The 101 Greatest NASCAR Cup Series Drivers by Car Number: 60-69
Welcome to the seventh installment of Sportscasting’s 10-part series, “The 101 Greatest NASCAR Cup Series Drivers by Car Number.”
For those just joining us, what we’re doing here is exactly what we did with our “101 Greatest NFL Players by Uniform Number” series a while back. Just substitute NASCAR drivers for NFL players and car numbers for uniform numbers. Fun enough, am I right?
If you missed the first six installments or are looking for a reminder of our choices for Nos. 00-59, head over to the series hub page, where we’re housing each article for an easy review.
And without further ado, let’s keep rolling as we dive into the greatest NASCAR Cup Series drivers for Nos. 60-69.
No. 60: Bill Rexford
One of nine just nine drivers with 10 or more NASCAR Cup Series starts in the No. 60, Bill Rexford is our choice to open this portion of the list.
While Doug Cooper owns the records for the number in both top-fives (5) and top-10s (17-tied), it took him 52 starts to get there, and he never recorded a victory with it.
Rexford, on the other hand, is the only Cup Series driver to take the No. 60 to Victory Lane with a win on the Canfield (OH) dirt track in 1950 on the way to winning the season points title at age 23, still the youngest champion in Cup Series history. He made 10 starts in the number during his career, earning three top-fives and eight top-10s.
No. 61: Sherman Utsman
The No. 61 is one of the least-used numbers in NASCAR Cup Series history. While 72 different drivers have used it, only five have made double-digit starts in it, the most being Joe Mihalic’s 28. But in those 28 starts, he never recorded a single top-10 finish.
Sherman Utsman, meanwhile, earned seven top-10s in the No. 61 in 15 starts, the most of any driver, including a top-five in Chattanooga in 1962.
No. 62: Frankie Schneider
Most might go with Curtis Crider here as he’s the only driver with more than 21 Cup Series starts in the No. 62 with 136. He also owns the records for the most top-fives (7) and top-10s (36) in the number. But it’s a bit of a problem that he could never take a checkered flag with it, which he also couldn’t do in any o the other 21 numbers he used during his career.
Frankie Schneider, however, won with the No. 62 in just his seventh start, winning at Virginia’s Old Dominion Speedway in 1958. It was one of only nine starts in the number for Schneider, but he made the most of them, recording five top-10s, with four of those also being top-five finishes.
No. 63: Terry Bivins
The No. 63 has one of the worst overall histories in the NASCAR Cup Series. It’s never been to Victory Lane. It’s never even led on the final lap of a race. In fact, it’s only led six laps total, all of those coming from Terry Bivins in the 1976 Daytona 500, where he finished eighth.
That was one of three top-10s for Bivins in eight starts in the No. 63, tying him for the most all-time. And as he’s one of just two drivers to record a top-five with it, the other being Larry Manning, he takes this slot.
No. 64: Elmo Langley
One of just two drivers with more than 100 Cup Series starts in the No. 64, Elmo Langley is our choice here.
Langley made 432 of his 535 starts during his 27-year career in the number and is the only driver ever to take it to Victory Lane, doing so twice, both in 1966 when he finished 11th in the points standings. The North Carolina native won at South Carolina’s Piedmont Insterstate Fairgrounds and again five races later at Old Dominion.
Langley recorded 53 top-fives and 165 top-10s in his 432 starts in the No. 64.
No. 65: Carl Adams
The No. 65 ranks last in the vast majority of NASCAR Cup Series categories, mainly since no driver has ever used it for an entire season. And only one driver has ever made double-digit starts in it, that being our selection here, Carl Adams, who raced it 19 times in 1975, earning four top-10s and 13 top-20s.
The No. 65 has never led a single lap in any Cup Series race.
No. 66: Larry Frank
While several notable NASCAR drivers have helmed the No. 66 in the Cup Series, including Darrell Waltrip, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, and two of the best-named racers of all time in Lake Speed and Dick Trickle, our choice here is Larry Frank.
The West Virginia native made only 15 starts in the number but remains the only driver to take a checkered flag with it, a five-second win over Junior Johnson at the 1962 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He notched seven top-10s in the No. 66 that season, including a fifth-place run in Charlotte.
No. 67: David Pearson
The driver most associated with the No. 67 is undoubtedly Buddy Arrington, who made 481 starts in the number during his 25-year NASCAR Cup Series career. But just like every other driver who’s ever had the No. 67 on their door, he never took a single checkered flag with it, his best results being third-place finishes in 1965 at the Nashville Fairgrounds and Talladega in 1979, two of Arrington’s 11 top-five finishes.
David Pearson had just six top-fives in the number but earned them in just 31 starts over the course of his first two Cup Series seasons. He also came closer to Victory Lane than did Arrington, finishing second at South Carolina’s Gamecock Speedway as a rookie in 1960.
Pearson, who’s making his fourth appearance on this list, also took the pole for that same race, the only pole in the number’s history.
No. 68: Bob Derrington
Like many on this portion of the list, the No. 68 has never taken a single checkered flag at NASCAR’s highest level.
Now, some might be upset that this slot didn’t go to Janet Guthrie, who was the first woman ever to lead a lap in the Cup Series and recorded the highest-ever finish by a female in 1977, finishing sixth at Bristol, a mark since tied by Danica Patrick. Guthrie made all 33 of her Cup Series starts in the No. 68 and recorded five top-10s.
Historically, Guthrie means more to the number. But Bob Derrington’s stats are just better. While he obviously never won with the No. 68, he recorded three top-fives and 21 top-10s with it in 71 starts.
No. 69: Johnny Allen
Well, given how the rest of this portion of the list has gone, we might as well close up shop with yet another number that’s never tasted victory.
Only two drivers have ever made more than 10 starts in the No. 69, the most coming from our choice for this final slot, Johnny Allen. The South Carolina native made 26 starts in the number, the most of anyone, and is the only driver to ever lead a lap with it, leading three in Darlington in 1961 en route to a third-place finish.
That was one of four top-fives and 13 top-10s for Allen in the No. 69. LeeRoy Yarbrough was the only other driver to earn a top-five with it, finishing fifth at Bristol in 1963.
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