Car No. 19 – Jeremy Mayfield
Part of me has an issue putting him on this list, but this is for on the track performance.  Jeremy did manage to win two races in the 19 car and finished 10^th and 9^th in points in 2004 & 2005.  It was all downhill from there.

Car No. 18 – Bobby Labonte
From 1995 to 2005 Bobby was in the Interstate Battery #18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing.  In 2000 he was able to win the championship.  Also along the way he collected 21 wins and finished in the top ten in points seven times.  The other driver up for consideration was Kyle Busch.  He has won 14 races in the 18 car, but his best points finish has been 10^th.  Not even close to the championship that Bobby has.

Car No. 17 – Matt Kenseth
This was another tough one to call.  Matt edged out Darrell Waltrip since Matt won a championship in 2003 driving the 17 car.  Matt has also won 18 races and finished in the top 10 in the standings six consecutive years from 2002 to 2007.  D.W. did well in the 17 also.  He had 16 wins in the car and six finishes in the top ten in the point standings.

Car No. 16 – Greg Biffle
Greg has been close to a championship a couple of times finishing 2^nd and 3^rd in the standings in 2005 & 2008.  2010 is his 9^th season in car 16 and over the years he’s won 15 races.

Car No. 15 – Bobby Allison
This is another car like the 28 where there have been several good drivers.  Bobby drove the 15 in 1978, ’79, and ’80.  Over those years he won 14 races and finished 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th in the point standings.  No one else in the 15 car would get as close to winning it all.  Other notables in the 15 car are, Ricky Rudd, Dale Earnhardt, Buddy Baker, and Benny Parsons.  All of them won at a minimum, three races in the 15 car.  That’s some pretty good company to keep.

Car No. 14 – Tony Stewart
Tony is the only one to win a race in the number 14 car.  He won four of them last year and finished 6^th in points, also a best for the number.  AJ Foyt drove the car off and on from 1983 to 1992, but only had one top five to show for his efforts.

Car No. 12 – Ryan Newman
From 2002 to 2008 Car No. 12 was Ryan Newman’s.  He won 13 races in it and finished 6^th in points three different seasons (2002, 2003, & 2005). 

Car No. 11 – Darrell Waltrip
This was the hardest decision to make.  I was going to say it’s a tie, but I hate ties.  Someone has to be the best.  Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough have almost identical stats for the 11 car.  Each won three championships in the car, and drove it for 6 years.  Darrell won 43 races while Cale won 41.  Darrell finished 2^nd in points two different times and Cale finished 2^nd once.  Very close call, but the edge goes to ole’ D.W.  Terry Labonte, Bill Elliot, and Denny Hamlin have also put up good numbers for the 11 car.

Car No. 10 – Ricky Rudd
The 1975, and 1994 to 1999 season were Ricky’s in the 10 car.  He won 6 races and finished in the top ten in points in ’94, ’95, & ’96.

Schedule:
Car numbers 99 – 71
Car numbers in the 30s and 40s
Car numbers in the 20s
September 8th – Car numbers 1 – 9

Some of the drivers have been pretty hot over the last five races, and others have been pretty cold.  Here are some drivers with the worst average finishes over the last five races; Jimmie Johnson (21.4), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (22.4), Brad Keselowski (22.4), Elliott Sadler (27.8), and Bobby Labonte (33).

This Week’s Recommendations

Chaser: Kurt Busch
Kurt is hit or miss at Atlanta.  In the 12 races that he stayed out of trouble his worst finish is 14^th.  In the 7 other races he’s finished 32^nd or worse.  So, will Kurt stay out of trouble this weekend?  Well, he won here earlier this season, but finished 38^th in this race last year.  This should be one of the good races for Kurt.  He’s won two of the last three here, and I think he can get his 4^th career win at the track this weekend.

Alternate Chaser: Jeff Gordon
Jeff has five top ten finishes in the last six races in Atlanta and 23 top ten finishes in 36 career races.  I would have picked him as the main chaser, but he hasn’t won here since 2003.  He should be good for a top ten, but not sure if he can come home with his first win of the season.  His 12.4 average finish is good enough for 4^th best among active drivers. 

Matt Kenseth & Kevin Harvick
I know I’ve been picking Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick a lot this season, but they’re both having great seasons and should have been main-stays on your roster this season.  Both have finished well at Atlanta in the previous four races at the track and both have very good average finishes over the last five races of the season.  There is no reason you couldn’t leave these two on your team to collect points until the chase begins.

