Screw the Chase--Drivers of the Year

Revman

Revman

Denny beat your favorite driver....again!
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Okay, top five drivers this year regardless of points...

1) Jeff Gordon
2) Joey Logano
3) Brad Kez
4) Kevin Harvick
5) Jimmie Johnson

Go....
 
FLRacingFan said:
1) Jeff Gordon
2) Joey Logano
3) Kevin Harvick
4) Brad Keselowski
5) Jimmie Johnson
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
---------------------------- Significant dropoff
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Completely agree.
 
FLRacingFan said:
1) Jeff Gordon
2) Joey Logano
3) Kevin Harvick
4) Brad Keselowski
5) Jimmie Johnson
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
---------------------------- Significant dropoff
Click to expand...
My list would be essentially identical to yours. The only difference would be that I would put Harvick above Joey and Brad. I feel like darn near every week, Jeff and Harv are at the front together at some point, with the Penske boys not too far behind. Harv could definitely be sitting on more than two wins right now. Subpar performances by his crew and mechanical attrition have robbed him a few times this year IMO. Heck, Gordon could have a couple more wins too.
 
I'm really looking forward to the Chase!

Only said that coz you said screw the chase.

But otherwise pretty bang on with the drivers...
 
FLRacingFan said:
1) Jeff Gordon
2) Joey Logano
3) Kevin Harvick
4) Brad Keselowski
5) Jimmie Johnson
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
---------------------------- Significant dropoff
Click to expand...
This^

Its crazy how much that dropoff is... It will be one of these drivers that wins the cup.

... a few mechanical problems and a Morgan Shepard less and we might be saying Joey at the top spot.

Also I would probably put Jr ahead of Jimmie... but its Jimmie so....
 
Top Five

1) Jeff Gordon
2)Dale Earnhardt Jr
3) Kevin Harvick
4) Brad Keselowski
5) Jimmie Johnson
 
Revman said:
Okay, top five drivers this year regardless of points...

1) Jeff Gordon
2) Joey Logano
3) Brad Kez
4) Kevin Harvick
5) Jimmie Johnson

Go....
Click to expand...

What's your criteria? I'm going with importance of their accomplishments to their organization.

1) A.J. Allmendinger (JTG will benefit from that win for years to come)
2) Kyle Larson (Where would Ganassi racing be this year without him?)
3) Joey Logano (In 2 short years he's taken the 22 from the ashes of the Kurt and A.J mess to true contenders)
4) Dale Jr (Huge for the sport, but also makes securing full sponsorship much easier)
5) Kevin Harvick (Where would SHR be without him?)
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Heck, I'd throw Jr. ahead of everyone on that list other than Gordon. He was only one Harvick eff up from being points leader. Had a solid run again last weekend.
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I had him in spikes game... :confused:

Even without the wreck I'd probably put Joey ahead of him... but I'd probably do that anyway lol
 
FenderBumper said:
What's your criteria? I'm going with importance of their accomplishments to their organization.

1) A.J. Allmendinger (JTG will benefit from that win for years to come)
2) Kyle Larson (Where would Ganassi racing be this year without him?)
3) Joey Logano (In 2 short years he's taken the 22 from the ashes of the Kurt and A.J mess to true contenders)
4) Dale Jr (Huge for the sport, but also makes securing full sponsorship much easier)
5) Kevin Harvick (Where would SHR be without him?)
Click to expand...

Criteria....The best year--not feel good stories, but the fastest cars driven well by the best drivers of the year. IMO, Gordon hands down. He has been bad fast almost everywhere. When he lost the pole in Fontana, the dude looked like he was going to kill somebody. He has the look of a Champion. I am impressed.
 
Clutch said:
I'm really looking forward to the Chase!

Only said that coz you said screw the chase.

But otherwise pretty bang on with the drivers...
Click to expand...

I like the Chase in any format, but I'm talking regardless of Chase implications--who has been the best?
 
