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Denny Hamlin, the most experienced active driver of the NASCAR Cup Series season, was asked to name his top-five NASCAR drivers of all time by current Cup driver and NASCAR show Stacking Pennies host Corey LaJoie.
Hamlin's list starts with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the top, followed by Jimmie Johnson, David Pearson, Jeff Gordon, and Richard Petty. Three of them, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., and Petty have seven NASCAR Cup Series Championship titles each.
Before taking his shot at putting NASCAR’s five greatest drivers in order, Denny Hamlin said:
“Ooof, really tough because decades ago someone could have a car far superior to the field.”
He continued:
“Being that I never raced against half of them, it really makes it hard for even me to judge them. That’s what makes lists fun. It’s all speculative.”
By then, several followers of LaJoie’s Twitter account had spoken out. Jenna Fryer, the Motorsports Journalist for the Associated Press, after seeing reactions from the two NASCAR drivers, wondered why Cale Yarborough, Richard Petty, and David Pearson did not appreciate the mention.
Fryer held off when asked about her top-five greatest drivers, saying she didn’t feel qualified to judge because she never competed against any of them.
Picking NASCAR Cup Series’ all-time greats is one of the most difficult tasks. Over the years, technological development over the years has made fair evaluation difficult. But there will always be generational talent who dominates competitors until a successor emerges.
After Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. named his top-10 greatest NASCAR drivers of all time
A discussion of NASCAR’s greatest top-five drivers has raised the interest of NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., and everyone wants to hear the list from him.
Corey LaJoie asked the same thing from Earnhardt Jr. and he responded. He instead went beyond just five, naming an all-time top-10 list which includes a pair of active Cup drivers.
The list includes his father, Dale Earnhardt, followed by Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Jimmie Johnson, Richard Petty, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Bobby Allison, and his former teammates Darrell Waltrip and Kevin Harvick.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin’s list looks solid as they recognize the top drivers of the NASCAR Cup Series who have made the sport great. All the above-mentioned drivers have given everything to the sport and achieved several milestones both on and off-track.
