List of NASCAR champions

This is a list of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) champions; that is, a list of all the champions in NASCAR's three major series (NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Craftsman Truck Series). The NASCAR championships are awarded at the end of each season to the driver who has amassed the most points throughout the year. The point totals are determined each week by the driver's final position in a race and the amount of laps they have led in it. The current points system was adopted by NASCAR in 1975 and continues into the present day NEXTEL Cup with slight changes and a ten-race playoff format created in 2004. The Busch Series and the Craftsman Truck series have always used this system, sans the playoff.

Since its founding in 1948, NASCAR has held 92 combined seasons in its three major series with a total of 51 separate champions. The first championship awarded was to Red Byron in 1949. Greg Biffle and Bobby Labonte are the only drivers to have won championships in two of the three series during their NASCAR career. Biffle has come the closest to winning all three (past champion of Busch and Craftsman Truck series and runner-up in the 2005 NEXTEL Cup), but this feat has yet to be accomplished.

The current defending champions are Joey Logano in the Sprint Cup, Ty Gibbs in the Xfinity Series, and Zane Smith in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Cup Series

By season

Season	Driver	Owner	Number, Make	Starts	Wins	Top Tens	Poles	Points (margin)
1949	Red Byron	Raymond Parks	#22, Oldsmobile 88	6 (of 8)	2	4	1	842.5 (117.5)
1950	Bill Rexford	Julian Buesink	#60, Oldsmobile 88	17 (of 19)	1	11	0	1959 (110.5)
1951	Herb Thomas	Self-owned	#92, Hudson Hornet	34 (of 41)	7	18	4	4208.45 (146.2)
1952	Tim Flock	Ted Chester	#91, Hudson Hornet	33 (of 34)	8	25	4	6858.5 (106)
1953	Herb Thomas	Self-owned	#92, Hudson Hornet	37 (of 37)	12	31	12	8460 (646)
1954	Lee Petty	Self-owned	#42, Chrysler New Yorker	34 (of 37)	7	32	3	8649 (283)
1955	Tim Flock	Carl Kiekhaefer	#300, Chrysler 300	39 (of 45)	18	33	18	9596 (1508)
1956	Buck Baker	Carl Kiekhaefer	#300B, Chrysler 300-B	48 (of 56)	14	39	12	9272 (704)
1957	Buck Baker	Self-owned	#87, Chevrolet	40 (of 53)	10	38	6	10716 (760)
1958	Lee Petty	Self-owned	#42, Oldsmobile	50 (of 51)	7	43	4	12232 (644)
1959	Lee Petty	Self-owned	#42, Plymouth	42 (of 44)	11	35	2	11792 (1830)
1960	Rex White	Self-owned	#4, Chevrolet Impala	40 (of 44)	6	35	3	21164 (3936)
1961	Ned Jarrett	W.G. Holloway, Jr.	#11, Chevrolet Impala	46 (of 52)	1	34	4	27272 (830)
1962	Joe Weatherly	Bud Moore	#8, Pontiac	52 (of 53)	9	45	7	30836 (2396)
1963	Joe Weatherly	Bud Moore	#8, Pontiac	53 (of 55)	3	35	6	33398 (2228)
1964	Richard Petty	Self-owned	#43, Plymouth Sport Fury	61 (of 62)	9	43	8	40252 (5302)
1965	Ned Jarrett	Bondy Long	#11, Ford Galaxie	54 (of 55)	13	45	9	38824 (3034)
1966	David Pearson	Cotton Owens	#6, Dodge Charger	42 (of 49)	15	33	7	35638 (1950)
1967	Richard Petty	Self-owned	#43, Plymouth Satellite	48 (of 49)	27	40	18	42472 (6028)
1968	David Pearson	Holman-Moody	#17, Ford Torino	48 (of 49)	16	38	12	3499 (126)
1969	David Pearson	Holman-Moody	#17, Ford Torino Talladega	51 (of 54)	11	44	14	4170 (357)
1970	Bobby Isaac	Nord Krauskopf	#71, Dodge Charger Daytona	47 (of 48)	11	38	13	3911 (51)
1971	Richard Petty	Self-owned	#43, Plymouth Satellite	46 (of 48)	21	41	9	4435 (364)
1972	Richard Petty	Self-owned	#43, Plymouth Satellite	31 (of 31)	8	28	3	8701.4 (127.9)
