5 NASCAR drivers feat. Jeff Gordon who led the most laps each season since 2000

Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch - Source: Imagn
Jeff Gordon watches the restart from the pit of NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) Sunday, July 27, 2025, during the Brickyard 400 - Source: Imagn

Jeff Gordon finds himself among the NASCAR drivers who have led the most laps each season from 2000 to 2025. NASCAR Insights shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) featuring 11 drivers, including a detailed graphic showing the data for each year and the total laps led.

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Here's the post:

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#5 Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch led the most laps in two seasons - 2011 & 2019. His biggest single year was 2019, when he led 1,582 laps, and also won the Cup Series championship. He had five wins and 27 top tens, and his average finish was 8.9. Busch also won the final race at Homestead to seal the title.


#4 Jeff Gordon

Jeff Gordon led the most laps in three seasons - 2001, 2003, and 2007. His biggest single year was 2001, when he led 2,320 laps and won the Cup Series title. He had six wins, 18 top fives, 24 top tens, and eight poles. Jeff Gordon held the points lead for the final 23 weeks of the season.

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#3 Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson led the most laps in three seasons - 2021, 2023, and 2024. His biggest single year was 2021, when he led 2,581 laps and won his first Cup Series championship with ten wins. He scored 20 top fives and 26 top tens. Larson led at least 100 laps in 11 races that year, and also won five playoff races, including the final three rounds, which contributed to his championship run.


#2 Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick led the most laps in four seasons: 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2020. His biggest single year was 2015, when he led 2,294 laps, but finished second in the championship by one point. Harvick had three wins, 23 top fives, and 28 top tens. His average finish was 8.67, which was the best in the series. He also set a modern era record with 13 second-place finishes. Harvick made the Championship 4 but lost at Homestead by a small margin.

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#1 Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson led the most laps in six seasons - 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. His biggest single year was 2009, when he led 2,238 laps, and won his fourth straight championship. Johnson had seven wins, 16 top fives and 24 top tens. He won both Dover races and the Brickyard 400. Four of his wins came in the final ten races of the Chase, which helped him secure the title. Johnson finished the year as the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

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Jeff Gordon explains how he handles angry drivers after a race

Jeff Gordon once talked about how he dealt with frustrated drivers on the grid. The comments were made during a 12-question interview with Jeff Gluck in 2015.

Jeff Gordon made his Cup Series debut in 1992 at Atlanta with Hendrick Motorsports. He moved into a full-time seat in 1993 and drove the No. 24 Chevy until retiring in 2015.

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During his career, he won three Daytona 500s and started on the pole twice at the track. Jeff Gordon raced for 25 years and earned four Cup Series titles. In the interview, he was asked how he responded when drivers came to him angry after a race. As quoted by USAToday.com, Jeff Gordon said:

“It depends on the situation. If I feel like I was completely at fault and made a really bad decision and I have the opportunity to go over there and say I messed up then I would. If I didn’t have the opportunity I’d probably call or text them if I had their number. Otherwise I’d let it kind of settle down a little bit and go see them in person the next week.”

Jeff Gordon retired with 93 wins, 325 top fives, 475 top tens, and 81 poles in 797 starts.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava
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