5 NASCAR drivers under pressure with the longest winless streaks as the 2025 playoffs near

As the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series heads west for the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, the playoff picture is beginning to take shape. With 12 different winners already clinching postseason berths, only four points-based spots remain, and just seven races are left in the regular season.

For several full-time drivers, the easiest way in is to win, but that's something they haven't done in a long, long time. From multi-time champions to young talents searching for a breakthrough, this season has laid bare how tough it is to win at NASCAR's highest level. These drivers are caught in frustrating droughts that go back multiple years, and they now find themselves under growing scrutiny as time runs out to save their 2025 campaigns.

Here are five NASCAR drivers with the longest winless streaks in the Cup Series heading into the California road course.

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Five NASCAR Cup drivers with the longest winless streaks:

#5 Kyle Busch - Richard Childress Racing (76 races)

Kyle Busch's 2024 season was the first time the two-time Cup Series champion went winless across a full season. His last victory came at World Wide Technology Raceway in June 2023. The No. 8 Richard Childress Racing driver is currently NASCAR's winningest racer with 63 wins, but has struggled over the past year.

Kyle Busch waits on the grid for the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165. Source: Getty

While Chicago gave hope, as Busch scored a solid fifth-place finish. Still, he remains 46 points below the cutline and will need a win to qualify for the playoffs. Fortunately for him, Sonoma has been kind in the past. He won here in both 2008 and 2015, and he'll need another strong showing this Sunday to keep the dream alive.

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#4 Erik Jones - Legacy Motor Club (98 races)

Erik Jones hasn't found victory lane since Darlington, September 2022, marking 98 races without a win. A two-time Southern 500 winner, Jones was mostly a non-factor early in 2025. But in recent weeks, the Legacy Motor Club driver has turned his season around, delivering six straight finishes of 17th or better, including a standout fifth place at EchoPark Speedway.

Erik Jones before the NASCAR Cup Series Viva Mexico 250 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Source: Getty

From sitting 29th in points in May, Jones clawed back to enter the Sonoma weekend at 17th, placing himself squarely in the mix for a playoff spot. He may be peaking at just the right time, but still needs to snap his winless streak if he wants to breathe easy come August.

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#3 Bubba Wallace - 23XI Racing (98 races)

Bubba Wallace's last NASCAR points race win also came in September 2022 at Kansas Speedway. Despite a strong start to 2025, including a Duel win at Daytona, Wallace finds himself teetering on the edge.

Bubba Wallace after qualification for the NASCAR Cracker Barrel 400. Source: Imagn

After a costly clash with Alex Bowman in Chicago, he finished 28th and dropped to just +2 above the playoff cutline. With his playoff position now precarious, Sonoma and Watkins Glen lie ahead, as do unpredictable superspeedways like Talladega and Daytona. And none are easy tracks for points racing.

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#2 Cole Custer - Haas Factory Team (116 races)

Cole Custer is winless since his shocking win at Kentucky in 2020. After two underwhelming seasons, Custer returned to the Xfinity Series in 2023, where he claimed the title. His comeback to the Cup in 2025 with the newly formed Haas Factory Team has been anything but smooth.

Cole Custer (41) gets ready for the 2022 NASCAR All-Star race weekend at Texas. Source: Imagn

Currently ranked 34th in points, Custer has just one top 10 (eighth in Mexico City). While the team continues to build, his playoff hopes are all but mathematically impossible. Still, a surprise road course win, especially with the chaotic nature of the In-Season Challenge, could be a career-altering moment for him.

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#1 Justin Haley - Spire Motorsports (160 races)

Justin Haley's lone NASCAR Cup Series win came in a weather-shortened 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400, in his rookie year. Since then, it's been 160 races without a victory. Now with Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 Chevrolet, Haley has yet to break through with competitive consistency.

Justin Haley during the Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400. Source: Getty

He currently sits 149 points below the playoff cutline with little sign of momentum, and a playoff run in 2025 feels like a long shot. Yet like many others on this list, a superspeedway stunner or chaos-filled road course could change everything.