NASCAR drivers who have won the All-Star Race and the Cup Series title in the same season

The 37th running of the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race last weekend christened Ryan Blaney as the newest driver to have won the annual exhibition race. The concept of the All-Star Race has been around for almost 40 years now, having started back in 1985. The first iteration of the exhibition race saw Darrell Waltrip take victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Charlotte Motor Speedway has hosted the event every year since 1985 up until 2019, with the exception of 1986 when the race ran at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Since 2019, the All-Star Race has been held at Bristol Motor Speedway and at its current venue, Texas Motor Speedway. Former NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson holds the highest number of All-Star wins at four, closely followed by Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. with 3 wins apiece.

Rather than awarding drivers and teams with points towards their championship standings, the exhibition-style race tempts drivers to go bumper-to-bumper for the $1 million cash prize. The 2022 iteration of the race saw a new format for the weekend that put more focus on pit crews as well as on the drivers themselves.

A total of 24 drivers were to start the dash-for-cash on Sunday. 20 out of 24 were already decided on the basis of their race wins or championships won in the last two years. The remaining three drivers were decided by a support race called the All-Star Open, with one final driver being decided by fan votes.

The pit crew also went head-to-head as cars lined up in the pit lane under the bracket layout. The crew battled for the fastest four-tire stop before the two cars sped off onto the track for a one lap race, with the winner progressing to the next round.

Drivers tried to master the new and slightly confusing format as Team Penske's Ryan Blaney came out on top and won the race under controversial circumstances.

Out of the many drivers that have won the race since 1985, only seven of them have gone on to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship in the same year. Only the best talent qualifies to take part in the race every year, thus making wins that much harder to achieve.

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Seven drivers who won the NASCAR All-Star Race and the Cup Series title in the same season

The following drivers have managed to bag the All-Star Race as well as the NASCAR Cup Series title trophy in the same year:

7. Darrell Waltrip (1985)

Darrell Waltrip logged the first All-Star Race victory in 1985. He then went on to take the Cup Series title in the same year, which was known as the Winston Cup Series at the time.

6. Dale Earnhardt Sr. (1987,1990, 1993)

The Intimidator needs little introduction as he left his mark in the record books once again over his illustrious career. Earnhardt Sr. managed the feat three times, the first of which came in 1987, followed by 1990 and 1993.

5. Rusty Wallace (1989)

1989 Winston Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace also managed to win the All-Star Race of the season and entered an elite list of drivers in the sport.

4. Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997, 2001)

NASCAR legend and current vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsport, Jeff Gordon was a force to be reckoned with in his time. He won the All-Star Race and the championship three times in the same year, once in 1995, then in 1997, and finally in 2001.

3. Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2013)

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and current IndyCar Series driver Jimmie Johnson has achieved the feat twice in his stock car racing career, once in 2006 and again in 2013.

2. Chase Elliott (2020)

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott managed to achieve the feat in 2020, as he established himself firmly in the sport.

1. Kyle Larson (2021)

The most recent driver to have achieved an All-Star Race victory and a championship in the same year is Kyle Larson, who did so last year in 2021.

Could Ryan Blaney be the eighth driver to join the legends this year? Catch NASCAR at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 29, 2022, to see his progress.