Cullen took over at the head of the table in late October after a class victory in his Lotus Cortina in a Historic Racing Drivers Club race at Silverstone and was not to be denied first place thereafter with no one inside the top 50 improving following the season-ending Plum Pudding event at Mallory Park on Boxing Day.
However, for over three months of last year, it looked like a different driver would end the season on top. Freddie Slater was proving almost unstoppable in Ginetta Junior and headed the winners’ table from June until mid-September, but his decision to upgrade his licence to tackle some single-seater races meant an early end to his Ginetta campaign and gave the opportunity for others to reel him in.
INSIGHT: Is this the most exciting British prospect since Norris?
But, before Slater had truly hit his stride, it was Mazda MX-5 stars Aidan Hills and Steve Foden who led the way initially (although they ultimately fell to sixth and 11th, respectively).
As Slater moved to the top, Clubmans Sports Prototype dominator James Clarke soon became his closest rival.
United Formula Ford 1600 champion Lucas Romanek was another to have a spell in second before Slater was finally toppled from the lead by Scottish Legends ace Ryan McLeish.
Cullen then joined both McLeish and Slater on 16 wins in mid-October, meaning the battle to finish the year on top was still wide open heading into the final 2023 events, only for Cullen’s HRDC class win at Silverstone a week later which enabled him to move into first.
Clarke enjoyed some success at the November Walter Hayes Trophy weekend to return to second and join Cullen on 17 wins but two of his triumphs were class victories compared to Cullen’s one, crucially keeping the Clubmans driver behind.
For a full top 100 table, see this week's Autosport magazine.
Autosport's most successful national racers in 2023
| Pos | Driver (Car) | Overall wins | Class wins | Total |
| 1 | Michael Cullen (Raw Stryker/Ford Fiesta ST/Austin Mini Cooper S/Lotus Cortina) | 16 | 1 | 17 |
| 2 | James Clarke (Phantom PR22/Van Diemen RF90) | 15 | 2 | 17 |
| 3 | Ryan McLeish (Legends Ford Coupe) | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| 4 | Freddie Slater (Ginetta G40 Junior) | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| 5 | Lucas Romanek (Van Diemen JL13) | 16 | 0 | 16 |
| 6 | Aidan Hills (Mazda MX-5 Mk3/Ginetta G40 GT5) | 14 | 2 | 16 |
| 7 | Dan Silvester (Toyota MR2 Mk2/Honda Civic) | 5 | 11 | 16 |
| 8 | Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk20A/Van Diemen RF91) | 13 | 2 | 15 |
| 9 | Daire Flock (Citroen Saxo VTR) | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| 10 | Ravi Ramyead (Ginetta G56 GTA) | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 11 | Steve Foden (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | Ash Sutton (Ford Focus ST) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 13 | Stewart Black (Legends Ford Coupe) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 14 | Luke Reade (Ginetta G56 GT4) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 15 | Nick White (Ginetta G56 GTA) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 16 | Jonathan Lovell (Porsche Boxster S) | 11 | 1 | 12 |
| 17 | Elliot Lettis (Peugeot 107) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 18 | Graham Fennymore (Reynard SF81) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 19 | Jake Hill (BMW 330e M Sport/Nissan Primera GT/Ford Capri III 3.0S) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 20 | Steve McDermid (MG ZR 170/MG ZR 190) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 21 | Jason West (BMW M3 E46) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 22 | Matthew Hyde (AHS Dominator) | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 23 | Bryan Bransom (BMW M3 E46) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 24 | Peter Barrable (Legends Ford Coupe) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 25 | Mathieu Gauthier-Thornton (Phantom P94) | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| 26 | James Lay (Radical SR3) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 27 | Jack Parker (Legends Ford Coupe/Legends Ford Sedan) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 28 | Dan Zelos (Mini Cooper JCW) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 29 | Andrew Graham (Triumph TR8/MGB) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 30 | Tom Mills (Tatuus F4-TO14) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 31 | Steven Larkham (Radical PR6) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 32 | Phil Wright (Honda Civic EP3) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 33 | Samuel Harrison (Brabham BT21B/Reynard SF79/Brabham BT5) | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 34 | Gordon Duncan (Radical PR6) | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 35 | Scott Parkin (Volkswagen Golf TDI/Audi TTCR) | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| 36 | David Drinkwater (BMW Compact) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 37 | Andrew Young (MGC GT) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 38 | Freddie Chiddicks (Caterham 7 270R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 39 | Michael Gibbins (MCR S2n) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 40 | Shaun Traynor (Toyota MR2 Roadster) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 41 | Rory Smith (Medina Sport JL18/Ralt RT4) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 42 | Stephen Berry (Mini Cooper S) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 43 | Neil Fowler (MGB GTV8) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 44 | Stewart Place (Peugeot 205 GTI) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 45 | Charles Hall (Mittell MC-41R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 46 | Jordan Kelly (Van Diemen RF06) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 47 | Cameron Fenton (Global GT Light) | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 48 | Gary Prebble (Honda Civic/SEAT Leon Cupra 20v T) | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 49 | Graham Moore (GMS Fireblade) | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 50 | Theo Micouris (Radical SR1) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
All car races in UK and Ireland are included except qualification/repechage, consolation and handicap races. No races in other countries. Class wins are only counted when there are at least six starters in the class, unless it is part of a multi-stage event where six or more have taken part in earlier heats that feed into a semi-final or final. Only classes divided by car characteristics are included. Classes divided by driver characteristics such as ability, professional status, age, experience (for example rookie or Pro-Am classes) are not included. Each race counts only once, so an overall winner’s class win is not added. Where there is a tie, overall wins take precedence. Where there is still a tie, average grid size for a driver’s wins determines the order.
