5 active NASCAR drivers feat. Bubba Wallace who waited the longest for their first win

Breaking through NASCAR's top ranks is no easy feat, and for drivers like Bubba Wallace, the road to victory lane proved even more challenging. That said, NASCAR Insights has released a list of first career wins of all active drivers, shedding light on just how long it took for some to take the checkered flag.

Here are the top-5 drivers with the longest wait for their first Cup Series win, starting with Bubba Wallace, who's currently on a 96 race winless streak himself.

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#5 Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace made his debut in 2017 and had to wait 143 starts before finally clinching his maiden Cup win. Driving for the newly formed 23XI Racing, Wallace won a rain-shortened Yellawood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 4, 2021.

He'd led a mere five laps before a rain-induced caution cut short the race proceedings. The win made him the second black driver in 58 years to take the checkered flag, while also marking 23XI's first ever Cup victory.

Bubba Wallace picked up another win in 2022 at Kansas Speedway, but has since then gone on a 96-race winless streak and is on the brink of missing the playoffs this year.

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#4 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is yet another driver to score his first Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway. On May 7, 2017, the then-Roush Fenway Racing driver made a last lap dash in overtime to secure his maiden win. The triumph came after 158 starts, as he began on pole and held his own against Kyle Busch in a dramatic final lap battle. Stenhouse was credited with leading the charge for Roush Fenway Racing after the team's three year winless drought.

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#3 Daniel Suarez

After becoming the first foreign driver to nab the Xfinity Series championship in 2016, Daniel Suarez made his Cup Series debut with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2017. But it wasn't until his sophomore season with Trackhouse Racing that the Mexican driver would finally taste success. On his 195th Cup start, Suarez reached victory lane at Sonoma Raceway on June 12, 2022.

His most recent win came in the inaugural NASCAR event outside the US at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, albeit in the Xfinity Series. With a dearth of wins since his last triumph in 2024, Suarez has mutually agreed to part ways with Trackhouse Racing after 2025. Bubba Wallace took to X and shared words of support for the Mexican driver.

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#2 AJ Allmendinger

AJ Allmendinger scored his first Cup Series win back in 2014 at Watkins Glen International. Driving for JTG Daugherty Racing, he engaged in a late-race battle with Marcos Ambrose to finally take the checkered flag first after 213 starts. He also won his current team, Kaulig Racing's first Cup race in 2021. The last time he led a race was at COTA this season, but he wasn't able to convert it into a race win and instead finished 30th.

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#1 Michael McDowell

The driver with the longest wait till his maiden win is Michael McDowell, who also happened to secure it in one of NASCAR's most prestigious races, the Daytona 500. After 358 starts, McDowell tackled a final lap wreck between Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch to lead the field to victory in 2021. In what was a rain-delayed event, McDowell crossed the finish line well past midnight, capturing an emotional and long-awaited victory 14 seasons into his career.