Kyle Busch’s victory at Texas Motor Speedway was the 44th of his career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, tying him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott for 16th place all time.
Busch, who now races against Elliott’s son, Chase, provides an interesting stats comparison with “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.”
PHOTOS: Bill Elliott’s career
Elliott’s 44th win came in the penultimate race of the 2003 season at Rockingham. Elliott, then 48 years old, led 140 laps in a Ray Evernham Dodge to cap his career, although he’d go on to race 98 more times in NASCAR’s top series over the next nine years.
Let’s take a look at how Busch’s career stats match up to Elliott’s at the time of both drivers’ 44th win.
Key Stats | Bill Elliott | Kyle Busch |
Starts | 730 | 469 |
Wins | 44 | 44 |
Top fives | 175 | 166 |
Top 10s | 318 | 247 |
Laps led | 11,178 | 14,730 |
Laps completed | 207,750 | 131,011 |
Busch Pole Awards | 55 | 28 |
Age | 48 | 32 |
“Rowdy” clearly is in good company here, and he has a few other NASCAR Hall of Famers in his sights.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has won 15 races over the past three-plus seasons, so he likely has a few more wins in him this year. Buck Baker is next in his sights with 46 wins, with Hall of Famer Herb Thomas looming after.
Here’s a look at the all-time top-20 winners in Monster Energy Series history, with an asterisk denoting an active driver.
Rank | Driver | Wins |
1. | Richard Petty | 200 |
2. | David Pearson | 105 |
3. | Jeff Gordon | 93 |
t-4. | Bobby Allison | 84 |
t-4. | Darrell Waltrip | 84 |
t-6. | Jimmie Johnson* | 83 |
t-6. | Cale Yarborough | 83 |
8. | Dale Earnhardt | 76 |
9. | Rusty Wallace | 55 |
10. | Lee Petty | 54 |
t-11. | Junior Johnson | 50 |
t-11. | Ned Jarrett | 50 |
13. | Tony Stewart | 49 |
14. | Herb Thomas | 48 |
15. | Buck Baker | 46 |
t-16. | Kyle Busch* | 44 |
t-16. | Bill Elliott | 44 |
t-18. | Kevin Harvick* | 40 |
t-18. | Mark Martin | 40 |
20. | Tim Flock | 39 |