The Top Four Worst Drivers in NASCAR History
We spend a lot of time in NASCAR talking about the best drivers on the track, but sometimes you really have to take a step back and consider those that are either overrated or just plain bad. Today we’ve gathered four worst drivers that really need to reconsider their career choices as soon as possible.
WORST DRIVERS:
David Ragan – Average at Best
All in all, he didn’t do TOO bad. He came through the ARCA series, so he was obviously used to trucks, and in his first season, he managed to finish fifth in the Daytona 500. Overall that doesn’t sound too bad, but you have to remember that victories are mostly determined by the number of points a person has at the end of the season. Take the 2010 series where he finished 24th in points – it’s not exactly an impressive win. Overall, he had been pretty inconsistent despite his great sponsor (UPS) and a strong team.
Juan Pablo Montoya – Expectations Unmet
Montoya had great open wheel performance and he was the first Formula One driver to compete in NASCAR, which meant he had a lot of expectations piled on him. The problem? He just hasn’t lived up to any of that hype. As he entered into NASCAR, in the 2010 season, he managed to finish worse than 25th place 13 times, though he did finish 17th in points, so it’s not all bad. Still, he’s not someone to get excited over, and we all know that by now. We will say that he’s currently sitting on 73 points in the Daytona 500, so it’s not all bad.
Elliott Saddler – Up and Coming, or Not
In 2012, one of the worst drivers, Elliot Sadler raced for Petty Motorsports, ending at 27th in points with a single to-10 finish. Today, he is 1st in the Xfinity series (a tier below the Monster Energy series), with a total of 0 wins and 18 starts. He might look good on the field, but on paper, he’s pretty lackluster, to say the least. At the end of the day, it’s no one’s fault but his own; he has some of the best equipment that money can buy.
Morgan Shepherd – A Relic from the Past
We’re going back a ways, but one of the worst drivers Morgan Shepherd is still out there, and he’s racing part time in the Monster Energy cup. Apart from that, he’s 54th in the Xfinity series right now with 10 points, 0 wins, and 9 starts. As far as he goes, he’s pretty well known, but his wins have always been pretty low, and while he should show quite a bit of promise, he just doesn’t. At the end of the day, he’s had enough time to prove himself, and he’s always fallen short. There are plenty of other examples out there and in later blogs, we are going to go over more of them. The NASCAR world has plenty of talent, but it also has plenty of drivers that really need to at least try to go the extra mile.