Top 10 drivers without a Cup Championship

Looks like a pretty good list to me. A case could also be made for guys like Harry Gant, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, etc.
 
Mark Martin absolutely belongs on this list.

Unfortunately, Tim Richmond and Davey Allison weren't around long enough to prove their worth. Both of these were on my list of favorites.

What the Sam Hill is up with Hamlin and Bodine being on the list? :confused:
 
Hamlin has only a handfull of wins less than Busch and has been an actual contender for the cup on multiple occasions.I know this isn't going to be popular but I'd say he deserves to be higher on the list than KyBu.

As for the person who came up with the list, I'd say he's been picking his own mushrooms.
 
#17D500winner said:
Hamlin has only a handfull of wins less than Busch and has been an actual contender for the cup on multiple occasions.I know this isn't going to be popular but I'd say he deserves to be higher on the list than KyBu.

As for the person who came up with the list, I'd say he's been picking his own mushrooms.
Click to expand...
Pickin' em, hell, I'd say it his main diet.
 
Imo Fireball Roberts should be at the top of the list.
 
Hamlin (23 wins) - 3 Top 5 pts. finishes
Ky. Busch (28 wins) - 2 Top 5 pts. finishes
Harvick (23 wins) - 6 Top 5 pts. finishes
Edwards (21 wins) - 4 Top 5 pts. finishes

I can understand Ky. Busch being on the list but why Hamlin is on it over Edwards or Harvick is tough to understand. Harvick, for one, has won the 500, Coke 600, and at Indy.

It is only one guys opinion tho.... so who knows.
 
The list was written by David Caraviello, who somehow thinks Hamlin lost the 2010 championship at Phoenix, rather than when he wrecked himself out of the point lead at Homestead.
 
Rockears001 said:
I believe Hamlin should be replaced by Kevin Harvick for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure I'd put Harvick ahead of Hamlin. They both have about the same amount of wins, despite the fact that Harvick has been in Cup 5 years longer than Hamlin has. Hamlin also has a 2nd place points finish while Harvick has never finished better than 3rd, and Hamlin had never missed the Chase until this year, which was primarily due to his injury.
 
I suppose the list is about championships so the number of wins is irrelevent. It sure is fun to discuss.
 
ToyYoda said:
I'm not so sure I'd put Harvick ahead of Hamlin. They both have about the same amount of wins, despite the fact that Harvick has been in Cup 5 years longer than Hamlin has. Hamlin also has a 2nd place points finish while Harvick has never finished better than 3rd, and Hamlin had never missed the Chase until this year, which was primarily due to his injury.
Click to expand...

With the exception of winning the two biggest paying races I would agree that the stats favor Hamlin. But I still think Harvick is the better of the two.
They both have some immature moments, but Harvicks driving doesnt fall off as badly in the following races when it happens. Hamlin went through some sort of drivers depression in 2011, carrying on like a heartbroken headcase. In contrast Harvick ran strong this year even during a lame duck season.

I also think JGR cars are stronger than RCR cars. For several years Harvick virtually carried all of RCRs win potential. In contrast Kenseth came in and made Hamlin look like the teams second or third driver. The Phoenix chase reactions are very vivid examples. Kenseth showed a lot of class and was a team player that followed up with a strong Homestead performance. In contrast he acted like a man, while Hamlin behaved like a child that couldn't control his own mentality. This from a guy that eagerly talked head games in the preceding weeks (chase 2011), and still was full of enough excrement to be writing "hush child" in 2013 to Logano. In both cases the foolishness was very costly.

As I have written and slammed Hamlin, thoughts of Harvicks immaturity keeping coming to mind. Unquestionably a hot head, and it has had to hurt his teams chemistry. These are flaws for both and for Kyle Busch too. But I do think Harvick resets quicker than Hamlin and is at least mature enough to admit to the idiocy afterwards, and I think Kyle has matured some too. I have my doubts about Hamlin, a great talent especially on short and flat tracks, but still a headcase.

If any of the three ever want a cup title, I think they will need to grow up some more, and become a lot more boring like Matt and JJ.
 
Harvick does seem to able to shake things off and move on to the next race.

Hamlin won 8 races in 2010 - that's no easy feat.
 
#17D500winner said:
Harvick does seem to able to shake things off and move on to the next race.

Hamlin won 8 races in 2010 - that's no easy feat.
Click to expand...

When Hamlin is on he is almost impossible to beat. In those cases his ' touch, car control, ability to roll through the center or Apex' seems untouchable. He definitely looks like a master on those days.

He just doesn't seem to be as good at improvising or keeping things in perspective when things don't go as planned. He seems to complex for his own good. In terms of speed He was definitely better than JJ in 2010 including the chase, but he still managed to lose the championship.
 
I think the list is pretty good, but like most have said...replace Hamlin with Harvick....
 
Obviously Kyle Busch is at the top of the list of active drivers. Not much chance of the 4 ahead of him winning a cup :einstein:
The big question is how many cups will Kyle win before his career ends
 
ted@economy said:
Geoff had only 18wins and 2 top five finishes . But over 27 years ? That's two careers for most cup drivers .
Click to expand...

(Preface: The following is just my opinion).

It was a different world. Bodine had a great modified career prior to cup. In his day a young gun in his 20s most often was working on making it to cup. He also had some great runs in Late Model Sportsman cars (the series that preceded Busch Grand National). He won the Oxford 250 which at the time attracted legendary drivers.

When he finally was able to give full attention to cup racing in 1982. He was already 33 years old. The path was so different, today most drivers in the prime seats are in or out by age of 25.ex the Buschs, Hamlin, Harvick, Edwards, etc..

