NASCAR has hosted a lot of races in its 75-plus years of existence. And just like the importance of being one of the over 200 different race winners, winning a pole is also a significant accomplishment. Even though poles have lost their flavor in recent years, there have been a few drivers that have won poles so far in 2024, that had never done so before. Names like Michael McDowell and Ty Gibbs have added their names for the first time to the pole winners list which now includes 241 drivers.
The biggest names in NASCAR history certainly top the list in career wins and the all-time poles list. That further proves the more you start at the front of the field, the chances of winning is greater. Of active drivers, there aren’t too many that have much of a chance of breaking into the top 10 in 2024. The sport is so competitive now, that it isn’t an easy feat to win a lot of poles. Denny Hamlin finds himself as the highest on the all-time pole list with 42 poles. He’s seven away from breaking into the Top 10.
#1- Richard Petty – 123
Like his 200 career wins, the King Richard Petty is atop the all-time poles list. Not only is that special but his success at winning races when on the pole where also incredible. Of his 123 poles, he won the race 61 times, after starting first. Though he isn’t the only seven-time Cup Series Champion, Petty is the only one that ranks among the top 10 in career poles. Petty won a record 27 races in 1967, but many forget he also had 18 poles that year.
Yet another huge number by the King that will never be reached. Petty claimed poles for the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500 throughout his career. He earned a pole nearly every season between 1960 and 1979. The only season he failed to win a pole was in 1978. As one of only two drivers to reach the 100-pole mark, Petty remains the King for a reason.
#2- David Pearson – 113
Like Petty, David Pearson was a force when it came to winning races and poles for that matter. The three-time Cup Champion sits second on the all-time pole list with 113 poles. He finished only 10 poles shy of Richard’s 123 mark. Pearson had a strong track record with the second most poles in NASCAR history while also winning 37 times from P1. Pearson had double-digit pole wins four times in his Hall of Fame career. The fierce rivalry between Petty and Pearson of the late 60’s and 70’s is easily explained by both being the only two drivers to win over 100 career poles.
The 1976 Daytona 500 Champion, also sat on the pole one time for the Great American Race. He made his name at Michigan International Speedway where he was a nine-time race winner, Pearson also holds the mark for poles with 10. Not quite on Petty’s level, but he was the only driver to breathe the same air when it came to winning the pole.
#3- Jeff Gordon – 81
Jeff Gordon was arguably the best of the modern era when it came to a lot of statistics. The top of that list is his number of poles. Gordon is like Petty and Pearson in that his number of career poles is in the untouchable category. His first pole came in his rookie season in 1993. After that he didn’t look back the four-time Cup Champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, used that pole in the fall Charlotte race that year to push it to another level in 1994, when he won the Coca-Cola 600 from the pole, as his first career victory. Gordon’s No. 24 claimed a pole in each of his 22 full-time Cup seasons. He also knew what it meant to win the pole in the big races.
Gordon won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte five straight times from 1994 to 1998. He also claimed two poles in the Daytona 500 including during what was his second of three victories in the race in 1999. Three poles at Indianapolis is terrible either. Of his 81 career poles Gordon won 20 times after starting P1. Gordon was the best of the last 30 years at winning poles.
#4- Cale Yarborough – 69
The top five drivers in career poles are very similar to the top five in career wins. These guys were fast for a reason. Cale Yarborough may have had the second-greatest pole run of all time in a single season in 1980 when he won 14 poles alone. He was the first to reach that plateau since the prime days of Petty and Pearson. Cale’s first career pole also happened to result in a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Overall he had 69 poles, with 16 victories coming from starting P1. Yarborough was able to win two or more poles in each of his three consecutive Championships seasons from 1976 to 1978. His 1978 Championship saw Cale start on the pole eight times. A four-time Daytona 500 champion, three of those victories came from pole position in the Great American Race. He also won the pole for the Coke 600 and Southern 500 in his Hall of Fame career.
#5- Darrell Waltrip – 59
Darrell Waltrip like most of the drivers in the top 10 in career poles is a NASCAR Hall of Famer. Waltrip was able to start on pole 59 times in his career. Not to mention he won 24 times when he started on pole, which is third all-time behind Petty and Pearson. Like most near the top of this list, Waltrip had one season where he was able to reach the double-digit mark in poles. That was in 1981 when he won 11 poles en route to his first of three Cup titles. Despite all of his success in his career, Waltrip only ever started on pole twice for a crown jewel race, with both coming in the Coke 600. He made his bread and butter on the short tracks when it came to winning poles. Darrell’s career was a long one, with his first pole coming in 1974 until his last pole in 1995, ‘DW left it all on the track.