Revman said:
Criteria....The best year--not feel good stories, but the fastest cars driven well by the best drivers of the year. IMO, Gordon hands down. He has been bad fast almost everywhere. When he lost the pole in Fontana, the dude looked like he was going to kill somebody. He has the look of a Champion. I am impressed.
Click to expand...

So why isn't Jr. on your list?
 
I don't think you can look at the top 4 drivers right now and say for sure those will be the 4 guys battling for a championship at Homestead. As is the case almost every year, at least one guy who had a great regular season will sh!t the bed come Chase time, and at least one guy who had a not so great regular season will come out of nowhere and be a contender.
 
Paul menard and Larson.
Doing the best with not much.

I REALLY enjoy watching Larson race. He reminds me of Kyle Busch without the drama. Just a racer that wont quit, wont lift, wants to win everything he drives.
Menard quietly races consistent. Reminds me of a little of Mark Martin. Where would RCR be without him?
 
I'm bored so I'm breaking mine down.

1. Joey Logano ( Has won on short and intermediate tracks and has contended for wins on most track types)

2. Brad Keselowski (Also won on drastically different tracks and contended for wins on others)

3. Jeff Gordon (Won on mostly horsepower tracks. Not many of those in Chase. Still a threat on most tracks though)

4. Jimmie Johnson (Won on his usual tracks besides Michigan. Same ol' Jimmie right now. Shown usual pre-chase difficulties but that fixes itself every time)

5. Tie

Kevin Harvick (Have thrown away wins many due to pit crew and driver error. Shown crazy speed and ability to win but have not sealed the deal on most. Can still be a threat)

Dale Jr ( Won on restrictor plate track and both Pocono races and contended for wins on a lot of tracks. Still missing something to really be a week to week threat but more than likely is going to be a contender for championship)


Other Mentions:

-Matt Kenseth (Super consistent but no wins and has not contended for many. Can become a threat at any point)

-Carl Edwards (As with all of Roush, only really been a threat on short tracks. Has carried the whole team all year. Won on a road course too but none of those in Chase)

-Kyle Busch (Same as Kenseth. Can become a threat at any point with not much surprise)

- Denny Hamlin (Shown some speed and aggression lately. Always good to see out of any driver)


I'm bored with typing now
 
Mr. Gregory said:
My list would be essentially identical to yours. The only difference would be that I would put Harvick above Joey and Brad. I feel like darn near every week, Jeff and Harv are at the front together at some point, with the Penske boys not too far behind. Harv could definitely be sitting on more than two wins right now. Subpar performances by his crew and mechanical attrition have robbed him a few times this year IMO. Heck, Gordon could have a couple more wins too.
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It was awfully close; if this were posted last week I would've had Harvick just ahead of Logano.
 
SlicedBread22 said:
This^

Its crazy how much that dropoff is... It will be one of these drivers that wins the cup.

... a few mechanical problems and a Morgan Shepard less and we might be saying Joey at the top spot.

Also I would probably put Jr ahead of Jimmie... but its Jimmie so....
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The only thing I'm waiting for Jr. to do is go out and dominate a race and win like all of the others have. He's been a consistent Top 5 driver all year long but the Pocono wins kinda fell into his lap. Gordon at Indy and arguably Michigan, Logano at Texas, Keselowski at Kentucky and New Hampshire, Harvick at Phoenix and Darlington, Jimmie at Charlotte and Dover - all performances where they led a big chunk of the race and were really the driver to beat on that day.
 
Haven't figured out.
great competitive season so far with a half a dozen drivers making a good case.
 
DanicaFreak said:
Menard quietly races consistent. Reminds me of a little of Mark Martin. Where would RCR be without him?
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right where they are...1 car maybe in the chase and it's not Menard...consistent running mid-pack...without daddy's money, he probably wouldn't even be mid-pack.
 
pudge said:
right where they are...1 car maybe in the chase and it's not Menard...consistent running mid-pack...without daddy's money, he probably wouldn't even be mid-pack.
Click to expand...

