Earlier this year all the kids were doing it. Was it 6-7 or 7-6 or 6-7?
Despite the best common sense or strategic thinking, there was never a clear answer to that question.
NASCAR, however, is a world that revolves around numbers and there's always a clear answer.
Every driver has a number. The drivers with numbers, also have stats, which bring into play even more numbers. Those that can earn victories calculate numbers on top of numbers. National record performances mean big numbers. It’s a sport where the numbers never stop.
Older generation fans got way too comfortable with their favorite driver numbers over the years. It seems like in the Cup Series specifically, there are a set of numbers that just continue on to be utilized by the best drivers.
For instance, the 11 has the most victories in the Cup Series. There are very few races in the NASCAR Cup Series history where the 11 wasn't in the field. Four-time Bristol winner Denny Hamlin currently has the majority of the 244 victories owned by the 11, but several other top drivers have also piloted the No. 11 and led to its overall success, including Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett just to name a few.
For years the popular numbers along with the 11 have included the 3, the 2, the 24, the 21, the 22, the 48, the 88, the 5 and the 18. You can spot those numbers on t-shirts all over the Fan Zone during a race week with fans showing allegiances to specific drivers. Their favorite drivers, of course.
However, there has been a shift in the number dynamic this year. Some unfamiliar numbers are now becoming favorites. Fans should keep their eyes open for some of those numbers as they battle in post-season competition during The NASCAR Chase in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race weekend, Sept. 17-19 at iconic Bristol Motor Speedway.
To help fans keep track of their favorite drivers in these unfamiliar NASCAR numbers, the information below should prove to be helpful.
97 – Shane Van Gisbergen isn’t the winningest driver to ever pilot the No. 97 and with 22 starts he ranks only fifth for most races with the 97. Van Gisbergen is definitely the only Kiwi to drive the 97 and probably has the most road course wins in the 97. The 97 hasn’t been cheered too much for many years, ever since NASCAR Hall of Fame member Kurt Busch had success with the number on his cars at RFK Racing in the early 2000s. For the record, Busch won 14 races in the 97 and led over 50,000 laps in it. As Van Gisbergen works on his short track and superspeedway race craft to compliment his dominating road course abilities, look for his number of victories to soar in the 97 in seasons to come.
77 – Carson Hocevar, or as fans call him ‘Hurricane Hocevar,’ is responsible for one of the three career victories in the No. 77 in his 94 career starts with that number. The driver with the most starts in the 77 is Robert Pressley, who took 133 green flags with the number but never a checkered flag. Justin Haley also has a Cup victory in the 77, when he was declared the winner during a weather delay at Daytona’s summer race in 2019. There have been 116 different drivers to pilot the 77 over the years but certainly the tall and lanky Michigan native Hocevar, who drives for Spire Motorsports and has been compared to Dale Earnhardt Sr. for his ‘assertive racing style’, has managed to put that number in its biggest spotlight. As Hocevar’s confidence and his fan base grows, look for him to be racing out front more often than not.
60 – Ryan Preece, has started 58 races at the controls of the No. 60 and he is one of 69 different drivers who have piloted the number in NASCAR Cup competition over a span of 413 races. Preece, a former modified standout from the Northeast, grabbed headlines after winning the NASCAR Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium to kick off the 2026 season. He is expected to race unchartered for RFK Racing starting in 2027. Preece has the personality and wit to acquire more fans and he is already seeing tremendous support for those fans who already cheer on his teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher. With Preece in the cockpit, expect more big things out of the 60 car in the future.
54 – Ty Gibbs, finally broke through for his maiden victory earlier this season by winning the Food City 500 on Bristol’s high banks and then showed everyone he is the real deal by winning at Iowa in early August. Many felt like Gibbs would’ve had many wins by this point in his career, but the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, may just be hitting his stride. Only 40 drivers have piloted the No. 54 and Jimmy Pardue and Lennie Pond have the most starts and each has a win or two with the number. Since the two victories, the young Gibbs has moved to second overall in the NASCAR Chase standings with 10 top fives and 15 top 10s after spending much of the season around fourth place. There is no doubt that Gibbs has his eyes focused on the season championship. It was announced recently that Gibbs' No. 54 at Bristol will feature a very special paint design with M&M's yellow to honor the late Kyle Busch. Gibbs has quickly become a car that Cup drivers do not want to see in their rear mirrors, leaving most of them worrying throughout each race, “Car 54, where are you?”
45 – Tyler Reddick jumped out to a start like hasn’t been seen in many NASCAR Cup Series seasons in 2026, officially stating that the No. 45 is here to win races and contend for championships. The 45 is of course connected to Michael Jordan, team owner of 23XI Racing. It was Jordan’s baseball number while moonlighting with the Birmingham Barons in the minor leagues between NBA championship runs with the Chicago Bulls. Reddick has scored 10 victories in the 45 in his career, including the five so far this year. But the season is far from over. If Reddick, who is currently fourth in the Chase standings after Iowa, catches fire in the Chase like he did at the beginning of the year he could go on another run that will continue to elevate the No. 45 in the eyes of NASCAR fans. For the record, Kyle Petty had 245 starts in the 45 during his career and 87 different drivers competed in the 45 in the Cup Series.
19 – Chase Briscoe pilots a car number that has 1,740 starts among 91 drivers and Henley Gray and Martin Truex Jr. are two of the drivers at the top of the list of those who have competed in the 19. Briscoe won a race this year in the No. 19 and will be one of the favorites to win the Bass Pro Shops Night Race with the title sponsor splashed all over his car. At fifth in points post Iowa, Briscoe is also a Chase contender. The 19 has 27 Cup victories to its credit and Truex has earned 15 of those. Some interesting names who have driven the 19 over the years include NASCAR Hall of Fame member Carl Edwards with 72 starts, Cale Yarborough, Dick Trickle, Mike Skinner, Ned Jarrett, Tiny Lund, Wendell Scott, Benny Parsons, Dale Earnhardt, and Bill Elliott.
7 – Daniel Suarez ranks 18th on the list of 117 drivers who have piloted the No. 7 in Cup Series competition. Robby Gordon drove the 7 in 226 Cup races and the late Alan Kulwicki won five times in it and earned a Championship in it in 1992. Suarez’ victory this season has positioned the Mexican driver as one to reckon with in The Chase, especially given he won the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He has been a bright spot for Spire this season, steadily producing two top-fives and 6 top 10s to hold down his 12th position in the points order as a Chase hopeful. Looking at his Bristol Motor Speedway finish history, he could have fans cheering the No. 7 on in Bristol’s rooftop Victory Lane following another of NASCAR’s crown jewels -- America’s Night Race.
The race weekend features the crown jewel Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday night, Sept. 19, a 500-lap post-season race in the NASCAR Cup Series and also the Food City 300 on Friday night, Sept. 18, a Chase race in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series opens its Chase at Bristol with the UNOH 250 presented by Ohio Logistics in what promises to be a thrilling Thursday night double-header with the ARCA Menards Series, which will open the racing that afternoon with the Bush’s Beans 200 as the future stars of the sport take to the track. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit the Bristol Motor Speedway website or call the BMS Tickets Sales Center at (866) 415-4158.
