In NASCAR Cup Series competition the #4 car has started 1,727 races and has 80 wins, 70 poles, 363 top 5s, 661 top 10s, and 458 DNFs.
From 1952-1954 Slick Smith started the #4 car 26 times with no wins.
Rex White drove #4 to victory lane 26 times between 1959-1964 in 168 starts. Due in part to his suffering from polio as a child, Rex stood only 5 foot 4 inches tall and 135 lbs. In 1960 Richard Petty, Junior Johnson, Lee Petty, and three other drivers were disqualified for not making a proper entrance to pit road at the World 600, propelling White to the points lead. This, along with his 6 wins and 35 top 5s in 40 races, enabled Rex to be crowned the 1960 Grand National (Cup) Champion. In 2015, White was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame for his accomplishments. At age 93, Rex White is currently NASCAR’s oldest living champion .
North Carolina native “Big John” Sears has the most starts in #4 with 289 from 1966-1973. In a time before sponsorship was ubiquitous, Sears would help pay the bills by advertising upcoming races on the sides of his car, which was typically salmon colored. Big John never won a race, though he did finish in the top 5 a total of 127 times in his 317 career races. The best points finish for Sears is fifth which he achieved back-to-back in 1967 and 1968. He retired after a dismal 1973 season in which he was plagued with engine and mechanical failures.
From 1976-1978 Gary Myers started 30 Winston Cup races in #4 without earning a win.
Connie Saylor started #4 a total of 20 times from 1980-1983. Originally starting the number as an independent driver competing in one-off events, Saylor’s final start in the number is historic for being the first start of Morgan-McClure Motorsports at Talladega in 1983. After this race, Saylor would be replaced by Mark Martin who made 6 starts in the MMM #4 in ’83.
Tommy Ellis took over the MMM #4 for the 1984 season making 20 starts, while Joe Ruttman made 3 starts. The following year, Ruttman started the car 16 times for a career total of 20 starts in the number.
In 1986 Rick Wilson began driving the #4 Oldsmobile, now with financial backing from Kodak film. This sponsor/team combination would prove to be one of the longest lasting and iconic partnerships in the sport. Wilson brought consistency to the team, and the #4 became a frequent finisher in the top 15. Wilson got the team its first pole position at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1988, its first full season on the circuit. When Wilson announced he was leaving the team in 1989, the team was eighth in points. Rick Wilson started 93 races in the #4 car without a win.
For the 1990 season, the team hired Phil Parsons, but after three races, Parsons was released in favor of Ernie Irvan. Midway through the season the team switched from Oldsmobile to Chevrolet in order to get more manufacturer support. Their first race after the switch was at Bristol, and Irvan picked up his first career victory , as well as the first victory for MMM. The next season, Irvan won the Daytona 500 and The Bud at the Glen . When the checkered flag fell at the end of the season, the team was fifth in points. The next season, Irvan won three races over a two month stretch, at Sears Point International Raceway, the Pepsi 400 at the Daytona International Speedway, and at Talladega Superspeedway.
In 1993, Irvan won the pole twice, as well as a victory at Talladega. When Davey Allison died in an aircraft accident, Robert Yates asked Irvan to take his place. Irvan wanted out of his contract with MMM, and it developed into an ugly lawsuit. Irvan was able to get out, but there were hurt feelings on both sides. Irvan drove #4 in 105 races and visited victory lane 7 times with the team.
For the 1994 season, the team hired Sterling Marlin to drive. In his first race in the team, Marlin won the Daytona 500 beating out, ironically, Irvan.
Marlin won the 1995 Daytona 500 as well, in addition to two more races at Darlington Speedway and Talladega. In 1996, Marlin won two races, at Talladega and the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. After the team went winless with Marlin in 1997, finishing 25th in points, the team and driver decided to part ways. Marlin won a total of 6 races in his 125 starts in the MMM #4.
In 1998, Bobby Hamilton was signed on to drive the #4 car for MMM after being replaced by John Andretti in the Petty #43. In their eighth race together, he won from the pole at Martinsville . This would be the last trip to victory lane for the MMM team. He ended the season tenth in the points. He had another ten top-ten finishes the following season, but after falling to 30th in points in 2000, he left for Andy Petree Racing. Hamilton earned 1 win in his 101 starts in #4.
During his time at MMM, Hamilton founded his Truck Series team for which he chose to run #4. Hamilton raced occasionally in the Truck Series until 2003 when he took his team full time with Square-D providing sponsorship. After a strong season in 2003, Hamilton won the Championship in 2004 becoming the first owner/driver to win a major NASCAR title since Alan Kulwicki. As his team continued to expand, Hamilton switched to #04 in 2005. In 2006, a diagnosis of head and neck cancer would end his racing career and eventually take his life in 2007. Hamilton was 49.
