Who Drove the #11 NASCAR Entry Before Denny Hamlin? Notable Drivers to Pilot the Iconic Number Over the Years

Driving the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Denny Hamlin has secured 54 wins in 358 NASCAR Cup starts over 20 seasons. Yet, he isn’t the only driver to find success in the #11 car, which ranks as one of the most victorious numbers in NASCAR Cup Series history. Legends like Cale Yarborough, Dale Jarrett, and Darrell Waltrip have all been behind the wheel of this iconic car.

To date, the car has amassed 234 wins. Cale Yarborough holds the record for the most victories in the #11, achieving 55 of his 83 career wins from 1973 to 1980 while racing for Junior Johnson & Associates. His tenure is highlighted by the 1978 season driving the No. 11 Oldsmobile when he captured 10 wins and won the championship.

Before Yarborough’s era though, Bobby Allison drove the #11 car in 1967 and 1968 for Holman Moody, securing 3 wins to finish fourth and eleventh in the championship standings, respectively.

Ned Jarrett clinched both of his championships and secured 49 of his 50 career wins behind the wheel of the number 11 car, initially using the number in a few races in 1959 and then predominantly from 1960 through 1966.

Alongside him, Darrell Waltrip, who piloted the #11 car from 1981 to 1986, captured 43 of his 84 career wins driving the Chevy and Buick for Junior Johnson & Associates. In fact, all three of Waltrip’s championships came while driving the #11, in the years 1981, 1982, and 1985.

Junior Johnson himself raced the number 11 car to 11 victories between 1958 and 1959 for team owner Paul Spaulding. Later, as a team owner, he featured the number 11 as his primary car, beginning mid-season in 1973 when he took over Yarborough’s team from Richard Howard-owned Howard & Egerton Racing.

Following in the tracks of the legends, Terry Labonte took the helm of #11 from 1987 to 1989, followed by Geoff Bodine from 1990 to 1991, Bill Elliott from 1992 to 1994, and Brett Bodine from 1995 to 2003. Their tenures resulted in 4, 4, 6, and 0 race victories, respectively.

In another historical highlight, Mario Andretti, the renowned Formula 1 champion, clinched his first and only NASCAR race in the #11 car at the 1967 Daytona 500 for Holman-Moody. Andretti made eight of his 14 NASCAR starts in the #11 car between 1967 and 1968.

The current NASCAR Cup driver of the #11 Toyota Camry, Hamlin, currently holds the second-highest number of wins in this car, amassing a total of 54 victories.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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