I am not saying he.should be listed among this group of ten best, but he does have more substance than most folks will admit. His Cup years in good stuff imo.should read more like 12 years rather than the 27 imo. Those 27 years include Tommy Baldwin cars, Joe Bessey cars, and the early year clunkers.

In the late 80s he was a really solid cup driver. Never an Earnhardt, Wallace, Waltrip or Elliott but still very solid and most likely underated by todays generation.
 
BobbyFord said:
2 wins in a rag top.
I'll bet 90% of the guys running today wouldn't do it in a bench-seated, chrome bumper rag top :D
Click to expand...

Speaking of rag tops, I'd have to put Curtis Turner on that list. Even though he never won the convertible series, he was the best ever in it.
 
#17D500winner said:
Hamlin has only a handfull of wins less than Busch and has been an actual contender for the cup on multiple occasions.I know this isn't going to be popular but I'd say he deserves to be higher on the list than KyBu.

As for the person who came up with the list, I'd say he's been picking his own mushrooms.
Click to expand...


If you are putting a guy like Hamlin ahead of Kyle Busch then where do you rank Kevin Harvick. He actually defines this list if you ask me, and I am not even being a homer about it. Denny has had one decent season that he choked at the end. Harvick has finished 3rd 3 times, 4th 2 times, and 5th once in the final standings thus far in his career.
 
Greg said:
With the exception of winning the two biggest paying races I would agree that the stats favor Hamlin. But I still think Harvick is the better of the two.
They both have some immature moments, but Harvicks driving doesnt fall off as badly in the following races when it happens. Hamlin went through some sort of drivers depression in 2011, carrying on like a heartbroken headcase. In contrast Harvick ran strong this year even during a lame duck season.

I also think JGR cars are stronger than RCR cars. For several years Harvick virtually carried all of RCRs win potential. In contrast Kenseth came in and made Hamlin look like the teams second or third driver. The Phoenix chase reactions are very vivid examples. Kenseth showed a lot of class and was a team player that followed up with a strong Homestead performance. In contrast he acted like a man, while Hamlin behaved like a child that couldn't control his own mentality. This from a guy that eagerly talked head games in the preceding weeks (chase 2011), and still was full of enough excrement to be writing "hush child" in 2013 to Logano. In both cases the foolishness was very costly.

As I have written and slammed Hamlin, thoughts of Harvicks immaturity keeping coming to mind. Unquestionably a hot head, and it has had to hurt his teams chemistry. These are flaws for both and for Kyle Busch too. But I do think Harvick resets quicker than Hamlin and is at least mature enough to admit to the idiocy afterwards, and I think Kyle has matured some too. I have my doubts about Hamlin, a great talent especially on short and flat tracks, but still a headcase.

If any of the three ever want a cup title, I think they will need to grow up some more, and become a lot more boring like Matt and JJ.
Click to expand...


I agree with this statement. While both Hamlin and Harvick are both immature, Harvick seems to have a stronger head on his shoulders. He just know how to stir the pot just enough then cools off, and his immaturity doesn't hurt his driving.
 
Jeffrey00 said:
If you are putting a guy like Hamlin ahead of Kyle Busch then where do you rank Kevin Harvick. He actually defines this list if you ask me, and I am not even being a homer about it. Denny has had one decent season that he choked at the end. Harvick has finished 3rd 3 times, 4th 2 times, and 5th once in the final standings thus far in his career.
Click to expand...
Denny's had only one decent season? Coulda fooled me. The guy never even missed the Chase until this year. Denny's had points finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th; not bad considering this was only his 8th full season in Cup. He's had an 8 win and a 5 win season, Harvick's never done better than 4. Denny's never had a winless season while Harvick has posted a goose-egg 3 times. Both Denny and Kevin have 23 career wins, despite the fact that Harvick has started 175 more races than Hamlin. For all those reasons, I think Denny absolutely belongs ahead of Harvick on a list like this.
 
This stuff doesn't make a whole lot of difference, but it is interesting to see where everybody is coming from. Harvick has a hair trigger temper, but he cools off as fast as he gets hot. I think Hamlin's ego is huge in comparison. I believe Hamlin is driving better equipment, and RCR has had for a while, two drivers that for what ever reason aren't capable of exciting their teams to go the extra mile. I would be hard pressed to be excited If I was crewing for Burton or Manard, and I think that spreads thru the whole RCR outfit. With Gibbs, Hamlin and Kyle have a strong possibility of winning or a top five every race. I believe that makes an attitude of difference in performance. Notice I left Joey out, he was the whipping boy for the other two egomaniacs. Can't wait until next year to see how Stewart and the boys at SHR do. I guarantee it is going to be interesting if they get lined out.
 
Just a disclaimer, even though I'm taking Hamlin over Harvick on this list, I'm not really a fan of either one of them. Both are immensely talented drivers, but unfortunately both have very grating personalities, albeit for different reasons. Both Denny's arrogance and Harvick's wannabe tough-guy persona wear thin pretty quick.
 
Jeffrey00 said:
If you are putting a guy like Hamlin ahead of Kyle Busch then where do you rank Kevin Harvick. He actually defines this list if you ask me, and I am not even being a homer about it. Denny has had one decent season that he choked at the end. Harvick has finished 3rd 3 times, 4th 2 times, and 5th once in the final standings thus far in his career.
Click to expand...

ToyYoda said:
Denny's had only one decent season? Coulda fooled me. The guy never even missed the Chase until this year. Denny's had points finishes of 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th; not bad considering this was only his 8th full season in Cup. He's had an 8 win and a 5 win season, Harvick's never done better than 4. Denny's never had a winless season while Harvick has posted a goose-egg 3 times. Both Denny and Kevin have 23 career wins, despite the fact that Harvick has started 175 more races than Hamlin. For all those reasons, I think Denny absolutely belongs ahead of Harvick on a list like this.
Click to expand...

What he said :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom