List of NASCAR Nationwide Series champions
The NASCAR Nationwide Series Drivers' Championship is awarded by the chairman in NASCAR to the most successful Nationwide Series racing car driver over a season, as determined by a points system based on race results. The Drivers' Championship was first awarded in 1982, to Jack Ingram. The first driver to win multiple Championships was Sam Ard in 1983 and 1984. The current Drivers' Champion is Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. who won his first NASCAR championship in 2011.
NASCAR does not officially declare the Champion until the end of the season, but a driver is said to have "clinched" the Championship after it is no longer possible for another to obtain more points than he has, even if the former driver were to not compete in the remaining races of the season, and the latter to score the maximum number of points possible. The earliest in a season that the Drivers' Championship has been clinched was in 2006, when Kevin Harvick secured the title with four races remaining.
Overall, twenty-two different drivers have won the Championship, with Sam Ard, Jack Ingram, Larry Pearson, Randy LaJoie, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex, Jr. holding the record for most titles, at two. Ard, Pearson, LaJoie, Earnhardt, Jr., and Truex, Jr. all have the record for most consecutive Drivers' Championships, with two consecutive championships.
By season
By driver
| Driver |
Total |
Seasons |
| Sam Ard |
2 |
1983, 1984 |
| Jack Ingram |
2 |
1982, 1985 |
| Larry Pearson |
2 |
1986, 1987 |
| Randy LaJoie |
2 |
1996, 1997 |
| Dale Earnhardt, Jr. |
2 |
1998, 1999 |
| Kevin Harvick |
2 |
2001, 2006 |
| Martin Truex, Jr. |
2 |
2004, 2005 |
| Tommy Ellis |
1 |
1988 |
| Rob Moroso |
1 |
1989 |
| Chuck Bown |
1 |
1990 |
| Bobby Labonte |
1 |
1991 |
| Joe Nemechek |
1 |
1992 |
| Steve Grissom |
1 |
1993 |
| David Green |
1 |
1994 |
| Johnny Benson |
1 |
1995 |
| Jeff Green |
1 |
2000 |
| Greg Biffle |
1 |
2002 |
| Brian Vickers |
1 |
2003 |
| Carl Edwards |
1 |
2007 |
| Clint Bowyer |
1 |
2008 |
| Kyle Busch |
1 |
2009 |
| Brad Keselowski |
1 |
2010 |
| Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. |
1 |
2011 |
See also
Notes
External links
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Nationwide Series Drivers' Champions
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