Driver Talent - Top 10

[djarumdudley]

pretty simple here, rank your top ten Cup drivers for overall driving ability regardless of team(or bonehead maneuvers, one who pushes the edge is bound to cross it at times.)

1. Robby Gordon
2. Tony Stewart
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Greg Biffle
5. Kyle Busch
6. Juan Pablo Montoya
7. Mark Martin
8. Kurt Busch
9. Ryan Newman
10. Carl Edwards

[Sparky1329]

As far as having a natural ability I think the first three are pretty even.

[blakebeatty]

1 Jeff Gordon
2 Tony Stewart
3 Jimmie Johnson
4 Matt Kenseth
5 Denny Hamlin
6 Carl Edwards
7 Kyle Busch
8 Jeff Burton
8 Kurt Busch
9 Kevin Harvick
10 Mark Martin

Though today, you have to admit, that 75 percent of a drivers ability is his ability to diagnose the ailments of a car, and figure out what needs to be done to correct them. At this, I would have to place Jimmie on the top. When Tony has a crappy car, he never usually recovers.

[djarumdudley]

Though today, you have to admit, that 75 percent of a drivers ability is his ability to diagnose the ailments of a car, and figure out what needs to be done to correct them. At this, I would have to place Jimmie on the top. When Tony has a crappy car, he never usually recovers.

rather good point, talent isn't only about mashing the gas and keeping it straight.

[Alexamateo]

Tony Stewart
Jeff Gordon
Jimmie Johnson
Juan Pablo Montoya
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Greg Biffle
Matt Kenseth
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
Kasey Kahne

[tstran17_88]

Though today, you have to admit, that 75 percent of a drivers ability is his ability to diagnose the ailments of a car, and figure out what needs to be done to correct them. At this, I would have to place Jimmie on the top. When Tony has a crappy car, he never usually recovers.With that criteria I’d agree with JJ being one, but Matt Kenseth would be a real close second.
Overall ability to drive anything on four wheels would go to Stewart, with Jeff Gordon a close second.

[dwboogityfan]

In terms of being able to get in a car and go fast, and improve the team my top 10 are the following

1 - Tony Stewart
2 - Jeff Gordon
3 - Juan Montoya
4 - Robby Gordon
5 - Matt Kenseth
6 - Jimmie Johnson
7 - Jeff Burton
8 - Kurt Busch
9 - Mark Martin
10 - David Reutimann

Reutimann may surprise some but he has been quick in whatever type of car he has ever driven and out performed team-mates.

[harvick#1]

1. Stewart
2. R. Gordon (hes #1 when it comes to racing at the glen :D )
3. Kyle Busch
4. Greg Biffle
5. Jeff Gordon
6. Matt Kenseth
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Jimmie Johnson
9. Hornaday :D
10. Erin Crocker :p :

[blakebeatty]

haha! not one mention of Jr. I agree that he is not top ten, but assumed at least one Jr fan would come out of the woodworks with an all Jr/Truex list. And not many agree with Denny Hamlin

[harvick#1]

I don't think Jr is anywhere close to his dad. jr is ok but hes not great, he seems to be more worried about a bud commercial than racing

[wbcobrar]

1)Matt Kenseth

[wbcobrar]

1)Matt Kenseth
2)Burton
3)(hate to admit this)Jeff Gordon
4)Jimmy Johnson
5)Hamlin
6)Stuart
7)Martin
8)Edwards
9)Kurt Busch(If you can stop him from kicking himself in the teeth)
10) tie- Harvick and Erin Crocker
Kenseth has everything you could ask for in a stock car driver , consistant ,patient ,and when its time to go , he can pass anyone. He's also one of a dieing breed of drivers who knows what's wrong with a car , and what will make it better . Great pit crue and Robbie Riser have helped him emensly too .

[IMSAFAN1]

The only 3 people who I would really call drivers are Robby Gordon,,,Tony Stewart and JPM. No disrespect to the others but they're more entertainers. These 3 were winning races in other forms of motorsports.

[wbcobrar]

So IMSAFAN1 I guess you assume Deon Sanders , Jim Thorp , and Bo Jackson were the only great ball players and Jo Montana and Hank Aaron were more enterainers.

[djarumdudley]

9. Hornaday :D


Hornaday is a great choice, shame he never got a real Cup ride to properly showcase his talents.

