The Daytona 500 is only seven days away, and to be completely transparent, I’ve never been more excited for it. That FOX promo wasn’t exaggerating (that much). This should be an awesome season.
In anticipation of this week (exhibition Clash on Tuesday, qualifying for the front row positions Wednesday, Duels on Thursday, Truck Series Friday, Xfinity Series Saturday [sponsored by “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.”], Daytona 500 on Sunday), I went through this morning and ranked, 1-32, the drivers that as best I can tell are set to run the full season.
Now, I didn’t rank these based on how good they are. These are just my favorites. They don’t have to be yours. They are very fluid. But for now, here they are, and since most readers of The Barking Crow are burgeoning NASCAR fans (many of whom just don’t know it yet), I thought I’d share. We’ll start at the bottom and work our way to the top.
32. Joey Logano (#22 Ford, Team Penske)
He’s just such a perfect villain. So easy to hate.
31. Kyle Larson (#5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports)
I don’t think it’s for me to judge Kyle Larson’s contrition and all that right now. For those who don’t know, Larson casually used the n-word in a virtual racing event last spring, which resulted in him getting booted from the 42 car, dominating dirt tracks for the rest of the year, then signing with Henrick Motorsports, one of the best teams in the business. Which feels a bit like the wrong set of consequences.
Larson’s an awesome driver. I don’t know anything about his character, and I don’t purport to. I’m not rooting for him to fail or anything, but he’s probably the last guy, at this moment, you want to win the championship this year. This shouldn’t be a redemption story. This shouldn’t be feel-good. Larson should not be inspirational. I’m afraid many are going to try to turn him into that.
Now, that doesn’t mean Larson can’t become a big force for good, or that he’s somehow irredeemable and has been irredeemable this whole time. Even before the scandal, he was active with the Urban Youth Racing School, a Philadelphia-based organization that works to expand racing opportunities to those who don’t usually get them (NASCAR is notoriously hard to get into if you aren’t rich as all hell). Per the Tampa Bay Times, 90% of the Urban Youth Racing School’s participants are Black males. The fact that Larson worked with this group before the scandal was and is a great thing. The scandal doesn’t change that. But that also doesn’t change the scandal.
For now, I’m gonna keep waiting, and keep erring on the side of not wanting him to do well. I’m not ready for a big Marty Smith feature on how he’s the best among us.
30. Quin Houff (#00 Chevrolet, StarCom Racing)
Poor dude. Caused a lot of problems last year with a lack of situational awareness/racing IQ. To the point that even I knew about it.
29. William Byron (#24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports)
In the college sports blogosphere, I tend to fall on the side of defending Liberty University’s athletes. They’re 18-23 years old. They aren’t Jerry Falwell Jr. I understand the desire to exhibit some pushback against Liberty—the school has fed some hateful, damaging elements of our society in recent years. Religious freedom is one thing, and that’s fully to be supported, but Liberty has crossed lines and fed the culture war. But the school isn’t irredeemably evil, and other schools aren’t exactly perfect themselves, and a lot of students are at Liberty for positive reasons, and the athletes are a poor target, and the hate some exhibit towards them just further inflames the culture war.
In NASCAR, though, I’m on the other side of the median. The Liberty/William Byron partnership strikes me as disingenuous. Part of this is that Liberty’s viewed a lot more favorably by those who have opinions in the NASCAR ecosystem than by those that have opinions in the college sports blogosphere. Portraying Byron as a student-athlete isn’t illegitimate—he’s taking online classes—but it’s a sponsorship deal just like anything else, and it isn’t getting treated like that.
If Byron was as likable as, say, Ryan Blaney, I might (admittedly unreasonably) feel different, but he’s fairly neutral on the likability scale.
28. Michael McDowell (#34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports)
We’re into neutral territory now. But McDowell comes in last because I vaguely remember an on-track dustup between McDowell and Bubba Wallace, and it’s fun to hold a little NASCAR grudge.
27. Corey LaJoie (#7 Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports)
26. Cody Ware (#51 Chevrolet, Petty Ware Racing)
25. Daniel Suárez (#99 Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing Team)
24. Ross Chastain (#42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing)
23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (#47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing)
22. B.J. McLeod (#78 Ford, Live Fast Motorsports)
21. Christopher Bell (#20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing)
20. Chris Buescher (#17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing)
No strong feelings on any of these guys. Chastain seems like he could conceivably win a race at some point. LaJoie acted like a little bit of a loser during his feud with Denny Hamlin last summer (Hamlin acted like a bigger loser, but Hamlin’s better and has more public moments to use as data points). Stenhouse causes problems like Houff does, but they seem more understandable—reckless, not boneheaded—and he’s more of a figure in the broader sport, racing in things like the Chili Bowl. I have a vague sense that Bell’s promising. Ditto Buescher.
