NASCAR
Recent Attempts Struck Out at Four Consecutive Cup Series Wins
It’s been nearly 20 years since any NASCAR driver has seen four straight wins. Amid the 2007 Chase, eventual champion Jimmie Johnson rattled off a four-peat, and stormed his way to back-to-back Cup titles. Johnson remains the latest NASCAR star to pull off this feat, with many drivers failing in following years. Team 48’s fourth straight win came at Phoenix Raceway–coincidentally where Tyler Reddick hopes to equal this record. Here are the eight times since then where a driver has tried and failed to win four in a row, and what kept them from this elite status.
2015
11 years ago saw two different drivers achieve separate Cup three-peats. July saw Kyle Busch rattle off a perfect record between Kentucky, New Hampshire, and the Brickyard 400. Combined with his Sonoma win two weeks prior, the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 earned four wins in a five-week span. Pocono was up next for Rowdy, a track where he was winless at the time. Starting on pole at The Tricky Triangle, Busch looked primed to continue his winning ways. The 18 led on the last lap before running out of fuel, handing the win to teammate Matt Kenseth. Busch wound up 21st that day, within half a lap of reaching four-straight victories. Busch’s next win after this three straight run would be that year’s season finale, where he took his first championship.
Fast-forwarding to the 2015 Chase, another contender put up an impressive Playoff round sweep. Joey Logano took checkers first at Charlotte, Kansas, and a controversial win at Talladega. The Penske No. 22 won each race in the Round of 12, a feat that went unmatched in NASCAR’s Playoffs. Logano had to spin Matt Kenseth to win at Kansas, a move that would come back to bite driver 22 in his four-peat quest.
The Shell/Pennzoil Ford was best in class again at Martinsville, leading more than 200 laps from the pole. Now-eliminated and heated rival Matt Kenseth had other plans, however. After being wrecked late, Kenseth got back on track in his damaged Toyota several laps behind the leaders and intentionally wrecked Logano. This handed control of the race to Jeff Gordon, who would collect his 93rd and final NASCAR Cup win. Kenseth would be suspended the next two weeks for this move, and Logano would fail to make the Championship 4.
2018
Three years after the high tensions of 2015, another trio of drivers earned three straight victories. This unique 2018 season started off with Kevin Harvick taking three wins in races two through four. One of these wins came with an illegally-modified rear windshield at Las Vegas, costing the No. 4 team a few Playoff bonus points. Harvick’s quest for four-straight wins came to a crashing end at Auto Club, when he and Kyle Larson made early contact. The No. 4 would end this day in 35th place
Just a few weeks later, Kyle Busch collected his own victory trio between Texas, Bristol, and Richmond. Busch’s bid for four in a row this time ended at Talladega, where he was 13th. Harvick and Busch both made up part of 2018’s ‘Big 3.’ These two plus Martin Truex Jr. went on to win 20 times combined.
Closing out 2018’s regular season on top was Brad Keselowski. The Penske deuce was winless on the year entering the Southern 500, a race he took after beating Kyle Larson off pit road late. The very next week saw Keselowski claim another crown jewel with the Brickyard 400 from Indianapolis. Chase race one saw the 2 remain victorious, outlasting double overtime at Las Vegas. The next week at Richmond saw Keselowski lead late but fade to ninth after being passed by Kyle Busch.
2021
Another three years later was the blistering first championship season for Kyle Larson. Amid his maiden run in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Chevrolet, Larson earned three straight wins twice in June and October. Larson was the first man to get three straight wins twice in a year since Dale Earnhardt in 1987, further cementing this season’s legendary status.
Larson’s first three-peat came after dominant runs at Charlotte, Sonoma, and Nashville. Pocono lay ahead for the 5 to possibly get a fourth consecutive win, where this milestone was within eyesight. While leading on the last lap, Larson cut a tire and pounded the wall in turn three. The wounded 5 limped across the line in ninth, while teammate Alex Bowman celebrated. If there is any proof for NASCAR’s Connect 4 curse, Larson found it at Pocono.
The next three-peat for Larson came in the 2021 Playoffs, collecting wins on the Charlotte Roval, Texas, and Kansas. The Roval win in particular was impressive, with the 5 battling back from a mechanical issue and possible title elimination. This four-peat quest for Larson was yet again not meant to be, the 5 finished Martinsville with a quiet 14th-place result.
2025
A year ago this weekend, Christopher Bell became the latest man to hit three straight Cup wins at Phoenix Raceway. Atlanta, COTA, and Phoenix were all tamed by driver 20, with thrilling finishes in each race. Bell was unable to back up this run at Las Vegas, coming home 12th from Sin City. Bell would surprisingly not win again in 2025 until the Bristol Night Race. 2025 marked Bell’s winningest Cup season yet, but saw the 20 place fifth in points.
2026
Finally reaching present day, Tyler Reddick is the eighth man to try and equal Jimmie Johnson’s 2007 run. Unlike anyone else prior in NASCAR history, Reddick has remained perfect through the first three races of a season. 23XI Racing driver No. 45 hopes to become only the 13th man to hit four in a row in Cup history, and only the ninth in the Modern Era.
Reddick has yet to win at Phoenix Raceway, but he’s been close to taming the desert mile. Reddick’s best Phoenix result was third, coming in two of the last four spring races. Toyota is far from a stranger to March Phoenix success. Reddick will be among the favorites to take the checkers first on Sunday.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo credits to Chris Graythen and James Gilbert/Getty Images and Associated Press