Dark Horse: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
I know I told you earlier that Dale has been averaging a horrible 22.4 average finish over the last five races, but he does have a good record in Atlanta.  He averages a 12^th place finish here, has won a race, 8 top fives, and 10 top tens in 22 career races.  It’s been an ugly season for Jr., but he finished a respectable 13^th in Bristol, and could contend for a top ten this weekend.

Car No. 29 – Kevin Harvick
Kevin has 13 wins in the number 29.  I think most NASCAR fans will always remember how he took over the car after Dale Earnhardt and drove to victory in only his third career race.  He’d end up winning one more race in 2001 and finish 9^th in the standings.  Kevin has also finished in the top 5 in the standings in 2003, 2006, & 2008.

Car No. 28 – Davey Allison
This car has a ton of history with a lot of very good drivers.  Just look at some of the names that have been in the seat of car 28; Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, Ernie Irvan, Davey Allison, Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker, and Cale Yarborough.  Every one of those drivers won at least one race in this car.  Davey Allison drove it the longest though.  It was his ride from 1987 to 1993 when he died in a helicopter accident.  Over that time he won 19 races and finished 3^rd and 2^nd in points in 1991 and 1992.

Car No. 27 – Rusty Wallace
Rusty drove the number 27 from 1986 to 1990.  Over that span he won 18 races, and took home the championship in 1989.  Some other very good drivers of the number 27 were Benny Parsons, Cale Yarborough, and Tim Richmond.  Benny and Cale each won five races in the care and Tim took home two wins in it.

Car No. 26 – Ricky Rudd
Ricky only drove the 26 car for two seasons, but he won two races and finished 11^th and 8^th in the standings.  Other notables that drove 26, Jamie McMurray and Brett Bodine won a combined two races and never finished above 16^th in the standings.

Car No. 25 – Tim Richmond
Ken Schrader drove this car longer than Tim (9 years vs. 2), but Ken only had 4 wins to Tim’s 9, and Ken’s best points finish was 4^th, in 1992, while in 1986 Tim took home 3^rd place in the standings, winning 7 races along the way.  Tim died in 1989 of AIDS.

Car No. 24 – Jeff Gordon
Every NASCAR race for Jeff has been in the 24 car.  82 wins, 4 championships, and over $78 Million in race winnings.  Quite a career.  One interesting note on car 24, another Gordon drove it before Jeff.  Cecil Gordon drove 24 from 1975 to 1983.  His career wasn’t as good though.  Cecil didn’t have a win or top 5 to his credit.

Car No. 22 – Bobby Allison
From 1983 to 1987 Bobby drove number 22.  In 1983 he won 6 races and the championship.  After that he collected three more victories and finished in the top 10 in points three times.

Car No. 21 – David Pearson
David drove this car to 20 wins from 1975 to 1979.  He also drove number 21 in 1985 and 1986 without much success.  His best season was 1976 when he won 10 races and finished 9^th in the point standings.

Car No. 20 – Tony Stewart
This was an easy one.  Tony won two championships racing for Joe Gibbs in the Home Depot #20 (2002 & 2005).  He also won 33 races in the 10 years he was with Gibbs Racing.  Tony is always a contender and could win the championship during any season.

Schedule:
Car numbers 99 – 71
Car numbers in the 30s and 40s
September 1st – Car numbers in the teens
September 8th – Car numbers 1 – 9

Car No. 48 – Jimmie Johnson
This is one of the biggest no-brainers out there.  Jimmie has 52 career wins and has won the championship each of the last four seasons.  Since he’s been a full-time driver he’s never finished worse than 5^th in the points chase.  He’s one of the best ever.

Car No. 47 – Ron Bouchard
Ron drove this car from 1981 to 1985 and won one race in 1981.  In 1982 he didn’t win a race, but managed to finish 8^th in the point standings.

Car No. 44 – Terry Labonte
No one else has a win in car number 44.  Terry  has 6 wins in the car when he had the ride from 1979 – 1986.  From 1980 to 1985 he was always in the top ten in points, and in 1984 he had two wins and took home the championship.  He also ran a few races in the 44 in 2005.

Car No. 43 – Richard Petty
Obviously the biggest no brainer in the history of the sport.  No one is identified to a number as much as “The King”.  Car 43 will always be his.  He had 36 wins in the 43 car spanning from 1975 to 1984.  In that time he also won two championships (1975 & 1979).  He was amazing and is still the greatest NASCAR driver ever.

