At Darlington last week we saw Chris Buescher have another agonizing defeat as Tyler Reddick took him out with under 10 laps to go, but it wasn’t all bad for RFK as Brad Keselowski took home the win. Next up we head to North Wilkesboro for a little Short track fun (hopefully) in the All-Star Race. Down below you will find different statistics from all of the NASCAR Cup races here at North Wilkesboro Speedway ranging from Most Wins to Best Average Finishes by starting position. So read and enjoy these fun fact track stats!
In this post you will only find all-time stats at North Wilkesboro, if you are looking for all-time All-Star Race only stats check out my next article All-Time Cup Stats: All-Star Race, or if you are looking for only active drivers stats or Next Gen stats check out my article Active/Next Gen Cup Stats: All-Star Race.
In this post you will only find all-time stats at North Wilkesboro, if you are looking for all-time All-Star Race only stats check out my next article All-Time Cup Stats: All-Star Race, or if you are looking for only active drivers stats or Next Gen stats check out my article Active/Next Gen Cup Stats: All-Star Race.
Active Drivers will be highlighted like so
Active means any driver who started a race in the 2024 Cup Series season.
Active means any driver who started a race in the 2024 Cup Series season.
First Winner: Bob Flock 10/16/1949
Most Recent Winner: Jeff Gordon 09/26/1996
| Rank | Race | Start Pos. | Driver | Rank | Race | Start Pos. | Driver |
| 1 | 1990-07 | 20 | Brett Bodine | 6 | 1962-12 | 15 | Richard Petty |
| 2 | 1994-27 | 18 | Geoff Bodine | T7 | 1981-07 | 13 | Richard Petty |
| 3 | 1984-06 | 17 | Tim Richmond | T7 | 1991-07 | 13 | Darrell Waltrip |
| T4 | 1970-11 | 16 | Richard Petty | 9 | 1988-26 | 12 | Rusty Wallace |
| T4 | 1991-25 | 16 | Dale Earnhardt | T10 | 1950-1993 | 11 | 5 drivers tied |
| Rank | Race | Finish | Driver | Rank | Race | Finish | Driver |
| 1 | 1991-07 | 30 | Brett Bodine | T6 | 1994-27 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer |
| T2 | 1956-10 | 28 | Junior Johnson | 8 | 1961-14 | 22 | Junior Johnson |
| T2 | 1966-47 | 28 | Junior Johnson | T9 | 1951-36 | 21 | Herb Thomas |
| T4 | 1976-26 | 24 | Darrell Waltrip | T9 | 1957-52 | 21 | Fireball Roberts |
| T4 | 1977-26 | 24 | Richard Petty | T9 | 1977-06 | 21 | Neil Bonnett |
| T6 | 1969-15 | 23 | Bobby Isaac |
| Race | Driver | Race | Driver |
| 1951-07 | Fonty Flock | 1968-11 | David Pearson |
| 1952-04 | Herb Thomas | 1970-43 | Bobby Isaac |
| 1952-32 | Herb Thomas | 1973-25 | Bobby Allison |
| 1953-04 | Herb Thomas | 1975-23 | Richard Petty |
| 1954-37 | Hershel McGriff | 1981-27 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 1955-44 | Buck Baker | 1982-07 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 1957-09 | Fireball Roberts | 1982-25 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 1960-41 | Rex White | 1983-26 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 1964-18 | Fred Lorenzen | 1984-27 | Darrell Waltrip |
| 1965-11 | Junior Johnson | 1988-07 | Terry Labonte |
| 1966-13 | Jim Paschal | 1996-07 | Terry Labonte |