Dunno--thought I remembered several races where menard was top RCR car?

Vegas, Califorina...
 
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dpkimmel2001 said:
I'm not sure where any of these drivers would be without someone's money. I never quite understood the argument.
Click to expand...
I think the argument with Menard though is that he wouldn't have gotten many of the rides he's had if he didn't have built-in sponsorship wherever he goes. In his case it's not just someone's money, it's his father's money. John Menard is highly unlikely to pull the plug on his son sponsorship-wise if the performance is not there, whereas other sponsors would likely flee to another driver if the performance was lacking.
 
You people at the top of the thread have pretty much got it spot on. Even if Kurt could get another win, they are too inconsistent to even be considered this year.

I'm still cheering for Kurt to get that second win though.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I'm not sure where any of these drivers would be without someone's money. I never quite understood the argument.
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i don't think he would be at RCR without having his daddy's money. would Richard have him if it wasn't guaranteed money? as hard as sponsorship is to get, without his daddy, do you think he would have an interest from RCR.
 
ToyYoda said:
I think the argument with Menard though is that he wouldn't have gotten many of the rides he's had if he didn't have built-in sponsorship wherever he goes. In his case it's not just someone's money, it's his father's money. John Menard is highly unlikely to pull the plug on his son sponsorship-wise if the performance is not there, whereas other sponsors would likely flee to another driver if the performance was lacking.
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The guy is a winner in the Cup Series. Not a bit of shame in that regardless of who's footing the bill. As a father, if one of my children had a dream to accomplish a particular goal, and I had the means, I'd be behind them 100%. I'd hope that anyone would do the same for their children. The guy obviously has talent. That's been proven. Perhaps not to the extent of the high demands of racing-forums.com but that's kinda the norm on here anyway.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
The guy is a winner in the Cup Series. Not a bit of shame in that regardless of who's footing the bill. As a father, if one of my children had a dream to accomplish a particular goal, and I had the means, I'd be behind them 100%. I'd hope that anyone would do the same for their children. The guy obviously has talent. That's been proven. Perhaps not to the extent of the high demands of racing-forums.com but that's kinda the norm on here anyway.
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i think it's great his father has the means to support his sons love of racing and is willing to do it. the bottom line is performance. and in reference to this thread, RCR has no driver that qualifies IMO.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
The guy is a winner in the Cup Series. Not a bit of shame in that regardless of who's footing the bill. As a father, if one of my children had a dream to accomplish a particular goal, and I had the means, I'd be behind them 100%. I'd hope that anyone would do the same for their children. The guy obviously has talent. That's been proven. Perhaps not to the extent of the high demands of racing-forums.com but that's kinda the norm on here anyway.
Click to expand...
I like Menard and would like to see him win some more, but overall the stat line is pretty unimpressive: one fuel-mileage win in 279 starts and a career high points finish of 16th.
 
ToyYoda said:
I like Menard and would like to see him win some more, but overall the stat line is pretty unimpressive: one fuel-mileage win in 279 starts and a career high points finish of 16th.
Click to expand...

This sucks. If Danica had those stats, she probably would have lost her ride by now.
 
ToyYoda said:
I like Menard and would like to see him win some more, but overall the stat line is pretty unimpressive: one fuel-mileage win in 279 starts and a career high points finish of 16th.
Click to expand...



Yep, I'm a Menard fan but his stats are pretty pedestrian. There has never been a single race in his career where he's led a bunch of laps or dominated. He takes care of his equipment and runs top 20 but that's about all he's capable of. I give him credit for developing into a solid driver though, he's leaps and bounds better then when he first started out.
 