Car No. 42 – Kyle Petty
It’s impossible for someone to live up to Richard Petty’s standards, but Kyle had a solid NASCAR career.  While in the 42 car from 1979 to 1996 he had 6 wins and was top five in the point standings in 1992 & 1993.

Car No. 40 – Sterling Marlin
Sterling had this ride for 8 seasons and really made a name for himself.  In 2001 & 2002 he won two races and finished a career high 3^rd in the point standings in 2001.  It was easily his best season in NASCAR and made him a fairly well-known driver.

Car No. 39 – Ryan Newman
Only nine drivers have been in car number 39, and Ryan is easily the best one.  Last season he finished 9^th in points and so far this season he got his first win in the car.

Car No. 38 – Elliott Sadler
Elliott has two career wins in car 38, and in 2004 he had a dream season, making the chase, and finishing 9^th in the standings.  Since then things have been a bit disappointing for him.

Car No. 33 – Harry Gant
Harry drove the 33 car from 1982 through 1994 and collected 18 wins along the way.  Early in his career, from 1982 – 1985, he finished no worse than 7^th in the point standings and was second in 1984.  In 1991 he had a resurgence and won a career high five races and finished 4^th in the point standings.

Car No. 32 – Ricky Craven
In the four years Ricky had this ride he didn’t do particularly well with 15^th place being his best finish in the point standings, but he did manage to win two races along the way.  One in 2001 & 2003.

Car No. 31 – Jeff Burton
Jeff is our first repeat winner on the list (car 99 also).  He moved to the 31 in 2005 and is running will in it still today.  He only has 4 wins in it, but is always a threat to do well and contend for the title as he’s finished in the top ten in points in 3 of the last 4 seasons.

Schedule:
Car numbers 99 – 71
August 25th –  Car numbers in the 20s
September 1st – Car numbers in the teens
September 8th – Car numbers 1 – 9

Some notables doing very bad in the last five races with their average finish in parenthesis; Bobby Labonte (31.2), Elliott Sadler (26.2), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (24.4), Brad Keselowski (22.2), Kurt Busch (22.2).

This Week’s Recommendations

Chaser: Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie doesn’t have one of the best average finishes at Bristol, but he has been on a roll at the track recently.  He won the race here in March and has finished in the top ten in the last three here.  He’s never place in the top ten three races in a row before at Bristol, but I expect him to up that streak to four in a row come Saturday night.  He finished 12^th last week in Michigan and should be getting things cranked up and ready for the chase.

Alternate Chaser: Greg Biffle
Greg has the second best average finish at Bristol among active drivers (11^th), and has finished 4^th here in the last two races.  He’s been on a roll of late averaging a 13.4 place finish over the last five races this season.  Greg may be finding his way back into serious contention for the championship.  He’s hitting his stride at the right time, and getting his confidence up for the start of the chase.  He needs to get a couple more top five or top ten finishes to ensure he makes the chase.

Kyle Busch
In terms of average finish Kyle Busch is the best at Bristol with his 10.1 place average finish.  He’s third in career wins here with 3, behind Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch who have five each.  Kyle has finished in the top ten at Bristol in 4 consecutive races and 8 of the last 9.  Kyle has only finished in the top ten in two of the last nine races this season, so he’s due for a top ten finish.  Bristol is obviously a track he’s comfortable with so that top ten should happen this weekend.

Matt Kenseth
Matt is another driver having a solid season with a good average finish at Bristol (12.7), and good average finish over the past five races (12.2).  He’s finished in the top ten in 4 of the last 5 races at Bristol, and looks to keep his great season going strong.  There’s no reason he shouldn’t be on your team.

Dark Horse: Marcos Ambrose
Marcos has only raced at Bristol three times and finished in the top ten twice, although he finished 33^rd the in spring race this year.  Don’t let that fool you though, he should be good for a top ten or top fifteen finish this weekend.  If you want someone on your team others may not have, Marcos could be that guy.

Car No. 99 – Jeff Burton

Jeff edges out Carl Edwards for the best driver ever in car 99.  Jeff was really good in the 99 car in 1996 – 2003 when he finished 13^th in the points or better every season, including four straight top five finishes in the standings from 1997 – 2000.  He also collected 17 wins from 1997 – 2001.  Carl has been good in the 99 car, but he only has two top five finishes in the point standings and 15 wins.  Maybe by the time he’s finished in the 99 car he’ll be the best to drive it, but he has a little ways to go.

