NASCAR: Comparing Today's Top Stars to Other Professional Sports Teams
There is no doubt that NASCAR is in fact a team sport. Without his or her pit crew, a driver would never win a race, and conversely, with a bad driver it doesn't matter how good a pit crew is.
But the team aspect of NASCAR is different than in most other sports. Most of the focus and credit is given to a driver, whereas in the NFL or NBA, it is typically considered a team effort when success is found.
With that in mind, I thought it might be fun to compare today's top drivers in NASCAR to various teams in other professional sports.
Let's take a look and see which major sports teams your favorite driver is most comparable to.
30. Trevor Bayne
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Team: St. Louis Rams
At this year's Daytona 500, Trevor Bayne scored the ultimate upset. In only his second career start, Bayne scored his first career Sprint Cup Series win on the biggest stage of them all.
His surprising victory was reminiscent of the St. Louis Rams' 2000 Super Bowl win. Prior to the 1999 season, the Rams were one of the bottom-dwelling teams in the National Football League.
Prior to that season, the Rams had gone nine straight years with a losing record. To start the season, their starting quarterback Trent Green went down in the preseason with a knee injury, and in came Kurt Warner.
Then one of the most surprising seasons and Super Bowl championships in NFL history took place. Bayne's Daytona win was just as much of a shock as the Rams' last championship season.
29. Brian Vickers
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Team: Colorado Rockies
Brian Vickers is a young driver, so it seems logical that he gets matched up with a team that is relatively young in terms of its existence.
Vickers is reminiscent of the Rockies in that they are both young and have both shown signs of promise. Vickers is a two-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series, and in 2009 he qualified for the Chase for the first time.
The Rockies have been in Major League Baseball since 1993. In their 17 years of play, they have made the playoffs three times and appeared in the 2007 World Series.
28. David Reutimann
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Team: Orlando Magic
David Reutimann is comparable to the NBA's Orlando Magic. Reutimann, much like the Magic, took a few years to develop into a contender but has since shown signs of promise.
Reutimann is a two-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series and at times has shown that he is a threat to qualify for the Chase. However, he has never really broken through that proverbial glass ceiling and continues to search for his defining moment.
That is very much like the Magic. While they have had plenty of success in the regular season and even gone to the NBA Finals a couple of times, they have never had that one defining season either and continue to search for their first championship.
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27. Regan Smith
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Team: Florida Marlins
Regan Smith is much like the Florida Marlins in that when he got his first career win this past weekend in Darlington, he was the ultimate underdog with an underfunded team.
The Florida Marlins were one of two MLB expansion teams for the 1993 season. Just four years later, they won the wild card and eventually won the World Series over the Cleveland Indians.
That year, much like their second World Series championship, which came in 2003, the Marlins were an overlooked team never given a fair chance to win. That is exactly how Smith and the Furniture Row race team were looked at, and they defied the odds by winning the Southern 500.
26. Brad Keselowski
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Team: Miami Dolphins
Brad Keselowski has scored one win in his brief Sprint Cup Series career. That came in a frantic finish at Talladega in 2009. Since his surprise victory, Keselowski has been just average at best while driving some top-notch equipment for Penske Racing.
He reminds me of the NFL's Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are a team that have had success in their history, but in recent years, they typically seem to underachieve. The Dolphins aren't a team a lot of people expect to win the Super Bowl, much like people don't expect Keselowski to win the Sprint Cup.
However, there are expectations for the Dolphins to at least contend, much like it was thought by a lot of people that Keselowski would contend a little bit more than he has thus far.
25. Joey Logano
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Team: Los Angeles Dodgers
Joey Logano has one win in his two-plus seasons in the Sprint Cup Series. That win came as a result of a race that was shortened by rain, and Logano was fortunate enough to stretch his fuel far enough to steal the win.
He reminds me of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ever since Logano broke into Sprint Cup Series competition, expectations have been high. Everybody expects great things out of Logano, and maybe rightfully so.
But for now he seems like the Dodgers. It seems like every year the Dodgers are expected to contend for at least their division, and every year they come up short and leave you scratching your head as to what went wrong.
24. Jeff Burton
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Team: St. Louis Cardinals
Jeff Burton is a driver that has been around for a long time now. He has seen his fair share of ups and downs. In his 19-year career, Burton has scored 21 victories at NASCAR's top level.
He reminds me of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are a baseball franchise that has had some success over the course of its history, but in recent years, they have been good, but not great.
That statement could describe Burton perfectly. Over the last three or four years, Burton has been good but hasn't gotten back to that point where you feel like he is a real contender for the championship.