[Alexamateo]

haha! not one mention of Jr. I agree that he is not top ten, but assumed at least one Jr fan would come out of the woodworks with an all Jr/Truex list. And not many agree with Denny Hamlin

:erm: Did you see my post 5? or can't you read? :D ;) :eek:

[Hoss Ghoul]

Lots of love for Robby, and yeah, he's talented, but he's an idiot too. He's proof that talent is only one component in being a great race car driver.

As for the lack of people putting Earnhardt in their lists...well, that's just ignoring the stats...

I honestly don't know how to answer a list like this though, talent is one thing, harnessing it is another. That's what makes a great race car driver, and in my mind that's more important than talent. Needless to say, my top 10 driver list would differ from my top 10 talent list.

[Hoss Ghoul]

So IMSAFAN1 I guess you assume Deon Sanders , Jim Thorp , and Bo Jackson were the only great ball players and Jo Montana and Hank Aaron were more enterainers.

That's what we call a zinger!

Shameless Niners fan here. ;)

[Speedworx]

1. Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Robby Gordon
4. Kyle Busch
5. Ryan Newman
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Casey Mears
8. Reed Sorenson
9. Martin Truex Jr
10. Mark Martin

[IMSAFAN1]

what I was saying is that those three people are what I would call a real driver. Mario was a driver,,,,AJ Foyt was a driver..... Jackie Stewart was a driver....each of them was very successful in other forms of motorsports. Robby...Tony and Montoya are drivers from like the old days. hop into a car and be successful.

[F1boat]

1) Jeff Gordon
2) Tony Stewart
3) Jimmie Johnson
4) Juan Montoya
5) Kevin Harvick
6) Kasey Kahne
7) Matt Kenseth
8) Robby Gordon
10) Earnhardt jnr.

[SmokeFan20]

1 - Tony Stewart
2 - Jeff Gordon
3 - Matt Kenseth
4 - Jimmie Johnson
5 - Jeff Burton
6 - Kevin Harvick
7 - Mark Martin
8 - Juan Pablo Montoya
9 - Dale Earnhardt Jr
10 - Robby Gordon

[wbcobrar]

Mario , A.J. Foyt , Jackie Stewart , Parnelli Jones , Elliot Forbes-Robbenson , Brian Reddman , I get it IMSAFAN1 ,the crossover driver . The driver so "tallented" he can get in any car and win the race.
This is the NASCAR forum though , and when someone asks here who the most tallented driver is , I assume its directed twards the tallent of driving stock cars . I am a fan of many types of motorsports as well , however I've grown tired of the snobbery and utter disrespect shown to stock car drivers and fans by fans of other types of racing .
The facts of the matter is that , particularly here in the states , the most tallented drivers right now are NASCAR drivers . Most of these drivers grew up wanting to be NASCAR drivers. Here in the Midwest and through the south , local dirt and short tracks groom the Cup stars of tomarrow like they have for decades . True there are other stepping stones to NASCAR , but let me put it this way , Denny Hamlins first year in the big leagues was much batter than super tallented J.P.M.
A local radio show talks to Matt Kenseth almost once a week . I was suprised to hear him say he doesnt remember watching the Indy 500 . It made sence when Memorial day weekend , like most other weekends , were spent racing at these tracks .
Stock car racing is a specialized type of racing you may not understand , but dont belittle your inteligence by saying it's top stars are merely entertainers , there by infering they are some how less tallented than someone else who may have had success elswere.
And by the way , Robbie Gordon is terriffic in baha trucks , and his 4 class championchips in IMSA are something that he has abundant talent driving a racecar . Honestly though , he was a middle of the pack driver in the open wheel stuff , and just plane sucks at everything but road courses in a stock car.

P.S. dale jr. on my list is #11 and rising

[F1boat]

I am a fan of many types of motorsports as well , however I've grown tired of the snobbery and utter disrespect shown to stock car drivers and fans by fans of other types of racing .


I am confused by this. I am not a huge fan of NASCAR - I started to watch it more carefully cause of Montoya, although I love it in computer games, but for me it was always clear, that it is very competitive and very tough. The fact that great champion like Tony Stewart didn't make the Chase last year, shows how tough it is.
For me NASCAR currently is probably the toughest championship.

[wedge]

All round talent:

1.Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Gordon
3. JPM
4. Mark Martin
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Robby Gordon

NASCAR:

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Tony Stewart
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Mark Martin
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Dale Jnr
9. JPM
10. Kasey Kahne

[Cozzie]

No mention of Vickers, he has peformed really well despite not having a great car this year...remember what he got through at Bristol.

