NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers


NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers is an alphabetical list of NASCAR drivers. It started as NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers as of 1998, the 50th anniversary of NASCAR, and was expanded with an additional 25 drivers in 2023, the 75th anniversary of NASCAR.

History

In 1998, as part of its 50th anniversary celebration, NASCAR gathered a panel to select the "50 Greatest NASCAR Drivers of All Time". It was inspired in part by the NBA's decision to select the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History on its 50th anniversary in 1996. An independent group of 51 individuals representing various NASCAR roles were asked to give their objective and educated opinions on who the 50 greatest drivers in NASCAR history were.
The living members of this group were honored on February 15, 1998 during pre-race festivities for the 1998 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
In 2023, as part of its 75th anniversary celebration, NASCAR announced it would add 25 names to the list, bringing the total to 75.

NASCAR's Greatest Drivers

Source for lists:

1998 list of 50 drivers

Bobby Allison
Davey Allison
Buck Baker
Buddy Baker
Geoff Bodine
Neil Bonnett
Red Byron
Jerry Cook
Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Earnhardt

Bobby Isaac
Dale Jarrett
Ned Jarrett
Junior Johnson
Alan Kulwicki
Terry Labonte
Fred Lorenzen
Tiny Lund
Mark Martin
Hershel McGriff

Herb Thomas
Curtis Turner
Rusty Wallace
Darrell Waltrip
Joe Weatherly
Bob Welborn
Rex White
Glen Wood
Cale Yarborough
LeeRoy Yarbrough

2023 expansion to 75 drivers

Sam Ard
Greg Biffle
Jeff Burton
Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch*

Ron Hornaday Jr.
Jimmie Johnson*
Kasey Kahne*
Matt Kenseth
Brad Keselowski*

Ryan Newman
Larry Phillips
Mike Stefanik
Tony Stewart
Martin Truex Jr.*

Deceased and/ or Hall of Fame as of 2025.
† = Deceased at the time of the announcement
* = Driver currently active in NASCAR on full or part-time basis as of the 2025 NASCAR season
Italics and gold background = NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee