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NASCAR drivers have to be good on a variety of different race tracks, and many of the best NASCAR drivers in history have won on almost every track they have raced on. Today, we look more in-depth at the NASCAR drivers who have won on the most unique race tracks in NASCAR history.
Kyle Larson has won on 17 different race tracks, which is impressive given that he only has 24 career wins. He’s an incredibly diverse driver who can race well on road courses, intermediates, and short tracks. Despite this portfolio, there is one glaring omission from Larson’s resume.
He has yet to win a drafting-style superspeedway race. His best finish on that track type is a 4th place finish at Talladega in April of 2022. Still, that does not take away from the fact that Larson is good just about anywhere.
Dale Earnhardt was known for how he dominated on superspeedways, but, he was good just about anywhere on the calendar, winning at 17 of the 26 race tracks he raced at. Some tracks he failed to win at were either added toward the end of his career as NASCAR was expanding (Las Vegas, Auto Club, Texas, and Homestead) or were dropped from the schedule early in his career (Ontario and Texas World Speedway)
While Earnhardt was great just about anywhere, road courses were not his strength. Back in this era, NASCAR only had 1-2 road course races per year, and, with no Playoffs, drivers just got through the races. Still, Earnhardt improved, and he scored his lone road course win at Sonoma in 1995.
Joey Logano has won on 19 different NASCAR tracks, and inaugural races at new tracks fail to scare him away. He won the inaugural Bristol Dirt race in 2021 and the Inaugural race at Gateway in 2022. He’s never won more than 3 times at any particular track, so, he’s spread the wealth in terms of wins.
If there’s any weakness for Logano, it’s his prowess on road courses. Still, he’s earned one road course win at Watkins Glen back in 2015. Even on his weakest race tracks, he finds ways to win.
Early in his career, Hamlin was primarily a short-track specialist who just happened to be a beast at Pocono. It took until his 4th season in the Cup Series to get his first win on a traditional intermediate track, but, that narrative has gone out the window. With 3 Daytona 500 wins, Hamlin is incredible at superspeedways, and he’s a 3-time Southern 500 winner.
Like Logano, road courses have never been Hamlin’s strong suit, but, he did nab one win at Watkins Glen in 2016. Hamlin is still great at Pocono (7 wins) and on short tracks (13 wins), but, he’s become more well-rounded as his career has progressed.
Jimmie Johnson not only won at a lot of tracks, he won multiple times at a lot of tracks. He won at least 3 races in 15 of 27 (55.5%) of the tracks he competed on. This included 11 wins at Dover, 9 at Martinsville, 8 at Charlotte, 7 at Texas, and 6 at Auto Club Speedway in California. Of the tracks he never won at, 4 of them never competed in more than 5 races at, with the exceptions being Chicagoland, Watkins Glen, and Kentucky.
Despite never winning at Chicagoland, he still recorded 12 top-10s led 705 laps there, and had an average finish of 9.3. Watkins Glen was a bit of a struggle for Johnson, who was never a renowned road racer. His lone road course win came at Sonoma in 2010, after leader Marcos Ambrose stalled his car under caution.
Kevin Harvick racked up wins like they were going out of style throughout his Cup Series career. Whether it was road courses, intermediates, or superspeedways, he was winning races on them all. His most successful track was Phoenix Raceway with 9 wins and an average finish of 8.5.
Of the tracks he did not win at, he competed more than 7 times on only one, Kentucky. That wasn’t for a lack of trying, as. heled 128 laps there in 2016, and, in 2020, he finished 2nd to teammate Cole Custer after a 4-wide pass for the lead on the final lap.
Jeff Gordon was fast just about anywhere he raced. He’s a 3-time Daytona 500 winner, NASCAR’s all-time leader in road course wins (9), a 9-time winner at Martinsville, and a 7-time winner at Darlington. No matter the challenge, Jeff Gordon was able to overcome it to win races.
The only track he never won at was Kentucky, where he only made 5 starts. Even then, Gordon never finished outside of the top-10, with an average finish of 7.2.
From 2005 (Kyle Busch’s rookie season) until 2017, NASCAR added only one track to the calendar, Kentucky Speedway. During that time, Kyle Busch nabbed a win at every single track NASCAR raced on during this period except Charlotte, which he won at in 2018. That’s an impressive accomplishment, and it speaks to just how versatile Kyle Busch is.
Of the tracks he has not won at, all of them have been added either during or after 2018. He even garnered a win at one of the new tracks, Gateway, in 2023. No one in the sport today is quite as versatile as Kyle Busch.
Richard Petty winning at 52 different race tracks will never be topped simply because no NASCAR driver even races at 52 tracks throughout a career anymore. He recorded 10+ victories at Daytona (10), Rockingham (11), the Nashville Fairgrounds (12), North Wilkesboro (15), and Rockingham (15). “The King” was good just about anywhere.
Now, Petty was able to compete at so many tracks primarily due to the NASCAR schedule during the early part of his career. In those days, tracks came and went from the schedule every year, but some tracks would get as many as 3 races per season. Obviously, modern NASCAR is not that way, so, Petty’s record of 52 different tracks to win on will stand the test of time.