| 1967-13 | Darel Dieringer |
| Best Laps Led% by Winner | Worst Laps Led% by Winner | ||||||
| Rank | Race | Laps Led% | Driver | Rank | Race | Laps Led% | Driver |
| T1 | 1951-07 | 100 | Fonty Flock | 1 | 1989-26 | 0.25 | Geoff Bodine |
| T1 | 1952-04 | 100 | Herb Thomas | 2 | 1969-47 | 1.25 | David Pearson |
| T1 | 1955-08 | 100 | Buck Baker | 3 | 1971-47 | 1.75 | Tiny Lund |
| T1 | 1955-44 | 100 | Buck Baker | 4 | 1991-25 | 2.25 | Dale Earnhardt |
| T1 | 1957-09 | 100 | Fireball Roberts | 5 | 1950-15 | 4.00 | Leon Sales |
| T1 | 1959-43 | 100 | Lee Petty | 6 | 1986-25 | 4.50 | Darrell Waltrip |
| T1 | 1967-13 | 100 | Darel Dieringer | 7 | 1978-26 | 4.75 | Cale Yarborough |
| 8 | 1973-07 | 96.75 | Richard Petty | 8 | 1984-06 | 7.00 | Tim Richmond |
| 9 | 1952-32 | 96.00 | Herb Thomas | 9 | 1994-07 | 7.25 | Terry Labonte |
| 10 | 1964-18 | 92.00 | Fred Lorenzen | 10 | 1988-26 | 7.50 | Rusty Wallace |
– In 1958 there was a race won by Junior Johnson at North Wilkesboro that doesn’t have the laps led recorded, but in all likelihood Geoff Bodine in 1989 is the only driver to win in the Cup Series here leading just 1 lap.
| Rank | Race | Laps Led% | Driver | Fin. | Rank | Race | Laps Led% | Driver | Fin. |
| T1 | 1951-07 | 100 | Fonty Flock | 1st | T1 | 1959-43 | 100 | Lee Petty | 1st |
| T1 | 1952-04 | 100 | Herb Thomas | 1st | T1 | 1967-13 | 100 | Darel Dieringer | 1st |
| T1 | 1955-08 | 100 | Buck Baker | 1st | 8 | 1973-07 | 96.75 | Richard Petty | 1st |
| T1 | 1955-44 | 100 | Buck Baker | 1st | 9 | 1952-32 | 96.00 | Herb Thomas | 1st |
| T1 | 1957-09 | 100 | Fireball Roberts | 1st | 10 | 1978-26 | 95.25 | Darrell Waltrip | 2nd |
– The only driver to lead over 95% of a Cup race at North Wilkesboro and not win was Darrell Waltrip in 1978, he led the first 381 laps of the race before running the last 19 in 2nd place.
| Most Lead Lap cars at finish of race | Fewest Lead Lap cars at finish of race | ||||
| Rank | Race | # of cars | Rank | Race | # of cars |
| 1 | 1992-07 | 13 | T1 | 25
races tied (Last was 1994) |
1 |
| 2 | 1996-27 | 11 | |||
| T3 | 1989-26 | 10 | |||
| T3 | 1991-07 | 10 | |||
| T3 | 1991-25 | 10 | |||
| T6 | 1986-07 | 9 | |||
| T6 | 1990-07 | 9 | |||
| T6 | 1990-25 | 9 | |||
| T6 | 1993-07 | 9 | |||
| 10 | 1989-07 | 8 | |||
– Only 2 of 93 North Wilkesboro Cup points races saw more than 10 drivers finish on the lead lap, including the last points race run here in 1996.
| Best Avg. Fin. by Starting Position (1-38) |
Worst Avg. Fin. by Starting Position (1-38) |
||||
| Rank | Start Pos. | Avg. Fin | Rank | Start Pos. | Avg. Fin |
| 1 | 1st | 7.38 | 1 | 36th | 27.25 |
| 2 | 2nd | 8.52 | 2 | 35th | 25.46 |
| 3 | 3rd | 9.69 | 3 | 31st | 23.29 |
| 4 | 5th | 10.32 | 4 | 34th | 23.17 |
| 5 | 4th | 10.53 | 5 | 32nd | 22.65 |
| 6 | 6th | 11.69 | 6 | 29th | 22.01 |
| 7 | 7th | 12.02 | 7 | 25th | 21.54 |
| 8 | 10th | 12.12 | 8 | 26th | 21.48 |
| 9 | 9th | 13.84 | 9 | 30th | 21.11 |
| 10 | 8th | 14.06 | 10 | 37th | 20.75 |
– Historically at North Wilkesboro the better you start, the better you finish. So expect drivers starting up front in the All-Star Race this weekend to perform well.
