OK, I know every Cup fan could come up with a different list of "The 20 Most Talented Active Drivers in Cup Racing" so I'll throw my list out and look forward to hearing who you think I left off that should be included and who I included that you feel shouldn't have been.
The only caveat is that you must realize there is a difference between listing The 20 Best Active Cup Drivers and The 20 Most Talented Active Drivers in Cup Racing. I'll illustrate that significant difference while presenting the list.
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have to be the top two on my list. Their winning percentage and championship runs speak for themselves. Johnson gets my nod for number one but boy would I have liked to seen the difference if they had swapped crew chiefs the past couple of seasons.
My next two are Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. While Kyle hasn't been around long, I give him a slight edge over Smoke.
Carl Edwards gets my nod at number five although his most recent win was certainly tainted with compelling evidence that there was intentional cheating.
Sixth through Tenth in Order: Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Dale Jr., Ryan Newman, and Mark Martin.
I'd put Kenseth, Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Kasey Kahne in the next group but I have to add Juan Pablo, Dario, and Sam Hornish as being arguably more talented than any of those four. While they haven't shown their full talent in a Cup car yet, they proved plenty in open wheel cars to earn spots on this list (which again is not a list of the Top 20 Cup Drivers but instead is a list of the 20 Most Talented Drivers in Cup Racing).
That leaves three spots and my picks are Denny Hamlin, a 3-time Cup race winner and two guys with single victories so far in Cup racing, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers.
Notably Absent: Robby Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Martin Truex, Jr. and ???
I know Robby has tremendous car control and talent but what has he really done with it? As for Bobby, his winning percentage is 12th best of the drivers listed above, but he is with a bad team and on the down side of his awesome career.
So, now it's your turn and I look forward to reading your comments.
Hi Torch,
Well I just think he has more ability and will win more races than Greg. Counting his tainted win, he has a higher winning percentage as well. I think they are close but if I could only hire one of the two to drive for me it would be Carl.
Clearly you chose the "top 20" because deep-down you looooooove Tony Stewart. :)
I don't see how you can include JPM, Dario, and Hornish and leave out Robby. Robby and drive anything and drive it well, right up until he uses up his equipment - million dollar talent/five cent brains.
No Michael Waltrip?!?! For SHAME. *snicker*
EDIT: You night want to make it more clear that you've got Junior there. I read that thing three times before I saw that you HAD included him, but it looks like you put "Kurt Busch Jr." and I really thought you were just trying to bait the Junior fans this time.
Last edited by JayJayDean on March 14th at 3:12 PM.
JJD,
Thanks, I went back and added Dale in front of Jr. so hopefully everyone will see he is on my list AND in my top ten.
Torch,
I think Dale Jr. will be in The Chase this year and on a regular basis for the next 6-8 years at least. He's with a great organization and he deserves to be in the Top Ten on any Cup list. I've never been a huge fan of his but he has grown on me a lot in recent years and I love his Back In The Day show. Go Jr.
JJD,
I have always admired Tony's talent. He can win in anything with wheels and has done so repeatedly. I have issues with his character but he definitely is one of the top five drivers in Cup racing today.
By the way, Sam and Juan Pablo and Dario have championships and Indy 500 wins. Robby may have more talent than some of the lower guys on my list (Brian Vickers?) and he seems to get as much out of his car as anyone but he just hasn't done enough to make this list. His win was on a road course and he's had a lot more starts than Vickers. Bottom-line, I know any such list leaves a lot of room for debate and I could argue on either side of the Robby on or off the list question.
Actually, Robby's got THREE wins - his first was at Loudon in 2001 (the race that was postponed by 9/11), then he swept the road course races in 2003. FWIW, he also won a Busch race at Richmond in 2004.
I stand corrected. I relied on a source I thought was accurate. However, his win percentage is not as high as Truex or Bowyer and Jeremy Mayfield has 5 wins so there is more to this than number of wins. Again, though, I agree it is easy to argue that he is more deserving than Brian Vickers and perhaps others. Thanks for the correction.
