Five best superspeedway racers in NASCAR history

Since the advent of restrictor plates in 1988, there have always been NASCAR drivers who have mastered the art of drafting at superspeedways.

These are the five superspeedway racers in NASCAR history, from 1988 to the present day.

5. Joey Logano (five wins)

Logano may "only" have five wins at the drafting tracks of Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta, but he's the only driver to win on all three. it should be noted that only five races have been held at Atlanta since it was reconfigured into a drafting track in 2022, but it shouldn't be a surprise that Logano was one of the first drivers to tame its high banks.

Logano's biggest superspeedway win came in the 2015 Daytona 500, which, interestingly enough, is the only victory that the two-time champion has at the 2.5 mile track.

4. Denny Hamlin (five wins)

Both Hamlin and Logano jump fellow superspeedway ace Brad Keselowski for one major reason: they've both won the Daytona 500. Hamlin has won the race three times, including twice in a row in 2019 and 2020.

Hamlin also has two victories at Talladega, and while he's yet to win a superspeedway race in the Next-Gen car, you can never count out the veteran driver whenever the circuit visits one of the high banked, high speed ovals.

3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10 wins)

Jr won six times at Talladega and four times at Daytona, including Daytona 500 victories in 2004 and 2014. Nicknamed the "Pied Piper of Daytona", Earnhardt Jr., like his father before him, had a knack for the drafting tracks.

He didn't quite boast the superspeedway resume of his father, but the superspeedway genes clearly passed down from father to son.

2. Jeff Gordon (12 wins)

A three-time Daytona 500 winner (1997, 1999, 2005), Gordon also won three Firecracker 400's at Daytona (1995, 1998, 2004) and was a six-time winner at Talladega, matching the win total of Earnhardt Jr at the Alabama track.

In fact, Gordon may have been the biggest superspeedway nemesis of both Earnhardt's, as the No. 24 team was fast everywhere it went.

1. Dale Earnhardt Sr. (13 wins)

The 13 wins credited to Earnhardt here are only the points paying races he won at Daytona and Talladega, as if exhibition races were counted, he'd have an insurmountable lead. Earnhardt won the Busch Clash at Daytona six times, and won his qualifying race for the Daytona 500 12 times, including 10 times in a row from 1990-99.

A 10-time winner at Talladega, the Daytona 500 was the only superspeedway prize that eluded him, but "The Intimidator" finally captured the Great American Race in 1998. He may not have been able to see the air like everyone says he could, but he was clearly the best superspeedway racer in the history of NASCAR.