The official die-cast manufacturer of NASCAR announced its annual top-10 list of most popular cars today.
It will come as no surprise that Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide Insurance No. 88 claimed the top spot and few will be shocked to see Jeff Gordon on the list as well. What may come as a bit of a revelation is that Hendrick Motorsports drivers claimed all 10 of the top spots.
Earnhardt claimed not only the top spot, but also the third, fourth, eighth, and ninth positions with various paint schemes.
Gordon’s iconic No. 24 claimed the second, fifth, seventh, and 10th positions, leaving only one spot available for another driver.
“We knew when the Axalta Rainbow car was first announced that this would be one of the most important die-cast of the year to longtime fans of the sport,” said Howard Hitchcock, President of Lionel Racing.
Hendrick Motorsports Developmental driver and heir to the No. 24, Chase Elliott, was the only XFINITY driver to make the top-10 list with his No. 25 NAPA Chevrolet occupying the sixth position.
“Since we began publishing our top-10 list in 2011, we haven’t seen such a dominant performance by two drivers as we have this year,” said Hitchcock. “Their sales numbers are a testament both to their impact on the sport and their ability to connect with the most passionate NASCAR fans – our collectors – in a big way.”
In fact, nearly all of the cars in the top 20 were affiliated with either Hendrick or JR Motorsports. Kevin Harvick’s Budweiser Chevrolet landed 12th on the list and was the only one to break up their dominance.
A gallery of the top-10 cars can be found on Lionel’s Web site.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Nationwide Insurance Chevrolet
- Jeff Gordon. No. 24 Axalta Rainbow Chevrolet
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Mountain Dew/Dewshine Chevrolet
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Nationwide Insurance/Talladega Win Chevrolet
- Jeff Gordon No. 24 3M Chevrolet
- Chase Elliott No. 25 NAPA Chevrolet
- Jeff Gordon No. 24 Axalta/Homestead Chevrolet
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Nationwide Insurance/Stars and Stripes Daytona Win Chevrolet
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 88 Valvoline Chevrolet
- Jeff Gordon No. 24 AARP Member Advantages/Martinsville Win Chevrolet
From Jeff Gordon’s last year to Kyle Busch’s championship, 2015 was filled with excitement. Check out NASCAR: The List of Memorable Moments.
Follow: @FantasyRace