Let's have some fun..who's the best?

We've heard time and time again about how talented Robby is. I wondered, if everyone were to rank the drivers of nascar on pure driving talant, where would the drivers fall? Who are the top ten pure driving talents in Nascar today? I'll start:

1. Tony Stewart
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Robby Gordon
4. Kyle Busch
5. Juan Pablo Montoya
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Mark Martin
8. Carl Edwards
9. Greg Biffle
10. Ryan Newman

Ok..so what do you think? Let's have some fun with this. I know some of you have insider knowledge of the sport and probably know a lot more than me. This will be interesting.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Scott B on September 26, 2008 at 9:49am

Pure driving talent? You mean in NASCAR? Indy? Offroad? Combined?

Jimmie Johnson did win a CORR (before it was CORR) championship...I think...

Juan Pablo Montoya drove with the big boys in F1...

Tony Stewart has been pretty good in anything he has driven...

Robby has been pretty good in anything he has driven...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lance on September 26, 2008 at 11:59am

I mean the ability to get into anything with 4 wheels and flat out wheel it. I'm not naive enough to say that the top of the standings equal best talent. There are some drivers that are competitive because they know how to work a race car. The guy that comes to mind here is Jeff Burton. He is a good driver...everyone is a good driver at this level, but Burton is a master of getting his car the best it can be. He doesn't floor me as an outstanding car control talent, but is very smart with race strategy and car setup. He's the opposite of Robby. Robby has all the talent in the world but can't improve a car and is poor with strategy. Robby probably missed out on having Burton as a team mate because I think he would've been the perfect mentor. Matt Kenseth is another example of not a great driving talent but someone who understands how to make his car as fast as it can be and is good with working race strategy. In nascar, those two abilities carry a driver further than flat out talent.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Terie (aka vassinvegas) on September 26, 2008 at 9:54am

We all think we know who has the most raw talent. Robby right? Isn't that one of the reasons we're his fans and not another dirvers?? It's a rather personal opinion. Too many factors go in to making the comparison. Just looking at how they are sitting in points is not a fair indicator of how much talent they have or do not have. Who was it that said earlier this year that a monkey could drive one car in particular that was winning?

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by GrayAntiMatter on September 27, 2008 at 2:59am

Who was it that said earlier this year that a monkey could drive one car in particular that was winning?

A hypocrite said that. In reference to the Gibbs cars being so dominate in the Nationwide series that anyone could sit in them and win. Funny that he hasn't had the same criticism of the RCR Nationwide/Busch cars in recent years when anyone and everyone who got in them won races. Way to make an ass of yourself Clint Bowyer....

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Lance on September 27, 2008 at 1:39pm

Exactly....Clint Bowyer is waaay overrated. He's really done nothing that has ever impressed me.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Bill on September 26, 2008 at 10:01am

Well of course I am a Robby fan first and have seen him do some cool stuff in any type of racing, but I have to admit that I enjoy watching Kyle Busch win. He is a pretty talented young driver. I would personally like to see him win the rest of the races this year and come back to win cup (but I doubt that's mathematically possible unless a lot of other drivers had some serious problems). And it would be fun to watch JR nation get pissed off about it too. Maybe I just like the controversy.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Scott B on September 26, 2008 at 10:10am

Unfortunately this happens in NASCAR...if you don't have top notch equipment, technology, and notes...you don't "drive" well.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug on September 26, 2008 at 1:02pm

Jeff was the man in open wheel dirt cars before he came to nascar, he is very talented (as much as i hate to admit it), he is just softening up the longer he's in nascar with hendrick

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Butterknife7 on September 26, 2008 at 10:09am

Another name that deserves to be on that list....maybe more in his hey day than today.....is Ken Schrader. The man can wheel a race car. He's forgotten more about racing then most of these young kids will know right now. And to his credit he's willing to talk with the younger generation and try to get them to understand why they need to show respect and LEARN how to be a driver. Much like Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin have done also.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Doug on September 26, 2008 at 1:06pm

Absolutely right i forgot about Schrader, he will race anything. He even races the Arca cars in their dirt race every year.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by TeamMMR.com on September 26, 2008 at 10:49am

Yeley did amazing things on dirt. That said, Robby's if you put versatility aside, Martin has to be hands down the most pure talent. He is constantly in the top 5 finishing cars of his make. Ask any Nascar driver and they will hope they remain as competitive as Mark has at 50. Add in all those IROC championships and wins (way under-rated series) and you cant help but think the guy is one of the greatest drivers ever. He also gave Matt Kenseth a great start to his career and if often overlooked for being the guy that discovered Joey Logano.