Kyle Larson secured his 26th career victory last Sunday at Sonoma and tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. While Larson is highly regarded as one of the best racers of the current generation, how does he compare to the most popular and loved driver this sport has seen? The numbers paint quite a clear picture as an answer.
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The race at Sonoma was Larson’s 346th start in the Cup Series. In this time, he has secured 26 wins, 111 top-5s, and 172 top-10s. Dale Jr., on the other hand, made his 346th start in the Chicagoland Speedway back in 2009. By the time he did so, he’d secured 18 wins, 87 top-5s, and 140 top-10s. It was only in his 576th start that he reached 26 wins.
In addition to having a clear advantage on overall statistics, Larson also holds a Cup Series championship – something Dale Jr. was never able to achieve. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has another ten years or more left in American stock car racing. With the skill and speed that he’s been displaying ever since joining Rick Hendrick’s team, he could very well end his career with over 50 wins.
Moreover, Larson’s impact on the track spreads beyond NASCAR’s boundaries as he competes in multiple racing disciplines. While he holds all the clout from the wheel of a race car when compared to Dale Jr., he doesn’t quite hold up the same way when it comes to fame and popularity. Dale Jr. still being the face of stock car racing even years after his retirement isn’t without reason.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. skips past Kyle Larson in the popularity game
When overall contribution to NASCAR is taken into consideration in the debate, Dale Jr. easily gets the upper hand. He has one of the most influential and strongest voices in the arena, having been a fan favorite for around 25 long years. He has given a lot of himself to stock car racing both as a driver and a team owner. After his retirement, Earnhardt has devoted himself to taking NASCAR places globally.
He played a part in the highly successful Netflix docuseries, Full Speed, by serving as one of the executive producers. He runs a huge media empire, DirtyMo Media, that covers everything NASCAR and aids in familiarizing it with the newer generation of auto-racing fans. While Larson is focused solely on shifting gears for now, he could potentially follow through on the path that Dale Jr. is currently setting outside the race track, when he retires.
