NASCAR Cup Series Numerology: Part One (#00-09)

Auto racing is a game of numbers. Whether it’s miles in a race, laps around the racetrack, or margins of victory … all use numbers in some form or fashion. But chief among them all is the number on the side of a driver’s car. It symbolizes who they are and gives them an identity with which the fans can associate.

Throughout the season, Race Face Digital will take a ride down memory lane and look back at the various car numbers that have shaped NASCAR’s premier level over its eight decades of history.

Part One: Nos. 00-09

Leading zero numbers are perhaps the most obscure grouping of numbers in motorsports. While they still pop up from time to time in the Xfinity and Truck series, we haven’t seen a leading zero in the Cup Series field since StarCom Racing’s last start in 2021.

However, it was recently announced that a leading zero will make a comeback during the 2025 season…

00

The most recently run and most recently winning number in the leading zero category, the No. 00 was last run by the now-defunct StarCom Racing from 2017-‘21 with a rotation of drivers.

Prior to StarCom, the number was run by Michael Waltrip’s former team, where it collected two wins with retired driver David Reutimann at the 2009 Coca-Cola 600 and in 2011 at Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois.

Other notable drivers to pilot the No. 00 in Cup Series history include past Daytona 500 winners Derrike Cope, Buddy Baker, and Michael McDowell, former Cup Series champions Bill Elliott and Cale Yarborough, and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner AJ Foyt.

01

The most common leading zero number in terms of races started with 509, the No. 01 last ran in 2008 with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and driver Regan Smith.

Despite having just one victory with Joe Nemechek at Kansas in 2004, the number is perhaps best remembered for its involvement in the 2008 fall race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, where Smith was ruled out of bounds during his winning pass attempt, forfeiting what would have been his first career Cup Series victory to Tony Stewart.

Aside from Nemechek and Smith, some other names to grace the No. 01 include Mark Martin, who wheeled the number to a heartbreaking loss in the 2007 Daytona 500, along with Earle Canavan and Paul Dean Holt, who were the primary wheelmen of the number in the ’60s and ’70s.

However, Rick Ware Racing announced Monday a part-time effort for driver Corey LaJoie who will pilot the No. 01 in select Cup Series events. LaJoie will be the first in four years to drive a leading zero in the Cup Series when he attempts to qualify for the 67th Daytona 500 next month.

02

The first winless number of the leading zeroes, the No. 02 last hit the track in 2009 with David Gilliland at the wheel. Future Cup Series champion Joey Logano was slated to make his Cup Series debut with the number, but failed to qualify for the event. Ryan Newman made his debut carrying the number in 2000 and drove the car part-time in 2001, when Team Penske was known as Penske Racing South.

Curtis Crider, along with Doug and Bob Cooper, account for the majority of the number’s appearances, which came in the 1960s. Hermie Sadler drove the number in 2003 and 2004 for SCORE Motorsports.

03

Just like its predecessor, the No. 03 has also failed to grace the winner’s circle in the NASCAR Cup Series. It doesn’t help any that this number hasn’t seen the track since the 1993 season, with Butch Lietzinger’s Chevrolet at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l.

Some notable drivers to pilot a car donning the fifth rarest number in Cup Series history include LeeRoy Yarbrough and Tommy Gale, as well as NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson, who put the No. 03 on pole position twice, the only such driver to do so with the number.

04

Continuing the winless trend, the No. 04 is another number that hasn’t seen the track since before the 2010s, making its final appearance in the 2009 race at Watkins Glen with P.J. Jones, who also drove the car at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway earlier in the season.

Hall of Famer and 1986 NASCAR Winston West (now ARCA Menards Series West) Series champion Herschel McGriff piloted the number on and off between 1971 and 1993, while Ken Meisenhelder and John Sears account for a majority of the number’s starts.

Following McGriff’s last appearance in the No. 04, the number had a 10-year hiatus before being run seven more times: twice each by Jones, Eric McClure, and Bobby Hamilton, with Johnny Miller driving it in a one-off in 2003.

05

My personal favorite number in all of motorsports, the No. 05 hasn’t seen the track since the 1993 season, the longest drought among leading zero car numbers.

David Sisco piloted the number frequently between the 1971 and 1976 seasons, with just two other drivers sporting the number during that span, both in one-off efforts.

Bruce Hill and Dick Brooks made up a majority of the No. 05’s other starts, while legends Donnie Allison and Joe Weatherly had brief stints with it in the 1960s. Ed Ferree made the final two starts for the number at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway and Watkins Glen in 1993.

06

The No. 06 returns us to the winner's column in leading zero lore, as Cale Yarborough delivered the lone triumph for the digit in 1965 at Valdosta (Ga.) Speedway. Yarborough was a frequent flyer in the No. 06 as well, driving it during the majority of his 1965 Cup Series campaign.

Neil Castles took over the number toward the end of the 1969 season and became the primary jockey of the car until 1975. Sam Hornish Jr. drove the No. 06 as a bonus entry for Team Penske at the end of the 2007 season, while Todd Kluever and David Ragan split the ride under the Roush Racing banner in 2006.

07

The No. 07 was the second most recent full-time car number in the leading zeroes, with stints from Dave Blaney, Clint Bowyer, and Casey Mears for Richard Childress Racing.

Bowyer was the most notable, finishing the 2007 Daytona 500 on his roof, and delivering the No. 07 a seventh-place run on July 7, 2007 (07/07/07), all while pitting the car in stall seven.

Later on in 2007, Bowyer netted the first win of his career and first win for car No. 07 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In 2008, Bowyer secured the second, and to-date final, win for the No. 07 car at Richmond.

Before its time as the fourth RCR car, the No. 07 was piloted by Coo Coo Marlin and George Davis, and following its RCR days, the No. 07 hit the track four more times, with two starts each from P.J. Jones and Robby Gordon.

08

The least commonly occurring leading zero number at just 117 starts, making it the third least common number in NASCAR Cup Series history, the No. 08 was last driven in 2009 by Boris Said (for two races) and Terry Labonte (for five races) under the Carter/Simo Racing banner.

E.J. Trivette and Rick McCray make up a majority of the number’s additional starts, while David Pearson, Elmo Langley and Cale Yarborough all made appearances in the No. 08 as well in their Cup Series careers.

09

The final number in the leading zero category is perhaps one of the most memorable. After a chaotic race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, 25-year-old Brad Keselowski was pushing veteran Carl Edwards to the checkered flag.

When Edwards zigged, Keselowski zagged, sending Edwards’ No. 99 flying into the catchfence while Keselowski wheeled the No. 09 on to victory in his fifth career start. It marked the first win for both driver and number.

Larry Manning was the primary driver of the No. 09 throughout 1963, before a host of other drivers took turns at the wheel like Friday Hassler, Roy Mayne, and Bobby Allison.

During Keselowski’s stint in the No. 09, he drove for Phoenix Racing, which also had drivers including Mike Bliss, Aric Almirola, and Sterling Marlin share the seat.

Next Up: NASCAR Numerology – Single Serving Nos. 0-9