Who is NASCAR's GOAT?
Photo: NBC Sports
There has been a lot of talk recently about GOAT performers across the sports world from Lebron’s impressive stat to Tom Brady announcing his retirement from the NFL last week. The GOAT debate spans across almost all sports and in many sports, there is not a clear cut answer as to who that one player is. NASCAR is no different in this respect. Fans go around and around arguing who they believe to be the Greatest of All Time. But who really is NASCAR’s GOAT? In this article, I will present five drivers that have been considered by at least some fans to be the GOAT of NASCAR. I will provide reasoning for why each driver is and is not the Greatest of All Time in NASCAR.
Richard Petty - Petty is known to many NASCAR fans as the King. Petty is one of three seven time NASCAR Cup champions and he sits atop the Cup Series wins list with an outstanding 200 victories at the highest level of NASCAR. 95 victories separate Petty and the second driver on that list (David Pearson). But do these impressive stats really make Petty the GOAT? They are certainly enough to put him in the conversation. But Richard Petty drove in a much different era of NASCAR than the majority of the drivers on this list. Petty is one of the founding names of NASCAR, and Richard is certainly a massive reason that NASCAR is where it is today. However, prior to 1972 NASCAR had less restrictions on the cars that were brought to the racetrack as well as running more races. 140 of Petty's 200 wins (70%) come from outside of NASCAR's modern era. Now to Petty's defense, this still leaves him with an impressive 60 career Cup wins solely in NASCAR's modern era. Likewise, 4 of Petty's 7 championships came from the modern era. So the early part of Petty's career can not take away all validity in the "GOAT" debate. But it is worth noting that the era Petty raced in may have helped his final statistics. Petty also suffered significant fall off towards the end of his driving career, finishing outside the Top-20 in points in his last five seasons. Regardless, does 7 championships and 200 career wins make Petty the GOAT?
Dale Earnhardt - It is impossible to have a GOAT conversation without mentioning the Intimidator. Dale Earnhardt was the second driver to ever reach the threshold of seven Cup championships. Dale Sr. was arguably the most consistent of all the drivers on this list. Dale Sr. was able to win 76 Cup races along with his seven championships. In addition, Dale only had two full-time seasons across his 22 year career as a full-time driver where he did not get at least one victory. In his final full-time season, Dale was still competing for championships, finishing 2nd in the 2000 campaign. However, Dale's 76 Cup victories only puts him ahead of one driver on this list. In a sport where one is paid to win races, does Dale's lack of those extra victories taint his claim to be the GOAT? Unfortunately, Dale's legacy and career were cut short by his untimely passing in the 2001 Daytona 500. There are no indications saying that Dale could not have gone to victory lane still. Unfortunately, we will never know the answer to that speculation. Dale still only finished outside of the Top-8 in points twice in his career. He will go down as one of the most consistent drivers in NASCAR history. But does the Intimidator have a claim to being NASCAR's GOAT?
Jimmie Johnson - Johnson is the most recent driver to win seven championships and add his name to the very exclusive club in NASCAR history. What's more impressive is Jimmie Johnson holds the most dominant stretch of championships in NASCAR history, winning five in a row from 2006 to 2010. Jimmie Johnson won his championships in a different era than both Petty and Earnhardt as Johnson won all seven of his in a period where NASCAR had some form of a playoff system. Jimmie Johnson has 83 Cup wins currently (he will run part-time in 2023 with Legacy Motor Club). Like Petty, Johnson did fall off slightly towards the end of his full-time career. Johnson went winless his last three full-time seasons which were the only three winless seasons he had in his Cup career. Johnson raced in an era where the points system was designed against repeat champions, yet he managed to win seven of them anyway. However, did Johnson race in the most competitive era of NASCAR? Some say that he did. Johnson raced against the likes of Gordon, Stewart, Kenseth, Harvick, and both Busch brothers, all of which are champions of NASCAR. But does his era matchup to the era of Dale Earnhardt's? Earnhardt face Waltrip, Yarborough, Wallace, Allison, Kulwicki, and Gordon. There is much debate over which era was more competitive. Does this debate taint Johnson's claim to being the NASCAR GOAT? Can five championships in a row give him the claim of being the greatest?
Jeff Gordon - Gordon was the one who found Jimmie Johnson and helped get him to where he is today. Jeff Gordon is the first driver on this list that is not a seven time champion. However, Gordon was able to win the highest award in NASCAR four times, an impressive number. The NASCAR era debate is one that really helps Jeff Gordon's claim to being the GOAT. People can debate whether or not Earnhardt or Johnson raced in the most competitive era of NASCAR, but Gordon raced in both. More importantly, Gordon was successful in both. Gordon earned 61 wins and all four of his Cup championships from 1994-2001. But he was able to maintain a level of consistency all the way up until his final season in 2015. Gordon only had two seasons in his entire career where he finished outside the Top-10 in points. But can a driver really be the GOAT when there are three drivers all with three more championships than him? Gordon does sit as the driver with the 2nd most wins on this list, and is the highest if you only count Modern era wins. Is the rainbow warrior the GOAT of NASCAR?
Kyle Busch - Busch is a driver that many would scoff at for being on this list. But he may not be as far off as people think. Kyle Busch only has two Cup championships, but he does have over 200 wins in NASCAR sanctioned events. Many people discredit those wins as being non Cup events, which is true. However, wins are wins nonetheless. Kyle's Cup career is nothing to sleep on either. Two championships are certainly lower in comparison to the other drivers on this list, but Kyle Busch has won both of those titles in an elimination style playoff format. This format is one that only one other driver on this list can say they have won under (Jimmie Johnson - 2016). The format certainly works against anyone searching to earn multiple championships and especially at the caliber of the names on this list. Kyle Busch is also the only driver on the list to have not yet won the Daytona 500, NASCAR's crown jewel race. This is an event that many consider is necessary to add to your resume before being worthy of the GOAT conversation. But are 60 Cup wins and 2 Playoff format championships enough to put Busch into the conversation? He is certainly one worth looking at?
So who truly is the GOAT of NASCAR? Honestly, the answer is left up to the opinions of those who debate it. For me, I have always believed that Jeff Gordon fits the mold of the GOAT of NASCAR. I think the fact that he won so much both in the era of Earnhardt and Johnson is incredible. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as is this debate. So the question now becomes: Who do you think is NASCAR's GOAT?
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