Let’s face it: not all races are equal. As much as we may want every race to have many lead changes as Talladega, sometimes you just have to deal with one car that’s just far better than everyone else’s. While that may not be fun to watch, I can’t help but appreciate them in retrospect. Let’s look at the most dominant performance every year since 2010.
Photo: Tom Ryder/AP News
2010- Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen
Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya
Who thought they’d be reading about Juan Pablo Montoya here? Say what you want about Montoya’s NASCAR tenure, but he was a very good driver. While drivers like Sam Hornish Jr., Patrick Carpentier and Dario Franchitti attempted the switch from open-wheel racing to NASCAR without much success, Montoya was winning immediately, scoring both a Busch and Cup win in his first year in 2007. While Montoya made great strides, including making the 2009 Chase, he was still awaiting his second win. He had close calls at Indianapolis in 2009 and 2010, but was hampered by a speeding penalty and a crash. Two weeks after that crash, he got to Watkins Glen on a mission. He qualified third and was leading by lap five. While Marcos Ambrose kept him honest most of the day, nobody was getting by the Colombian, as he led 74/90 laps in what turned out to be his last NASCAR win.
Photo: Mike Fuentes/AP
2011- AAA Texas 500
Winner: Tony Stewart
To this day, this is still my favorite season and championship battle ever. In my opinion, this is the most underrated of all Tony Stewart’s wins in this run. There’s a good reason for that: he torched the field. This race didn’t have anything too notable like his other four wins, he just straight up dominated. The week before, Stewart famously warned Carl Edwards that he better be worried. While Edwards led laps and ran second, Stewart was going to need max points, so he went out and led 173 laps. It looked to be for naught, as Jeff Burton looked to stretch the fuel and snooker a win. He came up five laps short, as Stewart got the extra points he needed to win the Cup in a tiebreaker.
Photo: Racing News
2012- Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire
Winner: Denny Hamlin
After coming into the Chase as the top seed, Denny Hamlin got behind with a bad race at Chicagoland. After that, he called his shot, tweeting that he would win the next race at New Hampshire. He didn’t get off to a good start, qualifying 32nd. He’d claw his way through the field, getting around Kyle Busch on lap 94 to take the top spot. He wouldn’t relinquish in for the rest of the day, as he led 193/300 to make good on his promise. Unfortunately, the rest of the Chase was a bit of a dud, as he finished sixth in points.
Photo: The Final Lap Weekly
2013- AAA Texas 500
Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Oh hey, it’s Texas again. Jimmie Johnson had about four or five wins this year I could’ve chosen from, but his masterclass at Texas takes the cake. I think this win is the perfect encapsulation of Johnson and Knaus, as they had a way of demoralizing their opponents any given week. This was the third-to-last race of the season and he’s tied with Matt Kenseth for the points lead. While most people expected Johnson to come out on top, it was hard to predict that he’d lead 255/334 laps and win by four seconds. They had the best car, best driver, best crew chief and best pit crew in the sport. What a time it was.
Photo: KOMO News
2014- Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond
Winner: Brad Keselowski
Who remembers the 2014 revamped Chase format? It was the first year of the win-and-you’re-in style, and it was full of action and surprises. With Kasey Kahne scoring the week prior at Atlanta, there was one last shot for someone like Clint Bowyer or Kyle Larson to hit a walk-off and make it into the Chase. That didn’t happen, as Brad Keselowski mopped the field, leading 383/400 laps, including the last 274. Only one other driver led at any point during the race, as Kevin Harvick led 17 laps in the early stages of the race. This race is most notable for a fan climbing on the catch fence late in the race, bringing out a caution. An honorable mention goes to Harvick, who won the fall race at Phoenix by leading 264/312 laps.
Photo: The Checkered Flag
2015- AAA 400 at Dover
Winner: Kevin Harvick
In the early days at SHR, Kevin Harvick had a way of winning races before they started. I mentioned his win at Phoenix in 2014, where he locked in a spot in the championship after being below the cutline. He did the same here. After a wreck at Chicagoland after contact with Jimmie Johnson, Harvick looked to rebound the next week at Loudon, until he ran out of gas late, putting him 23 points behind the cutoff. With how good Harvick was, you just knew he was going to find a way to advance. He delivered in a big way, leading 355/400 laps at a track that wasn’t exactly his best, and cruising to a win. The most notable storylines were at the cutoff line, as Johnson had a mechanical failure force him out of the running, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. held off Jamie McMurray for the final transfer spot.
