Top NASCAR Drivers of the Decade - Media Poll

Now that the 2000s are close to being over, the members of the North American media decided to make the traditional top of drivers for all three NASCAR series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series. While the decision-making process for the premier series might not have been that hard to develop, the jury took some time to name the top drivers in the other two championships.

After being awarded the Male Athlete of the Year 2009 by the Associated Press earlier this week – the first race driver to win that award in its 78 years of existence – Jimmie Johnson was clearly the No 1 option for the Top Sprint Cup Driver of the decade because of his 4 consecutive titles in the series.

In addition, he “posted 47 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories this decade – most of any driver. He is the only driver to earn a spot in the Chases for the NASCAR Sprint Cup all six years of the format’s existence.” Second overall in the Top Driver of the Sprint Cup Series was Tony Stewart, followed by Jeff Gordon.

“Kevin Harvick was chosen the top NASCAR Nationwide Series driver of the decade, followed by Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Harvick won two series titles in the decade – 2001 and ‘06 – and was named the series’ Raybestos Rookie of the Year in 2000. During the decade, he leads all NASCAR Nationwide drivers with 34 wins,” said the press release from NASCAR media.

“Ron Hornaday Jr. was picked as the top NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver of the decade, followed by Todd Bodine and Johnny Benson. Hornaday is the series’ first four-time champion and won a pair of NCWTS titles during the decade – 2007 and ‘09. He has the most series wins (20) in the decade and set a modern-era record for consecutive wins (five) this past season,” said the statement regarding the Truck Series.

“The March 16, 2003 race at Darlington Raceway was voted the top NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. In what is the closest Margin of Victory – .002 seconds – since the advent of electronic scoring in May 1993, Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch to the finish line in that thriller. The Oct. 14, 2000 race at Talladega Superspeedway, which marked Dale Earnhardt’s final career victory, came in second, followed by the March 11, 2001 event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with Kevin Harvick getting his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in a narrow defeat of Jeff Gordon.”

See the PDF below for more awards.