NASCAR

Why the #11 Car Might Be the Greatest NASCAR Car in History, Ft. Denny Hamlin, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough

Srijan Mandal
|Published Jan 16, 2024 01:30PM UTC

Throughout the history of NASCAR, there have been several driver-and-car pairings that have earned glory to remember for ages. But it might just be the #11 car driven in the top series over the years that can be considered one of the greatest in terms of its accomplishments. Currently, the car is driven by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin for the better part of almost two decades. But before him, there were others like Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough who wrote history in it.

Talking in terms of numbers, the #11 car has seen a total of 2164 races run, which brought along 231 wins, 815 top fives, 1106 top tens, 1559 top 15s, and 169 poles.

The car at this point leads the NASCAR field in the number of top 10s and total wins throughout the history of the sport. Moreover, some 31 drivers have scored at least one top-ten finish with this car.

Some of the notable drivers who drove this car during their careers other than the aforementioned ones were Ned Jarrett, who ran 324 races with the #11 car, scoring 49 wins and 182 top fives. Then there was Brett Bodine with 259 races and seven top tens. Interestingly, Bobby Allison was another driver who piloted the car albeit only for four races in which he scored three wins.

Who has the most number of wins with the #11 car throughout its history?

The highest wins in the #11 car belong to Yarborough who won a whopping 55 races with the car. Right after him, the second-highest wins belong to its current occupant Denny Hamlin. Considering Hamlin might continue driving in the car for the foreseeable future, he might just end up overtaking Yarborough’s contribution of wins very soon.

Another interesting point to note is that Hamlin has the highest amount of races run along with the most top 10s and top 5s for the #11. He just needs to continue winning a couple of races every season and hope that he gets a championship title along the way.

In the end, Hamlin’s contributions will not only make the #11 car leave a significant mark in NASCAR history but also set the stage for the next driver to carry the mantle forward.

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About the author

Srijan Mandal

Srijan Mandal is a Senior NASCAR Analyst at The Sportsrush with a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of motorsports. With several thousand articles under his belt over the years, he has established himself as a leading authority on all things racing. His passion for motorsports started at a young age, and he has dedicated his career to covering the sport in all its forms. He is an expert in various disciplines, including stock car racing, American motorsports, Formula 1, IndyCar, NHRA, MotoGP, WRC, WEC, and several more. But Srijan's love for racing goes beyond his writing. He actively competes in professional open-wheel simulation racing, using the number 88 as his racing number. While he mostly participates in GT Endurance classes, he also ventures into Stock Car racing from time to time. In case, you wish to contact Srijan, kindly send an email to him at srijan.mandal@sportsrush.com or just DM him on Twitter.