19. Kurt Busch (#1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing)
I mildly like Kurt Busch, because every time he’s in the picture we get to remember that he testified in court that he thinks his ex-girlfriend is a trained assassin and that his ex-girlfriend and her lawyer did not refute his claims. This is an incredible story. This should be discussed so much more than it is. The lack of discussion of this story may be our biggest collective societal failing right now. This should be mentioned every time Kurt Busch comes up.
18. Martin Truex Jr. (#19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing)
I mildly like Martin Truex Jr., because every single race he gets mad at someone over the radio and he usually does it without that much basis and with a whole lot of profanity. Truex does things the right way.
17. Anthony Alfredo (#38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports)
16. Chase Briscoe (#14 Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing)
The rookies! Briscoe’s far and away the more hyped of the two, having dominated a lot of Xfinity Series races last season. Off the track, he and his wife have been admirably vulnerable in their struggles with multiple miscarriages, which isn’t to say everyone should handle tragedy with that exact amount of transparently (grieve however you need to grieve), but is to say that they’ve given others a lot of comfort, and it makes you want something good to happen to them.
15. Austin Dillon (#3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing)
Dillon gets a lot of hate because he’s Richard Childress’s grandson and hasn’t been a roaring success, but he hasn’t been bad, and it’s fun to pull for the #3.
14. Ryan Newman (#6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing)
The wiliest veteran out there right now.
13. Aric Almirola (#10 Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing)
Aric Almirola drives the way I play ping-pong.
12. Denny Hamlin (#11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing)
One of the biggest names in the sport, Hamlin isn’t that good at being cool. But he doesn’t seem like he’s a bad guy, he’s a great driver, and he contributes to NASCAR as a whole in a positive way. I also am a fan of the pajamas commercial.
11. Kevin Harvick (#4 Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing)
Might be the favorite again this year. Was so, so good last year. Car was unstoppable for a while there. Not as strong of a marketer as Hamlin, but also does his part, and it’s fun to watch him celebrate his kid’s youth racing. Little bit of a Drew Brees element there, having the kid so prominently around.
10. Brad Keselowski (#2 Ford, Team Penske)
I feel like I remember Keselowski not being liked about a decade ago, but I didn’t pick a lot of that up in 2020. He’s a smart, crafty dude, and he says the right things. Also seems like he gets snubbed a lot in the marketing effort.
9. Erik Jones (#43 Chevrolet, Richard Petty Motorsports)
You’ve gotta root for the 43. And it felt like Jones got a raw deal from Joe Gibbs Racing when they let him go.
8. Matt DiBenedetto (#21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing)
My impression is that DiBenedetto 1) does a lot with a little and 2) is well-liked, but again, I don’t know all that much about this stuff.
7. Tyler Reddick (#8 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing)
Much like the 3 and the 43, it’s fun to pull for the 8. Also, Reddick’s promise last year seemed to go unappreciated (again I could be really wrong about that). He’s caused some wrecks but he owns them. Good public accountability. Hope he has a good sophomore year.
6. Alex Bowman (#48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports)
Bowman really grew on me with the Anxiety Alex thing last fall (sparknotes: Bowman admitted to being violently anxious prior to a playoff race, got made fun of for it by a NASCAR writer, and continued to own it with a lot of grace). I used to think he was the most boring dude out there, but that humanized him a lot, and him being in Jimmie Johnson’s old ride adds some subliminal good vibes. Second-favorite Hendrick guy right now.
5. Cole Custer (#41 Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing)
Cole Custer was so giddy after winning at Kentucky. Stole my heart. Fun story last year. Hope he builds on it. Stewart-Haas has another packed stable.
4. Ryan Blaney (#12 Ford, Team Penske)
So charming. So marketable. Such a good accent. The most likable guy in the series.
3. Kyle Busch (#18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing)
If NASCAR were mainstream, Kyle Busch would be my favorite driver. He’s the most authentic-seeming guy on the circuit, and he’s entirely shameless. Is who he is, doesn’t apologize for it, doesn’t seem to ever be dishonest. The Marshawn Lynch comparison in that commercial was apt.
2. Bubba Wallace (#23 Toyota, 23XI Racing)
1. Chase Elliott (#9 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports)
NASCAR is not mainstream, though. And I am a NASCAR fan.
Bubba Wallace succeeding in the Michael Jordan car would be monumental for the sport. Would also be awesome for Wallace, who’s been incredibly classy in the face of so much undeserved shit over the last twelve months.
Chase Elliott, though, is the unifier. Marketable to old NASCAR fans. Marketable to new NASCAR fans. Seems like a nice guy. A little quiet, but in a humble way. Could be on the circuit for another two decades. Best shot NASCAR’s got to make another Jeff Gordon. Hope it works.