2001 was a the beginning of the end for MMM. The team struggled to keep a driver behind the wheel for a full season as Robby Gordon, Kevin Lepage, and Bobby Hamilton Jr. all made starts. Mike Skinner drove the car for the full 2002 season with little success.
In 2003 the team switched to Pontiac , but back to Chevrolet in 2004 as Pontiac left the sport.
The team began rotating drivers as Skinner, Lepage, Johnny Sauter, Stacy Compton, PJ Jones, Johnny Miller, Jimmy Spencer, Mike Wallace, John Andretti, Todd Bodine, Ward Burton and Scott Wimmer all made starts from 2003-2006. After losing the Kodak sponsorship in 2004, the #4 car gained sponsorship from Lucas Oil & State Water Heaters.
The team’s final season was 2007 in which Ward Burton drove the car in 16 events. Scott Wimmer attempted to qualify the car at a one-off race at Bristol in 2009 . Wimmer made the event, and finished 29th.
Since 2009, legal problems have prevented Morgan-McClure from actively competing. Larry McClure was charged with federal income tax fraud for not reporting $269,000 for cars used in the ARCA series. He was also forced to pay back $60,000 to Kodak for falsifying an invoice. McClure spent eighteen months in jail and works at a family car dealership. MMM returned to Sprint Cup at Bristol in August 2010, but Lepage failed to qualify for the race. The team has not attempted another race. The team closed its doors in 2012. Mike Skinner Started 50 races in #4, Lepage 35 races, Mike Wallace 30 races, Jimmy Spencer 25 races, Scott Wimmer 24 races, and Ward Burton 19 races.
In 2010 Kasey Kahne announced that he would drive for Hendrick Motorsports in 2012. Essentially, that left Kahne as a free agent for only the 2011 season. The struggling Team Red Bull hired Kahne for just the 2011 season after he was released from RPM. Kahne used the #4 for his Red Bull Toyota, a homage to the number he used in Sprint Cars. At Phoenix in late 2011, Kahne earned an upset win. In victory lane Kahne was very emotional as he dedicated the win to his Grandparents. The team would close its doors only a few weeks later. This win is Kasey’s only win in a Toyota, allowing Kahne to be the only driver to have won in a Ford, Dodge, Toyota, and Chevrolet. Kahne started 36 races in #4 with 1 win.
After 13 years in the RCR #29, Kevin Harvick moved to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 to drive the #4 car. Harvick won in just his second start with SHR at Phoenix International Raceway.
The team then won again at Darlington Raceway in April, leading 239 of 374 laps and using fresher tires to pass Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with two laps to go. Harvick’s two wins earned him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He advanced into the second round with two top 5’s, then won at Charlotte in October to earn a spot in the third round. Harvick finished the season strong, winning the penultimate race of the year at Phoenix to remain in title contention, then winning the final race of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch his first Cup Championship.
Harvick started 2015 with 8 straight top-2 finishes, including 2 wins at Las Vegas and Pheonix. The first race of the Chase took place at Chicagoland. Harvick finished 42nd after getting a flat tire and spinning into the wall due to contact with Jimmie Johnson a few laps earlier on a restart. A confrontation did take place, after Harvick met with Johnson and punched him in the chest. After picking up another win at the Dover Chase race, Harvick would end his 4-race win streak at Pheonix after finishing 2nd. Harvick was one position away from defending his title at Homestead, but a second place finish wasn’t enough to beat Kyle Busch.
In 2016, Harvick would again win at Phoenix after narrowly edging Carl Edwards on the final lap. Harvick would also win at Bristol in the late-summer where Kevin invited his boss Tony Stewart to join him in celebrating.
Harvick would score 2 more wins in the Chase at New Hampshire and Kanasas, but finishes of 7th at Talladega, 20th at Martinsville, and 6th at Texas would prevent Harvick from entering the Homestead Final 4.
2017 meant a manfuacturer change for SHR and Harvick. Despite this, Harvick continued his winning ways. Harvick’s first win of 2017 came at Sonoma, his first road coarse win in the Cup series. This win was part of a weekend sweep, as he also won the K&N (ARCA) West race the prior day. Harvick would find victory lane again in The Playoff Race at Texas Motor Speedway. I was the first victory for Harvick at Texas, and leaves only Pocono, Kentucky, and The Glen as tracks at which Harvick has yet to win. This win would propel him into the Championship 4 at Homestead. With a 4th place finish in the race, Harvick would finish 3rd in season points.
