All-stars through the decades

By DAVID GREEN

On the occasion of the all-star race this weekend, my thoughts are on the subject of all-stars down through the decades of NASCAR racing -- the best and/or most popular drivers from the overlapping eras of the sport's six-decades-long history.

With the 25th anniversary all-star event looming, let's start with the present era, but then I want to go back to the start and move forward chronologically. My nominations for a top six, again based on achievement and fan reaction (both positive and negative), are, in no particular order, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.

Now, how did we get to this point? Who led the way, made the headlines, won the races, and laid the foundations and built on them?

Early years: Red Byron, Curtis Turner, Lee Petty, Tim Flock, Herb Thomas, Buck Baker. Honorable mention: Marshall Teague, Fireball Roberts, Bob Flock, Fonty Flock.

Middle Fifties: Turner, Petty, Flock, Baker, Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts. Honorable mention: Herb Thomas, Speedy Thompson, Marvin Panch.

Late Fifties-Early Sixties: Petty, Roberts, Johnson, Joe Weatherly, Richard Petty, Fred Lorenzen. Honorable mention: Buck Baker, Ned Jarrett, Rex White, Marvin Panch.

Middle to late Sixties: R. Petty, David Pearson, Ned Jarrett, Cale Yarborough, Lee Roy Yarbrough, Bobby Allison. Honorable mention: Junior Johnson, Fred Lorenzen, Bobby Isaac, Donnie Allison.

Seventies: R. Petty, Yarborough, Pearson, Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip. Honorable mention: Benny Parsons, Neil Bonnett, Dave Marcis.

Eighties: R. Petty, Allison, Earnhardt, Waltrip, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace. Honorable mention: Tim Richmond, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Harry Gant, Ricky Rudd.

Nineties: Earnhardt, Elliott, Davey Allison, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin. Honorable mention: Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace, Terry Labonte, Harry Gant, Ricky Rudd, Jeff Burton, Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin, Alan Kulwicki.

Early Aughts (2000 to 2005): Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick. Honorable mention: Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman.

Honorable mention for the present group: Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman.