Drivers to win Clash, Cup Series title in same season

Check out the prestigious list of drivers to win both The Clash and the NASCAR Cup Series title in the same season.

Dale Earnhardt, 1980

Dale Earnhardt won both his first Clash preseason event and Cup Series title in the same season. Five wins catapulted Earnhardt to the series title that year. He was second in points after the season-opening race at Riverside, then jumped to first after the Daytona 500 in Week 2 and never fell from that perch.

Darrell Waltrip, 1981

Darrell Waltrip's lone Clash win came in 1981, the year of his first title. DW and team owner Junior Johnson combined for a staggering 12 wins in their first season together — then duplicated that feat in 1982, winning a second title.

Dale Earnhardt, 1986 (2)

Dale Earnhardt's second title came in the same season as his second Clash win. He won five races in 1986, including the pictured-above Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Dale Earnhardt, 1991 (3)

Earnhardt won "only" four races in 1991, but his average finish of 8.6 for the season enabled him to narrowly hold off Ricky Rudd and Davey Allison for the championship.

Dale Earnhardt, 1991 (4)

A changing of the guard was looming, but it wasn't here quite yet. Earnhardt was either first or second in the points standings all year, and was first for the final 21 weeks.

Earnhardt's seven career titles (his seventh and final would come in 1994) is tied for most all-time with Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson. His six Clash wins are the most all time, with Denny Hamlin (4) in second place.

Jeff Gordon, 1997

Jeff Gordon's 10-win 1997 season propelled him to his second title — and he would win another 13 races the next year for his third. His second and final Clash win came in 1997.

Tony Stewart, 2002

Tony Stewart's first of three career titles came in just his fourth season of full-time stock car racing.

Joey Logano, 2022

Joey Logano has a habit of winning at new venues — as evidenced by his 2022 win in the inaugural Clash at the LA Coliseum. He won his second title months later in Phoenix.