In NASCAR, plenty have climbed the ladder and struck gold across divisions. Many drivers have pocketed wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and a fair few have stacked championships within a single tier. Yet, only a select group has managed to bag titles in at least two of the three national series. As for conquering all three, that remains a mountain no driver has climbed.
Labonte won his first championship in 1991 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series behind the wheel of the No. 44 Oldsmobile for Labonte Motorsports. Over the course of that season, he racked up 4,264 points and found two wins, laying the groundwork for what was to come.
Nine years down the road, Labonte returned to the summit, this time in the Cup Series. Driving the No. 18 Pontiac for Joe Gibbs Racing, he secured the 2000 Cup championship with 5,130 points and four wins to his name.
Kevin Harvick took the long road to the top, starting out in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995. While a title in that tier slipped through his grasp, he wasted little time making his mark in the sports lower National Series.
In his second full-time campaign during the 2001 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, Harvick hit pay dirt, bagging the championship with 4,813 points and five trips to victory lane.
He doubled down on that success in 2006, securing another title while running for Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick Inc. That season saw him pile up 5,648 points, backed by nine wins from 35 starts, all while juggling duties in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he wrapped up the year fourth in the standings.
Success at the top level took a bit longer, but when it did, it was at a crucial time. In 2014, his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing, Harvick seized the Cup Series crown, banking five wins on his way to 5,043 points.
Greg Biffle got his NASCAR start in 1998, but did not land a title until 2000, when he put the pieces together and brought home the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. Driving the No. 50 Ford for Jack Roush, he went to victory lane five times and finished the year with 3,826 points.
Two years later, Biffle went back to work and cashed in again. In 2002, while running for Roush Racing, he took the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series crown with four wins in 34 starts, banking 4,924 points to seal the season.
Martin Truex Jr. may have stepped away from the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024, but his record keeps his name in the mix among those who have won championships across divisions. He stands on the list of drivers who have claimed titles in both the Cup Series and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Truex Jr. first made his mark in the OAP Series ranks, reeling off back-to-back championships in 2004 and 2005. Driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for the team tied to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Teresa Earnhardt team, he found victory lane six times in each of those seasons, piling up 5,173 points in 2004 and 4,937 points in 2005.
His success at the Cup level came in 2017. Behind the wheel of the No. 78 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing, Truex Jr. turned years of struggles with floundering teams into a Cup Series title, racking up 5,040 points along the way, with three wins sealing the deal.
Kyle Busch has long made a habit of stacking wins, and his record in NASCAR’s second tier speaks for itself. With 102 victories in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series alone, he has kept the scoreboard ticking. During the period when drivers could run full-time in both the NASCAR OAP and Cup Series, Busch made hay in both camps.
His first title in the OAP Series ranks came in 2009 with Joe Gibbs Racing. Running a full schedule while also competing in the Cup Series, he found victory lane nine times and closed the year with 5,682 points, sealing the championship.
Six years later, he broke through at the top level.
In 2015, driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch claimed his first Cup Series crown, winning five races on his way to 5,043 points. He went back to the well in 2019, once again delivering for JGR, with another five wins and a total of 5,040 points.
Austin Dillon has yet to crack the code in the NASCAR Cup Series, with six wins to his name but no title to show for it. Yet, before reaching the top tier, he had already filled his trophy case in the lower ranks.
Running under the banner of his grandfather’s team, Richard Childress Racing, Dillon first scored in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In 2011, he secured the championship with two wins from 25 starts, closing the year with 888 points and putting himself on the map.
He then moved into the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series on a full-time basis in 2012, and it did not take long for him to deliver again. By his second season, Dillon wrapped up the championship without a single trip to victory lane, relying on consistency to carry the day, with 1,180 points.
Chase Elliott entered NASCAR with the eyes of the world on him, backed by his father, Bill Elliott, and the record he had built.
In the effort to match that path, Elliott began in ARCA and moved to the Truck Series in 2013. His first championship in NASCAR came in 2014, when he took the OAP Series title for JR Motorsports in the No. 9 Chevrolet, winning three races in 33 starts and finishing with 1,213 points.
After moving to the Cup Series on a full-time basis in 2016, Elliott needed four seasons to reach the top again. In 2020, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, he won the Cup title with five wins and 5,040 points.
Johnny Benson Jr., son of former Michigan modified racer John Benson Sr., worked his way up the ladder the hard way. He began in Late Models before moving into the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 1993 and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995. A year later, he stepped into the NASCAR Cup Series, chasing the sport’s top prize, though a Cup title remained out of reach.
Even so, Benson made his place in the record books. He became one of only three drivers to win championships in both the Busch Series and the Truck Series, and one of 36 drivers to claim at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s national divisions.
His first NASCAR title came in the OAP Series during his second full-time season with BACE Motorsports. Driving the No. 74 Chevrolet, he took two wins and piled up 3,688 points to seal the championship.
More than a decade later, he went back to the summit, this time in the Truck Series. In 2008, behind the wheel of the No. 23 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing, Benson won five races and closed the season with 3,725 points, staying ahead of the field to add another title to his name.
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