The Top 10 Grittiest Performances In NASCAR History
A major part of why we love sports is seeing our favorite athletes battle the game's physical and mental adversity. When a competitor achieves greatness while battling an injury, illness, or other hardship, it gives them a certain type of allure, as if they're a real-life action hero.
Like any other sport, NASCAR has had its fair share of gritty performances over the years, and with that in mind, here are 10 of the grittiest performances in its history.
10. Brad Keselowski (Pocono, 2011)
The race that launched Brad Keselowski into NASCAR stardom came immediately after incurring arguably the worst crash of his career, during a test session at Road Atlanta in which he broke his ankle. He'd already amassed two Cup wins by this point, but one was in a chaotic finish at Talladega and the other was on fuel mileage, and could both be written off as flukes. That wouldn't be the case at Pocono Raceway in 2011, though, when Keselowski duked it out with the best in the business on one of NASCAR's toughest tracks despite his ailment. The rest is history.
9. Chase Elliott (Charlotte Roval, 2019)
This is the only entry on this list that doesn't involve a driver fighting through physical or emotional trauma, but it was just too impressive to leave off. On lap 66 of 109 in the 2019 Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway's infield road course, Chase Elliott slammed head-on into the turn-one barrier while leading. Amazingly, his car received minimal damage, and even more amazingly, Elliott charged through the field and retook the lead with six laps to grab the victory.
Then, to put the icing on the cake, Elliott returned to the scene of the accident to channel his inner Russell Crowe with an "Are you not entertained?!" gesture to the crowd during his burnout.
8. Ricky Rudd (Daytona and Richmond, 1984)
In the 1984 season-opening exhibition Busch Clash, Ricky Rudd went for a wild ride that left him with several bruises, including severe eye swelling. Instead of taking some time to mend, though, Rudd raced in the Daytona 500 the next week with his eyes duct-taped open, and finished seventh. Then, the week after that? He won at Richmond. Rudd was as tough as they come, and this isn't the only time he'll appear on this list.
7. Tony Stewart (Watkins Glen, 2004)
Okay, get your jokes in. Without going into too much detail regarding Tony Stewart's specific ailment at Watkins Glen in 2004, it may just be best to say that he stunk up the show. Stewart had been feeling ill all weekend and had Boris Said on stand-by as a relief driver, but never needed him as he led 46 of 90 laps in a dominant performance. Afterward, he had to make a pit stop elsewhere instead of taking the usual trip to Victory Lane.
6. Davey Allison (1992)
Unlike the other entries on this list, there was no specific race in 1992 that stands out as a gritty performance for Davey Allison—but rather, his entire 1992 season. Throughout the year, Allison sustained various injuries in wrecks at Bristol, Charlotte, and Pocono, yet he persevered through it all and earned five wins in a title-worthy campaign. He might have won the championship if he had not been taken out in a crash in the season finale at Atlanta.
Sadly, Allison's Iron Man streak would end in tragedy the following season when he was killed in a helicopter crash while landing at Talladega Superspeedway. He is one of the great "What if?"s in NASCAR history.
5. Kyle Busch (Homestead, 2015)
Kyle Busch's 2015 season began with a horrifying crash in the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, in which he slammed into an unprotected portion of the inside wall and broke his leg. Nine months later, it ended with his first Cup Series championship. Busch returned to the track by Memorial Day and racked up five wins, including the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to win the title after being written off before the Daytona 500 had even taken the green flag.
4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Daytona, 2001)
If Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had decided to never step foot into a stock car again after witnessing his father's tragic death directly from his rear-view mirror in the 2001 Daytona 500, nobody could have blamed him. Despite being thrust into an impossible situation, he carried on, and when NASCAR returned to the scene of "The Intimidator"'s fatal wreck, Junior put on a performance for the ages. He led 116 of 160 laps in the Pepsi 500, and charged through the field on a late restart to take home perhaps the greatest feel-good win in NASCAR history.
3. Ricky Rudd (Martinsville, 1998)
It takes a lot of determination for a driver to have just one memorable tough-it-out performance in their career. Two, though? Leave that to Rudd, who managed to outdo his 1984 Richmond win with an even grittier victory much later on at Martinsville Speedway in 1998. In one of the hottest races in NASCAR history, Rudd's car's cooling unit failed, and he was left to battle heat exhaustion through the afternoon. The heat was so bad that three drivers were forced to drop out of the race.
Not Rudd, though, who -- despite driving for a small team run out of his own pockets -- took home the trophy and then immediately collapsed onto his back in Victory Lane while emergency crews tended to him. He suffered second-degree burns that day, but "The Rooster" would not be denied, and fittingly, several years later, he set the NASCAR "Iron Man" record for most consecutive races run (though Jeff Gordon has since broken it).
2. Ernie Irvan (Michigan, 1997)
Rudd may be NASCAR's toughest customer to ever wheel a race car, but no driver in history can lay claim to overcoming grimmer odds to return to glory than Ernie Irvan. Irvan was everything but dead after a crash during practice at Michigan International Speedway in 1994, suffering a basilar skull fracture and several other gruesome injuries that are often fatal. He was given only a 10 percent chance of survival, yet not only did he make a full recovery, but he returned to the cockpit and won on the same track that almost claimed his life in 1997.
Unfortunately, in a dark twist, Michigan would get the better of him once more when another wreck there ended his Cup Series career in 1999. On the plus side, Irvan's injuries from that accident were not life-threatening, and he remains in good health today.
1. Tim Richmond (Pocono and Riverside, 1987)
What could be more impressive than returning from the brink of death to win a race? How about winning a race... no, two races... while fighting a terminal illness? That's what Tim Richmond did in 1987 after being forced to miss the season's first 11 events due to what was at the time reported as pneumonia but later revealed to be AIDS. He returned for the 12th race at Pocono Raceway, winning despite battling gearbox problems, and then he went back-to-back the following week at Riverside.
That would be Richmond's final win in NASCAR, and he would only run six more races in total before he was sidelined for good. He died two years later, going down in history as one of the racing world's most tragic yet fascinating figures.
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