| Best Avg. Fin. All-time (5+ North Wilkesboro starts) |
Best Laps Led% All-time (5+ North Wilkesboro starts) |
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| Rank | Driver | Avg. Fin. | Starts | Rank | Driver | Laps Led% | Starts |
| 1 | Fonty Flock | 5.80 | 10 | 1 | Fred Lorenzen | 30.71 | 10 |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | 6.25 | 36 | 2 | Junior Johnson | 26.26 | 21 |
| 3 | Lee Petty | 7.05 | 20 | 3 | Fonty Flock | 22.95 | 10 |
| 4 | Rex White | 7.50 | 12 | 4 | Richard Petty | 21.42 | 66 |
| 5 | Cale Yarborough | 7.58 | 24 | 5 | Bobby Isaac | 19.67 | 12 |
| 6 | Marvin Panch | 8.18 | 11 | 6 | Dale Earnhardt | 18.61 | 36 |
| 7 | Glen Wood | 8.20 | 5 | 7 | Herb Thomas | 18.18 | 14 |
| T8 | Benny Parsons | 8.25 | 28 | 8 | Fireball Roberts | 17.64 | 10 |
| T8 | Joey Weatherly | 8.25 | 8 | 9 | Cale Yarborough | 16.83 | 24 |
| 10 | Fred Lorenzen | 8.30 | 10 | 10 | Speedy Thompson | 16.41 | 9 |
– Fonty Flock was great when it comes to North Wilkesboro as he is the only driver in the top 3 of both tables above.
| Most North Wilkesboro Starts All-time |
Best Laps Completed% (5+ North Wilkesboro starts) |
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| Rank | Driver | Starts | Rank | Driver | Lap Comp% | Starts |
| 1 | Richard Petty | 66 | 1 | Ken Schrader | 99.17 | 25 |
| 2 | Dave Marcis | 52 | 2 | Bobby Labonte | 99.03 | 8 |
| 3 | Darrell Waltrip | 45 | 3 | Davey Allison | 98.29 | 12 |
| 4 | Bobby Allison | 41 | T4 | Ted Musgrave | 97.98 | 12 |
| 5 | Buddy Arrington | 39 | T4 | Bobby Hamilton | 97.98 | 11 |
| T6 | Dale Earnhardt | 36 | 6 | Jimmy Spencer | 97.80 | 14 |
| T6 | J.D. McDuffie | 36 | 7 | John Andretti | 97.14 | 7 |
| T6 | Ricky Rudd | 36 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt | 97.04 | 36 |
| T6 | Terry Labonte | 36 | 9 | Joe Weatherly | 96.88 | 8 |
| 10 | Buck Baker | 34 | 10 | Wally Dallenbach | 96.75 | 7 |
– Dale Earnhardt was good at running and finishing races at North Wilkesboro as he is the only driver in the most starts table and most Laps Completed% table above.
| Most North Wilkesboro Wins All-time |
Best Win% All-time (5+ North Wilkesboro starts) |
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| Rank | Driver | Wins | Rank | Driver | Win% | Wins |
| 1 | Richard Petty | 15 | 1 | Rex White | 25.00 | 3 |
| 2 | Darrell Waltrip | 10 | 2 | Richard Petty | 22.73 | 15 |
| T3 | Cale Yarborough | 5 | 3 | Darrell Waltrip | 22.22 | 10 |
| T3 | Dale Earnhardt | 5 | 4 | Herb Thomas | 21.43 | 3 |
| T5 | Junior Johnson | 4 | 5 | Cale Yarborough | 20.83 | 5 |
| T5 | Terry Labonte | 4 | T6 | Fonty Flock | 20.00 | 2 |
| T5 | Bobby Allison | 4 | T6 | Dick Hutcherson | 20.00 | 1 |
| T8 | Rex White | 3 | 8 | Junior Johnson | 19.05 | 4 |
| T8 | Herb Thomas | 3 | 9 | Marvin Panch | 18.18 | 2 |
| T8 | Lee Petty | 3 | ||||
| T8 | Rusty Wallace | 3 | 10 | Lee Petty | 15.00 | 1 |
| T8 | Geoff Bodine | 3 | ||||
– Darrell Waltrip was great here at North Wilkesboro as he has the 2nd most wins here all-time, has the 3rd best Win% here, and the most Poles here.
