Kyle Busch took home his 55th-career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory this past weekend st Pocono Raceway, which puts him in a tie with Rusty Wallace for ninth on the all-time series win-list (view full all-time wins list here). But interestingly, Busch has just one Cup Series championship despite his dominance at the age of 34.
Where does that rank with the other eight drivers who have eclipsed the 55-win mark?
Seven-time Series champions, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson lead the way in this statistical category as five of their championships came by the time they hit career-win No. 55.
Jeff Gordon, who had one of the most dominant stretches in Series history from 1995 to 1998, racked up three championships in his first 55 Series wins.
Cale Yarborough, David Pearson and Darrell Waltrip each recorded two wins by the time they had 55 wins on their resume.
So, who is with Busch in the one-championship and under crowd?
Wallace, who Busch tied this weekend had one championship by the time of his 55th — and final — Cup Series win.
“The King” Richard Petty had only recorded one of his seven titles by win No. 55 (however he still had 145 more wins in the tank at that point).
Bobby Allison knocked on the door to a championship seemingly forever before finally breaking through in 1983, however at the time of his 55th-career win he had no championships to his credit.
Ultimately, what does this mean for Busch? Nothing is set in stone, but each driver on this list — aside from Rusty Wallace — won at least one championship after career win No. 55, and in the case of Petty he won six more after career win No. 55. So, there’s that.