23. Bobby Labonte
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Team: Chicago Cubs
Bobby Labonte is a former Sprint Cup Series champion. Much like the Chicago Cubs, though, his last championship feels like it was a long time ago. At least in Labonte's case, his championship has been in the last 100 years.
Labonte has won 21 races in his 20-year career at the top level of NASCAR competition. He is a former champion and has also had some other good years.
That is like the Cubs. They have a championship and at times have shown that they could contend; they just haven't been able to break through for that next championship.
22. Marcos Ambrose
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Team: Indiana Pacers
Marcos Ambrose is a driver that through the course of his young career has been solid but has never really achieved much. He reminds me of the NBA's Indiana Pacers, in that once in a while you get some great results, but for the most part you just expect average results.
In 93 career Sprint Cup Series starts, Ambrose has 15 top-10 finishes but has failed to break through with a win. That is just like the Pacers. Since joining the NBA for the 1976-77 season, the Pacers have had a few strong seasons with deep playoff runs but have failed to capture a championship.
21. Jamie McMurray
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Team: New Orleans Saints
Jamie McMurray was the driver of the year in 2010. He won three races last season, and they were all big ones. McMurray won the Daytona 500 to start the year. He followed it up with wins at the Brickyard and another win in Charlotte.
McMurray is just like the New Orleans Saints. For years, McMurray was considered an underachiever, as he had scored just three wins in just over seven years of competition. Then he broke out.
The same held true for the Saints. After years of frustration, they finally broke out in the 2009 season and ultimately wound up making it to and winning their first Super Bowl.
20. Martin Truex Jr.
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Team: Toronto Blue Jays
Martin Truex Jr. has won one race in his career, but the expectations for him have been much higher. He has qualified for the Chase just once and has finished in the 20s in the points in each of the last two years.
Truex is similar to the Toronto Blue Jays of MLB. He has had some mild success but for the most part has lingered in mediocrity.
The Blue Jays won the World Series in both 1992 and 1993 but other than that have had little success. They have been a part of Major League Baseball since 1977, but other than their two championship years, the Blue Jays have made the postseason just three other times.
19. David Ragan
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Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
David Ragan's NASCAR career thus far is an exact parallel to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.
Much like the Bucs, Ragan's career started off a little slow, with only a handful of bright spots. Then, in 2008 Ragan had a breakthrough season. The Bucs had their breakout from 1997 through 2002. During that stretch, they went to the playoffs five times in six years, including a Super Bowl win.
Then both Ragan and the Bucs suffered through some more struggling times after their big breakouts. But Ragan appears to be back on track this season, just like Tampa Bay started to turn its fortunes around a season ago.
18. Paul Menard
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Team: Atlanta Falcons
Paul Menard has found very few moments of success in the Sprint Cup Series until this season. Prior to 2011, Menard had just eight top-10 finishes in 147 starts. Then he signed on to drive for Richard Childress Racing and is in the midst of what could be the best season of his career.
That is similar to the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. It took the Falcons 13 years of competition in the NFL before they finally reached the postseason and 22 years before they reached their first Super Bowl.
Menard is currently running the best he has ever run. With their recent success and the fact that they have just recently recorded their first ever back-to-back winning seasons, it also appears that the Falcons are playing the best they have ever played.
17. Jeff Gordon
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Team: Pittsburgh Steelers/Boston Celtics
Being one of the all-time greats of NASCAR, Jeff Gordon gets the honor of being associated with two professional teams. He gets the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL and the Boston Celtics of the NBA.
This connection is pretty easy. Gordon is a historically great driver with multiple championships to his credit. Both the Steelers and Celtics are historically great teams in their respective leagues, with multiple championships for each of them.
He could have easily been linked to the New York Yankees, but he hasn't quite earned enough championships yet to rank that high.
16. Denny Hamlin
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Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Denny Hamlin has been one of the top contending drivers in the Sprint Cup Series for the last couple of years. Last year, Hamlin led all drivers with eight victories and ultimately finished runner-up to the championship.
Hamlin is reminiscent of the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL. He has been close to the title a few times but has never quite gotten to the top of the mountain.
The Eagles were in the same boat in recent years. During the Donovan McNabb era, he guided the Eagles to the NFC Championship Game five times and one Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the City of Brotherly Love, the Eagles failed to snag that elusive championship.
15. Kasey Kahne
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Team: Minnesota Twins
Kasey Kahne has found plenty of success in the Sprint Cup Series. In 262 starts, Kahne has scored 11 wins. The expectations surrounding Kahne are usually pretty high. He is expected to contend for race wins as well as a berth in the Chase every year.
