Ranking the most overrated NASCAR drivers of the last 5 years

As the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series regular season rolls toward its final three races, playoff talk dominates the garage. Drivers are being hyped, criticized, and compared at every turn by fans, broadcasters, and team executives alike. With that in mind, it's worth asking: which drivers are most overrated when you look squarely at performance over the past five years?

Every driver on this list has proven themselves enough to secure a spot at NASCAR's top tier - a feat in itself. But the term 'overrated' doesn't mean bad. It means the media perception, team backing, and fan expectations often exceed what's been delivered on the track, especially in results, consistency, and titles.

Some of these names could absolutely flip the script over the next few seasons. But as of now, this list reflects the ongoing disconnect between narrative and numbers. So with that in mind, let’s dive into our list of the most overrated NASCAR Cup Series drivers from the past five seasons, heading into the final stretch before the playoffs.

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Five most overrated NASCAR Cup Series drivers

#5 Ty Gibbs – Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54

Ty Gibbs before the NASCAR Toyota / Save Mart 360 at Sonoma Raceway. Source: Imagn

Ty Gibbs arrived in the Cup Series with the weight of expectation strapped to his firesuit. He's the grandson of Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, the face of Monster Energy, and the 2022 Xfinity Series champion. Few young drivers enter the sport with such institutional backing and media hype.

In 110 Cup starts, the results just haven't caught up. Gibbs remains winless at the top level despite being in elite JGR equipment - the same stable that's produced a combined eight wins this season. He is also the only Joe Gibbs Racing full-time driver not qualified for the 2025 playoffs.

For someone heralded as the sport's next generational talent, the output simply hasn’t matched the label, at least not yet.

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#4 Ryan Blaney – Team Penske No. 12

Ryan Blaney before the NASCAR EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA. Source: Imagn

Ryan Blaney is NASCAR's well-liked golden boy. He's got crossover appeal, a loyal fanbase, and a 2023 Cup Series title on his resume. But if you zoom out, his overall track record feels far more pedestrian than his reputation suggests.

The 2023 title was also built on a late-season hot streak, not year-round dominance. For much of his career, Blaney (.38) has been mired in inconsistency. He's been with Penske full-time since 2018, yet remains a step behind teammate Joey Logano, who has three championships and a more reliable win rate (.06).

So far in 2025, Blaney has suffered seven DNFs, struggled for rhythm, and gone months at a time without meaningful finishes. His win totals rarely exceed one or two per season, even with top-tier Ford machinery.

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#3 Alex Bowman – Hendrick Motorsports No. 48

NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman sits in his garage ahead of the Brickyard 400. Source: Imagn

Alex Bowman replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the No. 88 and then Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48. He stepped into the best equipment in the garage with Hendrick Motorsports, backed by a sponsor-friendly image and a media-friendly personality.

But, as of mid-2025, Bowman has just one win in his last 120 starts. He's made the Round of 8 in the playoffs just once and has never sniffed true title contention. He continues to hover on the cutline this year, well behind his teammates who've notched multiple wins and sit comfortably in the top three.

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#2 Bubba Wallace – 23XI Racing No. 23

Bubba Wallace before the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington. Source: Imagn

No one in modern NASCAR gets the same media spotlight as Bubba Wallace - not just from within the sport, but from the broader culture. With backing from Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Toyota, he’s been positioned as a key ambassador for NASCAR’s future.

But on track, the results haven't aligned with the noise. Until his Brickyard win last week, Bubba had just two Cup Series victories (Talladega 2021, Kansas 2022) in 278 races. He's been full-time since 2018 but has only one playoff appearance (2023), where he exited in the Round of 12.

The comparison to teammate Tyler Reddick is telling: since joining in 2023, Reddick has five wins and multiple deep playoff runs in the same car. Wallace’s journey and his platform are important. But if we're measuring on-track performance against media and sponsor hype, it's clear he's been oversold as a contender.

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#1 Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports No. 9

Chase Elliott (9) ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at IMS. Source: Imagn

It’s tough to put NASCAR's Most Popular Driver at the top of a list like this, but that's exactly the point. Chase Elliott's image far exceeds his recent impact.

Since winning the 2020 championship, Elliott's results have quietly slipped. He missed the playoffs in 2023 due to a combination of injury and suspension. Over his last 93 races, he's scored just two wins - an astonishing stat for someone viewed as the sport's standard-bearer.

His teammates at Hendrick - William Byron and Kyle Larson - have racked up wins and dominated stages. But he's remained solid but not spectacular. He hasn't reached the Championship 4 since 2022, and in 2025 so far, he has just one win heading into the playoffs.

Chase's fan base is massive. His sponsorship deals are huge. His legacy is tied to his father, Bill Elliott, and the Hendrick brand. But if we judge purely by recent Cup Series performance, he's not been the superstar the sport makes him out to be.