1973	Benny Parsons	L.G. DeWitt	#72, Chevrolet Chevelle	28 (of 28)	1	21	0	7173.8 (67.15)
1974	Richard Petty	Self-owned	#43, Dodge Charger	30 (of 30)	10	23	7	5037.75 (567.45)
1975	Richard Petty	Self-owned	#43, Dodge Charger	30 (of 30)	13	24	3	4783 (722)
1976	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson	#11, Chevrolet Chevelle	30 (of 30)	9	23	2	4644 (195)
1977	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson	#11, Chevrolet Malibu	30 (of 30)	9	27	3	5000 (386)
1978	Cale Yarborough	Junior Johnson	#11, Oldsmobile Cutlass	30 (of 30)	10	24	8	4841 (474)
1979	Richard Petty	Self-owned	#43, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	31 (of 31)	5	27	1	4830 (11)
1980	Dale Earnhardt	Rod Osterlund	#2, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	31 (of 31)	5	24	0	4661 (19)
1981	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson	#11, Buick Regal	31 (of 31)	12	25	11	4880 (53)
1982	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson	#11, Buick Regal	30 (of 30)	12	20	7	4489 (72)
1983	Bobby Allison	Bill Gardner	#22, Buick Regal	30 (of 30)	6	25	0	4667 (47)
1984	Terry Labonte	Billy Hagan	#44, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	30 (of 30)	2	24	2	4508 (65)
1985	Darrell Waltrip	Junior Johnson	#11, Buick Regal	28 (of 28)	3	21	4	4292 (101)
1986	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress	#3, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	29 (of 29)	5	23	1	4468 (288)
1987	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress	#3, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	29 (of 29)	11	24	1	4696 (489)
1988	Bill Elliott	Harry Melling	#9, Ford Thunderbird	29 (of 29)	6	22	6	4488 (24)
1989	Rusty Wallace	Raymond Beadle	#27, Pontiac Grand Prix	29 (of 29)	6	20	4	4176 (12)
1990	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress	#3, Chevrolet Lumina	29 (of 29)	9	23	4	4430 (26)
1991	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress	#3, Chevrolet Lumina	29 (of 29)	4	21	0	4287 (195)
1992	Alan Kulwicki	Self-owned	#7, Ford Thunderbird	29 (of 29)	2	17	6	4078 (10)
1993	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress	#3, Chevrolet Lumina	30 (of 30)	6	21	2	4526 (80)
1994	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress	#3, Chevrolet Lumina	31 (of 31)	4	25	2	4694 (444)
1995	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	#24, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	31 (of 31)	7	23	8	4614 (34)
1996	Terry Labonte	Rick Hendrick	#5, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	31 (of 31)	2	24	4	4657 (37)
1997	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	#24, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	32 (of 32)	10	23	1	4710 (14)
1998	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	#24, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	33 (of 33)	13	28	7	5328 (364)
1999	Dale Jarrett	Robert Yates	#88, Ford Taurus	34 (of 34)	4	29	0	5262 (201)
2000	Bobby Labonte	Joe Gibbs	#18, Pontiac Grand Prix	34 (of 34)	4	24	2	5130 (265)
2001	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	#24, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	36 (of 36)	6	24	6	5112 (349)
2002	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs	#20, Pontiac Grand Prix	36 (of 36)	3	21	2	4800 (38)
2003	Matt Kenseth	Mark Martin	#17, Ford Taurus	36 (of 36)	1	25	0	5022 (90)
2004	Kurt Busch	Jack Roush	#97, Ford Taurus	36 (of 36)	3	21	1	6506 (8)
2005	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs	#20, Chevrolet Monte Carlo	36 (of 36)	5	25	3	6533 (35)

