NASCAR's Best Single Seasons of the 1990's

The decade of the 1990's clearly belonged to veteran Dale Earnhardt and young gun Jeff Gordon. The two drivers combined to win seven Winston Cup championships throughout the decade. It would have been easy to comprise the list of those two drivers alone. However, another driver without the last name Earnhardt or Gordon made the list.

Jeff Gordon (1998)

By 1998, it was apparent that Gordon was the driver to beat on a weekly basis. From 1995 to 1997, he notched 27 victories and two Winston Cup championships. In 1998, Gordon continued his prevailing ascendancy in NASCAR, tying Richard Petty's modern era record of 13 wins in a single season. While fans were amazed at what Gordon was accomplishing, they continued to show their disdain for the young driver with jeers and taunts. His storybook season was only popular with fans of the Rainbow Warriors. Over the years, fans have warmed up to Gordon, and can now appreciate and marvel at his phenomenal 1998 campaign, which included his second Brickyard 400 win at Indianapolis, as well as his fourth consecutive Southern 50 win. He won the title by 364 points over Mark Martin.

33 races; 13 wins; 26 top 5 finishes; 28 top 10 finishes; 7 poles; 1,717 laps led

Dale Earnhardt (1990)

After two years of watching Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace capture Winston Cup titles in 1988 and 1989, the 1990 NASCAR season marked the return to the top for 'the Intimidator'. Earnhardt kicked off the decade by winning nine races en route to his fourth Winston Cup championship. Perhaps Earnhardt would have reached double digits in the win column if not for a cut tire on the final lap of the Daytona 500. Earnhardt led 2,438 laps in his dominant season, over twice as many as Elliott who was second on that list with 1,185. He won at a variety of tracks such as Daytona, Darlington, Atlanta, Michigan, and Richmond throughout the season.

29 races; 9 wins; 18 top 5 finishes; 23 top 10 finishes; 4 poles; 2,438 laps led

Jeff Gordon (1997)

Gordon narrowly missed the 1996 Winston Cup championship, as his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Terry Labonte edged him out by a slight margin of 37 points. The kid was determined return to the limelight in 1997. Gordon kicked off the season winning the Daytona 500 in dramatic fashion. He would win nine more races, including the Southern 500 at Darlington, which earned a million bucks from the Winston No Bull prize vault. It appeared as if Gordon was going to sprint away with his second NASCAR championship, but a late season decline allowed Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin to creep back into the picture. Gordon held on, however, winning the title by 14 points over Jarrett.

32 races; 10 wins; 22 top 5 finishes; 23 top 10 finishes; 1 pole; 1,647 laps led

Dale Jarrett (1999)

Even though it was difficult to overlook Gordon's 1995 season and Earnhardt's 1991 and 1993 seasons, I felt inclined to put Jarrett's 1999 campaign on the list. He won only four races in the championship season, but his consistency was remarkable. He scored 24 top 5 finishes and 29 top 10 finishes during the 1999 season. No other driver to this point in the modern era had scored more than 28 top 10 finishes in a season. All four of Jarrett's wins occurred in a 10-race span, as he opened up a deficit that none of his competitors could overcome. He won his second Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in August of 1999. The decade of the 1990's closed with a popular championship victor. The second-generation driver rewarded legendary car owner Robert Yates with his first and only NASCAR championship.

34 races; 4 wins; 24 top 5 finishes; 29 top 10 finishes; 0 poles; 1,061 laps led

Dale Earnhardt (1994)

Earnhardt's 1994 championship included a quartet of victories, but the title was a historic milestone in NASCAR. He matched Richard Petty's once seemingly improbable record of seven championships in NASCAR's top level of competition. Unlike his 1990 championship run, there was little drama as far as a tight championship battle going down to the wire. He had his seventh championship all but wrapped weeks before the season concluded at Atlanta. He won the 1994 championship by a distant margin of 444 points over Martin. He had an average finish of 8^th, over three positions higher than Martin.

31 races; 4 wins; 20 top 5 finishes; 25 top 10 finishes; 2 poles, 1,013 laps led

Honorable mentions include Jeff Gordon (1995); Dale Earnhardt (1991); Jeff Gordon (1996); Dale Earnhardt (1993); Rusty Wallace (1994); Bill Elliott (1992); Terry Labonte (1996); Davey Allison (1992); Bobby Labonte (1999); Mark Martin (1998); Alan Kulwicki (1992); Rusty Wallace (1993); Dale Jarrett (1997); Dale Earnhardt (1995); Harry Gant (1991); Ernie Irvan (1993)

Resource: Racing-Reference.info