List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Drivers' Championship is awarded by the chairman of NASCAR to the most successful Sprint Cup Series racing car driver over a season, as determined by a points system based on race results. The Drivers' Championship was first awarded in 1949 to Red Byron.[1] The first driver to win multiple Championships was Herb Thomas in 1951 and 1953. The current Drivers' Champion is Jimmie Johnson, who won his record-tying seventh championship in 2016.
The NASCAR points system has undergone several incarnations since its initial implementation. Originally, races awarded points by a complicated system based upon final positioning and weighted by prize money purses, such that higher-paying events gave more points. Soon after the advent of the modern era in 1972, the championship was decided by a more basic cumulative point total based solely upon a driver's finishing position in each race. In order to reduce the possibility of a driver clinching before the final event, NASCAR implemented the "Chase for the Cup" in 2004 which, with minor modification from 2004 to 2013[2] and more radical changes in 2014,[3] stands as the current format. Before the final ten races, 16 drivers, chosen primarily on race wins, are reset to an equal amount of points, with bonus points awarded to a driver for each win prior to the reset.[3] With these changes, the last Drivers' Champion to clinch before the final race was Matt Kenseth in 2003.[4]
Overall, thirty-one different drivers have won the Championship, with Richard Petty[5], Dale Earnhardt[6] and Jimmie Johnson holding the record for most titles at seven. Jimmie Johnson has the record for most consecutive Drivers' Championships, winning five from 2006 to 2010.[7] Thus far, every champion has originated from the United States.
Contents
By season
- Notes
- ^1 — Stewart and Carl Edwards tied in the final standings. The championship was awarded to Stewart based upon most wins (five to Edwards' one).[143]
- ^2 — Kyle Busch missed the first eleven races of the season because of an injury sustained at Daytona International Speedway during the Alert Today Florida 300.[142]
By drivers
![](/w/images/thumb/f/f8/RichardPetty43racecar1983.jpg/350px-RichardPetty43racecar1983.jpg)
![](/w/images/thumb/0/08/Dale_Sr_1994.jpg/350px-Dale_Sr_1994.jpg)
Driver | Total | Seasons |
---|---|---|
Richard Petty | 7 | 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979 |
Dale Earnhardt | 1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 | |
Jimmie Johnson | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016 | |
Jeff Gordon | 4 | 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 |
Lee Petty | 3 | 1954, 1958, 1959 |
David Pearson | 1966, 1968, 1969 | |
Cale Yarborough | 1976, 1977, 1978 | |
Darrell Waltrip | 1981, 1982, 1985 | |
Tony Stewart | 2002, 2005, 2011 | |
Herb Thomas | 2 | 1951, 1953 |
Tim Flock | 1952, 1955 | |
Buck Baker | 1956, 1957 | |
Joe Weatherly | 1962, 1963 | |
Ned Jarrett | 1961, 1965 | |
Terry Labonte | 1984, 1996 | |
Red Byron | 1 | 1949 |
Bill Rexford | 1950 | |
Rex White | 1960 | |
Bobby Isaac | 1970 | |
Benny Parsons | 1973 | |
Bobby Allison | 1983 | |
Bill Elliott | 1988 | |
Rusty Wallace | 1989 | |
Alan Kulwicki | 1992 | |
Dale Jarrett | 1999 | |
Bobby Labonte | 2000 | |
Matt Kenseth | 2003 | |
Kurt Busch | 2004 | |
Brad Keselowski | 2012 | |
Kevin Harvick | 2014 | |
Kyle Busch | 2015 |
Records
Consecutive Drivers' Championships
![](/w/images/thumb/7/79/Jimmie_Johnson_2008_Lowes_Chevy_Impala.jpg/350px-Jimmie_Johnson_2008_Lowes_Chevy_Impala.jpg)
Ten drivers have achieved consecutive wins in the Sprint Cup Series Drivers' Championship.
Championships | Driver | Seasons |
---|---|---|
5 | Jimmie Johnson | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
3 | Cale Yarborough | 1976, 1977, 1978 |
2 | Buck Baker | 1956, 1957 |
Lee Petty | 1958, 1959 | |
Joe Weatherly | 1962, 1963 | |
Richard Petty | 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 |
|
Darrell Waltrip | 1981, 1982 | |
David Pearson | 1968, 1969 | |
Dale Earnhardt | 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 |
|
Jeff Gordon | 1997, 1998 |
See also
![]() |
- NASCAR
- Sprint Cup Series
- List of NASCAR Manufacturers' champions
- List of NASCAR Xfinity Series champions
- List of NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champions
- List of all-time NASCAR Cup Series winners
- List of NASCAR teams
- List of NASCAR drivers
- List of NASCAR race tracks
References
- General
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