#6- Bobby Allison – 58
The leader of the famed Alabama Gang, Bobby Allison checks in 6th on the all-time poles list with 58 career poles. Of those 58 poles, Allison was able to win 20 times after starting from P1. The NASCAR Hall of Famer was able to grab a pole position in the 1981 Daytona 500, but never sniffed the pole in the event again, despite his three 500 wins. During his 25-year Cup career, Allison was also able to win the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 once in 1972, along three poles in the Southern 500 at Darlington. Like everyone in the top 10 of the all-time pole list, Bobby is a member of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
#7- Mark Martin – 56
Mark Martin put RFK Racing on the map, way back when it was still just Roush Racing. He was the first driver to win a race for Jack Roush. Martin is 7th on the all-time poles list with 56 career poles. His luck wasn’t as fortunate as the rest of the drivers right around him on the list. Martin only won eight times from the pole. With only 40 career wins, that puts him the second-lowest amount of wins of drivers in the top 10 in career poles. Despite the lack of a championship or a Daytona 500 victory, this NASCAR Hall of Famer knew how to put his car on the pole.
He had three career crown jewel poles. The first of which came in the 1991 Coke 600. He followed that up late in his career when he drove Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 5 Chevy to a pole in the 2009 Brickyard 400 and the 2010 Daytona 500. Martin will be forever remembered due to the fact he won his final NASCAR pole in 2013 at the age of 54.
#8- Bill Elliott – 55
He’s been known for many things in his NASCAR career. Million Dollar Bill, but by far the best is Awesome Bill from Dawsonville. Bill Elliott had an outstanding Hall of Fame career. He had plenty of huge wins in his career including two Daytona 500 victories, and the 1988 series championship. Something that remains special is his pole wins. Elliott had it all, and boy was his car fast. His 1985 Daytona 500 win, came from the pole, as did his 1987 victory. Add in two other poles in the Great American Race in 1986 and 2001.
Awesome Bill had it all, including the famed ‘World’s Fastest Car’ which remains a record to this day. Bill piloted his No. 9 Ford to two blistering laps during the 1987 season when he won the pole for Daytona at an average of 210. 364 mph. If that wasn’t enough he blistered the Talladega Superspeedway later that season with a 212.809 mph lap, that hasn’t been matched. Elliott was a fast man behind the wheel.
#9- Ryan Newman – 51
Ryan Newman quickly burst onto the NASCAR scene in 2001 and earned a nickname. It was that 2001 season where he earned his first career pole before he was even a full-time Cup competitor. Heck, it came in NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. The ‘Rocket Man’ was born with that pole. He quickly lived up to it, winning six or more poles in his first four full-time seasons. That included the 2003 season when he won 11 poles, the most of any driver in the 2000s or any season since. After winning that first career pole in the Coke 600, Newman followed it up with five more poles in that event.
His four-year run of poles will be remembered forever. Newman’s second to last pole will always be memorable as he claimed the pole for his home race at Indianapolis, which also saw him go on to win the Brickyard 400 in 2013. Newman’s 51 career poles are the most of any driver that started in the NASCAR Cup Series after the year 2000.
#10- Bobby Isaac – 49
Was of the toughest drivers to every step behind the wheel was Bobby Isaac. Isaac was able to score 49 poles in his 14-year Cup career. That included the 1970 Cup Championship. That wasn’t his greatest achievement though, as Isaac may have been the greatest pole winner of all time. The year before his championship Bobby set a record, that only Richard Petty came close to. Issac drove to 20 poles alone in the 1969 season. Though Isaac tragically lost his life in a modified race in 1977, he will always be remembered for the speed his No. 71 car had.