Car No. 98 – John Andretti
John is the only driver to win in this car number so he gets it by default.  He got the win in the 1997 season.
 

Car No. 97 – Kurt Busch
This was an easy one.  Kurt made his name in the 97 car winning 14 races from 2002 – 2005 and winning the championship in 2004.
 

Car No. 90 – Jody Ridley
Jody edged out Ernie Irvan for car 90.  Jody had one win in the car in 1981 and finished 5^th in the point standing.  He also finished 7^th in points in 1980 with no wins.  Ernie finished 10^th in points in 1990 with one win.

Car No. 88 – Dale Jarrett
This was a tough one to decide.  Dale beat out Darrell Waltrip by a nose.  Dale Jarrett has 29 wins in the 88 car with 6 consecutive top five finishes in the point standings winning the championship in 1999.  Darrell had 25 wins, and didn’t win a championship in the car, although he did manage to finish in the top five in points 4 consecutive season from 1977 – 1980.

Car No. 83 – Brian Vickers
Brian has one career victory in the car and did make the chase in 2009.  The only other driver with a victory in number 83 was Lake Speed in 1988.  He finished a career best 17^th in the point standings.

Car No. 75 – Neil Bonnett
Neil accounts for the only four wins car 75 has had.  He won two races in 1983 finishing 6^th in points and won two more in 1988 finishing 16^th in points.

Car No. 72 – Benny Parson
Old BP did well in car 72.  From 1975 – 1978 he had 10 wins and finished in the top five in points each season.

Car No. 71 – Dave Marcis
Dave had this ride for a long time, for 23 seasons spanning from 1975 to 2002.  He collected 5 wins in the car and finished second in points in 1975, and was in the top ten in points in 1976, 1980, and 1982. 

Up next:
August 18th – Car numbers in the 30s and 40s
August 25th –  Car numbers in the 20s
September 1st – Car numbers in the teens
September 8th – Car numbers 1 – 9

This Week’s Recommendations:

Chaser: Carl Edwards
No one averages a better finishing position at Michigan than Carl.  His 6.6 place average finish is more than three positions better than 2^nd place Matt Kenseth.  He finished 12^th here in the June race, but before that he had a string of six consecutive top ten finishes.  Can he get back on track and get another top ten finish, or has Carl’s luck run out in Michigan?  I don’t think Carl’s luck has run out.  He should be good again at Michigan and contend for the win this weekend.

Alternate Chaser: Denny Hamlin
If you don’t think Carl can get the job done this weekend, then Denny may be the chaser you need on your team.  He won here in June, so you know he can get it done.  He also has 5 top tens in 9 career races here.  Denny did pretty poorly at Watkins Glen and fell three spots in the standings so he’ll be ready to get back on an oval.  He needs to do well to redeem himself a little and try to get some more bonus points for the chase.

Matt Kenseth
Matt is averaging a 10^th place finish in his career at Michigan, good enough for 2^nd best among active drivers.  In 22 races he has won two of them with 9 top fives and 13 top tens.  Matt has been struggling for a while though, and if it keeps up, he may not make the chase.  He’s down to 10^th in the standings right now and hasn’t had a top ten finish since the Coca-Cola 600 back on Memorial Day weekend.  He desperately needs a good finish this weekend.

Jeff Burton
Jeff doesn’t have the best record in Michigan with only 9 top tens in 33 races, and an average finish of 15.9 at the track, but this year seems different.  In the June race at Michigan he finished in 8^th place, and now he’s up to 3^rd in the point standings.  Jeff is quietly putting together a great season.  Even though he hasn’t won a race in 2010 he’s averaging a 12.4 place finish, and in the past five races he’s averaged a 7^th place finish.  If he can keep that up, he’ll definitely be contending for the championship after the chase starts.

Dark Horse: Joey Logano
Joey has only race in Michigan three times, but he has two top ten finishes.  Over the last five races Joey has been pretty bad, averaging a 23^rd place finish, so he’s past due for a good run.  Michigan can be where he gets that good run especially since he’s done well here before.

Over the next several weeks I’m going to be running through the car numbers and give you the driver that has done the most for that number since 1975, when NASCAR’s “modern” era began.   Some are pretty obvious, and others had several successful drivers in the seat and will be tough to pick.  Either way, it should be fun, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and read your comments to see who you think the best drivers were.

If my stats are correct, since 1975 there have been 747 different drivers in 156 car numbers, with 1135 races being run (including the first 21 races in 2010).  That’s a lot of drivers and car numbers.

