NEWSLETTER
This article about the Top 5 Active North Carolina NASCAR drivers and is part of a series of top North Carolina athletes and teams. As North Carolina sports betting gets set to launch on March 11th, take a look at the top athletes across North Carolina college and professional sports.
North Carolina is a hotbed of NASCAR talent and that continues today in all three major series. We already broke down the Top 5 Best North Carolina NASCAR drivers of all time. So now let’s try and answer the question: Who are the Top 5 Active North Carolina NASCAR Drivers right now?
The amount of Tar Heels who have raced in any of NASCAR’s top 3 levels is astounding. This list includes over 560 names which leads California by a decent amount for the most ever and boasts two of the three winningest drivers of all time.
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Top 5 Active North Carolina NASCAR Drivers
Western and coastal states like California have begun to produce many more drivers than when the sport first started. But North Carolina is still strongly represented in the Cup Series. So let’s examine the Top 5 Active North Carolina NASCAR Drivers in the Cup Series.
5. Corey LaJoie
Born: Concord, NC
Career: 2014 – Current
Corey LaJoie has long been considered an untapped talent, having primarily driven for underfunded or self-sponsored teams throughout his career. It might be surprising to include a driver without a single victory at any of the top three levels of NASCAR. But Lajoie has never run more than 10 races in either trucks or Xfinity. And he’s just recently been part of a race team that can field a decently competitive car on a consistent basis. There are some young names from the Tar Heel state that might knock Corey off this list soon, but for the time being, he is one of the Top 5 Active North Carolina NASCAR Drivers.
4. Austin Dillon
Born: Lewisville, NC
Career: 2011 – Current
As the grandson of Richard Childress, Austin was destined to become a NASCAR driver and he did just that. He’s amassed 16 combined wins between the Truck and Xfinity Series. And while he’s only found the checkered flag 4 times in the Cup Series, Dillon has battled for top-10 finishes pretty consistently and has been a perennial playoffs contender. He was also the only active North Carolina NASCAR driver to boast a win of the stock car racing’s most prestigious event, the Daytona 500 prior to the 2024 season.
3. Ty Gibbs
Born: Charlotte, NC
Career: 2022 – Current
I might get some flack for this one, especially considering this is just his second full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, Ty Gibbs was put on the fast track to stardom because his talents were almost too good for the rest of the competition at the lower levels.
Gibbs is the grandson of NFL coaching legend and NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs which made his path to NASCAR a sure thing. That said, he’s more than earned a spot against stock car racing’s best after accumulating 18 wins in just 47 ARCA Menards races and 11 victories over his first 51 Xfinity series events.
Ty transitioned to the Cup Series in 2022 running an abbreviated schedule. He ran away with Rookie of the Year honors in 2023 as a result of posting FOUR top-5 and TEN top-10 finishes. His talent is unquestioned, and he should be winning races and more than likely passing the totals of both Corey LaJoie and Austin Dillon in no time.
2. William Byron
Born: Charlotte, NC
Career: 2018 – Current
Byron’s roots are not the same as the rest of the drivers on this list, as he doesn’t come from a family with a history in the sport. If you caught the Netflix show NASCAR: Full Speed, you know he first started racing via the iRacing simulator. (Note: if you have Netflix, I highly recommend checking that show out.) No matter his background, Willy B as he’s known has been extremely successful at every level so far during his career.
During his first and only full Truck Series season in 2016, Byron finished inside the top-5 ELEVEN times and won SEVEN races! The next year as a rookie in the Xfinity Series, William finished 22 of the 33 races inside the top-10. And won FOUR of them en route to the series championship. Needless to say, this resulted in a call-up to the Cup Series for 2018 and although it’s taken a little longer than at those levels, success has followed.
Bryon is coming off a 2023 year which saw him finish with 15 top-5 results and lead the Cup Series with SIX victories. He didn’t accomplish the ultimate goal of winning a championship, but the new star in the No. 24 HMS car seems to be coming into his own and joining the ranks as one of the best in the sport. Â
1. Ryan Blaney
Born: High Point, NC
Career: 2014 – Current
Rounding out the list of Top 5 Active North Carolina NASCAR drivers is none other than the 2023 Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney. Like many drivers in the sport, Ryan comes from a family deeply rooted in NASCAR. His father Dave Blaney spent 17 years in the top NASCAR division, many of which were spent with his son Ryan by his side at the track.
Not to downplay Dave’s accomplishments in the sport, Ryan has quickly surpassed his father’s success and is now considered one of the best in the sport. Since his rookie year in 2017, Blaney has won at least ONE race in all but one of his seven seasons. He’s made it to the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs round of 12 every year. He’s also advanced to the round of 8 in each of the last three.
Many had wondered if the No. 12 would ever elevate himself to one of the best in NASCAR after multiple years of disappointing playoff finishes. He’s now answered that question and silenced the doubters. Blaney’s biggest achievement to date, and the reason why he’s the Top Active North Carolina NASCAR driver is the Cup Series Championship he won last season.
Will he still be atop this list come season’s end? We’ll see because William Byron has the second shortest odds to win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
More North Carolina Athlete Rankings
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