NASCAR All-Time Poles 11-116
#11 Junior Johnson, 46 poles
#12 Buck Baker, 45 poles
#13 Denny Hamlin, 42 poles
#14 Herb Thomas, 39 poles
#15 Buddy Baker, 38 poles
#16 Geoff Bodine, 37 poles
#17 Tim Flock, 37 poles
#18 Jimmie Johnson, 36 poles
#19 Rusty Wallace, 36 poles
#20 Rex White, 36 poles
#21 Ned Jarrett, 35 poles
#22 Kyle Busch, 34 poles
#23 Fonty Flock, 33 poles
#24 Fred Lorenzen, 32 poles
#25 Fireball Roberts, 32 poles
#26 Kevin Harvick, 31 poles
#27 Joey Logano, 31 poles
#28 Ricky Rudd, 29 poles
#29 Kurt Busch, 28 poles
#30 Kasey Kahne, 27 poles
#31 Terry Labonte, 27 poles
#32 Bobby Labonte, 26 poles
#33 Alan Kulwicki, 24 poles
#34 Martin Truex Jr, 23 poles
#35 Ken Schrader, 23 poles
#36 Jack Smith, 23 poles
#37 Dale Earnhardt Sr, 22 poles
#38 Carl Edwards, 22 poles
#39 Ernie Irvan, 22 poles
#40 Kyle Larson, 21 poles
#41 Marvin Panch, 21 poles
#42 Dick Hutcherson, 21 poles
#43 Neil Bonnett, 20 poles
#44 Matt Kenseth, 20 poles
#45 Benny Parsons, 20 poles
#46 Speedy Thompson, 19 poles
#47 Donnie Allison, 18 poles
#48 Brad Keselowski, 18 poles
#49 Lee Petty, 18 poles
#50 Joe Weatherly, 18 poles
#51 Harry Gant, 17 poles
#52 Dale Jarrett, 16 poles
#53 Curtis Turner, 16 poles
#54 Dale Earnhardt Jr, 15 poles
#55 Tony Stewart, 15 poles
#56 Davey Allison, 14 poles
#57 Dave Marcis, 14 poles
#58 Tim Richmond, 14 poles
#59 Glen Wood, 14 poles
#60 Greg Biffle, 13 poles
#61 Dick Rathmann, 13 poles
#62 William Byron, 13 poles
#63 Chase Elliott, 12 poles
#64 Charlie Glotzbach, 12 poles
#65 Jim Paschal, 12 poles
#66 Brian Vickers, 12 poles
#67 Sterling Marlin, 11 poles
#68 Jamie McMurray, 11 poles
#69 Christopher Bell, 11 poles
#70 Joe Nemechek, 10 poles
#71 Cotton Owens, 10 poles
#72 LeeRoy Yarbrough, 10 poles
#73 Ryan Blaney, 10 poles
#74 Darel Dieringer, 9 poles
#75 A.J. Foyt, 9 poles
#76 Jeremy Mayfield, 9 poles
#77 Juan Pablo Montoya, 9 poles
#78 Paul Goldsmith, 8 poles
#79 Kyle Petty, 8 poles
#80 Tyler Reddick, 8 poles
#81 Elliott Sadler, 8 poles
#82 Ward Burton, 7 poles
#83 Morgan Shepherd, 7 poles
#84 Bob Welborn, 7 poles
#85 Aric Almirola, 6 poles
#86 Jeff Burton, 6 poles
#87 Ricky Craven, 6 poles
#88 Austin Dillon, 6 poles
#89 Tiny Lund, 6 poles
#90 Eddie Pagan, 6 poles
#91 Mike Skinner, 6 poles
#92 Bill Amick, 5 poles
#93 Brett Bodine, 5 poles
#94 Todd Bodine, 5 poles
#95 Bobby Hamilton, 5 poles
#96 Dick Linder, 5 poles
#97 Hershel McGriff, 5 poles
#98 Ralph Moody, 5 poles
#99 Ted Musgrave, 5 poles
#100 Tom Pistone, 5 poles
#101 Lennie Pond, 5 poles
#102 Jim Reed, 5 poles
#103 Billy Wade, 5 poles
#104 Art Watts, 5 poles
#105 A.J. Allmendinger, 4 poles
#106 John Andretti, 4 poles
#107 Clint Bowyer, 4 poles
#108 Alex Bowman, 4 poles
#109 Joe Eubanks, 4 poles
#110 James Hylton, 4 poles
#111 Rick Mast, 4 poles
#112 Frank Mundy, 4 poles
#113 Steve Park, 4 poles
#114 David Reutimann, 4 poles
#115 Gober Sosebee. 4 poles
#116 Michael Waltrip, 4 poles
All-time Poles 117-241
#117 Johnny Allen, 3 poles
#118 Loy Allen, 3 poles
#119 Marcos Ambrose, 3 poles
#120 Ron Bouchard, 3 poles
#121 Bob Flock, 3 poles
#122 David Gilliland, 3 poles
#123 Dan Gurney, 3 poles
#124 Pete Hamilton, 3 poles