Harvick would start off the 2018 season with a DNF at the Daytona 500, after being involved in a crash just halfway through the race finishing 31st, but would earn dominant back-to-back wins at Atlanta (his first since 2001) and Las Vegas. This would be the first time Harvick would earn back-to-back wins since 2015 where he won at Las Vegas and Phoenix. It would also be his 100th career win across NASCAR’s top three series. However, his win at Las Vegas would not count toward the playoffs as he received an L1 penalty for the rear window of the car not being braced at all times. He has docked 20 points, crew chief Childers fined $50,000 and car chief Robert Smith suspended for the next two races. Despite Childers being absent in the Phoenix race and the penalty from last week, Harvick was able to score his 40th career win and would finally earn three wins in a row after four previous attempts, for the first time in his career.
Harvick would continue to be strong throughout the summer of 2018, knocking off wins at Dover, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Michigan. His continued success earned him a place among the “Big 3” drivers (as dubbed by the media, along with Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.) that were a threat to win every week.
In the playoffs, Harvick earned consistent finishes and used playoff points to advance himself toward the Round of 8, where he earned his eighth win at Texas after winning both stages 1 and 2. However, he was penalized 40 points and had the win encumbered due to a spoiler infraction post-race, where he now sits 3 points above the cut-line heading to ISM Raceway in Phoenix. Harvick overcame a flat tire during the Playoff race at Phoenix to secure enough points to make the Championship 4 at Homestead. In the season finale, Harvick ran up front for most of the early part of the race but his car got loose as the night went on. Harvick found himself in position to win the race after pit strategy got him the lead in the final stage of the race but an ill timed caution cost him the win. Harvick battled for the lead on the final restart but got overtaken by eventual winner Joey Logano. Harvick stated “We just got beat tonight” after the race. He finished the season third in the points standings.
2019 started slow for Harvick, as he remained winless for the entire first half of the season. Harvick would find victory lane at New Hampshire, Michigan, and Indianapolis during the summer months, propelling him into The Playoffs. With a win at Texas Motor Speedway, Harvick would once again find himself in the Final 4 for the season finale. Harvick was never really a factor in the championship race, as 3 Joe Gibbs Toyota’s battled for the crown.
Harvick had a slow start to 2020, but when racing resumed following the COVID-19 hiatus, Harvick scored his 50th career win at The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington on May 17. The win allowed him to surpass his car owner Tony Stewart to become the 12th winningest driver in Cup Series history. Further victories came during the summer at Atlanta, Pocono, Indianapolis, and a sweep of the Michigan doubleheader- making Harvick the first driver to win Cup races on back-to-back days since Richard Petty in 1971. Harvick clinched the regular-season championship after winning his 7th races of the season at Dover.
Harvick opened the first round of the playoffs on a high note by holding off Austin Dillon to win his second Southern 500 and outdueling Kyle Busch to win the Bristol Night Race, becoming the first driver to win at least nine times in a season since Carl Edwards in 2008. Despite these achievements, Harvick was eliminated in the Round of 8 after finishing 17th at Martinsville. He finished fifth in the points standings.
In 2021, Harvick would fail to reach victory lane for the first season since 2009. Despite this, he earned an impressive 24 top-10 finishes, ultimately placing 5th in the final season standings. His best shot at a win came at Bristol, but after late-race contact with Chase Elliott, the #9 car repeatedly blocked Harvick until Kyle Larson could pass him for the win. The incident led to a brief feud between Harvick and Elliott. At the Charlotte Roval, both Elliott & Harvick faced possible elimintation from the Playoffs. Harvick pushed the 9 car into the wall, almost certainly as payback from the incident at Bristol. The NAPA crew quickly repaired the car and sent Elliott back on the track. As Elliott made his way through the field, he found himself in Harvick’s rear view mirror with 11 laps to go. Seemingly intimidated by Elliott, Harvick missed the entry into the first turn and slammed the wall, ending his Playoff hopes.
In 2022, Harvick broke a 65 race winless streak by winning at Michigan. He would follow that up with another win the following week at Richmond, the 60th of his career. Harvick announced in early 2023 that this will be his final season as a Cup series driver. He has started 324 races in car #4, the most of all time, and he has scored 37 of his 60 career wins behind the wheel of #4.
Other notable drivers in #4:
Bill Myers, 17 starts, 1 win
John Soares, 7 starts, 1 win
Lennie Pond, 4 starts
Elmo Langley, 3 starts
Jim Paschal, 3 starts
Hershel McGriff, 2 starts
Joe Nemechek, 2 starts
Bill Rexford, 1 start
Bob Welborn, 1 start, 1 win
Al Keller, 1 start, 1 win
Lake Speed, 1 start
Rich Bickle, 1 start
Cotton Owens, 1 start