Drivers of the No. 29 through the years

By Zack Albert | Published: 16 Mar, 2023 29

Jeff Gross | Getty Images

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Jeff Gross | Getty Images

The No. 29 is set to return to NASCAR Cup Series competition in a one-off appearance this spring, with Kevin Harvick bringing back the car number for the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Harvick took the number to new heights at the start of his Cup Series career, adding to the No. 29's history in the sport. With the number set to return, take a trip through history with other drivers of the No. 29 through the years.

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NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

The No. 29 made two appearances in NASCAR's first Cup Series season, but was on the shelf until Donald Thomas campaigned it in the 1953 Southern 500 at Darlington, giving No. 29 its first top-10 finish in eighth place. Thomas was the younger brother of Hall of Famer Herb Thomas, and he won one Cup Series race -- setting a youth record at age 20 in 1952.

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Dink Widenhouse poses with his 1956 Ford numbered B-29 that he drove to a 34th-place finish on the Daytona Beach-Road Course that year.

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The No. 29 made an appearance in the first Daytona 500 in 1959, with Dick Freeman driving this Chevrolet Biscayne to a 15th-place finish and a $250 payday.

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NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Minnesota native Bob Potter also finished 15th in the Daytona 500 the very next year. Potter made just five Cup Series starts in his brief racing career.

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Nelson Stacy raises his arm in triumph as he drives the No. 29 Ford to victory in the 1961 Southern 500. Stacy won four times in the Cup Series, all using No. 29.

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Nelson Stacy also holds the distinction of winning the final NASCAR race with convertibles permitted, in 1962. His Holman-Moody No. 29 Ford bears the famed Darlington Raceway stripe on the right side.

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Augie Pabst, who came from a long line of brewers in Milwaukee, made a go at racing, with success primarily in U.S. Auto Club and Sports Car Club of America events. He made just one Cup Series start, and it came with No. 29 at Riverside International Raceway in 1963.

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Veteran Larry Frank took over the Holman-Moody No. 29 factory Ford for the 1964 Daytona 500. Frank's effort netted an eighth-place result.

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Here, Larry Frank's No. 29 Ford follows the No. 12 Ford Galaxie of Dan Gurney at Daytona International Speedway during the Daytona 500.

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NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Dick Hutcherson found great success with the No. 29, scoring all but one of his 14 Cup Series victories with the car number. The majority of those triumphs came during a dynamic nine-win season in 1965, when he finished second to Ned Jarrett in the Cup Series standings for Holman-Moody. Hutcherson shifted to car owner Bondy Long in 1967, carrying the No. 29 on this gold-and-white Ford.

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Bobby Allison made several starts in the No. 29, teamed with Bondy Long in this Torino for 1968. His best finish was third place in the Daytona 500 that year.

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NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Bondy Long also had the services of the great A.J. Foyt for just one race in his No. 29 Ford Torino. Foyt qualified sixth, but exited early with steering issues in Daytona's 400-miler in 1968.

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Dick May gave the No. 29 two starts during the 1973 season. His Mercury retired early from both efforts, at Darlington and Richmond.

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NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Tim Richmond also made just one start in the No. 29, finishing 31st after engine failure struck his Mike Lovern-owned Ford at Rockingham in 1982.

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NASCAR Research & Archives Center | Getty Images

Cale Yarborough watches over his No. 29 Oldsmobile on pit road during the 1988 season. Yarborough launched his own team near the end of his Hall of Fame career, serving as an owner and driver before making his final Cup Series start later that year.

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Among the drivers for Yarborough's No. 29 effort was a young Dale Jarrett, shown coming in for a pit stop at Pocono Raceway during the 1989 campaign.

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Steve Grissom pilots one of the brightly colored No. 29 Chevrolets with Cartoon Network sponsorship at Daytona International Speedway. Grissom drove the Gary Bechtel-owned No. 29 from 1994 into the '96 season.

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Chad Little took over the Bechtel No. 29 for a handful of starts in 1996. Here he takes the green flag alongside Terry Labonte at Darlington Raceway.

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Craig Jones | Allsport

Jeff Green also took a turn driving the No. 29 Chevy with Cartoon Network livery in 1997 and part of the '98 season. Green's best result was fourth place at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the '97 season finale.

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Robert Laberge | Allsport

The No. 29 reappeared in 2001 under tragic circumstances. After the death of Dale Earnhardt in the Daytona 500, Kevin Harvick was tapped to take his place with the Richard Childress Racing team. He did so in a white No. 29 Chevrolet.

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Craig Jones | Allsport

Kevin Harvick's No. 29 kept Goodwrench sponsorship, but added a silver paint scheme later in the season.

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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

The RCR No. 29 brought a return to some of the silver-and-black look that Earnhardt made famous in the 2002 season. When Harvick was suspended for rough driving at Martinsville Speedway during a Craftsman Truck Series race in 2002, Kenny Wallace stepped in for a spot start.

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Kevin Harvick pilots the No. 29 Chevrolet at Talladega Superspeedway, showing the paint scheme that he campaigned during the 2003 season.

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Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images

Harvick's No. 29 Chevy took on a Wrangler look dating back to Earnhardt's earlier days in the No. 3 during the 2004 season at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images

Harvick put the No. 29 in Victory Lane at the Daytona 500 with a narrow win over Mark Martin in the 2007 edition.

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Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Budweiser sponsorship joined in for Harvick's later RCR years in the No. 29 entry. The car sported this primarily black look during 2011.

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Todd Warshaw | Getty Images

Kevin Harvick makes his final Cup Series start in the No. 29, bringing an end to his Richard Childress Racing tenure in the 2013 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Harvick ended his time with RCR with 23 wins.

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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

The No. 29 had one final run with RCR during Cup Series testing in 2013 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but with a question mark added to the test car for new driver Austin Dillon. Later that same week, the team announced that the No. 3 would return to Cup Series competition for 2014 with Dillon as the driver.

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Drivers of the No. 29 through the years