Fifteen at 50: A look at milestone Cup Series victories

Nearly 3,000 drivers have made at least one start in the NASCAR Cup Series since 1949. Exactly 204 of those drivers have visited Victory Lane at least one time, with only 139 making it back at least twice.

With Denny Hamlin's victory Sunday at Pocono, he became just the 15th driver all time to notch at least 50 wins in the Cup Series.

Take a look back at the 50th career victory for those 15 different drivers.

Lee Petty
Date: April 24, 1960
Track: Asheville-Weaverville
Note: Petty became the first driver in Cup Series history to notch his 50th career victory.

Junior Johnson
Date: Oct. 3, 1965
Track: North Wilkesboro
Note: Johnson's victory at his home track in North Wilkesboro turned out to be the 50th and final of his Cup Series career as a driver.

Ned Jarrett
Date: Nov. 7, 1965
Track: Dog Track Speedway
Note: Just like Junior Johnson's achievement one month earlier, Jarrett's 50th win was the final of his career.

Richard Petty
Date: March 5, 1967
Track: Asheville-Weaverville
Note: The younger Petty followed his father Lee's footsteps and grabbed the 50th win of his career at Asheville-Weaverville.

David Pearson
Date: April 13, 1969
Track: Richmond Fairgrounds
Note: Pearson became the fifth and final driver of the 1960s to record his 50th victory when he grabbed the checkered flag at Richmond in 1969.

Cale Yarborough
Date: Jan. 22, 1978
Track: Riverside
Note: Yarborough captured his 50th Cup Series victory in the 1978 season-opener at Riverside, in the 345th start of his career.

Bobby Allison
Date: Sept. 17, 1978
Track: Dover
Note: Allison led 267 laps and held off another 50-win driver, Cale Yarborough, to capture the 50th of his Cup career.

Darrell Waltrip
Date: Oct. 17, 1982
Track: Martinsville
Note: Waltrip's victory at Martinsville was his 50th in just 278 starts, besting the previous mark held by David Pearson, who won his 50th race in 293 starts.

Dale Earnhardt
Date: April 28, 1991
Track: Martinsville
Note: The defending Cup Series champion, in the midst of another championship season, led 251 laps en route to the 50th win of his career.

Rusty Wallace
Date: March 26, 2000
Track: Bristol
Note: It seemed fitting that the 50th win of Wallace's career came at arguably his best track. Wallace would win nine times there in his career.

Jeff Gordon
Date: April 16, 2000
Track Talladega
Note: The 50th win of Gordon's career came in just his 242nd start, which is still the quickest in Cup Series history.

Jimmie Johnson
Date: March 21, 2010
Track: Bristol
Note: The 50th win of Johnson's career was the first time he visited Victory Lane at Bristol.

Kyle Busch
Date: Sept. 22, 2018
Track: Richmond
Note: The 50th win of Busch's Cup career couldn't have come at a better time, as it helped him advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Kevin Harvick
Date: May 17, 2020
Track: Darlington
Note: Harvick captured the 50th win of his Cup career in the first race back following the COVID-19 stoppage.

Denny Hamlin
Date: July 23, 2023
Track: Pocono
Note: Hamlin became the 15th driver in Cup Series history to record 50 career wins, with this triumph coming at the same track where he recorded the first victory of his career.