Double-Digit Wins Reserved for NASCAR’s Elite

Let’s talk about the number 10.

There have been 10 different winners so far in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024 … oh, wait, not that 10. Not 10 drivers with wins … one driver with 10 wins. Here’s a look at that something that has become all but extinct, but tells a story of the sport’s evolution.

A single driver winning 10 or more races in a season is a rarity these days. Only two drivers have done it in the last 25 years. Both did it on the way to a title. Even elite drivers these days will go entire careers without pulling it off.

But it wasn’t always so difficult. Season-defining? Sure. The mark of the sport’s best ever? Absolutely — the only driver on the list not in the NASCAR Hall of Fame isn’t eligible. All but one have at least 37 Cup Series victories (and again, the lone holdout is still racing, so he’s got time).

Overall, 18 different drivers have had double-digit wins in a season, and it’s been done a total of 38 times in 31 different seasons.

Here’s a list of drivers, by decade, with 10 or more wins in a season:

1950s (six times by four drivers)

1953: Herb Thomas (12 wins/37 starts, champion)
1954: Thomas (12 wins/34 starts, second in points)
1955: Tim Flock (18 wins/39 starts, champion)
1956: Buck Baker (14 wins/48 starts, champion)
1957: Baker (10 wins/40 starts, champion)
1959: Lee Petty (11 wins/42 races, champion)

1960s (11 times by five drivers)

1963: Richard Petty (14 wins/54 races, second in points)
1964: Ned Jarrett (15 wins/60 starts, second in points)
1965: Jarrett (13 wins/54 starts, champion), Junior Johnson (13 wins/36 races, 12th in points)
1966: David Pearson (15 wins/43 starts, champion)
1967: Richard Petty (27 wins (Cup record)/48 starts, champion)
1968: Pearson (16 wins/48 starts, champion), Richard Petty (16 wins/49 starts, third in points)
1969: Pearson (11 wins/51 starts, champion), Richard Petty (10 wins/50 starts, second in points), Bobby Isaac (17 wins/50 starts, sixth in points)

1970s (11 times by five drivers)

1970: Isaac (11 wins/47 starts, champion), Richard Petty (18 wins/40 starts, fourth in points)
1971: Richard Petty (21 wins/46 starts, champion), Bobby Allison (11 wins/42 starts, fourth in points)
1972: Allison (10 wins/31 starts, second in points)
1973: Pearson (11 wins/18 starts, 13th in points)
1974: Richard Petty (10 wins/30 starts, champion), Cale Yarborough (10 wins/30 starts, second in points)
1975: Richard Petty (13 wins/30 starts,…