The 34 Most Overrated NASCAR Champions of All Time

Every name here has a trophy. Whether the trophy matched the driving is the whole question.

1. 1
   Joey Logano

   Three titles under a one-race finale that rewards a single good afternoon.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Jimmie Johnson

   Seven championships that critics credit to Chad Knaus and the playoff format.
   710pts
3. 3
   Terry Labonte

   Won the 1996 title with two wins to Gordon's ten.
   624pts
4. 4
   Dale Earnhardt

   Seven titles, one Daytona 500, and a legend some say outgrew the record.
   624pts
5. 5
   Benny Parsons

   The 1973 champion with a single win that season.
   485pts
6. 6
   Jeff Gordon

   Four titles, and an argument that the Hendrick equipment did the work.
   485pts
7. 7
   Kurt Busch

   Won the first Chase in 2004 without leading the standings most of the year.
   485pts
8. 8
   Bill Elliott

   One championship from a career better known for speed than titles.
   397pts
9. 9
   Chase Elliott

   A 2020 title won in the finale format, and a fan award every year since.
   397pts
10. 10
    Bobby Labonte

    Won the 2000 title with two wins in the second half of the season.
    397pts
11. 11
    Matt Kenseth

    The 2003 title with one win that prompted NASCAR to invent the Chase.
    397pts
12. 12
    Dale Jarrett

    The 1999 title arrived at 42, after years as a mid-pack driver.
    397pts
13. 13
    Rusty Wallace

    One championship from 55 wins, and a habit of losing the long game.
    291pts
14. 14
    Brad Keselowski

    A 2012 title and a win rate below most champions on this list.
    0pts
15. 15
    Alan Kulwicki

    A beloved 1992 champion whose whole case rests on one season.
    0pts
16. 16
    Kyle Busch

    Two titles for the winningest driver of his era, both in finale formats.
    0pts
17. 17
    Red Byron

    NASCAR's first Strictly Stock champion in 1949, crowned after just eight races and two wins in a season most fans have never seen.
18. 18
    Herb Thomas

    Two-time champion in 1951 and 1953 with the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, whose 21% career win rate is often forgotten next to later names.
19. 19
    Lee Petty

    Three-time champion and winner of the first Daytona 500 in 1959, critics say his titles came from consistency more than speed.
20. 20
    Tim Flock

    Two-time champion who won 18 races in 1955 for Carl Kiekhaefer's lavish team, the first superteam in the sport, and once raced with a monkey.
21. 21
    Buck Baker

    Back-to-back champion in 1956 and 1957, the first driver to repeat, partly thanks to Kiekhaefer's dominant cars in 1956.
22. 22
    Ned Jarrett

    Champion in 1961 and 1965, his first title came with only one win, before he became better known as a broadcaster.
23. 23
    Joe Weatherly

    Champion in 1962 and 1963, the second title won while driving for nine different owners, often in whatever car was available that week.
24. 24
    Richard Petty

    The King won seven titles and 200 races, but critics note many wins came in short fields against underfunded teams in the 1960s.
25. 25
    David Pearson

    Three-time champion with 105 wins who often ran partial schedules, which is why some argue his titles undersell rather than oversell him.
26. 26
    Bobby Isaac

    The 1970 champion in the winged Dodge Daytona, whose title is his only one in a brief run at the top.
27. 27
    Cale Yarborough

    Won three straight titles from 1976 to 1978 with Junior Johnson, a run some credit to the best-funded car in the garage.
28. 28
    Darrell Waltrip

    Three-time champion in 1981, 1982 and 1985 with 84 wins, later a loud television voice whose self-promotion colours how he is remembered.
29. 29
    Bobby Allison

    Founder of the Alabama Gang with 84 or 85 wins, depending on who counts, and a single championship in 1983.
30. 30
    Tony Stewart

    Three-time champion, including the 2011 title won on a tiebreaker after five wins in the ten Chase races.
31. 31
    Kevin Harvick

    Won his only title in 2014, the first year of the elimination playoff, despite 60 career wins and long stretches as the fastest car.
32. 32
    Martin Truex Jr.

    The 2017 champion who dominated that season with eight wins and a record 19 stage wins for Furniture Row Racing.
33. 33
    Kyle Larson

    Hendrick star who won the 2021 and 2025 titles, the second by finishing third at Phoenix, three points ahead of Denny Hamlin.
34. 34
    Ryan Blaney

    The 2023 champion for Team Penske, who won the title in the Phoenix finale after only three wins all season.

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