| Rank | Driver | Poles | Rank | Driver | Poles |
| 1 | Darrell Waltrip | 9 | 6 | Herb Thomas | 4 |
| 2 | Junior Johnson | 8 | T7 | Fireball Roberts | 3 |
| 3 | Bobby Isaac | 6 | T7 | Bill Elliott | 3 |
| T4 | Fred Lorenzen | 5 | T7 | Richard Petty | 3 |
| T4 | Bobby Allison | 5 | T10 | 11 drivers tied | 2 |
| Most North Wilkesboro Top 3’s All-time |
Best Top 3% All-time (5+ North Wilkesboro starts) |
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| Rank | Driver | Top 3’s | Rank | Driver | Top3% | Top3’s |
| 1 | Richard Petty | 30 | 1 | Fonty Flock | 70.00 | 7 |
| 2 | Bobby Allison | 17 | 2 | Dick Hutcherson | 60.00 | 3 |
| 3 | Darrell Waltrip | 16 | T3 | Cale Yarborough | 50.00 | 12 |
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt | 15 | T3 | Rex White | 50.00 | 6 |
| 5 | Cale Yarborough | 12 | T3 | Fred Lorenzen | 50.00 | 5 |
| 6 | Terry Labonte | 9 | T3 | Jeff Gordon | 50.00 | 4 |
| 7 | Lee Petty | 8 | 7 | Richard Petty | 45.45 | 30 |
| T8 | Fonty Flock | 7 | 8 | LeeRoy Yarbrough | 44.44 | 4 |
| T8 | David Pearson | 7 | 9 | Dick Rathman | 42.86 | 3 |
| T8 | Geoff Bodine | 7 | T10 | Dale Earnhardt | 41.67 | 15 |
| T8 | Harry Gant | 7 | T10 | Bobby Isaaac | 41.67 | 5 |
– Richard Petty ran an incredible 66 Cup races at North Wilkesboro, what may be even more incredible is that he was only 3 Top 3’s shy of finishing half of his races here in the Top 3.
| Most North Wilkesboro Top 5’s All-time |
Best Top 5% All-time (5+ North Wilkesboro starts) |
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| Rank | Driver | Top 5’s | Rank | Driver | Top5% | Top5’s |
| 1 | Richard Petty | 33 | 1 | Dick Hutcherson | 80.00 | 4 |
| 2 | Bobby Allison | 24 | 2 | Dick Rathman | 71.43 | 5 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | 21 | 3 | Fonty Flock | 70.00 | 7 |
| 4 | Darrell Waltrip | 19 | 4 | LeeRoy Yarbrough | 66.67 | 6 |
| 5 | Benny Parsons | 16 | 5 | Lee Petty | 60.00 | 12 |
| 6 | Terry Labonte | 15 | 6 | Bobby Allison | 58.54 | 24 |
| 7 | Cale Yarborough | 14 | T7 | Dale Earnhardt | 58.33 | 21 |
| T8 | Lee Petty | 12 | T7 | Cale Yarborough | 58.33 | 14 |
| T8 | Rusty Wallace | 12 | T9 | Benny Parsons | 57.14 | 16 |
| T8 | Geoff Bodine | 12 | T9 | Herb Thomas | 57.14 | 8 |
| T8 | Harry Gant | 12 | ||||
| Most North Wilkesboro Top 10’s All-time |
Best Top 10% All-time (5+ North Wilkesboro starts) |
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| Rank | Driver | Top 10’s | Rank | Driver | Top10% | Top10’s |
| 1 | Richard Petty | 42 | 1 | Dale Earnhardt | 88.89 | 32 |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | 32 | 2 | Joe Weatherly | 87.50 | 7 |
