Kyle Larson won his third crown jewel last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he still has more to win before he catches the active crown jewel leaders.
NASCAR's crown jewels -- or majors -- are the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400, and Southern 500.
Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin currently have the most crown jewel wins in NASCAR.
Busch has four in his collection. He has won the Brickyard 400 twice, the Coca-Cola 600 once, and the Southern 500 once. The only one missing from his collection is the Daytona 500. Busch is one of 13 drivers to win three of the four crown jewel races.
Hamlin is the leader among active drivers. He has also won three of the four crown jewels, but he has seven total crown jewel wins on his resume. Hamlin has won the Daytona 500 three times and the Southern 500 three times. He has won the Coca-Cola 600 once. The only major missing from his collection is the Brickyard 400.
Brad Keselowski is the only other active Cup driver with three of the four majors on his resume. He has won the Brickyard 400, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500 one time each. Like Busch, Keselowski has fallen short of his goal of winning the Daytona 500.
The other active crown jewel winners include:
- Martin Truex Jr. (Two Coca-Cola 600s, one Southern 500)
- Kyle Larson (One Coca-Cola 600, one Brickyard 400, one Southern 500)
- Austin Dillon (One Daytona 500, one Coca-Cola 600)
- Erik Jones (Two Southern 500s)
- Austin Cindric (One Daytona 500)
- Joey Logano (One Daytona 500)
- Michael McDowell (One Daytona 500)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (One Daytona 500)
- William Byron (One Daytona 500)
- Christopher Bell (One Coca-Cola 600)
- Ryan Blaney (One Coca-Cola 600)
Just one more left to go. 😏 pic.twitter.com/ZMDt1tq8RH
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 22, 2024
Only four drivers have won all four of NASCAR's crown jewels.
Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 once and Brickyard 400 once. He won the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 three times each. Kevin Harvick won the Daytona 500 once and the Brickyard 400 three times. He won the Coca-Cola 600 and Southern 500 two times each.
Jimmie Johnson won the Brickyard 400 four times and the Coca-Cola 600 four times. He won the Daytona 500 and Southern 500 two times each, giving him 12 total crown jewel wins.
Jeff Gordon tops all NASCAR drivers with 17 crown jewel wins. He won the Brickyard 400 five times, the Southern 500 six times, the Coca-Cola 600 three times, and the Daytona 500 three times.
For comparison, seven-time champion Richard Petty has 10 of these majors on his resume. He won the Southern 500 once and the Coca-Cola 600 twice. Petty won the Daytona 500 a whopping seven times.
Petty never competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He retired before the 2.5-mile oval joined the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.