Some years he meets expectations; others he seemingly falls short. He reminds me of the Minnesota Twins in that while he is usually right around the playoff hunt, when it comes right down to it, he just never has enough to get over that next hill.
The Twins are usually outmatched by teams with a bigger payroll once the playoffs start. The same may very well be true in Kahne's case, as he has never raced for any of the top-tier teams in the Sprint Cup Series.
14. Mark Martin
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Team: Buffalo Bills/Atlanta Braves
Mark Martin also gets to have two teams to be associated with, but his don't carry quite the same prestige as the ones his teammate Jeff Gordon is associated with.
Martin is one of the top drivers in NASCAR history, but the one thing missing from his résumé is a championship. He has finished second in the points standings on five different occasions. Being that close to a title without winning one earns him the association of the NFL's Buffalo Bills and MLB's Atlanta Braves.
The Bills went four consecutive seasons where they reached the Super Bowl but failed to win one. The Braves, although they did win one World Series title in the 1990s, had their own playoff trouble.
From 1991 through 2005 the Braves won the division 14 out of 15 seasons, yet they were only able to score one championship during that run.
13. Juan Montoya
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Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Juan Montoya has won two Sprint Cup Series races in 155 starts. Both of his wins have come on road courses, while he still continues his quest to win on an oval race track.
Montoya compares to the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL for his constant mediocre performances. Only once has he qualified for the Chase, and the rest of the time Montoya has been good but not great.
That is just like the Jaguars. In 17 seasons of competition, the Jaguars have reached the playoffs six times but have never reached a Super Bowl. Much like Montoya, the Jaguars have at times looked good but have never taken it to the next level.
12. Greg Biffle
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Team: Dallas Mavericks
Greg Biffle has had a very solid Sprint Cup career. He has 16 wins in 304 starts with 117 top-10 finishes. Biffle has finished in the top 10 in the points four times, including a runner-up finish in 2005 and a third-place effort in 2008.
He is similar to the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA. The similarities are there in that both Biffle and the Mavericks have come close to achieving championships but have both come up just a bit short. (Biffle has Nationwide Series and Truck Series championships, but this article focuses strictly on the Sprint Cup.)
They are also similar in that both Biffle and the Mavericks are always strong contenders that seemingly for one reason or another typically spend much of the season flying under the radar.
11. A.J. Allmendinger
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Team: Denver Nuggets
A.J. Allmendinger always seems to be improving, but that big breakthrough has yet to come to fruition. That has seemingly been the case for the NBA's Denver Nuggets.
Allmendinger has yet to score a win in his career. He has posted 18 top-10 finishes in 126 starts. That is reminiscent of the Nuggets. Over the course of the last 15 seasons, the Nuggets have turned around from a laughingstock of the NBA into a perennial playoff team.
But they have only escaped the first round of the playoffs one time in that stretch.
10. Matt Kenseth
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Team: Anaheim Angels
When describing Matt Kenseth, there is only one word that typically comes to my mind. That word is consistent. He always seems to find a way to score a good finish, not only in the races, but also in the point standings.
That is similar to the Anaheim Angels. They are typically a consistent team that finds a way to win the division and get into the playoffs.
Kenseth won the 2003 Sprint Cup championship because of his consistency. He won just one race that season yet came away with the biggest trophy of them all. The Angels won the World Series in 2002, and just like Kenseth, they have been around the playoffs almost every year since.
9. Clint Bowyer
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Team: San Diego Chargers
Clint Bowyer has had a very good career, as he always seems to run near the front of the field, but his wins are few and far between. In 191 career starts, Bowyer has an impressive 84 top-10 finishes but has scored just four wins in that time.
That is just like the San Diego Chargers of the NFL. They are a team that always plays well but just can't find a way to get the job done and win the big games.
Bowyer appears to be entering the prime of his career, as he has looked very strong as of late after a sluggish start to the season, and with quarterback Philip Rivers at the helm, the Chargers should also be entering a strong period for their team.
8. Kurt Busch
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Team: New York Giants
Kurt Busch is similar to Matt Kenseth. To me, he is an underrated past champion who other than his championship-winning season typically finds a way to just hang around and post solid numbers.
That is similar to the New York Giants. The Giants won the Super Bowl in 2007 by knocking off the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
Other than that one recent championship, the Giants are typically nothing more than a consistent team. More often than not they find a way to put up decent years and qualify for the playoffs, which is seemingly what Busch does on a regular basis.
7. Tony Stewart
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Team: San Antonio Spurs
Tony Stewart has been one of the top drivers in the Sprint Cup Series since his rookie year of 1999. That is the exact case with Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. Since being drafted first overall by the Spurs in 1997, Duncan has led the team to the playoffs each year and won multiple championships along the way.
