Who was the best driver to win a Cup race

Go to racing reference and pick any recorded cup race date, and 99% of the time it should be obvious to who was the best at a given moment.
And I think that is as good as we can do.

The whole premise is so subjective and only a grade above picking favorites. Even with the most sincere intellectual pursuit it is almost impossible to advocate a true measured approach.

Going with anything apart from the actual results is a slippery slope.
 
Jeff Gordon

Call me when Jimmie has 3 double digit win seasons in a row including 13 in a season.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Jeff Gordon

Call me when Jimmie has 3 double digit win seasons in a row including 13 in a season.
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5 Championships in a row, 7 overall, and 82 wins in 17 years > 4 championships, 93 wins in 25 years (including 13 in a season and 3 double digit win seasons in a row).

Johnson also has a higher win percentage and averages more wins per season.
 
utvol0427 said:
5 Championships in a row, 7 overall, and 82 wins in 17 years > 4 championships, 93 wins in 25 years (including 13 in a season and 3 double digit win seasons in a row).

Johnson also has a higher win percentage and averages more wins per season.
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Jimmie Johnson has had the same spectacular crew chief & car chief his entire career. As far as championships go, theres been several where the points resets in the chase formats allowed him to catch up.

Imo if you put Jeff & Jimmie on the track in their primes, Jeff would win 6 times outta 10. Their skill level alone is damn near even.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Jimmie Johnson has had the same spectacular crew chief & car chief his entire career. As far as championships go, theres been several where the points resets in the chase formats allowed him to catch up.

Imo if you put Jeff & Jimmie on the track in their primes, Jeff would win 6 times outta 10. Their skill level alone is damn near even.
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How many wins do you think JF would have if Ray would of stayed?
 
From reddit some legends win pct%

David Pearson - 18.3%

Richard Petty - 16.9%

Junior Johnson - 15.9%

Cale Yarborough - 14.8%

Ned Jarrett - 14.2%

Lee Petty - 12.6%

Bobby Allison - 11.8%

Jeff Gordon - 11.55%

Dale Earnhardt - 11.2%

Darrell Waltrip - 10.4%

Rusty Wallace - 7.8%

Tony Stewart - 6%

Bill Elliott - 5.3%
 
Active drivers winning percentages. Minimum 1 win and 100 races. I figured besides championships, this is the next best way to rate a drivers career success. Obviously some drivers are still young and some are older, but it's a better way to see a driver's success other than total win count comparison.

  1. Jimmie Johnson - 14.8% 82/554

  2. Kyle Busch - 8.69% 38/437

  3. Brad Keselowski - 8.21% 23/280

  4. Denny Hamlin - 7.09% 29/409

  5. Matt Kenseth - 6.08% 38/625

  6. Kevin Harvick - 5.98% 35/585

  7. Joey Logano - 5.96% 18/302

  8. Kurt Busch - 4.94% 29/587

  9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 4.29% 26/606

  10. Kasey Kahne - 3.55% 17/479

  11. Ryan Newman - 3.22% 18/559

  12. Martin Truex Jr. - 2.16% 9/416

  13. Clint Bowyer - 1.96% 8/408

  14. Kyle Larson - 1.64% 2/122

  15. Jamie McMurray - 1.34% 7/521
Also from reddit
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Jimmie Johnson has had the same spectacular crew chief & car chief his entire career. As far as championships go, theres been several where the points resets in the chase formats allowed him to catch up.

Imo if you put Jeff & Jimmie on the track in their primes, Jeff would win 6 times outta 10. Their skill level alone is damn near even.
Click to expand...
Question was best driver. Not driver/cc.

And winning now is harder than it was 15 years ago and that was harder than it was 25 years ago. More and more full time teams these days (30+?)as opposed to maybe 15 maybe in the 80's.
 
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