DaBiff1618 said:
Yep, I'm a Menard fan but his stats are pretty pedestrian. There has never been a single race in his career where he's led a bunch of laps or dominated. He takes care of his equipment and runs top 20 but that's about all he's capable of. I give him credit for developing into a solid driver though, he's leaps and bounds better then when he first started out.
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He kinda dominated when he won Indianapolis, the racing Gods smiled on him that day.:biggrin: But really, this rich daddy's wank is gettin a bit old, you think he hasn't heard that all his life or what? He runs a clean race, doesn't screw up his equipment or stink up the show and he has done that for years. Never have seen or heard him going psycho on anybody. You gotta be crazy to not think that any team would love to have him and his dad/sponsor on board. Menard senior has helped a lot of other teams in the sport, and not just in Nascar. Running top 15 right now in what I believe is the toughest racing competition series out there and having one of his best years in cup.
 
Honestly, Menard has turned into a decent driver. Hell, probably one of the better in the field. He's not bad and has improved greatly. If Newman was so good, heck I honestly thought he would have dominated Dillon and Menard. It shows the improvement of both, but with Ty coming along, Menard might run out of time.

Drivers of the year?

No order:
Gordon
Earnhardt Jr.
Kez
Logano
Harvick - IMO should be dominating with about 5 or 6 wins.
Edwards

Larson as the rookie of the year.
 
Usually drivers are let go from lack of sponsorship(money), or performance, or personality clashes or they jump ship or retire. Ty comes along and Childress will go to four teams I bet, Menard is more than paying his own way IMO.

Driver of the year instead of champion of the year will be political I believe unless there is a clear dominating winner.
#1,2 Gordon/Earnhardt, because of all the Rip VanWinkle fanfare story lines for both.
#3 who actually wins the championship if it isn't one of those two will get the accolades for winning but probably not driver of the year. I think one of the Penske's will win the thing if they continue to peak like they are doing.
#4 Johnson IF they shake out the bugs
#5 Harvick will make it to the last playoff race.

it is a lot easier picking the crybaby driver of the year.:biggrin:
 
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1. Gordon for having 3 wins and being consistent. The amazing driving he displayed at the Brickyard and Michigan puts him ahead of Logano.
2. Joey Logano with 3 wins and contending as much as Gordon.
3. Keslowski for winning 3, 2 of which he dominated.
4. Harvick who's won 3, but hasn't been as good recently as the beginning of the season.
5. Johnson, but other than his early summer hot streak he's been relatively cold.
6. Jr's Dayona 500 win and sweep of Pocono were the high points of his season. His results have been good, but he usually isn't contending for the win.

Shoutouts to Kyle Larson for being the best rookie of the decade and Justin Allgier for doing great with a sub-par team.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
The guy is a winner in the Cup Series. Not a bit of shame in that regardless of who's footing the bill. As a father, if one of my children had a dream to accomplish a particular goal, and I had the means, I'd be behind them 100%. I'd hope that anyone would do the same for their children. The guy obviously has talent. That's been proven. Perhaps not to the extent of the high demands of racing-forums.com but that's kinda the norm on here anyway.
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Hell you and the wife already burn your candles at both ends and in the middle. Run here, run there, get this, get that, take them here, take them there. All in making sure that both of your kids get every possible chance to achieve whatever they want. Track, discus. shot put, soccer, basketball, you name it. If it was racing there's no doubt it would be the same way.
 
pudge said:
i don't think he would be at RCR without having his daddy's money. would Richard have him if it wasn't guaranteed money? as hard as sponsorship is to get, without his daddy, do you think he would have an interest from RCR.
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Now that I think of it, Newman is the only RCR driver that doesn't have tremendous family backing. Even Scott and Gaughan in Nationwide are there because of their families' finances.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Now that I think of it, Newman is the only RCR driver that doesn't have tremendous family backing. Even Scott and Gaughan in Nationwide are there because of their families' finances.
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Childress is smarter then he looks eh? Don't let the good ol boy fool ya, he is financially sound and from what I hear his winery is a big buck outfit also.

1002074_10151636657754660_812955388_n1.jpg
 
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