by Gauk
Thu, Nov 24, 2016 2:40 AM

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Drivers' Championship is awarded by the chairman in NASCAR to the most successful Xfinity Series racing car driver over a season, as determined by a points system based on race results.

The Drivers' Championship was first awarded in 1950 , to Mike Klapak. The first driver to win multiple Championships was Mike Klapak in 1950, 1951, and 1952. The most championship wins is five won by Jack Ingram with championships in 1972, 1973 1974, 1982 and 1985. While two other driver's has more champions, Rene Charland with four in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1965, and Red Farmer with three in 1969, 1970, and 1971. The current Drivers' Champion is Daniel Suárez, who won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2016. Suárez, a Mexican, is the first non-American driver ever to win a season championship in any of NASCAR's three U.S.-based national touring series (Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series).

NASCAR has never officially declared a season champion until after the season's final race. Through the 2015 season, a driver was said to have "clinched" the Championship after it was no longer possible for another to surpass that driver, even if the former driver were to not compete in the remaining races of the season, and the latter to score the maximum number of points possible. The earliest in a season that the Drivers' Championship was clinched was in 2006, when Kevin Harvick secured the title with four races remaining. Since 2016, when NASCAR introduced a playoff format based on the Chase for the Sprint Cup to the Xfinity Series, it is impossible for the championship to be won before the season's final race.

While one driver have won the Championship, Rene Charland hold the record for most titles of four in a row. Then three drivers have won championship, Mike Klapak, Red Farmer, and Jack Ingram hold the record for most titles of three in a row. Finally twelve different drivers have won the Championship, with Ned Jarrett, L.D.Ottinger, Butch Lindley, Tommy Ellis, Sam Ard, Larry Pearson, Randy LaJoie, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. holding the record for most titles of two in a row.

By season

Year Driver Owner Team No Make St Ws TT P Pts Gap
1982 Jack Ingram   11 Pontiac 29 7 24 1 4495 47
1983 Sam Ard Howard Thomas   00 Oldsmobile 35 10 30 10 5454 84
1984 28 8 26 7 4552 426
1985 Jack Ingram (2)   11 Pontiac 27 5 22 2 4106 29
1986 Larry Pearson David Pearson Pearson Racing 21 31 1 24 1 4514 7
1987 Chevrolet 27 6 20 3 3959 394
1988 Tommy Ellis John Jackson   99 Buick 30 3 20 5 4281 295
1989 Rob Moroso Dick Moroso Moroso Racing 25 Oldsmobile 29 4 16 7 4001 55
1990 Chuck Bown Hubert Hensley   63 Pontiac (3) 31 6 18 4 4372 200
1991 Bobby Labonte Labonte Motorsports 44 Oldsmobile (3) 31 2 21 2 4264 74
1992 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports 87 Chevrolet 31 2 18 1 4275 3
1993 Steve Grissom Wayne Grissom Grissom Racing Enterprises 31 28 2 18 0 3846 253
1994 David Green Bobby Labonte Labonte Motorsports (2) 44 28 1 14 9 3725 46
1995 Johnny Benson, Jr. Bill Baumgardner BACE Motorsports 74 26 2 19 0 3688 404
1996 Randy LaJoie 26 5 20 2 3714 29
1997 30 5 21 2 4381 266
1998 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Dale Earnhardt Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 3 31 7 22 3 4469 48
1999 32 6 22 3 4647 280
2000 Jeff Green Greg Pollex ppc Racing 10 32 6 27 7 5005 616
2001 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Richard Childress Racing 2 33 5 24 4 4813 124
2002 Greg Biffle Jack Roush Roush Racing 60 Ford 34 4 25 5 4924 280
2003 Brian Vickers Ricky Hendrick Hendrick Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 34 3 21 1 4637 14
2004 Martin Truex, Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (2) 8 34 6 26 7 5173 230
2005 35 6 22 3 4937 68
2006 Kevin Harvick (2) Richard Childress Richard Childress Racing 21 35 9 32 1 5648 824
29
Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick Incorporated 33
2007 Carl Edwards Jack Roush Roush Fenway Racing 60 Ford 35 4 21 0 4805 618
2008 Clint Bowyer Richard Childress Richard Childress Racing 2 Chevrolet 35 1 29 0 5132 21
2009 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Toyota 35 9 30 3 5682 210
2010 Brad Keselowski Roger Penske Penske Racing 22 Dodge 35 6 29 5 5639 445
2011 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Jack Roush Roush Fenway Racing 6 Ford 34 2 26 3 1,222 45
2012 33 6 26 4 1,251 23
2013 Austin Dillon Richard Childress (3) Richard Childress Racing (4) 3 Chevrolet 33 0 22 7 1,180 3
2014 Chase Elliott Dale Earnhardt, Jr. JR Motorsports 9 Chevrolet (5) 33 3 26 2 1,213 42
2015 Chris Buescher Jack Roush (4) Roush Fenway Racing (2) 60 Ford (4) 33 2 20 0 1190 15
2016 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs (2) Joe Gibbs Racing (2) 19 Toyota (2) 33 3 27 2 4040 2

By driver

Driver Total Seasons
Jack Ingram 5 1972, 1973, 19741982, 1985
Rene Charland 4 1962, 1963, 19641965
Mike Klapak 3 1950, 1951, 1952
Red Farmer 1969, 1970, 1971
Ned Jarrett 2 1957, 1958
L.D. Ottinger 1975, 1976
Butch Lindley 1977, 1978
Tommy Ellis 1981, 1988
Sam Ard 1983, 1984
Larry Pearson 1986, 1987
Randy LaJoie 1996, 1997
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1998, 1999
Martin Truex, Jr. 2004, 2005
Kevin Harvick 2001, 2006
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2011, 2012
Johnny Roberts 1 1953
Danny Graves 1954
Billy Myers 1955
Ralph Earnhardt 1956
Rick Henderson 1959
Bill Wimble 1960
Dick Nephew 1961
Don MacTavish 1966
Pete Hamilton 1967
Joe Thurman 1968
Gene Glover 1979
Morgan Shepherd 1980
Rob Moroso 1989
Chuck Bown 1990
Bobby Labonte 1991
Joe Nemechek 1992
Steve Grissom 1993
David Green 1994
Johnny Benson 1995
Jeff Green 2000
Greg Biffle 2002
Brian Vickers 2003
Carl Edwards 2007
Clint Bowyer 2008
Kyle Busch 2009
Brad Keselowski 2010
Austin Dillon 2013
Chase Elliott 2014
Chris Buescher 2015
Daniel Suárez 2016
published by Gauk