[IMSAFAN1]

hey wbcobrar......I would love to respond to your statement but I can't understand what you were trying to say because of your spelling. Learn to spell.

[djarumdudley]

No mention of Vickers, he has peformed really well despite not having a great car this year...remember what he got through at Bristol.

Vickers is ok, but he's gotta do more to get near the top tier of drivers. when he qualifies his car has been very good. at Hendrick he only did ok, though it was in the 25. i believe his succes this year in races is more of a product of having Doug Richert as crew chief, not so much his driving ability.

[blakebeatty]

What is vickers background?

[wedge]

No mention of Vickers, he has peformed really well despite not having a great car this year...remember what he got through at Bristol.

Yeah, I was thinking about him. THere's too much talent/promising guys for a top 10!

If it was a top 15 then I would've easily added Kurt Bush, Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton, Brian Vickers on the list!

[Alexamateo]

What is vickers background?

Vicker's is from NC, and his family put together an underfunded operation to run the Busch series when he was 18. They struggled, but did get some attention, most importantly from Ricky Hendrick, who was being encouraged to get out of the car after a hard crash at Kansas. RIcky made the decision to hire his good friend Vickers, and they won the Busch championship the next year together.

[tstran17_88]

The only 3 people who I would really call drivers are Robby Gordon,,,Tony Stewart and JPM. No disrespect to the others but they're more entertainers. These 3 were winning races in other forms of motorsports.Hmmm, I know Jimmie Johnson, Dave Blaney, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne did fairly well in other forms of motorsport too. :confused:

[Mark in Oshawa]

Ok, here ya go:

1)Tony Stewart
2)Jeff Gordon
3)Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4)Kevin Harvick
5)Denny Hamelin
6)Jimmie Johnson
7)Kasey Kahne
8)Kurt Busch
9)Matt Kenseth
10)Carl Edwards

Now, JPM would make the list if we said drivers in anything. We didn't. IT is NASCAR, and JPM aint there yet as a NASCAR driver. Robby Gordon is one of the most overrated talents out there. That said, he is still pretty good in a lot of things, but Tony Stewart is 5 times the driver Robby is and has won in everything he has raced. Robby cannot say that, and what is more Robby's attitude is worse than Smoke's historically, although I do think Robby is growing up now he pays his own bills for his stupidity.

Jr. is way underrated since DEI has not been really truly competitive for 4 years, yet he always is close to or in the chase. Martin, Blaney and Bobby Labonte get honouable mention, as does Jeff Burton, one of the classiest people anywhere. It is a tough list to compile, but I think I have the top 10 nailed, we would just argue about who belongs where on it. I dislike Kurt, and don't cheer for Jimmie and Jeffy, but they are talents. I love Mark Martin, but I think he too is an honourable mention at this point.

If we did an all world list of drivers, 4 of these guys might be there.....especially Stewart, who flat out can race anything...

[MD24]

1. Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Juan Pablo Montoya
4. Mark Martin
5. Kurt Busch
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Kyle Busch
8. Matt Kenseth
9. Denny Hamlin
10.Carl Edwards

[JG Fan]

Here go

1) Jeff Gordon
2) Tony Stewart
3) Kyle Busch
4) Kevin Harvick
5) Matt Kenseth (boring but good)
6) Kurt Busch
7) Greg Biffle
8) Jimmie Johnson
9) Denny Hamlin
10) Casey Mears (i think he may suffer from being Jeff, Jr, Jimmies team mate thou)

JPM isn't there yet in Nascar but he will get there and when he does he will be up there with the megastars of Jeff and Tony.

[Old3Fan]

He's not my favorite but the most talented and successful in Nascar today is Jeffy Poo Gordon without a doubt.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Old3...I say Stewart and Gordon are 1, and 1A. Stewart has been more active in stepping back into his roots or running cars that are outside of his comfortzone, so I give him a bit of points for that, even though, as evalutating as NASCAR talents, it maybe isnt' relevent. I just know that Smoke seems to be more of a fighter than Jeff, and I think in a man to man battle, I will put my money on Smoke. Jeff is tougher than he lets on, and his successes are undeniable, but after seeing Smoke win a sick as he was at the Glen a few years back, I realize he would knock down a wall to win, and I don't know if Jeff is willing to that anymore. Smoke leaves no illusion he will do anything to win.....