If the list were talent based you would have to include Juan Pablo (?) wouldn't you. Otherwise I don't think I'd change a thing. Wonder what all the "Hatin Hoosier" Smoke fans are doing now that their guy is on your "Tops" list? Doesn't look like any of them have too much to say! (?) Unlike tuesday. Figures.
OOPS, I just went back and re-read your blog! Guess I should pay better attention...then again when youre screwing off at work...OH WELL
Brad,
I agree about Juan Pablo. He's on the second ten along with Kenseth, Harvick, Hornish, Dario, etc. I think he may be near the top of that second ten list. Or are you saying he should have made the top ten? I could argue that as well. He's just going to keep getting better in Cup racing.
Once again we will agree to disagree but i like your blogs so that why i keep coming back...one ? why do you have shrub ranked better that Stewart???? Come on he has only won a couple of races and no championships, he's ok but over Smoke...we will disagree on that one even if i like JGR..Have a great weekend
Last edited by ts20toy08 on March 14th at 4:24 PM.
ts20,
Just a gut feel on my part that going forward from the beginning of this season, Rowdy will finish better than Smoke in the points and become a more prolific winner but that is obviously just educated speculation on my part. I think if he does beat Tony in the points this year, Tony will leave JGR. I realize probably 90% of fans of all drivers who read this will probably find that ranking questionable but there will be lots who disagree with many other choices as well. Again, have a great weekend friend and thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Last edited by HoosierRacer13 on March 14th at 4:41 PM.
HR13 - Talented active drivers on what? Wins? championship with a great team and crew chief? Jeff and Jimmie would fall under that. Take away Chad and Jimmie dosn't win back to back champs. Kyle Busch can drive a reck to a win. Your favorite driver even thought you won't say it, lol Tony has driven almost every type of big time forms of racing. Don't know if he won in all types?
Its hard to say HR13, You can't messure the talent unless they all have the same type of car and you take away the crews from it. I wish they kept a statt on recks/crashes that they caused would help.
I think I would go with Mark Martin as my number one cause he can bring a low ball car to a top 10 finish better then anyone, if we are talking NASCAR Nationwide & Cup.
PS - Heres one for you. Watch a old race today from Atlanta. Its the one Dale Jr came from 11th place in 6 laps to win, A mirrow of what his Dad did once in a race. Anyway the 4th place driver was a Brandan Gaughan rookie car #77 ? You or anyone else know what happen to him. was this a one race wonder/season ? cheers
Anyway the 4th place driver was a Brandan Gaughan rookie car #77 ? You or anyone else know what happen to him. was this a one race wonder/season ?
He drove the 77 just that one year, but he's been a full-time Truck Series driver since pretty much 2002, except for that Cup season. In 2003, he won six Truck races and finished fourth in points - although doing the points MY way he came out first, so I guess he is the 2004 JJD Truck Series champion. (Travis Kvapil ACTUALLY won the title that season.)
He is currently driving the #10 truck. Also, his father owns the Orleans casino and hotel in Vegas, so he's not exactly one of those guys scraping by to put food on the table.
Well... So much is influenced by the team and the crew chief. You eluded to that, but I didn't really see it in your ranking of a few of the drivers. I am happy to see you put Newman up there. That is a case of acknowledging driver performance in spite of equipment. Newman and most of the Dodge drivers had been at the mercy of the "Dodge nose" in recent years. During that time Newman had quite a dry spell broken only by his poles, and the New Hampshire win. It would be easy for most to overlook his ability. As far as the order of your ranking, I'd probably have them in a slightly different order from 3 up. But, all in all, I'd say I'm pretty much in agreement. Hoosier, haven't seen you posting much lately. Probably a good choice on your part. Too many wackos out there. By the way, if you ever call me a liberal again, I'll hunt you down, and give you a wedgey! lol
photogr,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Yep, this list is based on many races but a driver could be added to or fall off the list quickly with several great or lousy perfomrances over a 4 or 5 week period.
