NASCAR is celebrating its 75th anniversary all throughout the 2023 season.
In 1998, NASCAR had a panel select a list of its 50 greatest drivers for its golden anniversary.
Likewise, we at Frontstretch decided to put together our own list of the 75 greatest NASCAR drivers in honor of this year’s milestone. Seventeen of our writers weighed in to pick the final 75, and we’ll be releasing four to seven drivers from that list every weekday for the next three weeks.
Similar to the one in 1998, this list is not a ranking of the top-75 drivers. Instead, we’ve broken the list down into categories, with a new category released each day (see the full list below). Within those categories, the drivers are listed in alphabetical order.
A quartet of big-time drivers from the 1980s and ’90s comes next; read on to see who we chose.
Geoff Bodine
Geoff Bodine is a New York native who raced in the NASCAR Cup Series during five decades, from 1979 to 2011, and the older brother of fellow NASCAR drivers Brett and Todd Bodine.
The eldest Bodine ran his first full season in 1984 with car owner Rick Hendrick. His first career win in 1984 at Martinsville Speedway is said to have saved Hendrick Motorsports; had that race not been won, Hendrick was prepared to shut down the team for financial reasons.
Bodine went on to win the Daytona 500 in 1986, along with nine poles that season. He became embroiled in a bitter rivalry with Dale Earnhardt that spawned several wrecks, once resulting in a five-lap penalty for Earnhardt. This rivalry contributed to the storyline of Days of Thunder.
He ended his time with Hendrick after the 1989 season, a tenure that included seven wins and 49 top fives.
Bodine became a journeyman in the 1990s, driving for several different teams.
In the mid-1990s, he won five races driving for his own team.
1999 was his final season of full-time Cup competition, but he continued to race part-time for another 11 years, as well as in other national series.
Outside of NASCAR, Bodine co-owned Bo-Dyn Bobsled Company. His
bobsled-building efforts contributed to a U.S. Olympic gold medal in bobsled in 2002, its first in that event since 1948.
Bodine was a force to be reckoned with at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Martinsville Speedway, where he had a combined 10 wins and 34 top fives. His career totaled 575 starts, 18 wins, 100 top fives, 190 top 10s and 37 poles. – Steve Leffew
Jeff…
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