By 
It was the year 1998 and as part of the 50th anniversary of Nascars they decided to put together a list of 50 of the best race car drivers in the auto racing industry, the idea first came about when the NBA awarded 50 of its players for the best players in NBA History. To quote the president of Nascar, Bill France said that “These are the men who define the competition of our sport. Their achievements are the benchmark by which much of our history is identified. Honoring them in this way, at the beginning of NASCAR’s 50th anniversary celebration is a way to show our true appreciation for them and the invaluable contribution they have made over the past 50 years. These are the drivers that made and keep NASCAR fans on their feet and cheering. it’s the drivers who are NASCAR History. “
Well, since there is already a list of 50 commemorating the best drivers, I decided to make a list of 10 along with their endorsements and / or brands of the drivers in question along with a little more information about the driver. All of these drivers have been in the limelight for quite some time, but some of them are promising drivers too. The old 50 count list had a lot of deceased drivers, and I wanted to list all the newer drivers still in the Nascar industry. These drivers aren’t in any sort of order, so let’s take a look, shall we?
Jeff Gordon of Pittsboro, Indiana, was born on August 4, 1971, and drives the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He had 36 starts in 2007, 6 wins, 30 top ten and 1 retirement. Sponsors include Du Pont, Pepsi, GM, Motorsports Authentics, EA Sports, Jeff Gordon Racing School, and Time Warner Cable. As of now, Jeff is ranked 8th.
Tony Stewart of Rushville, Indiana was born on May 20, 1971, and drives Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Toyota Home Depot. Tony had 36 starts, 3 wins, 23 top ten, 4DNF and was sixth in the championship standings in 2007. Endorsements include Home Depot, Coca-Cola, Old Spice, Toyota, Subway, Simpson, Mac Tools and Oakley. Rank # 7
Kurt Busch of Las Vegas, Nevada was born on August 4, 1978, and drives the No. 2 Dodge for Penske Racing. In 2007 he had 36 starts, 2 wins, 14 top ten, 3 retirements and was eighth in the Championship. Sponsors include Miller Lite, Snap-on, Mobil 1, Kodak, Penske, Sirius, PPG, and Dodge, just to name a few. Rank # 18
Kyle Busch (Kurt’s little brother) of Las Vegas, Nevada was born on May 2, 1985 and drives Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota and in 2007 had 36 starts, 1 win, 20 top ten, 2 DNFs and was fifth at the championships. Sponsors include M & Ms and Susan G Komen For The Cure. Rank # 11
Denny Hamlin of Midlothian, Virginia was born on November 18, 1980 and drives Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 Toyota. Denny had 36 starts, 1 win, 18 top ten, 1 DNF and was 12th in the Championship, sponsors include FedEx, Coca-Cola, Joe Gibbs Racing, TRD, Toyota and Willey X Sunglasses. Rank # 12
Matt Kenseth of Cambridge, Wisconsin was born on March 10, 1972 and drives Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 17 Ford. In 2007 Matt had 36 starts, 2 wins, 22 top ten, 4 retirements and was fourth in the Championship. Sponsors include Gatorade, Kraft, Ford, Sherwin Williams, and MRO. Rank # 9
Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Kannapolis, North Carolina was born on October 10, 1974, and drives the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Dale had 36 starts, 12 top ten, 9 DNFs and was 16th in the Championship. In 2008, Dale decided to leave the company founded by his father and move to Hendrick Motorsports. Sponsors include Remington, The Outlaw, Snap-on, and Budweiser. Rank # 10
Carl Edwards of Columbia, Missouri was born on August 15, 1979, and drives Roush Fenway Racing’s No. 99 Ford. He had 36 starts, 3 wins, 15 top ten, 4DNF and was ninth in the Championship. Sponsors include Charter Communications, Roundup, MacTools, and Superchips. Rank # 2
Martin Truex Jr. of Mayetta, NJ was born on June 20, 1980 and drives Dale Earnhardt Inc.’s No. 1 Chevrolet. He had 36 starts, 1 win, 14 top ten, 4 DNFs and finished 11th in the Championship. Sponsors include Enterprise, American Airlines, Hampton, SPRO, Motorsports Authentics, Behr Designs, and Bec-Car Printing Company. Rank # 17
Jeff Burton, of South Boston, Virginia, was born on June 29, 1967, and drives the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Jeff had 36 starts, 1 win, 18 top ten, 3DNF and was seventh in the Championship. Jeffs sponsors include AT&T, Lenox, and Prilosecotc. Rank # 4
And of course the # 1 spot is Jimmie Johnson, but if you’re a die-hard fan, you wouldn’t even have to guess why! In 2007 he had 36 starts, 10 wins, 24 top ten, 4DNFS and was the NEXTEL Cup Championship. For the third straight championship, Jimmie and crew chief Knaus will not make the same mistakes that caused the suspensions and penalties they had last season. The two men work very well as a team and plan to improve their game plan a little better this year!