Forensic2,
This list is just based upon my personal observations from following racing for more than 50 years and from watching the drivers throughout their careers including accomplishments before they arrived in Cup but it is totally SUBJECTIVE. I understand that. I tried to base it on talent that would make me want to hire them to drive for my team if I suddenly was rich enough to own a Cup operation. Knowing everyone has different thoughts on evaluating talent, it was posted to generate debate. I have no "special" tools for evaluating talent but appreciate hearing comments from those who see the rankings I've listed differently. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
CR,
On no, not the dreaded wedgy - lol. As for my rankings, I know the guys who came through USAC running both asphalt and dirt have to be extremely talented to be successful in midgets, sprints, and Silver Crown cars. That's one reason I like Ryan Newman and Tony, Jeff, Kasey, etc. The dirt experience is also a reason I like Carl and Clint Bowyer. I think Ryan is somewhat overlooked and under-rated and Bowyer is another one who probably deserves more notice and respect than many fans realize. Thanks for commenting you extreme left-wing, radical, pinko, marxist. socialist pig - lol. PLEASE NOTE: I didn't say liberal. Actually, I don't remember that specific comment but I can barely remember where I park my car when I go to the mall. Sometimes I have to be rescued to even find my way home from the mall.
I really like your list HR13. Agree with the open wheel talent in the top-twenty AND I agree that Robby really hasn't acheived much with his time. If he had gone to say HMS or Roush earlier we would have a better perspective. I don't think much of Vickers right now and would slide Labonte in ahead. Brian had a lot of potential at Hendrick and shows flashes of that, but I don't think he will end up in the top-18 this year, despite his start. Labonte won't win a race and will have, maybe, 6 top-tens, but he races with an organization that spends no money and a teammate that hasn't been a Cup-level talent for 10-12 years.
Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts moseby. Yeah Vickers was a tough call for me but if I had to add one in his place it would probably be Truex although Bobby Labonte has always been a favorite of mine because he has the same kind of class as Mark Martin. It will be interesting to see where Vickers, Truex, Robby, and Bobby end up in the points this year. I agree Bobby is still much better than his equipment lets him show.
HR13 - Bobby had to leave Gibbs because they were cutting all there bodies to Tony's specs. This was the right thing to do because Tony was the flagship of JGR at the time. But Labonte couldn't drive the loose set-ups that Stewart drives. I wish he could have gone to RCR or DEI at the time, because even though each had Jr. and Harvick, he could have been a mainstay for those teams. It has worked out well for Jeff Burton, deservedly. The Petty move should have been a one-year deal, but he is very good friends and loyal to Kyle. It is now time for him to move on, hopefully a 4th RCR car. Think he can get 3 more years out of Cup racing with a good team, but staying at Petty will just be a waste of his time/talent remaining.
HR13
Whats u'r take on biffle? There were alot of rumors of him possibly moving to DEI until Martin announced he would remain with DEI until his son started racing in the cup series(approx. 5 years). He sure is on a roll with his newly formed team (9 replacements this year). Although I feel if he was given a GREAT team, not to say DEI has one, he would be one of the top five drivers on anyones list while raking up multiple wins. I've been a Biffle fan since his Nascar debut and watched his team blow alot of races for him. He is an exciting on the edge driver who just needs a consistant TEAM behind him. Let me know what u thank because he's way better than the CRYBABY who has a great team behind him.
scott,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Well I have da Biff rated sixth and I consider that pretty high respect. He maybe should even be ahead of Carl but I will stick with my top four as is for now. I like the way Biffle drives - he's a relentless competitor and has tons of talent, much more than Kenseth in my opinion. It should be a very interesting Chase this year.
Based on your stated criteria, there isnt a lot I would change about your list except maybe the placement of one or two of the drivers.
There is an agruement that the driver is only as good as his crew and his equipment, and I agree with that. BUT, the flip side of the coin is that if a driver is truly talented, he should be able to take bad stuff and drive it to the front anyway. I kinda agree with this too. God now I've got myself confused!
