49
Three drivers on this portion of the list combined for 337 NASCAR Cup Series wins. And two of them have the same last name. We’re betting you know what it is.
Nos. 50-59
Many of the numbers on this portion of the list are some of the least-used in NASCAR Cup Series history. But you’ll certainly recognize plenty of the names here.
Nos. 60-69
We’re not going to lie to you. This isn’t the sexiest portion of the list, as the majority of the numbers in the 60s have never reached Victory Lane. But that kinda made it fun as we had to get a little creative with some of the entries. The highlight is a driver making his fourth overall appearance on the list.
Nos. 70-79
The 70s portion of our list may not feature a ton of notable names to the casual fan. But NASCAR die-hards will certainly recognize the several current Hall of Famers and a future one in this group of 10.
Nos. 80-89
This is certainly one of the most unique installments in the entire series, but it’s just as entertaining as the rest. Not only does this 80s portion feature one of the most challenging decisions on the list, but it also includes one driver taking up three slots.
Nos. 90-99
RELATED: Who Has the Most Wins on Every Track of the Current NASCAR Cup Series Schedule?
The final installment of the series includes multiple NASCAR Hall of Famers, one of whom drove several races with a monkey in the passenger seat, multiple championship winners, the first Triple Crown winner in Cup Series history, and a solid competition for the final slot.
We certainly appreciate you riding along with us on this journey and invite you to keep checking back with Sportscasting for all your NASCAR needs.
Have thoughts on this topic? Keep the conversation rolling in our comments section below.
