Winning a NASCAR Cup Series is not an easy task to accomplish. Winning a crown jewel race is even less so. Four races on the schedule of modern-day NASCAR are accepted as crown jewel events: The Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600, the Brickyard 400, and the Southern 500. The difficulty that lies in overcoming these races is why only four drivers in history have managed to win them all.
Advertisement
First among them is 4X Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon. The Hendrick Motorsports stalwart has won the Brickyard 400 five times beginning in 1994. He has three victories each in the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. The Southern 500 is generally deemed to be a daunting race. But it wasn’t for him. He won it a staggering six times over his esteemed career. Together, he hits the roof with 17 crown jewel victories.
Next to him is his former teammate and 7X Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. He won the Brickyard 400 and the Coca-Cola 600 four times each. Johnson also has won two Daytona 500s and two Southern 500s. His overall count falls short of Gordon’s, at 12. This list wouldn’t be complete without the legendary Dale Earnhardt. The intimidator has won eight crown jewel races.
Among his spoils are three Coca-Cola 600s and three Southern 500s. He also has found the victory lane once each in the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. The final name on the list is Kevin Harvick. The recently retired icon did not rack up as many championships as his counterparts did but he did have his fair share of crown jewel victories. He won the Brickyard 400 thrice, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Southern 500 twice each, and the Daytona 500 once.
Are crown jewel victories counted fairly?
Counting crown jewel victories can be a confusing affair. One of the reasons why that is so is that the Brickyard 400 wasn’t around before 1994. Some of the drivers who are considered to be the greatest stock car racers were done and dusted with their cars by the time Indianapolis opened its gates to NASCAR. In those days, the Winston 500 (Talladega) was considered to be the fourth crown jewel event.
If the Brickyard 400 has replaced Winston 500 as a crown jewel race then it is only fair that victories in the Talladega event before 1994 are taken into account. But they aren’t.
This becomes more troubling when looking at the fact that Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Buddy Baker, and David Pearson had won the Winston 500 along with the other three crown jewel races.
