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NASCAR’s Most Crash-Prone Drivers In 2026

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Josh Berry crash

Virtually every NASCAR Cup Series race features multiple crashes.

But who are NASCAR’s most crash-prone drivers? On the flipside, who are the drivers most likely to still be running at the checkered flag?

Get ready to unearth the answer to both questions. But here are some important notes to consider before we dive into the data:

  • We have compared each driver’s RAF (running at the finish) numbers to the total number of NASCAR Cup Series races he’s entered. The percentages below equal the number of races each driver hasn’t finished, divided by how many career starts he’s made in the Cup Series. The overall percent metric isn’t perfect since it doesn’t account for non-crash-related DNFs.
  • Michael McDowell ranks 14th among drivers who finish most often. However, he would be the second-most crash-prone driver if the data included all of his races. His stats here don’t factor in his results from 2009-2013, when he competed for particularly low-end teams. McDowell’s finishes during those years significantly skew his overall crash data. 
  • All data was collated following the conclusion of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series finale, held in early November at Phoenix Raceway.

The 10 Recent NASCAR Cup Series Drivers Who Finish The Least

Here are the 10 NASCAR Cup Series drivers from the recent past, not including Michael McDowell, who have the highest percentage of races not finished over the course of their careers.

  1. J.J. Yeley: 29.3%
  2. Cody Ware: 26.1%
  3. Josh Berry: 23.8%
  4. Noah Gragson: 22.5%
  5. B.J. McLeod: 20.1%
  6. Justin Allgaier: 19.3%
  7. Harrison Burton: 18.3%
  8. Landon Cassill: 18.1%
  9. Josh Bilicki: 16.8%
  10. Ryan Preece: 15.7%

This data, available at the highly authoritative RacingReference.com managed by NASCAR, shows that perennial backmarker J.J. Yeley is NASCAR’s most crash-prone driver by a fairly wide margin. That’s not surprising, given that Yeley has never gone to Victory Lane in 396 Cup Series starts, which included a multi-year stint with powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing.

Cody Ware being near the top is also no surprise. Ware has never raced for an even remotely competitive team, driving exclusively for his family-owned Rick Ware Racing that for years was nothing more than a start-and-park outfit.

Perhaps more surprising to see so high on the list is Berry, who memorably finished dead last in all three races that made up the opening round of the 2025 Cup Series playoffs. Most of Berry’s Cup Series starts have come for Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports or Wood Brothers Racing.

Although SHR ceased operations at the end of 2024, it was a competitive organization and winner of two Cup Series championships. Hendrick Motorsports, of course, is the all-time wins leader in NASCAR Cup Series history. Wood Brothers Racing, birthed in 1950, is NASCAR’s longest continuously operating organization. Though a single-car outfit, the Wood Brothers have a close technical alliance with Team Penske that gives Berry race cars good enough to win on many weekends. 

The 10 Recent NASCAR Cup Series Drivers Who Finish The Most

Now, here are the 10 NASCAR Cup Series drivers from the recent past who are the least crash-prone:

  1. Denny Hamlin: 8.5%
  2. Brad Keselowski: 8.8%
  3. Chris Buescher: 9.0%
  4. Joey Logano: 9.3%
  5. Todd Gilliland: 9.7% (tied)
  6. William Byron: 9.7% (tied)
  7. Chase Elliott: 9.8% (tied)
  8. AJ Allmendinger: 9.8% (tied)
  9. Chase Briscoe: 10.6%
  10. Ty Dillon: 10.7%

Keselowski being the driver with the second-best finishing rate makes perfect sense. As the co-owner of RFK Racing, he’s the one who has to foot the repair bill when a car gets wrecked. So, naturally, Keselowski is probably going to take measures that others may not to bring equipment home in one piece.

Unlike Keselowski, Hamlin does not own the cars he drives. However, Hamlin is the co-owner of 23XI Racing alongside NBA legend Michael Jordan. So it’s fitting that the three-time Daytona 500 winner prioritizes taking care of his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

As for Logano, he is a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the only active driver with more than two titles. Despite being one of the sport’s most aggressive drivers, the Team Penske wheelman has learned how, at least for the most part, to be around at the end of races.

Checking in just behind his 10th-ranked younger brother, Ty, among the drivers who wreck the least is 2018 Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon at exactly 11% (he and Tyler Reddick are tied). The Dillon siblings’ inclusion in the third of the field least likely to crash out is also appropriate. Their grandfather is NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, who undoubtedly instilled in them long ago why they should take care of their equipment.

Notably absent from the list of NASCAR’s most crash-prone drivers and least crash-prone drivers is two-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is surprisingly reckless, though, having failed to finish exactly 14% of the time. Entering the 2026 season, Larson ranks as the Cup Series’ 13th most crash-prone driver when you include Michael McDowell on the list.

Asked in 2025 how it is that nothing seems to get under his skin all that much, Larson admitted it could be connected to his tendency to crash a lot.

“Maybe I’ve hit stuff enough,” he said, smirking.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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