Who is the Best NASCAR driver to never win a Cup Race?

Who is the Best NASCAR driver to never win a Cup Race?

By: Brian Cotnoir

My whole life I have been a huge fan of NASCAR racing.  I've seen hundreds of drivers come into the sport, some of whom became very successful, and others who fizzled out into obscurity.  I've seen drivers win dozens of races, and I've seen others win 1-2 races, but then there are the select few who manage to stay in the Cup Series for the longest time, despite never winning any races at the Cup Level.  Today, I am here to honor one driver as the Best NASCAR driver to never win a race at a Cup Level.  Now, I looked through about two dozen drivers stats and considered many factors such as Average Finish, Career Starts, Best Points Finish, Best Overall Finish in a Race, whether they drove for a the Better teams in Cup (ex. Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush-Fenway, Childress, etc.) or whether they were an Owner Driver.  I am excluding drivers from the list who had success in other NASCAR Series (Xfinity Series, and Camping World Truck Series), as well as drivers who had success in other series such as such as USAC, IndyCar, World of Outlaws, Formula 1, etc.  So I didn't consider drivers like Mike Skinner, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jack Sprague, Todd Bodine, Dario Franchitti, or Scott Speed, because they've had success in other NASCAR levels or other forms of Racing, but just not at the Cup Level.

So Before I get to the Best NASCAR Driver to Never win a Cup Race a Few Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)


  • David Gilliand (333 Career starts at the Cup Level, Career Best Finish of 2nd, twice, won an Xfinity Race driving Part Time at Kentucky Speedway, widely considered one of the Biggest Upset Finishes in NASCAR Xfinity Series History)
  • Dave Blaney (USAC and World of Outlaws Champion, a beloved Fan Favorite and Underdog, drove for Owner Bill Davis, career best finish of 3rd, three times, has one Xfinity Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway)
  • Jimmy Means (455 Career Starts, Career Best Finish of 8th, Finished 11th in Final Point Standings in 1982)
  • Chad Little (217 career starts, Career Best Finish of 2nd, Drove for Jack Roush, also won 6 Xfinity Series races)
Okay, without further adieu the Best NASCAR Driver to never win a Race is....Cecil Gordon


I had never heard of Cecil Gordon before I started doing research for this post, and no he is not related to Jeff Gordon.  Cecil Gordon retired from NASCAR racing in 1985 (a full 4 years before I was born), but upon my research, I uncovered that he ran in the Cup Series on-and-off from from the late 1960's to the early 1980's.  In 455 Career Starts, he has a career best finish of 2nd, and an astounding 111 Top-10 Finishes.   

Some of you may be wondering why I chose him over J.D. McDuffie who many hardcore NASCAR fans know as being the record holder or most career NASCAR starts (653) without any wins, and my reasoning is that in addition to having more top 10 finishes (McDuffie only had 106), Gordon also finished third in the final points standings twice (1971, 1973).   Cecil Gordon drove in the same era as NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Bobby Isaac, and still managed to stay competitive without winning a single race; and as an owner driver no less.  That is why I believe that Cecil Gordon is the Greatest NASCAR Driver to never win a Cup Race.

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