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 |