As NASCAR prepares for this weekend’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one of many vital storylines followers and media take into consideration is that the Brickyard is one among NASCAR’s 4 “Crown Jewel” races.
These 4 gems of inventory automobile racing are the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, the Southern 500 at Darlington, and the shortest of the crown jewels, the 400-mile Brickyard.
There are seven former drivers who make up the who’s who of crown jewel winners, compiling probably the most mixed wins. In the meantime, there’s one energetic Cup driver who doubtlessly nonetheless has a shot at cracking the highest seven. And one other energetic driver additionally has a shot, an extended shot that’s.
Let’s break down who’re the perfect of the perfect on the subject of crown jewel wins – and spoiler alert, No. 1 (or not even No. 2. for that matter) is NOT Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt:
No. 1 Jeff Gordon – 17 crown jewels: 3 Daytona 500 wins, 3 Coca-Cola 600 wins, 6 Southern 500 wins and 5 Brickyard 400 wins.
No. 2 Jimmie Johnson – 12 crown jewels: 2 Daytona 500 wins, 4 Coca-Cola 600 wins, 2 Southern 500 wins and 4 Brickyard 400 wins.
No. 3 (tie) Richard Petty – 10 crown jewels: 7 Daytona 500 wins, 2 Coca-Cola 600 wins and 1 Southern 500 win (Petty had retired earlier than the primary Brickyard 400 was held in 1994).
No. 3 (tie) Bobby Allison – 10 crown jewels: 3 Daytona 500 wins, 3 Coca-Cola 600 wins and 4 Southern 500 wins (like Petty, Allison had lengthy retired earlier than the Brickyard 400 got here into existence).
No. 5 Cale Yarborough – 9 crown jewels: 4 Daytona 500 wins, 5 Southern 500 wins (by no means gained the Coca-Cola 600 and raced lengthy earlier than the Brickyard 400 got here into being).
No. 6 (tie) Dale Earnhardt – 8 crown jewels: 1 Daytona 500 win, 3 Coca-Cola 600 wins, 3 Southern 500 wins and 1 Brickyard 400 win.
No. 6 (tie) Kevin Harvick – 8 crown jewels: 1 Daytona 500 win, 2 Coca-Cola 600 wins, 2 Southern 500 wins and three Brickyard 400 wins.
Simply two energetic drivers are inside placing distance
Clearly, the entire previous drivers are retired (Johnson technically stays so, though he’s made two one-off begins within the Cup Collection to this point this season).
There stay simply two at present energetic full-time drivers who nonetheless have a mathematical probability to affix the highest seven crown jewel winner’s record anytime quickly, and a kind of two has the potential to crack that high seven as early as this Sunday. That driver is:
No. 8 Denny Hamlin – 7 crown jewels: 3 Daytona 500 wins, 3 Southern 500 wins and 1 Coca-Cola 600 win. If Hamlin, who leads all Cup drivers to this point this season with a series-high 4 wins, captures his elusive first win within the Brickyard, he would pull right into a three-way tie for sixth with Earnhardt and Harvick.
For the file, there are two different retired Cup drivers who even have seven crown jewels on their respective racing resumes: David Pearson (1 Daytona 500 win, 3 Coca-Cola 600 wins and three Southern 500 wins), and Darrell Waltrip (1 Daytona 500 win, 5 Coca-Cola 600 wins and 1 Southern 500 win).
There’s one different energetic driver who’s statistically nonetheless in rivalry, though he’s a great distance behind the highest seven, or Hamlin for that matter. And that driver is:
No. 11 Kyle Busch – 4 crown jewels: 1 Coca-Cola 600 win, 1 Southern 500 win and a couple of Brickyard 400 wins. Busch has by no means gained the Daytona 500. At age 40, and driving a 78-race winless streak, the longest of his Cup profession, it’s unlikely the youthful Busch brother ever will.