Photo: Sporting News
2016- Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte
Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Kyle Busch’s Brickyard 400 would be on this list had it been any other year, as he led 149/170 laps and won in a green-white-checkered finish by two seconds. So why does he not make it? Martin Truex Jr.’s Coke 600 is the most dominant win in NASCAR history. That isn’t hyperbole either, as he led more laps in this race (588) than any driver has ever led. This was before Truex Jr. was a title contender, as he and Furniture Row Racing were fresh off of their underdog Championship 4 appearance, finishing a distant fourth place. After switching to Toyota after the season, Truex Jr. nearly had multiple wins, most notably a Daytona 500 that he lost by .010 seconds and a Kansas race he dominated but had pit problems. While everyone knew this win was coming, nobody expected this. It was a feel-good moment in the sport, as his longtime partner, Sherry Pollex, was in a battle with ovarian cancer. The postrace celebration didn’t leave many dry eyes.
Photo: Las Vegas Review-Journal
2017- Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas
Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Hey, he’s back. I’ll admit: this is probably the least dominant race on this list, as 2017 didn’t have anything close to the 2016 Coke 600. Truex did dominate, leading 150/267 laps, but this race is mostly on here for the significance, as Truex became the first Cup driver to sweep all three stages in a race. This race nearly got away from him, as Brad Keselowski led late. However, he had a part fail with two laps left, gifting Truex the win, his first of eight in a championship season. You may remember this race as the one where Kyle Busch punched Joey Logano.
Photo: Beyond the Flag
2018- Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte
Winner: Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch tried doing his best Martin Truex Jr. impression in this one. He didn’t quite get there, leading just 377/400 laps compared to Truex’s 392, but he was every bit as dominant. After Joey Logano led the opening four laps, Busch led every remaining lap that wasn’t amidst green flag stops or under caution. Whereas Truex’s win saw just four cautions to give someone else the lead, Busch was hampered by 11 yellows. Make no mistake about it: Busch was on the same level that night. This was also a significant win, as Busch had, at the time, now won at every single Cup series track.
Photo: Rob Carr/MRN
2019- First Data 500 at Martinsville
Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
In 2019, NASCAR ran the 550 HP, high-downforce package everywhere. Martinsville showed why that wasn’t going to work. Simply put, you just were not passing the leader under green. After Brad Keselowski won by leading 446/500 laps, we thought the fall race couldn’t be worse. Truex then went out and led 462/500 to prove us all wrong. Both races played out the same, as Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, respectively, led the opening run, before they were passed on pit road. From that point on, there was no real chance for second place to get by. It just wasn’t Martinsville, so it’s good that NASCAR saw this and switched back to the 750 HP package for short tracks and road courses.
Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
2020- Drydene 311 Race 2 at Dover
Winner: Kevin Harvick
If not for COVID, this would be the weirdest name for a race I’ve ever seen. NASCAR had three doubleheader weekends in 2020 at Pocono, Michigan and Dover. Out of those six races, Denny Hamlin won two and Kevin Harvick won the other four. After Hamlin beat Martin Truex Jr. on Saturday, Sunday belonged to Harvick, as he led 223/311 laps for his seventh win of the season. This was a fairly unremarkable race, as the biggest headline was Jimmie Johnson and William Byron running 3-4 in a battle for the final playoff spot.
Photo: Logan Riely/Getty Images
2021- Ally 400 at Nashville
Winner: Kyle Larson
Let’s be real: It wasn’t a matter of if Kyle Larson would be on this list, but rather a matter of which race would be mentioned. For my money, his win at Nashville is his most dominant performance to date. After three straight wins at Charlotte, Sonoma and Texas in the All-Star race, Larson qualified fifth at a track both he and the Cup series had never seen before. It only took six laps for Larson to get to the front. While the racing throughout the pack was solid, nobody was touching Yung Money, as he led 264/300 for the checkered flag. It was at this point where people really understood that the championship was going to go through him.
What’s the most dominant race you’ve ever seen? Feel free to leave a comment, or tweet me @HBLoomis. Let’s talk racing!
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