| 3 | Bobby Allison | 29 | 3 | Rex White | 83.33 | 10 |
| 4 | Terry Labonte | 27 | 4 | Marvin Panch | 81.82 | 9 |
| 5 | Darrell Waltrip | 26 | 5 | Rusty Wallace | 80.77 | 21 |
| 6 | Ricky Rudd | 23 | T6 | Lee Petty | 80.00 | 16 |
| T7 | Rusty Wallace | 21 | T6 | Fonty Flock | 80.00 | 8 |
| T7 | Benny Parsons | 21 | T6 | Dick Hutcherson | 80.00 | 4 |
| T9 | Cale Yarborough | 19 | T6 | Glen Wood | 80.00 | 4 |
| T9 | Harry Gant | 19 | 10 | Cale Yarborough | 79.17 | 19 |
| Most North Wilkesboro Starts without Win |
Longest North Wilkesboro Win Streak All-time |
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| Rank | Driver | Starts | Rank | Driver | Streak | Year |
| 1 | Dave Marcis | 52 | T1 | Darrell Waltrip | 5 | 1981-83 |
| 2 | Buddy Arrington | 39 | T1 | Herb Thomas | 3 | 1952-53 |
| T3 | J.D. McDuffie | 36 | T3 | Lee Petty | 3 | 1959-60 |
| T3 | Ricky Rudd | 36 | T3 | Rex White | 3 | 1960-61 |
| 5 | James Hylton | 33 | T3 | Richard Petty | 3 | 1962-63 |
| T6 | Buddy Baker | 32 | T3 | Richard Petty | 3 | 1972-73 |
| T6 | Jimmy Means | 32 | T3 | Cale Yarborough | 3 | 1976-77 |
| T6 | Kyle Petty | 32 | T3 | 8 drivers tied |
2 | 1951-1993 |
| 9 | Bill Elliott | 28 | ||||
| T10 | Cecil Gordon | 27 | ||||
| T10 | Morgan Shepherd | 27 | ||||
– Neat fact about the Win streaks above. The Lee Petty, Rex White, Richard Petty streaks were back-to-back-to-back three race win streaks.
| Most North Wilkesboro Starts without Pole |
Longest North Wilkesboro Pole Streak All-time |
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| Rank | Driver | Starts | Rank | Driver | Streak | Year |
| 1 | Buddy Arrington | 39 | 1 | Bobby Isaac | 5 | 1969-71 |
| 2 | J.D. McDuffie | 36 | T2 | Herb Thomas | 4 | 1951-53 |
| 3 | James Hylton | 33 | T2 | Fred Lorenzen | 4 | 1962-64 |
| 4 | Jimmy Means | 32 | T4 | Junior Johnson | 3 | 1961-62 |
| T5 | Cecil Gordon | 27 | T4 | Bobby Allison | 3 | 1973-74 |
| T5 | Morgan Shepherd | 27 | T4 | Darrell Waltrip | 3 | 1981-82 |
| 7 | Ken Schrader | 25 | T7 | Fireball Roberts | 2 | 1957 |
| 8 | Elmo Langley | 24 | T7 | Junior Johnson | 2 | 1964-65 |
| T9 | 6 drivers tied | 22 | T7 | Darrell Waltrip | 2 | 1984-85 |
| T7 | Geoff Bodine | 2 | 1985-86 | |||
| T7 | Bill Elliott | 2 | 1987 | |||
| T7 | Alan Kulwicki | 2 | 1992 | |||
| T7 | Ernie Irvan | 2 | 1993-94 | |||
– Of the 5 straight Poles that Bobby Isaac won from 1969-71 here he only won 1 of those races, but he did have 3 Top 3’s with the other 2 races being DNF’s.
