Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson continue to climb all-time wins list

As Kyle Busch crossed the finish line Saturday night at Richmond he notched his 21st career Cup victory to move into a tie for 22nd on the all-time wins list with drivers such as Benny Parsons, Jack Smith, Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte. Not bad for a 26-year-old driver.

Similarly, Jimmie Johnson won the 54th race of his career at Talladega two races ago to tie three-time NASCAR champion Lee Petty, which is also not bad for a 35-year-old.

Both feats are very impressive and we are privileged to have the chance to watch them on a week-to-week basis, just as St. Louis Cardinals fans have been able to watch Albert Pujols become one of the greatest baseball players of all-time.

Let’s see if we can offer some perspective on these two drivers, arguably the two best in the sport right now. It’s natural to think of Busch as the guy who wins races and Johnson as the guy who wins championships. While that is true, it would be unwise to think Busch won’t contend for championships for many years to come and Johnson is starting to move into the realm of the all-time greats in the sport with his win total.

Now, Busch is easily on pace to eventually eclipse Johnson in terms of wins simply because he started younger than Johnson.

Johnson started his Sprint Cup Series career full time in 2002 at the age of 26 and Busch already has 21 wins at that same age.

Setting aside the factor of his championships, Johnson still should be considered one of the greatest winners in NASCAR history. He has won 16 percent of the races he’s competed in, while Busch has won just 9 percent.

Yet, many expect Busch to end up in at least the top 10 all-time as far as Cup victories are concerned. As is the case with Johnson, Busch has a 21-win head start. If Busch were to win at the same rate as Johnson for the next nine years, he will have 75 wins and be right there with Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon.

Johnson, meanwhile, is the same age Gordon was four years ago when he won six races to bring his career total to 81. This isn’t to say Johnson is about ready to fall back and become a guy who’s win rate will dramatically fall off, but he is at the age where other talented drivers saw the Victory Lane gates shut.

Gordon has won just twice since 2007, and Burton won 17 races up until he turned 34 in 2001, winning four races since.

How far will Johnson get? He hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down and currently sits second in the points standings with a victory under his belt.

So, maybe 10 years from now Busch might be making his way up the all-time wins list and surpassing whatever number Johnson has, but it is possible Johnson could've had those numbers himself if he had the chance to start his career a few years earlier, as Busch did.

Sometimes it’s not the case of one driver being better than another, just the case of when they were able to find the opportunity to break into the sport.