Ranking the 10 Most Iconic Cars in NASCAR History

Regardless of whether you are a lifelong NASCAR fan or someone who plans on viewing the first race of his or her life this weekend, there are certain drivers and cars that you are already at least somewhat familiar with.

No matter your knowledge of the sport, if you were to see a picture of the No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet, you would instantly associate that car with the late Dale Earnhardt.

His car, along with many others, has become an iconic symbol of NASCAR. From cars that raced over 50 years ago to cars that still race on a weekly basis, some cars have become forever etched in NASCAR lore.

In the slides ahead, I am going to count down the 10 cars that are the most famous, the most recognizable and simply the most iconic cars in the history of the sport.

10. Red Byron

In 1949, Red Byron became the inaugural champion of the NASCAR Strictly Stock Series. This series was the precursor to what is today the Sprint Cup Series.

Initially, it was an eight-race season. Driving the No. 22 Oldsmobile, Byron won two of the six events that he entered. For the six races, he pocketed $4,800.

While the casual fan may not recognize this car or be aware of its history, this car is iconic if for no other reason than that it was the first championship car in the sport's history.

9. Havoline Motor Oil

Havoline Motor Oil graced the hood of race cars from 1987 through 2008. Most notably, Davey Allison carried the famous logo from early '87 until his tragic death in 1993.

Allison recorded all 19 of his wins with Havoline on the hood and posted back-to-back third-place points finishes in 1991 and 1992 with the oil company as his sponsor.

Following Allison's death, Havoline remained in the sport with Robert Yates Racing for many years. Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd and Kenny Irwin all had opportunities to drive iconic car.

Between Irvan, Jarrett and Rudd, the car saw Victory Lane a total of 11 more times.

Following the 2003 season, Havoline moved over to Chip Ganassi Racing. There, it was presented on the No. 42 car and driven at various times by Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and, finally, Juan Pablo Montoya.

Havoline ended its sponsorship in NASCAR in 2008, making Montoya the last driver to ever race this iconic car.

8. The Tide Ride

Some people may best remember when Darrell Waltrip's No. 17 was getting spun by Rusty Wallace in the 1989 All-Star Race. Others may have fond memories of the Iron Man Ricky Rudd succeeding in the No. 10 as an owner/driver throughout the '90s.

Or maybe the best memory is when Ricky Craven's No. 32 beat Kurt Busch by .002 seconds at Darlington in 2003.

Regardless of how you remember it, or what number you remember painted on the side of it, everyone is familiar with the Tide car.

Drawn by the allure of its bright orange paint, the Tide car was always a fan favorite. But it wasn't just a show car; drivers with Tide as a sponsor have also found plenty of success. The trio of Waltrip, Rudd and Craven scored a total of 20 wins with the laundry detergent as the primary sponsor.

7. Bobby Allison: Coca Cola

Few things in life are better than NASCAR racing and Coca-Cola. So why not merge the two together? That's exactly what happened in the early 1970s when the world's leading soft drink was emblazoned on the hood and sides of Bobby Allison's No. 12.

Coca-Cola was the primary sponsor on Allison's car from 1970 through 1975. During their run together, Allison scored 31 of his 85 career wins. He also posted two runner-up points finishes during that span.

While Allison would later score a series championship with Miller High Life on the car, it is the red-sided, gold-topped Coca-Cola sponsored car that is the more iconic of the two.

6. Jimmie Johnson: Lowe's

There is no denying that Jimmie Johnson has been the best driver of the last decade. He is a five-time champion, and he won all five of his championships consecutively from 2006 through 2010.

Prior to Johnson only Cale Yarborough had won at least three consecutive titles.

Johnson is a 64-time winner in Sprint Cup Series competition and has posted 262 top-10 finishes in 420 career starts. Other than a sixth-place finish in 2011, he's finished in the top five in points in every season since becoming a full-time competitor in 2002.

He has posted multiple wins in every full-time season of his career, and he is the only driver to have qualified for the Chase in every year of its existence.