Stewart has won at least one race every year of his career, and only once has he finished outside of the top 10 in the points. During that time, Stewart has won the Sprint Cup championship twice, making him one of only two drivers with multiple championships during that time period.
The Spurs are on the same type of run. Since 1998, they have made the playoffs every season and won four championships during the period.
6. Ryan Newman
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Team: Detroit Tigers
Ryan Newman is another driver that has seen plenty of ups and downs in his Sprint Cup career. His best season came in 2003. That year, Newman led all drivers with eight wins. He only managed a sixth-place points finish, which ties his career best. He has done that three times.
Newman reminds me of the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. The Tigers won the American League championship in 2006, ultimately losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. Since that time, the Tigers have finished each season right around the .500 mark.
That is what it feels like a typical season for Newman is. He doesn't ever do anything spectacular, but at the same time, he doesn't do anything terrible either. There are far worse teams to be compared to than the Tigers.
5. Kevin Harvick
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Team: Miami Heat
Kevin Harvick has had a roller-coaster career. He started off real strong, winning in his third career start. Then he was consistent for a few years. Then in 2006, he broke out with five wins.
The next three seasons saw Harvick struggle, scoring just one win over that stretch. Then in 2010, Harvick dominated. He scored three wins and had 26 top-10 finishes, which was easily the most in the series.
That is reminiscent of the Miami Heat. In the mid 1990s, the Heat were decent. They made a few consecutive playoff appearances. Then for a couple of years in the early part of the 2000s, the Heat struggled and failed to make the playoffs.
Then, like Harvick, there was another rebound period, and now we all know the story of the Miami Heat. After their two big free-agent signings, they quickly became the favorite to win the championship, much like many people thought Harvick was the favorite for this season.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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Team: Dallas Cowboys
This one almost seems too obvious on a few different levels. First, the Cowboys are "America's Team," while Dale Earnhardt Jr. is America's favorite driver. He has been voted that honor each of the last eight seasons.
Secondly, the Cowboys are a team that has a lot of success in their history. Earnhardt Jr. is the same way. He was a very successful driver a few years ago. In the five seasons from 2000 through 2004, Earnhardt Jr. won 15 times, while the Cowboys won three Super Bowls in the early to mid 1990s.
Thirdly are the current expectations and results. Each year, both Earnhardt Jr. and the Cowboys are expected to contend for the championship in their respective sports. Unfortunately for both, they have continuously underachieved for the last few seasons.
A lot is expected from both, and the results of each are far less than what people think they should be.
3. Kyle Busch
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Team: Indianapolis Colts
If you forget for just a minute that the Colts won the Super Bowl a few seasons ago, then this comparison is also quite easy to see.
Both the Colts and Kyle Busch typically dominate their sport's regular season. Then when the playoffs roll around, for some reason they seem to fizzle and come up short. The Colts have made the playoffs 11 times in the last 12 years, winning at least 12 games in eight of those seasons. Yet over that time they have just one championship to their credit.
The same holds true for Busch. From 2008 through 2010, Busch has 15 wins in 108 starts. But in those three seasons, his best points finish is only eighth place, and none of those 15 wins have come in the Chase.
2. Jimmie Johnson
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Team: New England Patriots/New York Yankees
The most prolific driver of the last five years gets to be honored by the NFL's most prolific team of the last decade and the most prolific franchise in all of sports.
Jimmie Johnson has won the Sprint Cup championship in each of the last five seasons, something that had never been done before. Only one driver before Johnson had ever won three consecutive titles.
The Patriots had a similarly impressive streak. From 2001 through 2004, the Patriots won three out of four Super Bowls with a combined record of 39-9 during that run.
When his career is done, Johnson may in fact be the driver with the most career championships. That would solidify his comparison with the Yankees. Johnson is currently two titles away from tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, who each have seven. By comparison, the Yankees have won the World Series 27 times.
1. Carl Edwards
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Team: Baltimore Ravens
Carl Edwards is a driver that has found a lot of recent success, and it feels like he is always just one race away from winning a championship. That is how it feels with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. They always seem to be close but are just one or two plays away from getting back to the Super Bowl.
Edwards has 19 wins in 239 career starts with a total of 126 top-10s. In six full-time seasons, Edwards has finished no worse than 12th in the point standings and three times has finished fourth or better. He is the current points leader in the Sprint Cup Series.
Every year it seems like Edwards is right there in the thick of things as the season is winding down, and that is how it is with the Baltimore Ravens as well. They are an experienced team that always seems to find a way to stay in games and be there at the end of the season contending for the championship.
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