[muggle not]

1 Jeff Gordon
2 Tony Stewart
3 Jimmie Johnson
4 Jeff Burton
5 Mark Martin
6 Kurt Busch
7 Greg Biffle
8 Kyle Bush
9 Denny Hamlin
9 Kevin Harvick
10 Casey Mears

[Jimmie48instyle]

Well, I'm not certain whether "living or dead" among the greatest Nascar drivers but here are my choices:

1. Dale Earnhardt Sr. (sadly missed)
2. Jeff Gordon (Diaper Changer and Burping mechanic)
3. Jimmie Johnson (to be continued)
4. Tony Stewart (glow in the dark HD Olympic fence climber)
5. Matt Kenseth (DeWalt's finest aerodynamic tool)
6. Kevin Harvick (Mr. Happy face jury still out)
7. Denny Hamlin (crybaby elite)
8. Dale Jr. (Bud won't be on the car, but Jr.'s whole lot Weiser)
9. Kyle Busch (dead man's curve with attitude, needs a mouth alignment)
10. Darryl Waltrip (boogity boogity boogity let's go racin)

Nancy

[SmokeFan20]

Old3...I say Stewart and Gordon are 1, and 1A. Stewart has been more active in stepping back into his roots or running cars that are outside of his comfortzone, so I give him a bit of points for that, even though, as evalutating as NASCAR talents, it maybe isnt' relevent. I just know that Smoke seems to be more of a fighter than Jeff, and I think in a man to man battle, I will put my money on Smoke. Jeff is tougher than he lets on, and his successes are undeniable, but after seeing Smoke win a sick as he was at the Glen a few years back, I realize he would knock down a wall to win, and I don't know if Jeff is willing to that anymore. Smoke leaves no illusion he will do anything to win.....

I agree with everything you said. Especially the last part.

Back in 2005, Tony won the the race at Sonoma while steering with only one hand because he had to hold the gearshift in place to keep it from popping out of gear.
How many drivers can steer one handed on a road course, and pass cars while doing so?

[RaceFanStan]

Looking at overall driving talent & making moves that have impressed me :
(good passes, great saves, bold successful moves, etc...)
Using the age of under-40 as a cut-off my top 10 list is :
01. Tony Stewart - 2 time Cup Series Champion / IROC Champion
02. Jeff Gordon - 4 time Cup Series Champion
03. Greg Biffle - 1 time Busch & Truck Series Champion
04. Kyle Busch
05. Kasey Kahne
06. Kevin Harvick - 2 time Busch Series Champion / IROC Champion
07. Matt Kenseth - 1 time Cup Series Champion / IROC Champion
08. Carl Edwards
09. Kurt Busch - 1 time Cup & Truck Series Champion / IROC Champion
10. Denny Hamlin

Honorable Mention
My most talented over-40 top 5 list is :
01. Mark Martin - 4 times 2nd in Cup Series Championship / 5 time IROC Champion
02. Jeff Burton
03. Bobby Labonte - 1 time Cup & Busch Series Champion / IROC Champion
04. Dale Jarrett - 1 time Cup Series Champion
05. Sterling Marlin
(These drivers are still actice but will soon end or limit their driving time)
(These drivers are up in age but could still win a race at any time IMO)

[blakebeatty]

I agree with everything you said. Especially the last part.

Back in 2005, Tony won the the race at Sonoma while steering with only one hand because he had to hold the gearshift in place to keep it from popping out of gear.
How many drivers can steer one handed on a road course, and pass cars while doing so?

Riggs drove bristol with just his left hand. That is an agressive track in terms of corners, you are turning nearly as long as not. And you really need to hold that bottom line.

[Old3Fan]

I would agree with probably most all of the above posts however, Montoya has proven himself in every major racing endevor including CART, IRL, F1 and is working on Nascar and learning at a pace faster than I thought he would. Maybe too fast for some Nascar followers however, if you are not aggressive, which he is you don't win. In another year or so of experience he will be right up there with Stewart and Gordon with his Nascar abilities.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Stan, I know you hate Jr. but if he wasn't in the top 10 in talent, Hendrick wouldn't have opened the piggy bank up to get him...

Jr. has been hurt by running for a team that hasn't always been giving him the goods to run up front, and he has dragged it there anyhow. Of course, you will disagree, and that is fine, but I think next year will be more accurate on who is right...