#125 Kenny Irwin Jr, 3 poles
#126 Parnelli Jones, 3 poles
#127 John Kieper, 3 poles
#128 Banjo Matthews, 3 poles
#129 Michael McDowell, 3 poles
#130 Casey Mears, 3 poles
#131 Jimmy Pardue, 3 poles
#132 Scott Riggs, 3 poles
#133 Joe Ruttman, 3 poles
#134 Jimmy Spencer, 3 poles
#135 Ricky Stenhouse Jr, 3 poles
#136 Daniel Suarez, 3 poles
#137 Kenny Wallace, 3 poles
#138 Johnny Benson Jr, 2 poles
#139 Dave Blaney, 2 poles
#140 Chase Briscoe, 2 poles
#141 Bob Burdick, 2 poles
#142 Red Byron, 2 poles
#143 Billy Carden, 2 poles
#144 Stacy Compton, 2 poles
#145 Ty Gibbs, 2 poles
#146 Jeff Green, 2 poles
#147 Friday Hassler, 2 poles
#148 Tommy Irwin, 2 poles
#149 Bobby Johns, 2 poles
#150 Erik Jones, 2 poles
#151 Mel Larson, 2 poles
#152 Paul Menard, 2 poles
#153 David Ragan, 2 poles
#154 Ken Rush, 2 poles
#155 Greg Sacks, 2 poles
#156 Boris Said, 2 poles
#157 John Sears, 2 poles
#158 Gwyn Staley, 2 poles
#159 Marshall Teague, 2 poles
#160 Bubba Wallace, 2 poles
#161 Doug Yates, 2 poles
#162 Emanuel Zervakis, 2 poles
#163 Casey Atwood, 1 pole
#164 Dick Bailey, 1 pole
#165 Larry Baumel, 1 pole
#166 Bill Blair, 1 pole
#167 Al Bonnell, 1 pole
#168 Chuck Bown, 1 pole
#169 Perk Brown, 1 pole
#170 Chris Buescher, 1 pole
#171 Wally Campbell, 1 pole
#172 Patrick Carpentier, 1 pole
#173 Ross Chastain, 1 pole
#174 Austin Cindric, 1 pole
#175 Neil Cole, 1 pole
#176 Jim Cook, 1 pole
#177 Derrike Cope, 1 pole
#178 Doug Cox, 1 pole
#179 Cole Custer, 1 pole
#180 Lloyd Dane, 1 pole
#181 Bill Dennis, 1 pole
#182 Bob Duell, 1 pole
#183 Glenn Dunaway, 1 pole
#184 George Dunn, 1 pole
#185 Ralph Earnhardt, 1 pole
#186 Lou Figaro, 1 pole
#187 Jimmy Florian, 1 pole
#188 George Follmer, 1 pole
#189 Robby Gordon, 1 pole
#190 Danny Graves, 1 pole
#191 Eddie Gray, 1 pole
#192 David Green, 1 pole
#193 Royce Haggerty, 1 pole
#194 Jimmy Hensley, 1 pole
#195 Daniel Hemric, 1 pole
#196 Russ Hepler, 1 pole
#197 Jim Hunter, 1 pole
#198 Possum Jones, 1 pole
#199 Al Keller, 1 pole
#200 Pat Kirkwood, 1 pole
#201 Travis Kvapil, 1 pole
#202 Elmo Langley, 1 pole
#203 Jason Leffler, 1 pole
#204 Kevin Lepage, 1 pole
#205 Danny Letner, 1 pole
#206 Jimmy Lewallen, 1 pole
#207 Paul Lewis, 1 pole
#208 Joe Littlejohn, 1 pole
#209 Chuck Mahoney, 1 pole
#210 Jimmy Massey, 1 pole
#211 J.D. McDuffie, 1 pole
#212 Joe Millikan, 1 pole
#213 Tommy Moon, 1 pole
#214 Bud Moore, 1 pole
#215 Billy Myers, 1 pole
#216 Norm Nelson, 1 pole
#217 Danica Patrick, 1 pole
#218 Andy Pierce, 1 pole
#219 Ryan Preece, 1 pole
#220 Bob Pronger, 1 pole
#221 Bill Rexford, 1 pole
#222 Bob Ross, 1 pole
#223 John Rostek, 1 pole
#224 Frankie Schneider, 1 pole
#225 Brian Scott, 1 pole
#226 Wendell Scott, 1 pole
#227 Frank Secrist, 1 pole
#228 Lloyd Shaw, 1 pole
#229 Slick Smith, 1 pole
#230 Sam Sommers, 1 pole
#231 Reed Sorenson, 1 pole
#232 G.C. Spencer, 1 pole
#233 Ramo Stott, 1 pole
#234 Hut Stricklin, 1 pole
#235 Donald Thomas, 1 pole
#236 Dick Trickle, 1 pole
#237 Ken Wagner, 1 pole
#238 Danny Weinberg,1 pole
#239 Dink Widenhouse, 1 pole
#240 Rick Wilson, 1 pole
#241 J.J. Yeley, 1 pole
This list of NASCAR all-time pole winners is as of July 2024.
