Car No. Histories: No. 7

ATLANTA -- Alan Kulwicki has the only championship as driver of the No. 7, but he's not the winningest driver to use that numeral.

That honor goes to Jim Reed, who won seven races during his tenure more than four decades ago.

The No. 7 was Bob Flock's, right from the start. He won twice in 1949 -- at Hillsboro and North Wilkesboro -- plus a pole at Charlotte in the first race ever in what has become NASCAR's premier series.

Flock switched from Hudsons to Oldsmobiles for the next two seasons, finishing second at Charlotte in 1950 and winning at Greenville in 1951. Two other drivers put the No. 7 in Victory Lane in 1951: Frank Mundy's Olds was first at Martinsville, while Fonty Flock won at North Wilkesboro. In addition, Chuck Meekins was second at Gardena in a Plymouth.

Bob Flock went back to Hudsons in 1952, scoring another victory at Weaverville.

Lloyd Hulette was 17th in a Buick at the 1953 Southern 500, his only NASCAR start. Gwyn Staley drove a No. 7 Cadillac to an eighth-place finish in the 1954 Southern 500.

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That same season, Reed began his long association with the numeral. He drove in nine races in 1954, using No. 7, 7A and X-7 on a variety of makes -- Oldsmobiles, Fords and Hudsons.

Reed settled on a Chevrolet for 1955 and ran 14 events, including a best of second in the Southern 500. He won two poles in 11 attempts in 1956, finishing fourth at Darlington.

Reed had a different car -- Ford -- but the same finish -- fourth -- in the 1957 Labor Day classic, one of his six starts.

Sticking with Fords in 1958, Reed found Victory Lane four times. He won at Old Bridge, Belmar, Buffalo and Roanoke, posted 12 top-10s and finished 10th in the final standings.

Reed's career highlight came in 1959, when he won the Southern 500. He also posted victories at Winston-Salem at Pittsburgh in 14 starts, leaving him ninth in the points. Jimmie Lewallen ran one race in 1959, finishing 21st at Hillsboro.

Reed drove the No. 7 for two more seasons, finishing 14th in the 1960 Daytona 500 and 13th in the 1961 version. He had two more second-place efforts -- at Winston Salem and South Boston.

	Alan Kulwicki won the 1992 NASCAR Championship.

A young Buddy Baker drove a No. 7 Ford at North Wilkesboro in 1960, finishing 13th. He would run cars bearing the numeral three other times in the early '60s, with a best of fourth at Columbia.

Joe Weatherly normally used No. 8, but he was in a No. 7 Pontiac at Hickory in 1961, finishing 15th. West coast racer Don Noel made seven starts in the No. 7, running second at Los Angeles in 1960 and second at Riverside in 1961.

Johnny Allen was 16th in the 1962 Daytona 500, while Bill Champion was 31st at Richmond later that year.

In 1963, Bobby Johns acquired the numeral and ran a limited schedule, mainly the superspeedways, for the rest of the decade. He was a threat every time he strapped on his helmet but never won a race in that span.

Johns finished seventh in the 1963 Daytona 500, ninth at Darlington and third at Atlanta. The next season, his best showing was a ninth at North Wilkesboro.

In 1965, Johns was third in the Daytona 500 and posted seconds at Atlanta and North Wilkesboro. Cale Yarborough was 22nd at Charlotte that season in a Ford.

Johns was seventh at Augusta in 1966, but failed to crack the top 10 again in his final three seasons.

Ramo Stott used No. 7 for two Daytona 500s, finishing eighth in 1970 and 11th in 1971. Ed Negre drove a No. 7 Ford to a 23rd-place finish at Bristol in 1971.

The numeral was used on a limited basis in the 1970s, the highlight being Dean Dalton's ninth-place finish at Dover in 1975. Other drivers who piloted the No. 7 during that time included Ivan Baldwin, Walter Ballard, Frank Warren, Larry Esau, D.K. Ulrich, Cecil Gordon, Jack Donohue, Joey Arrington, Harry Goularte and Earl Brooks.

In 1979, road racer Al Holbert made six starts, with a best of eighth at Charlotte. The next season, Dick Brooks had a pair of fifth-place finishes in 16 events.

Ricky Rudd also drove the No. 7 in 1980, finishing 10th at Pocono in seven starts. Lake Speed was sixth at Ontario, one of his two top-10 finishes in seven attempts.

Bruce Hill (1981) and Jeff McDuffie (1982) made a combined total of three starts without a top-10 finish.

Then Kyle Petty took over the No. 7 starting in 1983. He had two top-10 finishes that first season, including a sixth at Riverside, and wound up 13th in the points. He dropped to 16th overall, thanks to six top-10s in 1984.

Petty picked it up in 1985, scoring 12 top-10s on his way to ninth in the final standings. He won at Richmond in 1986, one of 14 top-10 finishes and 10th overall in the points.

With Petty moving to the No. 21 for 1987, Kulwicki switched to the No. 7 from the No. 35.

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He won three poles in his first season and collected nine top-10 finishes, good enough for 15th overall. He improved to 14th in 1988, winning at Phoenix and capturing four poles.

Kulwicki continued to qualify well in 1989, winning six poles. But he failed to win a race, which left him 14th again in the final standings.

He began to combine consistency with superior speed in 1990, scoring 13 top-10s, including a win at Rockingham. That moved Kulwicki up to eighth in the points. He had 11 more top-10s in 1991, a win at Bristol and four more poles, but slipped to 13th.

Then Kulwicki put everything together in 1992, winning at Bristol and Pocono, posting 17 top-10s and rallying past Bill Elliott and Davey Allison to win the championship.

Kulwicki was third at Richmond, fourth at Rockingham and sixth at Darlington in 1993 when he was killed in an airplane accident returning from a sponsor appearance. Tommy Kendall, Jimmy Hensley and Geoffrey Bodine finished out the season.

Bodine returned full-time in 1994, winning at Pocono, Michigan and North Wilkesboro, finishing 16th in the points. He was 17th the next season, with four top-10s, then back to 16th in 1996, thanks to a win at Watkins Glen.

Bodine ran the No. 7 two more seasons, with a total of 15 top-10s but didn't return to Victory Lane. Brother Todd had one start in 1997, finishing 42nd at Charlotte.

In 1999, Michael Waltrip moved over from the No. 21 and drove two seasons. His best efforts were fifth in the 1999 Daytona 500 and third at Martinsville in 2000.

Ted Musgrave, Robby Gordon, Mike Wallace and Kevin Lepage all shared the ride in 2001, with Gordon finishing second at Sonoma.

Casey Atwood ran all but two races in 2002, but failed to crack the top 10. Jason Leffler's best was a 31st at Phoenix in the final two races of the year.

Jimmy Spencer made 35 starts in the No. 7 in 2003, running fourth at the Coca-Cola 600. When he was suspended for one race after an altercation with Kurt Busch, Ted Musgrave filled in and was 31st at Bristol.