Drivers of the No. 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series through the years

Billy Carden was the first driver to field the No. 8 in a Cup Series race in 1949 -- the circuit's first season. He started third and drove his No. 8 Ford to a 15th-place finish on the old Daytona Beach-Road Course. He made 20 total starts using the car number from 1949-55 and gave the No. 8 its first pole -- at Charlotte in 1951.

Bill Rexford may be driving an un-numbered Oldsmobile as he gives chase to Glenn Dunaway's No. 49 at the old Charlotte Speedway. But during the 1950 season, he piloted the No. 8 to a 10th-place finish in Dayton, Ohio as part of his march to becoming NASCAR's second Cup Series champion.

West Virginian Bud Harless drove this No. 8 Hudson Hornet for car owner Edgar Clay in seven Cup Series races from 1954-55.

Early star Joe Weatherly was the first driver to make the No. 8 a Cup Series winner. The NASCAR Hall of Famer posted 20 of his 25 Cup Series victories and collected two championships (1962-63) with No. 8 as his primary car number.

David Pearson made exactly one start in the No. 8 in his distinguished career. It came in 1967 in a Daytona 500 qualifying race.

Hall of Famer Wendell Scott was most familiar in his No. 34 entries but made one start in the No. 8 in 1969 for car owner G.C. Spencer.

Ed Negre made 284 Cup Series starts from 1967-79, a total second only to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 291.

The veteran Ed Negre gave Dale Earnhardt his first Cup Series start with his No. 8 car, a debut that came at Charlotte in 1975.

Bobby Hillin Jr. took over the No. 8 ride in the 1980s, first in a car owned by his father and then later as the driver for the Stavola Brothers operation from 1984 on. Hillin became just the second driver to win with the No. 8 in Cup competition, notching his only big-league victory at Talladega in 1986.

Rick Wilson drove the No. 8 for the Stavola operation for one season and one race. After a full 1991 campaign, the team cut ties with Wilson in a surprising move after the 1992 Daytona 500.

Dick Trickle was Rick Wilson's replacement in Bill and Mickey Stavola's No. 8 for the rest of 1992.

Sterling Marlin drove the No. 8 Ford for the Stavolas in 1993, netting a best finish of second place that year at Daytona in July.

Jeff Burton stepped into the No. 8 ride from 1994-95, taking Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in his first season.

Hut Stricklin was connected to the No. 8 from 1996 into the 1998 season. His best run with the car number was a career day at Darlington, where he finished second to Jeff Gordon in the 1996 Southern 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought the No. 8 back to the family's name with his Cup Series debut in 1999. He posted 17 of his 26 Cup Series wins for Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 8 Chevrolet -- including this memorable triumph at Daytona after his father's death in 2001. (Shown after winning the July Daytona race in 2001 following his father's death on the last lap of the Daytona 500 earlier that season.)

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s red No. 8 Chevy was a familiar winner at Talladega, where he won five times using that car number.

After Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s departure from the team his father founded, Mark Martin and Aric Almirola split time in the No. 8 in 2009. Almirola's first career top-10 finish came with that car number.

Daniel Hemric brought back the No. 8 after a nine-year absence for a two-race stint with Richard Childress Racing in 2018. The events (Richmond and Charlotte Roval) were Hemric's first two premier-series events.

Daniel Hemric drove No. 8 in the Cup Series full-time for the 2019 season, with a gold scheme that debuted in the Daytona 500 to celebrate 50 years for Richard Childress Racing. Hemric won Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors but was let go at the end of the season.

Tyler Reddick was tapped to take over the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in 2020. He entered the Cup Series as a two-time Xfinity Series champ, claiming the 2019 title with RCR and the 2018 crown with JR Motorsports.

Tyler Reddick became just the fourth driver to win with the No. 8 in Cup Series history in 2022, breaking through for his first big-league victory during July 4 weekend at Road America. Nine days later, Reddick announced he signed to race for 23XI Racing in 2024. At the time that implied there would be a new driver behind the No. 8 wheel in fewer than two years. ... however ...

... That driver was subsequently named as Kyle Busch, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the sport's all-time winningest national series driver after Reddick and RCR were able to come to terms to move him over to 23XI a year early — handing Rowdy the reins for 2023. Busch and his longtime home Joe Gibbs Racing were unable to come to terms on a contract extension beyond 2022, leaving him to explore other options. After meeting with several teams, Busch and Richard Childress were able to put to bed a rocky past for a potential bright future as the perennial title contender hops in a No. 8 ride that took two trips to Victory Lane in '22.

It didn't take long at all for the partnership to pay off — Busch won in just his second race with RCR, leading 27 laps en route to his fifth career Auto Club Speedway victory and fourth since 2012.

Not long after, Busch and RCR solidified themselves as legitimate 2023 title contenders with a second win in the 10th race of the season. Busch made the executive decision to stay out during NASCAR Overtime and was rewarded with his first victory at Talladega Superspeedway since 2008.