Final yr, Christopher Bell turned the first driver within the Subsequent Gen period (2022 onward) to win three consecutive Cup races, with Tyler Reddick not too long ago changing into the second. Nevertheless, Reddick is now the one driver within the 78-year historical past of NASCAR to win the primary three races of a brand new season, profitable two drafting tracks and a street course.
For the reason that trendy period of NASCAR started in 1972, solely eight drivers have managed to win 4 consecutive Cup races and it is fairly a formidable checklist. All of these drivers have since been enshrined within the NASCAR Corridor of Fame, and 6 of them are Cup Sequence champions. It’s really elite firm.
Nevertheless, nobody has achieved the feat in practically twenty years. Reddick’s street right here has been no easy Sunday drive both, preventing to the very finish in opposition to a number of drivers on his option to capturing the checkered flag at Daytona, Atlanta and COTA. That, together with how shut the modern-day NASCAR area is nowadays makes Reddick’s three-peat astoundingly spectacular.
At Daytona, he escaped two last-lap crashes, main a single lap to win the game’s greatest race. At Atlanta, he fought again from a late-race wreck, taking the lead in double time beyond regulation and hanging on regardless of lacking a complete fender. And at COTA, he needed to maintain again none apart from street racing celebrity Shane van Gisbergen within the closing laps.
So, if he does handle to proceed the win streak into Phoenix, listed below are the drivers he would be a part of and their very own paths to finishing the uncommon four-peat feat.
Cale Yarborough – 1976
Cale Yarborough in James Hylton’s Mercury
Photograph by: RacingOne/Getty Pictures
Yarborough’s 4 wins got here in his first championship-winning season and it was certainly one of full domination — main 200+ laps in every of the races he gained between September and October of that yr. It started on the Richmond brief observe, keeping off Bobby Allison by roughly a automobile size. However the margins of victory solely grew for every win that adopted. Onto Dover the place he beat Richard Petty by over seven seconds, after which doubled that margin to 14 seconds over Darrell Waltrip at Martinsville. He accomplished the unbelievable run at North Wilkesboro, profitable by a full lap over Benny Parsons and putting an exclamation level on the finish of it.
Darrell Waltrip – 1981
Race winner Darrell Waltrip
Photograph by: NASCAR Media
Waltrip’s win streak got here across the similar time of yr and even coated two of the identical races as Yarborough. Humorous sufficient, it additionally got here with the identical workforce as each had been driving the No. 11 for Junior Johnson. For Waltrip, it started at Martinsville with Harry Gant trailing him by 7.8 seconds on the end. He went to North Wilkesboro the place (like Yarborough) he beat his closest competitor – Bobby Allison – by over a lap. DW confronted off with Allison once more at Charlotte, profitable by practically a full lap with 31.8 seconds between them.
And at last, Waltrip accomplished this uncommon four-peat at one other North Carolina observe, as soon as once more keeping off Allison on his option to victory at Rockingham. Solely this time, Waltrip didn’t make the cross for the win till simply 11 laps to go. And persevering with to comply with the instance set by Yarborough earlier than him, Waltrip ended the 1981 season by profitable his first of three NASCAR Cup Sequence titles.
Dale Earnhardt – 1987
Dale Earnhardt
Photograph by: NASCAR Media
Earnhardt’s spectacular win streak occurred a lot earlier within the season, however nonetheless not fairly as early as Reddick’s present run. As the game superior and the fields turned extra aggressive, ‘The Intimidator’ needed to combat a bit more durable than the earlier two names to drag this accomplishment off. It started at Darlington, passing Invoice Elliott as he dramatically ran out of gas via the ultimate set of corners on the white flag lap. He gained at North Wilkesboro the next week, retaining Kyle Petty at bay within the closing laps with simply a few seconds between them. After besting the son, he then beat the daddy, Richard Petty, doing so by slightly below a second at Bristol. He completed it off at Martinsville, holding again rival Rusty Wallace on his option to capturing the checkered flag. And sure, he went on to win the title that yr too.
Harry Gant – 1991
Harry Gant’s automobile within the NASCAR Corridor of Fame
Photograph by: David Jensen through Getty Pictures
Gant is a novel identify amongst this group. He’s not a champion, and he was over 50 years previous on the time of reaching this. Grant additionally has the excellence of being the oldest winner in Cup Sequence historical past, a report he secured one yr after this spectacular stretch when he was 52 years previous. This previous yr, he was elected to the NASCAR Corridor of Fame.
However in 1991, the person often known as ‘Mr. September’ earned his nickname. He gained each race that month, starting with the Southern 500, beating Ernie Irvan by over ten seconds. At Richmond, he shadowed Davey Allison in a spirited battle earlier than lastly finishing the cross with simply 18 laps to go. His Dover victory was a bit extra easy, dominating the occasion and beating runner-up Geoff Bodine by over a lap. Nevertheless, the fourth win didn’t come as simple as Gant truly crashed late within the race. He was turned from the lead and suffered vital harm to the nostril of the automobile (significantly the precise entrance fender). Undeterred, he (like Reddick at Atlanta) charged again via the sector, taking the lead from Brett Bodine with 46 laps remaining and profitable anyway.
