Exclusive list shows how difficult it is to win all four of NASCAR's crown jewels

With the NASCAR Cup Series staying in its backyard this weekend for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, drivers will be looking to add their names to the illustrious list of winners in the signature race.

While some would count the Bristol Night Race as a crown jewel, the four official crown jewel events are the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. 

According to NASCAR Insights, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are the only four drivers to win all four signature races in their careers.

Although no active drivers have achieved the career grand slam in the Cup Series, three champions and a three-time Daytona 500 winner are one win away.

Kyle Larson, who will start 19th in Sunday's Indianapolis 500 before making the trip to Charlotte to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 that night, has wins in the 600-miler, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. A Daytona 500 win, though, has eluded him so far with a best finish of seventh in 2016 and 2019. 

2012 champion Brad Keselowski has one win each in the Coca-Cola 600, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500, but is also missing a Daytona 500 victory. With race-winning speed at the most recent 1.5-mile track at Kansas, perhaps Keselowski can pick up his first top 10 of the season with another crown jewel win.

Two-time champion Kyle Busch has also won every crown jewel race except the Daytona 500, but only has one Coca-Cola 600 win (2018) in his career. As a driver that has excelled on multiple track types and won the ninth-most races (63) in Cup Series history, that again proves how difficult it is to win the grueling 600-mile race and four races in a career.

Then there's Denny Hamlin, whose 56 career wins are 11th all-time. He has three Daytona 500 wins, three Southern 500 wins and one victory in the Coca-Cola 600. The Brickyard 400 is the only one missing on his resume.

The series only started racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — site of the Brickyard 400 — in 1994, but that is still a long enough history for more drivers to join the exclusive list.

Considering only four drivers have achieved the rare feat of winning all four crown jewel races, it shows the challenge drivers face when they come to a track like Charlotte.

It is the longest race on the schedule and presents a significant challenge to drivers as the race begins in the daytime and ends at night, roughly four hours later.

Even though Larson, Keselowski, Busch and Hamlin have found victory at Charlotte, the fact they have only done so once in their careers proves the difficulty of putting a complete race together across the 600 miles.

Active Cup Series champions Joey Logano (2015) and Chase Elliott (2020) have yet to win the Coca-Cola 600 while Elliott has failed to win a single crown jewel race despite having 19 wins to his credit.

Perhaps on Sunday night, a driver can add a Coca-Cola 600 win to their resume. If they do, it will likely be a challenging road to a career grand slam given the exclusive list of drivers that have accomplished the feat in their careers.