|- 2006 in NASCAR|2006 Jimmy Johnson Hendrek Motorsports 48, Chevrolet Monte Carlo 36 (of 36)

===By drivers

Driver	Total	Seasons
Richard Petty	7	1964, 1967, 1971-1972, 1974-1975, 1979
Dale Earnhardt		1980, 1986-1987, 1990-1991, 1993-1994
Jeff Gordon	4	1995, 1997-1998, 2001
Lee Petty	3	1954, 1958-1959
David Pearson		1966, 1968-1969
Cale Yarborough		1976-1978
Darrell Waltrip		1981-1982, 1985
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
Tony Stewart		2002, 2005
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

Nationwide Series

By season

Season	Driver	Owner	Number, Make	Starts	Wins	Top Tens	Poles	Points (margin)
1982	Jack Ingram	Self-owned	#11, Pontiac	29 (of 29)	7	24	1	4495 (47)
1983	Sam Ard	Howard Thomas	#00, Oldsmobile	35 (of 35)	10	30	10	5454 (84)
1984	Sam Ard	Howard Thomas	#00, Oldsmobile	28 (of 29)	8	26	7	4552 (426)
1985	Jack Ingram	Self-owned	#11, Pontiac	27 (of 27)	5	22	2	4106 (29)
1986	Larry Pearson	David Pearson	#21, Pontiac	31 (of 31)	1	24	1	4514 (7)
1987	Larry Pearson	David Pearson	#21, Chevrolet	27 (of 27)	6	20	3	3959 (394)
1988	Tommy Ellis	John Jackson	#99, Buick	30 (of 30)	3	20	5	4281 (295)
1989	Rob Moroso	Dick Moroso	#25, Oldsmobile	29 (of 29)	4	16	7	4001 (55)
1990	Chuck Bown	Hubert Hensley	#63, Pontiac	31 (of 31)	6	18	4	4372 (200)
1991	Bobby Labonte	Self-owned	#44, Oldsmobile	31 (of 31)	2	21	2	4264 (74)
1992	Joe Nemechek	Self-owned	#87, Chevrolet	31 (of 31)	2	18	1	4275 (3)
1993	Steve Grissom	Wayne Grissom	#31, Chevrolet	28 (of 28)	2	18	0	3846 (253)
1994	David Green	Bobby Labonte	#44, Chevrolet	28 (of 28)	1	14	9	3725 (46)
1995	Johnny Benson, Jr.	Bill Baumgardner	#74, Chevrolet	26 (of 26)	2	19	0	3688 (404)
1996	Randy LaJoie	Bill Baumgardner	#74, Chevrolet	26 (of 26)	5	20	2	3714 (29)
1997	Randy LaJoie	Bill Baumgardner	#74, Chevrolet	30 (of 30)	5	21	2	4381 (266)
1998	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt	#3, Chevrolet	31 (of 31)	7	22	3	4469 (48)
1999	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt	#3, Chevrolet	32 (of 32)	6	22	3	4647 (280)
2000	Jeff Green	Greg Pollex	#10, Chevrolet	32 (of 32)	6	27	7	5005 (616)
2001	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress	#2, Chevrolet	33 (of 33)	5	24	4	4813 (124)
2002	Greg Biffle	Jack Roush	#60, Ford	34 (of 34)	4	25	5	4924 (280)
2003	Brian Vickers	Ricky Hendrick	#5, Chevrolet	34 (of 34)	3	21	1	4637 (14)
2004	Martin Truex Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	#8, Chevrolet	34 (of 34)	6	26	7	5173 (230)
2005	Martin Truex Jr.	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	#8, Chevrolet	35 (of 35)	6	22	3	4937 (68)

By driver

Driver	Total	Seasons
Sam Ard	2	1983-1984
Jack Ingram		1982, 1985
Larry Pearson		1986-1987
Randy LaJoie		1996-1997
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.		1998-1999
Martin Truex, Jr.		2004-2005
Tommy Ellis	1	1988
Rob Moroso		1989
Chuck Bown		1990
Bobby Labonte		1991
Joe Nemechek		1992
Steve Grissom		1993
David Green		1994
Johnny Benson		1995
Jeff Green		2000
Kevin Harvick		2001
Greg Biffle		2002
Brian Vickers		2003

Craftsman Truck Series

By season

Season	Driver	Owner	Number, Make	Starts	Wins	Top Tens	Poles	Points (margin)
1995	Mike Skinner	Richard Childress	#3, Chevrolet	20 (of 20)	8	18	7	3224 (126)
1996	Ron Hornaday, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt	#16, Chevrolet	24 (of 24)	4	23	2	3831 (53)
1997	Jack Sprague	Rick Hendrick	#24, Chevrolet	26 (of 26)	3	23	5	3969 (232)
1998	Ron Hornaday, Jr.	Dale Earnhardt	#16, Chevrolet	27 (of 27)	6	22	2	4072 (3)
1999	Jack Sprague	Rick Hendrick	#24, Chevrolet	25 (of 25)	3	19	1	3747 (8)
2000	Greg Biffle	Jack Roush	#50, Ford	24 (of 24)	5	18	4	3826 (230)
2001	Jack Sprague	Rick Hendrick	#24, Chevrolet	24 (of 24)	4	17	7	3670 (73)
2002	Mike Bliss	Steve Coulter	#16, Chevrolet	22 (of 22)	5	18	4	3359 (46)
2003	Travis Kvapil	Steve Coulter	#16, Chevrolet	25 (of 25)	1	22	0	3837 (9)
2004	Bobby Hamilton	Self-owned	#4, Dodge	25 (of 25)	4	16	0	3624 (46)
2005	Ted Musgrave	Jim Smith	#1, Dodge	25 (of 25)	1	15	1	3535 (55)

By driver

Driver	Total	Seasons
Jack Sprague	3	1997, 1999, 2001
Ron Hornaday, Jr.	2	1996, 1998
Mike Skinner	1	1995
Greg Biffle		2000
Mike Bliss		2002
Travis Kvapil		2003
Bobby Hamilton		2004
Ted Musgrave		2005

Other NASCAR series

• Whelen Modified Tour

See also

• List of NASCAR drivers

References

• NASCAR Champions / Sprint Cup - MotorSports etc.
• NASCAR - MotorSM.com
• Racing-Reference.info links for Sprint Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck Series Champions.