Oldest Nascar Driver 2023 (2024)

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Who is the oldest NASCAR driver still racing today? ›

Martin Truex Jr. is the oldest NASCAR driver actively competing in the Cup Series after Kevin Harvick's retirement in the previous season. He is 43 years old, as of March, 2024. He is only four months older than fellow 43 year old driver, Denny Hamlin.

It's Martin Truex Jr.'s final season as a full-time NASCAR driver. The Cup Series' oldest active driver confirmed reports that he plans to retire following the 2024 NASCAR season in a news conference Friday afternoon at Iowa Speedway.

Even if Truex does extend his contract, it seems unlikely he'll race beyond the 2023 season (when he'll turn 43). That follows the trend of stars like Jeff Gordon (44), Tony Stewart (45), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (43), Matt Kenseth (45) and Jimmie Johnson (45), all of whom retired in the same age range.

Hershel McGriff currently holds the record for being the oldest person to compete in a NASCAR race at the age of 90 years, 4 months, 21 days.

Jackie Stewart is the oldest F1 world champion alive at the age of 84. Stewart took world championship titles in 1969, 1971 and 1973 and 27 race wins during his career. Making his debut in 1965, the Scottish driver raced with BRM, Matra, March and Tyrrell and is the only living F1 world champion from the 1960s.

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. announced Friday he will retire from full-time racing at the end of the season, saying it was time to live by his own schedule after 19 years in NASCAR's Cup Series.

Richard Petty holds the record for most wins in NASCAR Cup Series history at 200, while Kyle Busch leads active drivers at 63. Every driver that currently competes full-time at the Cup level has been highlighted in bold, while part-time drivers have been italicized.

NASCAR drivers approximately get paid $112,038 per year. The exact figure depends on their experience, performance, popularity, sponsorships, or team affiliations.

Kyle Busch tops the list as the highest-paid NASCAR driver of 2024. Busch earns $16.9 million driving for Richard Childress Racing. For the 38-race season, that equates to $444,736 per race. On a track like the Daytona 500 which is 200 laps, Busch earns $2,223 per lap.

Currently, a driver must be 18 to compete full-time in NASCAR's top three national touring series. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series allows a person to compete as young as 16, but only on tracks one mile or less in length and road courses.

What is Chase Elliott's annual salary? ›

Chase Elliott Salary

Chase Elliott is estimated to have an annual salary of approximately $10 million. This figure is based on an estimate provided by Forbes in 2020 and is made of $8 million as base salary with $2 million in endorsem*nts. This figure is not inclusive of the on-track performance bonuses.

Well, in the 2022 Cup Series season, the oldest full-time driver is Harvick at 46 years old. However, he's by no means the oldest active NASCAR racer. For that accolade, we must turn to 70-year-old racer Norm Benning.

—He made his Cup debut at Pocono in 1992 against the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Alan Kulwicki. —He's the oldest pole winner for any Daytona race. —The 66-year-old Thompson puts a surprising bow on his racing career when he becomes the oldest driver to ever start the Daytona 500.

Some guys hang it up early in their late 30s like Carl Edwards. Some drives are very competitive into their 50s like Mark Martin. Most drivers start to fall of pretty sharply sometime in their early-mid 40s. Jeff Gordon was never really the same after his winless 2008 at age 37 and retired at 44.

Now, drivers are retiring at the age of 42 to 45, still relatively young and they're certainly still able to compete. After Dale Jr. retired, he ran an Xfinity race at Richmond, started second, led the most laps, and finished fourth.

Thompson will be the oldest driver in 500 race history by nearly six years, beating the record set by Dave Marcis (60 years, 11 months, 17 days) at the 2002 race, where he ended his career by finishing 42nd after being forced out with engine failure on the 80th lap. He will start 40th in a 40-car field.

The Milwaukee Mile is the oldest, continually operating motor speedway in the world. It opened in 1903, and it has experienced a renaissance as of late. In 2024, it will host the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and an IndyCar doubleheader weekend.