At just 37 years old, Johnson has already established himself as one of the all-time greats of the sport. Regardless of how long one has followed NASCAR, nearly all fans know who drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet.

5. Dale Earnhardt: Wrangler Jeans

Wrangler Jeans was the primary sponsor for Dale Earnhardt from 1981, his third full-time season, until 1987. Together, the duo won 25 races together, as well as the first two of Earnhardt's seven series championships.

While Earnhardt is more famously remembered for a different car, he had his career-best season with Wrangler sponsorship on the hood.

In 1987, the year of his second championship, Earnhardt scored a career-high 11 wins and 21 top-five finishes. The 24 top-10s that he posted were his personal best, until he did one better in 1994.

The Wrangler Jeans car that Earnhardt drove featured three different numbers on the side at various times. The car started out as No. 2 before also using the No. 15. Finally, in 1984, Earnhardt's car was adorned with the No. 3, which remained his number for the duration of his career.

4. Wood Brothers No. 21

The No. 21 car owned by the Wood Brothers has been around nearly as long as NASCAR (due to sponsor obligations, the car did have to change to the No. 7 for the 1985 and 1986 seasons).

The list of drivers who have driven the legendary No. 21 car reads like a who’s who of NASCAR greats. Glen Wood, Marvin Panch, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt, Neil Bonnett, Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd are just a handful of drivers who have found success driving for the famed team.

But it is David Pearson who was the greatest driver to ever pilot the No. 21 car.

From 1972 through 1979, Pearson was the driver of Wood Brothers Mercury sponsored by Purolator. He drove the No. 21 car in 143 races. During that time, he amassed 43 of his 105 wins and scored 101 top-10 finishes.

Today, the Wood Brothers still run as a part-time team. Trevor Bayne is the current driver and the most recent winner for the team. After a near 10-year winless drought, Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500 in the iconic car.

3. Jeff Gordon: DuPont

When 21-year-old Jeff Gordon first got behind the wheel of his rainbow-colored No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, could anyone have guessed he would go on to become the third-winningest driver in NASCAR history?

From 1993 through 2010, DuPont served as primary sponsor on Gordon's car. Since then, it has served as a part-time sponsor.

The driver/sponsor pairing has proven to be quite successful. Gordon is a four-time series champion, and all but eight of his 87 victories at the Sprint Cup level have come with DuPont on the hood.

While the paint scheme has changed a few times over the course of 20 seasons, it is the original rainbow-colored scheme that will forever remain the most iconic of the bunch.

2. Richard Petty: STP

Richard Petty is the all-time leader in career wins in NASCAR. His 200 wins in what is now the Sprint Cup Series are 95 more than anyone else. Every one of his wins came in the famed No. 43 car, and the last 60 came with STP on the hood.

The motor oil company became primary sponsor of the No. 43 car in 1972 and stayed with Petty for the last 20 years of his driving career. Four of his seven series championships came while the company was his sponsor.

During his time in STP colors, Petty started 621 races. In 311 of those starts, he finished with a top 10.

Even after Petty’s retirement, STP maintained a relationship with Richard Petty Motorsports. It remained the primary sponsor of the No. 43 car through the 2000 season.

1. Dale Earnhardt: Goodwrench

While Richard Petty owns the record for most career wins, it is Dale Earnhardt who has the most iconic car. Earnhardt drove the famous black No. 3 car from 1988 until his tragic death in the 2001 Daytona 500. He scored 45 of his 76 career wins and four of his seven championships while at the helm of the Goodwrench Chevrolet.

One of the most memorable scenes in NASCAR history came courtesy of this car as well. After going 0-of-19 in the Daytona 500, Earnhardt scored one of the most popular wins in history when he finally won the Great American Race in 1998. 

Following his capture of the checkered flag, as Earnhardt drove down pit road, every member from the opposing teams came out to greet and congratulate him. 

While you could make a great case for either Petty or Earnhardt's car, I think that more of today's NASCAR fans would be able to recognize Earnhardt's car first. But it would certainly be close.