The late Dale Earnhardt once famously remarked, “Second sucks, don’t it, son?” 

Well, maybe, maybe not. 

Kyle Larson has finished second in each of the last three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix, and he seems pretty happy about it. Those runner-up finishes put Larson No. 1 in the points standings and it also made him one of only 16 drivers in NASCAR Premier Series history to finish second in at least three consecutive races.

Here are all 16:

Thomas immortalized The Fabulous Hudson Hornet, winning two championships. In 1952, he posted three straight runner-up finishes at Detroit, Niagara Falls, and Oswego, N.Y. Three years later, he did it at Montgomery, Ala.; Langhorne, Pa.; and Raleigh, N.C.

In addition to winning five races in 1953, Rathmann finished second 12 times in 35 races. Three of those came consecutively at High Point, N.C.; Wilson, N.C.; and Rochester, N.Y.

Welborn’s second-place streak began at Columbia, S.C., then continued in Nashville and North Carolina’s Asheville-Weaverville Speedway.

Petty won more races than anyone in NASCAR and he had three consecutive runner-up finishes three times in his career. And in 1964, he finished second in four races in a row: Charlotte, Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, North Carolina’s Asheville-Weaverville Speedway and Atlanta. Petty then won the next two races after that before finishing second again in the next two.

How’s this for obscure? In 1965, Hutcherson drove his Holman-Moody Ford to consecutive runner-up finishes at Manassas, Va.; Old Bridge, N.J.; and Islip, N.Y. Two years later, Hutcherson did it again while driving for Bondy Long, finishing second at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina, Daytona and Bristol.

Pearson’s first runner-up trifecta in 1969 included Macon, Ga., Maryville, Tenn., and Michigan in a Holman-Moody Ford. Eight years later, in did it at Dover, Charlotte and Riverside in a Mercury fielded by the Wood Brothers.

The three-time NASCAR champ had a three-race runner-up streak in 1978 at Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Charlotte. Five years later he finished second in four consecutive races at Nashville, Talladega, Pocono and Michigan. In 1983, Waltrip posted 12 top-five finishes in a row.

Toward the end of the season, the future NASCAR Hall of Fame member was second in three races in a row, all in North Carolina: North Wilkesboro, Charlotte and Rockingham.

Toward the end of the season, the future NASCAR Hall of Fame member was second in three races in a row, all in North Carolina: North Wilkesboro, Charlotte and Rockingham.

The five-time NASCAR Premier Series runner-up posted consecutive second-place finishes at New Hampshire, Pocono, Indianapolis and Watkins Glen.

In 1998, Gordon (left, with the late Dale Earnhardt in 1999) won an amazing 13 races, with consecutive runner-up runs at Richmond, Dover and Martinsville in the fall. The next season, his three straight second-place finishes came at Dover, Michigan and Pocono.

Early in the 2003 season, the 2000 NASCAR champ drove his Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolets to second-place finishes at Martinsville, Auto Club and Richmond.

The 2014 NASCAR champion had his streak near the end of the summer in 2003, when he was runner-up at Michigan, Bristol and Darlington.

In the very first of his seven championship seasons, Johnson finished second in consecutive NASCAR playoff races at Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix.

In a gut-wrenching end to a great season, Edwards finished second in the final three races of 2011, leaving him tied in points with Tony Stewart. But Stewart took the title on the basis of a tiebreaker for most race victories.

So far, it’s been a fabulous season for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who in the last three weeks has finished second at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix.