Started on December 23, 2019, Updated on September 27, 2024.

This list is currently being worked on.

Marcos Ambrose has been in more Cup races than any other Australian with James Davison moving into second on September 7, 2020, with Dick Johnson now third followed by Terry Byers and Allan Grice. 

Frank Gardner – 1 race

Frank Gardner finished 44th in his #11 Ford Torino after blowing an engine on Lap 2 of the 1968 America 500 at Rockingham.

Tony Spanos – 1 race

Tony Spanos finished 18th in the Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville in 1987, the only race he qualified for.

An hour video of the race is on YouTube with Tony being mentioned 15 minutes in as his smoking car is seen going past the off-track car of Jimmy Means and again from the 46th minute mark as he is being lapped.

Tony did not qualify for thirteen races between 1987 and 1989 and withdrawn from another making it one race from fifteen attempts in the #48 and #49 for James Hylton. 

His 18th place finish at Martinsville was the best by an Australian until Marcos Ambrose came along nearly two decades later.

Allan Grice – 2 races (1986 and 1987)

Allan’s best result was 34th in the 1989 Coca Cola 600, both of his starts were at Charlotte.

The 1987 race was in the #03 Oldsmobile sponsored by Foster’s Lager and battled numerous problems before retiring in 35th position after completing 161 laps.

Allan returned to Charlotte two years later in the #47 Pontiac and went further than his 1987 effort by completing 294 laps before the engine of his Pontiac called it a day.

Allan and Marcos Ambrose have both driven a car numbered 47 in NASCAR sanctioned competition.

Terry Byers – 5 races (1989-90)

Terry’s best result was 19th in the Miller High Life 500 at Pocono in 1989, he also had two finishes of 21st that season, those finishes came in the race at Charlotte and the second race at Pocono.

Terry qualified for races at Charlotte and Daytona in 1990, he lost an engine at Charlotte and his race at Daytona barely lasted one lap after being involved in the big one that happened in the tri-oval.

Terry tried qualifying for the Daytona 500 in 1995 in the #82 Ford Thunderbird but was unsuccessful though he did outlast several experienced competitors in the qualifying race to finish that race in 18th position.

Terry’s last try at qualifying for a Winston Cup race was at Rockingham in 1996, he was unsuccessful in the #82 Chevrolet.

Dick Johnson – 7 races between 1989 and 1990

Dick’s best finish was 22nd at the AC Spark Plug 500 at Pocono in 1987, the same race that Terry Byers finished 21st in.

Dick’s crew chief was Ray Evernham, the man who would later guide Jeff Gordon to several of his championships and brought Dodge back into the sport.

He is well known for calling Richard Petty a prick after the King spun him at Sonoma followed up minutes later by swearing live on air when his Thunderbird was about to hit and get stuck on a tyre wall.

Dick’s #38 Ford Thunderbird briefly appears in the movie Days of Thunder.

The average start for Dick was 26.7 and his average finish was 30th as he finished three out of four races in 1989 but none of the three races in 1990.

Geoff Brabham – 1 race

Geoff Brabham raced in the inaugural Brickyard 400 and crashed on Lap 130 resulting in a 38th place finish in the #07 Ford Thunderbird.

Marcos Ambrose – 227 races

Marcos Ambrose scored 2 Cup wins from 227 races with 18 Top 5 finishes and 46 Top 10’s.

He drove for Wood Brothers, JTG Daugherty Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports and while he was a threat of winning on the road courses, he was also good on the short tracks as well.

Marcos is the only Australian to win a Cup race with both wins coming at Watkins Glen in thrilling finishes that are remembered today. 

His average start was 18.9 and his average finish was 20.2.

Owen Kelly – 1 race

Owen Kelly finished 24th in the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen in 2013 driving the #51 Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing, Marcos Ambrose was also competing in this race.

Charlie O’Brien – 1 qualifying attempt

Charlie O’Brien attempted to qualify for the 1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 but was unsuccessful, he was listed as driving the #09 Pontiac and was sponsored by Qantas.

Charlie recounted in a podcast that the car he was provided was doomed to fail as the engine was not right from the moment it had arrived at the track.

ESPN spelt his last name incorrectly after listing it as O’Brian and not O’Brien.

Robin Best

Two-time Australian NASCAR champion Robin Best attempted to make the Coca Cola 600 in 1990 but was unsuccessful, Wikipedia and Ultimate Racing History says it was in the #60 Chevrolet for Best Racing, but Third Turn says it was the #48.

It turns out that the car was the #60 Ford Thunderbird as the car was photographed and was also filmed.

The 1990 Coca-Cola 600 also had Dick Johnson unsuccessfully qualify for the race while Terry Byers qualified in 31st position but was out of the race after 40 laps with a blown engine.

James Davison – 35 races (2020-21)

James Davison made his Cup debut at Pocono for Spire Motorsports; he was originally going to drive the #77 at Talladega but was disallowed as he had no prior Cup experience on an oval track.

James joined Rick Ware Racing at New Hampshire and has raced in fourteen races for the team who have fielded both Chevy and Ford cars, James has driven the #15, #51 and the #53 for the team. 

He finished 34th in his debut race and has a top finish of 22nd at Martinsville which was recorded in April 2021.

While he isn’t in a fast car in Cup racing, his luck has been are different on iRacing as he is a multiple time winner against his fellow Cup racers.

Brodie Kostecki – 1 race

Brodie Kostecki made his Cup debut at Indianapolis on August 13, 2023.

Brodie drove the #33 for Richard Childress Racing and finished the race in 22nd position.

Cam Waters – 1 race

Cam Waters after driving two Truck races was chosen by RFK to drive the #60 Ford Mustang at Sonoma.

Cam ran 66 laps in the #60 and finished 35th.

Will Brown – 1 race

Will Brown drove the #33 Chevrolet Camaro for Richard Childress Racing at Sonoma, Will pulled off the track on Lap 32 with a possible engine issue that was actually another electrical issue, Will was able to continue in the race a couple of laps down and finished 31st.