With a win this weekend, Denny Hamlin could join elite club

Three major pillars within the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, some even refer to them as the ‘Crown Jewel events’ of the series – the Daytona 500, the Southern 500 and this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway – are all extremely difficult to win by themselves, but even more so, is conquering all three. In NASCAR Cup Series history only 11 drivers have won all three major events, and with a win this weekend, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin could be the 12th.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the series in ‘Crown Jewel’ wins with a combined 12 victories across the three events – three Daytona 500 wins (1997, 1999, 2005), six Southern 500s (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2007) and three Coca-Cola 600s (1994, 1997, 1998).

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick is the only active driver to already accomplish the feat with five combined victories across the three historic events – one Daytona 500 (2007), two Southern 500s (2014, 2020) and two Coca-Cola 600s (2011, 2013).

 

NASCAR Cup Series Drivers With Wins In All Three Events

Rank	Drivers	Daytona 500	Southern 500	Coca-Cola 600	Combined
1	Jeff Gordon	3	6	3	12
2	Richard Petty	7	1	2	10
3	Bobby Allison	3	4	3	10
4	Jimmie Johnson	2	2	4	8
5	Dale Earnhardt	1	3	3	7
6	Darrell Waltrip	1	1	5	7
7	David Pearson	1	3	3	7
8	Buddy Baker	1	1	3	5
9	Kevin Harvick	1	2	2	5
10	Matt Kenseth	2	1	1	4
11	LeeRoy Yarbrough	1	1	1	3

 

Denny Hamlin is one of 11 active drivers that have already won at least one of the three events – the Daytona 500, Southern 500 or Coca-Cola 600 – and leads all active drivers in combined wins of the races with six victories – three Daytona 500s (2016, 2019, 2020) and three Southern 500s (2010, 2017, 2021).

Active NASCAR Cup Series Drivers With Wins In At Least one Of The Three Events

Rank	Active Drivers	Daytona 500	Southern 500	Coca-Cola 600	Combined
1	Denny Hamlin	3	3	0	6
2	Martin Truex Jr	0	1	2	3
3	Austin Dillon	1	0	1	2
4	Kurt Busch	1	0	1	2
5	Brad Keselowski	0	1	1	2
6	Joey Logano	1	0	0	1
7	Michael McDowell	1	0	0	1
8	Erik Jones	0	1	0	1
9	Kyle Busch	0	0	1	1
10	Kyle Larson	0	0	1	1
11	Austin Cindric	1	0	0	1

 

Hamlin is joined by Team Penske’s Joey Logano and rookie Austin Cindric, Front Row Motorsport’s Michael McDowell, Hendrick Motorsport’s Kyle Larson, and Petty GMS Motorsport’s Erik Jones as the drivers with wins in at least one of the three events that are still looking for a Coca-Cola 600 win.

Hamlin has made 30 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway posting two poles, 10 top fives and 19 top 10s, including three runner-up finishes.