Invoice Elliott – 1992
Alan Kulwicki battles with Invoice Elliott
Photograph by: Nigel Kinrade Images
Within the second race of the yr at Rockingham, Elliott cruised to victory over Davey Allison. Nevertheless, the streak practically didn’t ever attain two after a very sensational end at Richmond. Elliott gained in an exciting photograph end over Alan Kulwicki with nearly nothing between the 2 automobiles on the checkered flag. He didn’t should sweat practically as a lot at Atlanta, profitable by over 18 seconds, whereas Gant completed a distant second. He beat Gant once more the next week as he accomplished the four-peat at Darlington, taking the lead late and driving away with the win.
Mark Martin – 1993
#6 Mark Martin Valvoline Ford
Photograph by: Jasen Vinlove / NKP / Motorsport Pictures
Martin’s win streak started at Watkins Glen, inheriting the race lead solely after Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt crashed dramatically via the esses. He then took a reasonably easy victory over Morgan Shepherd at Michigan earlier than having an actual combat on his fingers at Bristol. Martin ran Rusty Wallace down via slower site visitors, cleanly slicing underneath him and taking the lead with simply 12 laps to go. Wallace remained glued to his rear bumper for the remainder of the race, by no means giving him a second to chill out. Martin’s fourth win got here on the Southern 500 at Darlington, denying Brett Bodine as he accomplished the four-peat.
Jeff Gordon
Photograph by: Robert Kurtycz
In the summertime of 1998, the long-lasting No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was a pressure of nature. Gordon gained 13 of 33 races that yr, nevertheless it was between the 18th and twenty first rounds of the yr the place he managed to win 4 consecutively. It started at Pocono, beating Mark Martin to the road by simply over a second after a dominant exhibiting. Gordon then bested Martin once more, this time within the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hanging on regardless of a late-race yellow bringing the sector again to his rear bumper. At Watkins Glen, Gordon handed Mike Skinner for the lead with 4 laps to go, and as soon as once more, Martin adopted him throughout the road in second after passing Skinner as effectively. Martin shadowed Gordon all through this complete summer season stretch and once they arrived at Michigan, it was none apart from Martin who Gordon needed to cross for the win with lower than 10 laps to go. Nevertheless, the then-Roush driver didn’t find yourself second this time as Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett battled round him, permitting Gordon to sneak away.
Race winner Jimmie Johnson celebrates
Photograph by: Motorsport.com / ASP Inc.
Up to now 30 years, it’s no shock that the one two drivers to have achieved this spectacular feat are two titans of HMS. The newest driver to drag it off was Johnson, proper in the midst of his unprecedented run of 5 consecutive NASCAR Cup Sequence titles (earlier than profitable seven whole). His victories got here on the very finish of the season, blowing the championship combat vast open (regardless of the Chase format) as he crushed the competitors.
He held on in opposition to Ryan Newman and his teammate Gordon at Martinsville with out a lot of a problem, however the next week at Atlanta was a really totally different story. He was working fifth with simply ten laps to go, however an unbelievable pit cease underneath warning vaulted him into second on observe. Denny Hamlin stayed out, however ran out of gas coming to the restart zone. Johnson was capable of keep away from him as others crashed, happening to take the victory forward of Carl Edwards. After which it was onto Texas the place Johnson confirmed up proper close to the top. Dissimilar to lots of the victories talked about on this checklist, Johnson led single digit laps in two of his 4 victories, however at all times managed to place himself into an ideal place when the checkered flag loomed. At Texas, he ran down Matt Kenseth and took the lead with simply two laps remaining in your complete race. He ended his run at Phoenix, taking the lead from Martin Truex Jr. with simply 23 laps left and finally holding off Greg Biffle to formally win 4 in a row.
The duty forward of Reddick
Now, current historical past tells us simply how exhausting profitable 4 consecutive Cup races might be on this trendy age. It’s already been a dogfight for Reddick to achieve three, and a number of other different stars have been on this similar place however failed to achieve 4. Each Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski gained three consecutive races in 2018, however neither of those Cup champions might lengthen the streak to 4. In that very same yr, Kevin Harvick did it earlier than a mid-race wreck at Fontana denied him a shot at 4. Kyle Larson gained three consecutive TWICE throughout the 2021 season and nonetheless couldn’t proceed it, though he was agonizingly shut at Pocono earlier than a sudden blown tire within the ultimate nook tire robbed him of the win. Joey Logano gained a complete three-race spherical throughout the 2015 playoffs, however a vengeful Matt Kenseth crashed him out of the lead at Martinsville and likewise denied him an opportunity at 4. And most not too long ago, Christopher Bell gained three consecutive races one yr in the past, earlier than it ended with a Twelfth-place end in Vegas.
NASCAR heads to Phoenix Raceway this weekend, which is nice information for Reddick because it’s a extra easy race than a few of these wildcard occasions at drafting tracks or street programs. If he has the tempo, he might be a menace. Nevertheless, Reddick can be 0-12 at Phoenix with a pair of third-place finishes being his finest consequence. Final yr throughout his winless season, he positioned twentieth and twenty sixth within the two Phoenix races, however he additionally led probably the most laps in a Phoenix race as not too long ago as 2024.
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