If you ask any driver to list the crown jewel races in the NASCAR Cup Series, they will almost unanimously give you the following four: the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, the Southern 500 and the Brickyard 400.
While plenty of drivers in the mid-20th century completed the trifecta of winning the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500, the Brickyard 400 is the newest addition and has only been a part of the schedule since 1994.
With the grand slam only possible in the last three decades, the exclusive list of winning all four at least once consists of just four drivers: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick.
Johnson won each race at least twice, while Gordon is the only driver to have won each race an astounding three times. He nearly completed the grand slam in a single season (1997), with a fourth-place finish in the Brickyard 400 as the only blemish.
| Wins (Titles) | Daytona 500 | Coca-Cola 600 | Southern 500 | Brickyard 400 | |
| Jeff Gordon | 93 (4) | 1997, 1999, 2005 | 1994, 1997, 1998 | 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2007 | 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2014 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 83 (7) | 2006, 2013 | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2014 | 2004, 2012 | 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012 |
| Dale Earnhardt | 76 (7) | 1998 | 1986, 1992, 1993 | 1987, 1989, 1990 | 1995 |
| Kevin Harvick | 60 (1) | 2007 | 2011, 2013 | 2014, 2020 | 2003, 2019, 2020 |
With 312 wins and 19 Cup championships between the quartet (all of whom are top 10 in NASCAR’s all-time win list), arguably the only club more exclusive is the list of seven-time champions.
Plenty of drivers have managed to win three of the four, and that list added a new member on Sunday (July 21): Kyle Larson.
Since joining Hendrick Motorsports at the start of the 2021 season, Larson has been racking up the hardware with a Coca-Cola 600 win in 2021, a Southern 500 win in 2023 and his first Brickyard 400 win a few days ago.
Combine that with the 2021 Cup Series championship, a 2021 Bristol Night Race win (debatably the fifth-most prestigious race) and 21 total wins in the last 3.5 years, and Larson has been rewriting the record books as one of, if not the greatest driver of the 2020s decade.
In the quest to complete all of NASCAR’s majors, there’s only one hurdle that remains for Larson: a Daytona 500.
Larson isn’t the only driver to lack the coveted Harley J. Earl trophy either, and he is now the fourth full-time Cup driver to be one win away from the grand slam.
| Wins (Titles) | Daytona 500 | Coca-Cola 600 | Southern 500 | Brickyard 400 | |
| Kyle Larson | 27… |
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