Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick Lead NASCAR Stars in Unfortunate Stat

NASCAR is filled with drivers who posted an incredible number of top-10 finishes in a season and still fell short of the championship. Leading this unfortunate group are  Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick. Though Gordon won 4 Cup Series titles in his time behind the wheel, the 2007 season in which he finished a close second behind teammate Jimmie Johnson remains a thorn in his side.

Most top 10s earned in a season without winning the Championship (Modern Era) pic.twitter.com/Mxy9RZw3k9

— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) January 23, 2024

Gordon won 6 races and scored 6646 points that year, 77 below Johnson. More impressively, he had 30 top-10 finishes and 21 top-5s. The only hurdle that stood in his path was his teammate’s mastery of the Chase format. Gordon said of the season, “Looking back on it, I still can’t believe we didn’t close out. I had never found myself in that position and wasn’t able to pull it off. We had some really elite teams during my career, and we always pulled it off.”

Had it not been for the Chase for the Championship format that the promotion instituted in 2004, Gordon could have very well ended up making 2007 the year he won his fifth title.

The four times Kevin Harvick dominated NASCAR and still lost the title

Harvick will potentially be remembered as the most consistent driver of our times. After his 2014 championship with Stewart-Haas Racing, he was expected to dominate the following years greatly and he did do that. But unfortunately, the domination ended with just top-10 finishes and not enough championships.

Between 2015 and his retirement, Harvick had the most top-10s in four seasons (2015, 2016, 2018 and 2020). The 2015 season was when he came closest to having a second title. In the Championship 4 race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick raced against the eventual champion Kyle Busch but wasn’t able to get the better of him. He had finished many races that year in second position (13) and the finale followed through on that.

He said in the aftermath, “It’s been a great couple of years, and I know we’re disappointed about finishing second tonight. It’s kind of the theme of the year, finishing second.” Harvick made it to the Championship 4 once again in 2018 but finished 3rd behind Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.

Other drivers who came ridiculously close to the title with a great number of top-10 finishes are Bobby Allison (1972) and Carl Edwards (2008). Edwards had 27 top-10 finishes and 9 victory lane visits in 2008 but ended up being yet another victim to Jimmie Johnson’s skill. Richard Petty turned out to be the villain for Bobby Allison in 1972.