| Most North Wilkesboro Starts without Top 3 |
Longest North Wilkesboro Top 3 Streak All-time |
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| Rank | Driver | Starts | Rank | Driver | Streak | Year |
| 1 | Buddy Arrington | 39 | 1 | Richard Petty | 9 | 1972-76 |
| 2 | J.D. McDuffie | 36 | 2 | Cale Yarborough | 8 | 1974-77 |
| 3 | James Hylton | 33 | T3 | Rex White | 5 | 1959-61 |
| 4 | Jimmy Means | 32 | T3 | Darrell Waltrip | 5 | 1981-83 |
| 5 | Cecil Gordon | 27 | T5 | Fonty Flock | 4 | 1951-52 |
| 6 | Elmo Langley | 24 | T5 | Fred Lorenzen | 4 | 1963-64 |
| T7 | Jabe Thomas | 22 | T5 | Richard Petty | 4 | 1969-71 |
| T7 | Michael Waltrip | 22 | T8 | 8 drivers tied | 3 | 1952-94 |
| T7 | Sterling Marlin | 22 | ||||
| T7 | Wendell Scott | 22 | ||||
| Most North Wilkesboro Starts without Top 5 |
Longest North Wilkesboro Top 5 Streak All-time |
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| Rank | Driver | Starts | Rank | Driver | Streak | Year |
| 1 | Buddy Arrington | 39 | 1 | Richard Petty | 16 | 1969-77 |
| 2 | Jimmy Means | 32 | 2 | Cale Yarborough | 9 | 1973-77 |
| 3 | Elmo Langley | 24 | T3 | Bobby Allison | 7 | 1978-81 |
| T4 | Jabe Thomas | 22 | T3 | Darrell Waltrip | 7 | 1980-83 |
| T4 | Michael Waltrip | 22 | 5 | Fonty Flock | 6 | 1951-53 |
| T6 | Lake Speed | 21 | T6 | Rex White | 5 | 1959-61 |
| T6 | Neil Castles | 21 | T6 | Richard Petty | 5 | 1961-63 |
| T8 | D.K. Ulrich | 20 | T8 | Fred Lorenzen | 4 | 1963-64 |
| T8 | Ed Negre | 20 | T8 | David Pearson | 4 | 1968-69 |
| T8 | Frank Warren | 20 | T8 | Dale Earnhardt | 4 | 1990-91 |
| T8 | Jeff Gordon | 4 | 1995-96 | |||
| Most North Wilkesboro Starts without Top 10 |
Longest North Wilkesboro Top 10 Streak All-time |
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| Rank | Driver | Starts | Rank | Driver | Streak | Year |
| T1 | Ed Negre | 20 | T1 | Richard Petty | 18 | 1968-77 |
| T1 | Frank Warren | 20 | T1 | Dale Earnhardt | 18 | 1983-92 |
| 3 | Derrike Cope | 16 | 3 | Benny Parsons | 12 | 1975-80 |
| 4 | Hut Stricklin | 15 | 4 | Bobby Allison | 11 | 1977-82 |
| 5 | Earl Brooks | 13 | T5 | Cale Yarborough | 10 | 1973-77 |
| 6 | Tommy Gale | 12 | T5 | Darrell Waltrip | 10 | 1980-85 |
| 7 | Rick Wilson | 10 | T5 | Harry Gant | 10 | 1982-86 |
| 8 | Wayne Smith | 9 | T5 | Rusty Wallace | 10 | 1986-90 |
| 9 | Rusty Wallace | 9 | 1991-95 | |||
| T9 | Dick May | 8 | T10 | James Hylton | 8 | 1968-72 |
| T10 | Benny Parsons | 8 | 1970-74 | |||
| T9 | Larry Manning | 8 | T10 | Terry Labonte | 8 | 1982-85 |
| T10 | Ricky Rudd | 8 | 1983-87 | |||
– Ed Negre and Frank Warren couldn’t get a single Top 10 in 20 starts at North Wilkesboro. Meanwhile, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt each had 18 Top 10’s in a row at one point.
