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Only Yesterday: Double-Digit Win Seasons Is a Mark of NASCAR’s Elite

Double-digit wins is pretty incredible at NASCAR’s top level.

Of the over 3,000 drivers who have taken a green flag in the NASCAR Cup Series, only 63 have recorded 10 or more wins. Very few have had the consistency it takes over time to score 10 or more wins at any track. 

Ten or more wins in a single season? Considering the number of drivers who don’t have that many in their entire careers, it’s a pretty remarkable accomplishment. 

Surprisingly, at least in 2023 context, in NASCAR’s early days, double-digit wins in a year was a fairly common experience. In 1969, not one, but three drivers recorded at least 10 in the W column. 

Pre-Modern Era

Prior to 1972, the start of NASCAR’s Modern Era, the feat was accomplished 20 times.

Like just about anything in the sport, comparisons over time aren’t necessarily accurate. Most of the time in the early days, drivers had more races on the schedule to try to win, though most didn’t run every single race. The schedule ballooned to 56 races in 1956, for example, 20 more than on today’s Cup slate, and the number changed from year to year.

Herb Thomas had just one more race than today’s stars do in the two years he claimed a dozen victories; Ned Jarrett’s 15 wins in 59 starts in 1964 make for a lower win percentage than Thomas’ two 12-win seasons because of the sheer number of events. Some events featured more local drivers, and many drivers running for a title didn’t race every week, so a well-chosen schedule could set up a few more wins. Granted, the locals were far from pushovers. It wasn’t easier to win, but the approach to the seasons was entirely different than in the Modern Era — there are several double-digit winners who did not win titles.

While they had more races in this era, drivers had to race on widely varied tracks: dirt and asphalt ovals with configurations from a quarter-mile to Talladega Superspeedway (one, Langhorne Speedway, was a circle, with what amounted to one continuous turn), plus road courses. The quality of the surfaces varied even more than it does today.

Richard Petty set the all-time single-season win mark at 27 in 48 races, an eye-popping total no matter how you slice it, winning over half of the races he entered. 

The following year, Petty won another 10, combining with David Pearson (11 wins) and Bobby Isaac (17 wins) to take 41 of the 54 races run. The number of opportunities combined with the wide variety of tracks and disparity among teams (Petty Enterprises, for example, was a full-time racing business while many, if not most, teams in the early days were more weekend efforts taking a backseat to day jobs for all involved) made a single driver or two racking up wins a much more common occurrence than it would become in later years.

Herb Thomas 1953
Starts: 37/ 37
Wins: 12
Win Percent: 32.4
Point finish: champion

Herb Thomas 1954
Starts: 34/37
Wins: 12
Win Percent: 35.3
Point finish: second

Tim Flock 1955
Starts: 39/45
Wins: 18
Win Percent: 46.2
Point finish: champion

Buck Baker 1956
Starts: 48/56
Wins: 14
Win Percent: 29.2
Point finish: champion

Buck Baker 1957
Starts: 40/53
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 25.0
Point finish: champion

Lee Petty 1959
Starts: 42/44
Wins: 11
Win Percent: 26.2
Point finish: champion

Richard Petty 1963
Starts: 54/55
Wins: 14
Win Percent: 25.9
Point finish: second

Ned Jarrett 1964
Starts: 59/62
Wins: 15 
Win Percent: 29.4
Point finish: second

Ned Jarrett 1965
Starts: 54/55
Wins: 13
Win Percent: 24.1
Point finish: champion

David Pearson 1966
Starts: 42/49
Wins: 15
Win Percent: 35.7
Point finish: champion

Richard Petty 1967
Starts: 48/49
Wins: 27
Win Percent: 56.3
Point finish: champion

Richard Petty 1968
Starts: 49/49
Wins: 16
Win Percent: 32.7
Point finish: third

David Pearson 1968
Starts: 48/49
Wins: 16
Win Percent: 33.3
Point finish: champion

Bobby Isaac 1969
Starts: 50/54
Wins: 17
Win Percent: 34.0
Point finish: sixth

David Pearson 1969
Starts: 51/54
Wins: 11
Win Percent: 21.6
Point finish: champion

Richard Petty 1969
Starts: 50/54
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 20.0
Point finish: second

Richard Petty 1970
Starts: 40/48
Wins: 18
Win Percent: 45.0
Point finish: fourth

Bobby Isaac 1970
Starts: 47/48
Wins: 11
Win Percent: 23.4
Point finish: champion

Richard Petty 1971
Starts: 46/48
Wins: 21
Win Percent: 45.7
Point finish: champion

Bobby Allison 1971
Starts: 42/48
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 23.8
Point finish: fourth

Modern Era-2003

The shortened schedule in 1972 as the Modern Era began meant that Bobby Allison’s 10 wins gained 10% in win percentage over the same total the previous year. Through the 1970s and ’80s, double-digit wins were still happening; in the first 30 years of the Modern Era, drivers managed at least 10 trips to victory lane a total of 15 times.