What car numbers have been the most successful?  Generally speaking, the lower the number, the better the record.  Check out the table below to see how they rank.

I’ll only focus on the number groupings with 10 or more wins, so we won’t waste time on the 0x cars, or cars with numbers in the 50’s, 60’s, or 100+.  Any other car that doesn’t have a win won’t be included either.  Great drivers need to win races, not have a few top fives. 

Since the lower numbers have been a lot more successful I’ll start out with car number 99 and work my way down to 1.  Check back every Wednesday for the latest posts on who the best driver is for each number.  Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts and who you think the best driver ever was to drive your favorite number.

This Week’s Recommendations:

Chasers: Tony Stewart
No one has more wins at Watkins Glen than Tony.  His five wins edges out Jeff Gordon and his four wins.  In only 11 races here Tony has collected 7 top fives, 9 top tens, and one eleventh place finish.  In the last 6 races at the track he has won 4 and finished 2^nd twice.  It’d be pretty tough to leave Tony off your team with those stats.

Alternate Chaser: Denny Hamlin
Denny doesn’t have a win at Watkins Glen yet, but in four career races he’s finished in the top ten each time with one top five finish.  His 7.5 place average finish is good enough for third best among active drivers.  He fared well last week in Pocono and should have his confidence sky-high.  He’s third in points and rolling this season.

Marcos Ambrose
In only two career races Marcos has done very well here.  His 2.5 average finish is best among active drivers.  He has a 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes in the two races.  He’s a road course expert and really knows what he’s doing here.  If he weren’t a NASCAR regular, Marcos definitely would be one of the ringers that some team would bring in.  Now that he’s a regular, he’ll get the respect he deserves on the track and should have another top five finish, and don’t be surprised if he wins.

Kyle Busch
If you take out his first career race at the Glen, Kyle has done very well here.  He has 4 consecutive top ten finishes with a win, two top fives, and four top tens.  He has the 6^th best average finish at the track and is 6^th in the standings.  Kyle is an aggressive driver and will push some cars out of the way to get by them if he needs to.  If he smells the win, he’ll go get it for you.

Dark Horse: Robby Gordon
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I’m not a Robby Gordon fan, but the facts show that he’s a good road course driver and has done well in this race.  In 11 career races he has finished in the top five 7 times with a win.  His average finish of 11.3 is also very impressive.  When he’s finished outside of the top ten here it was because of getting into trouble on the track.  His non-top ten finishes are 40^th, 16^th, 27^th, and 18^th.  If he can keep out of trouble and not have people get mad at him and wreck him, Robby should do well and finish in the top five again.

This Week’s Recommendations:

Chaser: Denny Hamlin
Denny is one of the best drivers at the Pocono Raceway, so why shouldn’t he be on your team?  He’s won the last two races here, has four career wins, 6 top fives, and 7 top tens in 9 career races at the track.  His average finish of 8.6 is the best among active drivers.  He’s real good and has 5 wins so far this season.  No reason to believe he won’t win this weekend.

Alternate Chaser: Tony Stewart
Tony is a little behind Denny at Pocono, but not too far.  He has managed two career wins, 8 top fives, and 17 top tens in 23 career races.  He’s also finished in the top ten in four consecutive races at the track.  His average finish of 11.9 is 5^th best among active drivers; a pretty good record.  He finished 3^rd here in the June race, so don’t be surprised if he improves a couple more positions and takes home the win.

Kevin Harvick
How can you argue with having the points leader on your team?  Kevin has had a great season so far.  He’s collected a couple of wins and 14 top tens.  He finished 4^th here in June and looks to keep the dream season going.  Kevin doesn’t have a win here, and probably won’t win the race Sunday, but should be battling for a top ten or top five finish.  He’s having too good of a season not to be in contention.

Clint Bowyer
Clint is a solid driver that often gets overlooked by many people, me included.  He has a solid record at the Pocono Speedway and should fare well this weekend.  Clint is having a pretty good season sitting 12^th in points.  He has 3 top ten finishes in the last 4 races at the track with five top tens in nine career races.  He’s on an uptick at the track and deserves a chance to earn you some points this weekend.

Dark Horse: Sam Hornish Jr.
Sam was my dark horse pick for the June Pocono race, and he did well, finishing 11^th, so I figured I should pick him again.  In the last three races here he’s finished 11^th, 4^th, and 10^th.  He’s had a horrible season, but for some reason he does well here, so Sam is worth having on your team to change things up a bit.