Best of the decades

Joker

#1 Harvick Fan
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I'm bored. Let's play a game. Create a stable from the best drivers of each decade from the 70s to the 10s.

Rules:
1. Have five drivers per stable plus two garage picks.
2. You can only use a driver once per decade. No Gordon in the 90s and 00s.
3. A driver needs to have driven in eight of ten years that decade.
4. At the end, rank each decade.

Me first!

1970s:
Richard Petty
Bobby Allison
David Pearson
Cale Yarborough
Benny Parsons
Bobby Isaac (Garage)
Buddy Baker (Garage)

1980s:
Bill Elliott
Terry Labonte
Ricky Rudd
Darrell Waltrip
Harry Gant
Neil Bonnett (Garage)
Geoff Bodine (Garage)

1990s:
Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Jeff Gordon
Mark Martin
Rusty Wallace
Dale Jarrett
Sterling Marlin (Garage)
Bobby Labonte (Garage)

2000s:
Jimmie Johnson
Tony Stewart
Kurt Busch
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Greg Biffle
Ryan Newman (Garage)
Jeff Burton (Garage)

2010s:
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Kevin Harvick
Joey Logano
Matt Kenseth
Denny Hamlin (Garage)
Martin Truex Jr. (Garage)

Ranking:
70s
90s
80s
10s
00s
 
Too much thinking but I'll name the best driver of each decade for you:

70s- Petty
80s- Earnhardt
90s- Gordon
00s- Johnson
10s- Ky Bu
 
Too much thinking but I'll name the best driver of each decade for you:

70s- Petty
80s- Earnhardt
90s- Gordon
00s- Johnson
10s- Ky Bu

You could make the argument for Dale being the best of the 90s too. Four championships to Gordon's three. Though then you might have to put DW in the 80s spot.
 
I think you have to put Jimmie in the 00’s slot based on the rules of this game, but his 10’s stats aren’t too shabby either....36 wins and 3 championships.
 
I think you have to put Jimmie in the 00’s slot based on the rules of this game, but his 10’s stats aren’t too shabby either....36 wins and 3 championships.

There's a lot that can go either way. Kenneth should go in the 00s but the 10s would be too thin otherwise. Truex is a stretch because he only really took off in 2016.

And I was torn between Bobby and Kulwuki for that 90s garage spot even though both only had a couple of really good 90s years.
 
Love topics like this. My thoughts on the 80's and 90's...

1980's are the 3 person race imo; Earnhardt, Elliott and Waltrip...I'd go with DW
Earnhardt 3 titles ('80, '86 and '87), his '87 season is still arguably one of the best ever, 2 Southern 500's but NO Daytona 500's.
DW 3 Titles ('81, '82 and '85), '81 and '82 he won 12 races each season, set records that still stand for Top 5 finishes (25) in '81 and '85, 1989 Daytona 500
Bill Elliott 1 Title ('88), 2 Daytona 500's ('85 and '87), 1985 Winston Million Winner, cover of SI in 1985, owns iconic qualifying record of 212.809 set at Talladega in '87

1990's it's a two driver race between Earnhardt and Gordon...I'll give the narrowest of wins to Gordon
Earnhardt 4 Titles ('90, '91, '93 and '94), 1995 Brickyard 400, 1998 Daytona 500
Gordon 3 Titles ('95, '97 and '98), '94 Brickyard ,'97 and '99 Daytona 500, '98 widely regraded as one of the best seasons ever, 1997 Winston Million Winner

Bill Elliott is a bit like the Jeff Gordon of the 1980's. His 1985 season really helped raise the sports popularity to truly a mainstream product by the end of the decade. He made having a southern drawl and red hair cool by going really fast in the then vastly improved looking Ford T-bird. Have you driven a Ford....lately?
 
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You should include the sixties...back when there were real race car drivers forcing unimaginably poor equipment. Equipment that was actually based on what a person could drive on the street.

With that thought in mind:

60's:
Fred Lorenzen
Dan Gurney (garage)
Fireball Roberts (garage)
Ned Jarrett
Richard Petty
David Pearson
Joe Weatherly

70's:
Richard Petty
Cale Yarborough
David Pearson
Bobby Allison
The rest are footnotes

80's:
Darrell Waltrip
Dale Earnhardt
Bill Elliott
Tim Richmond
Rusty Wallace
Bobby Allison (garage)
Terry Lebonte (garage)

90's:
Dale Earnhardt
Jeff Gordon
Rusty Wallace
Harry Gant
Mark Martin
Alan Kulwicki (garage)
Davey Allison (garage)

00's:
Matt Kenseth
Tony Stewart
Jimmy Johnson
Carl Edwards
Jeff Gordon
Gregg Biffle (garage)
Bobby Labonte (garage)

10's: Hard to say...it ain't over, but:
Jimmy Johnson
Kyle Busch
Matt Kenseth (he won in every single season that he raced full time)
Kevin Harvick
And... eating crow....Brad Keslowski
Carl Edwards (garage)
Tony Stewart (garage)
 
Can't use a driver twice!

Also, Edwards only raced in seven seasons this decade.
 
Can't use a driver twice!

Also, Edwards only raced in seven seasons this decade.
Oh well...I just go by my gut...when the front end pushes, I stab the brakes and roll the gas. If it doesn't turn...the wall will stop me.
 
70s
Richard Petty
David Pearson
Cale Yarborough
Bobby Allison

80s
Darrell Waltrip
Benny Parsons
Terry Labonte
Harry Gant

90s.
Dale Earnhardt
Jeff Gordon
Rusty Wallace
Mark Martin

00s.
Jimmie Johnson
Tony Stewart
Kurt Busch
Matt Kenseth

2010's
Harvick
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano
Truax
 
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