Today’s 36-race slate is the most races in a season since the Modern Era began, with a schedule varying from 28 to 36 events. Drivers had fewer races to make the wins happen, and now, any driver running for a title was racing every weekend. The Latford points system made skipping a race here and there a thing of the past as all races paid the same number of points, and a full race worth of points was too many to overcome.

The so-called Car Wars of the 1990s ramped up demands for parity among manufacturers, but in the ’70s and ’80s, the models were very different from one another. Racing became a full-time business for car owners, and the teams with the highest budgets were a far cry from the smaller ones; wins from any team or driver not in the top tier became a rarity. There were fewer teams with both the equipment and the talent to win on a weekly basis. 

David Pearson’s 61.1 winning percentage in 1973 is perhaps the standout season from this period. Running a part-time schedule, Pearson only started 18 races, winning 11 of them.

By the time Jeff Gordon ran the wins into double digits three years in a row from 1996-98, the feat was becoming rarer and more difficult than at any time prior. Increasing parity as manufacturers demanded equality in every area meant that more of the wealthy teams became truly capable of winning on a weekly basis, but a smaller team winning was rare indeed. 

Bobby Allison 1972
Starts: 31/31
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 32.3
Point finish: second

David Pearson 1973
Starts: 18/ 28
Wins: 11
Win Percent: 61.1
Point finish: 13th

Richard Petty 1974
Starts: 30/30
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 33.3
Point finish: champion

Cale Yarborough 1974
Starts: 30/30
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 33.3
Point finish: second

Richard Petty 1975
Starts: 30/30
Wins: 13
Win Percent: 43.3
Point finish: champion

David Pearson 1976
Starts: 22/30
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 45.5
Point finish: ninth

Cale Yarborough 10 1978
Starts: 30/30
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 33.3
Point finish: champion

Darrell Waltrip 1981
Starts: 31/31
Wins: 12
Win Percent: 38.7
Point finish: champion

Darrell Waltrip 1982
Starts: 30/30
Wins: 12
Win Percent: 40.0
Point finish: champion

Bill Elliott 1985
Starts: 28/28
Wins: 11
Win Percent: 39.3
Point finish: second

Dale Earnhardt 1987
Starts: 29/29
Wins: 11
Win Percent: 37.9
Point finish: champion

Rusty Wallace 1993
Starts: 30/30
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 33.3
Point finish: second

Jeff Gordon 1996
Starts: 31/31
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 32.3
Point finish: second

Jeff Gordon 1997
Starts: 32/32
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 31.3
Point finish: champion

Jeff Gordon 1998
Starts: 33/33
Wins: 13
Win Percent: 39.4
Point finish: champion

Playoff Era

Since Gordon’s 13-win 1998 season, just two drivers have managed 10-win seasons: Jimmie Johnson in 2007 and Kyle Larson in 2021. Including Gordon’s three seasons, Hendrick Motorsports is the only organization that has pulled off 10 or more wins in the last 26 seasons. 

The Chase, and later the playoffs, changed the way teams approach the year; once assured of a place in the championship mix, teams have often sacrificed wins during the first 26 races to experiment for the playoffs.

Parity is also at an all-time high; almost half the field is capable of winning any given week if the chips fall right, and we’re seeing more different drivers win during the year. Even smaller teams have found victory lane. The more teams capable of winning, the harder actually winning becomes. The change in focus and rise of parity has made winning in the double-digits all but a thing of the past.

Jimmie Johnson 2007
Starts: 36/36
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 27.8
Point finish: champion

Kyle Larson 2021
Starts: 36/36
Wins: 10
Win Percent: 27.8
Point finish: champion

No matter the era of the sport, though, 10-win seasons have been reserved for the sport’s elite. Every driver to pull it off is in the Hall of Fame with the exceptions of Johnson and Larson; Johnson’s not eligible yet but is a first-ballot lock and Larson is years from retirement and building a resume that will likely be worthy. All of them are Cup Series champions. 

While more common than perhaps expected, a 10-win season is still a benchmark that only the sport’s elite reach.

About the author

Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.

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4 Comments
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Echo

Kyle Larson winning 10 races in 2021 is a remarkable feat in this day. I don’t think it will ever be done again with these cars. A dirt racer showed present day driver’s how to do it. Gotta love it.

Echo

On another subject, is Jeff Burton working the booth so he can pay for his son to have a cup ride ! That’s the only way I can see the kid in a cup ride. It’s certainly not on talent.

Bill B

I wouldn’t go that far, but he certainly hasn’t seemed to progress much. The previous two drivers, Blaney and DiBenedetto, were able to make that car relevant in several races a year.

Bill B

Definitely becomes more difficult with more cars capable of winning and kit car that allows little room for adjustment and no room for innovation.

The bigger question is; Is it a good thing when someone hits double digit wins?

I think it is good for the sport because it makes people take note and become aware of NASCAR. Just like that is undefeated in week 10 of the NFL season.
For fans of that driver it’s good, but for those with a specific driver they root for, not so much.

The good thing for fans with this current, crapshoot, system for determining the champion, 10 wins doesn’t guarantee you anything. So their driver could still win the championship despite someone else have an assload of wins.

The bad thing for fans is they have to put up with this current, crapshoot system for determining the championship. But that is another discussion.

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