Forty drivers compete every week in the Monster Energy Cup Series, unfortunately not off all them can drive for teams like Rick Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing, nor can all of them be as great as guys like Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart. Some guys never live up to their hype, or deserve the rides that they have. So here is a look at the five most overrated drivers in the Cup Series.
#5-Trevor Bayne
Let me start off by saying that Trevor Bayne is one of my favorite young drivers in NASCAR, but I'm sorry, he fits on this list, maybe even higher than fifth. Granted Bayne did win the Daytona 500 back in 2011, but he has managed just two top fives since then in his last 139 starts. In Bayne's first two full seasons with Roush-Fenway Racing he has finished 29th and 22nd in points. To his credit he has ran better this season so far, but it is still early.
#4-Austin Dillon
Unlike Trevor Bayne, I do not like Austin Dillon. When I was 16 I went to an Xfinity Series Race (then Nationwide) at Iowa Speedway. Dillon was the only driver who refused to sign any autographs to children. saying "he didn't have time for that", but that's not why he's on this list. RCR has gone down hill since they booted veterans Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer out for Richard Childress' unproven grandchildren Austin and Ty Dillon. The main reason Austin Dillon has a NASCAR ride is because of his family. Dillon has ran 132 races with just seven top five finishes and has never finished higher than third. He did make the playoffs in 2016, but basically half the field does, so it's not that big of an accomplishment. He's been mediocre so far this season finishing 25th or worse four times in just 11 starts.
#3-Paul Menard
Let's face it, Paul Menard will be in the Cup Series as long as the Menards Inc. exists. Menard is the son of home improvement store magnate John Menard, who has been really active in the racing community. Menard has had a full time ride in NASCAR's most premiere series since 2007 with DEI, then Richard Petty Motorsports and has spent the past six seasons with RCR. Menard has made 374 starts, amassing just one career win on a fuel mileage gamble at Indianapolis in 2011. He's only finished in the top three five time in his career and has only made the playoffs once, coming in 2015, but was eliminated in the first round. Menard still has a top-notch ride because John Menard writes a team a big check as long as they put his son in the car that he sponsors. If Menards ever pulled their NASCAR sponsorship, Paul would be out of the sport in two years. Guarantee it.
#2-Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick has done nothing to deserve her ride at Stewart-Haas Racing. If she wasn't an attractive female who's highly marketable, she wouldn't even be in NASCAR, but she sells, so she has a ride even if she shouldn't. People made a huge deal about Danica jumping from IndyCar to NASCAR despite the fact that she wasn't even really all that successful in IndyCar. Patrick has ran in NASCAR full time since 2013 and competed part time during the 2012 season. Danica has made 165 starts and never finished in the top five. Finishing in the top ten just six times. She did win the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500, which is cool I guess but it doesn't mean anything because Loy Allen. Jr, Mike Skinner and Jeff Green did that too and still sucked. Danica has crashed out of 12% her career races and those are just the ones that she didn't finish in. She's a caution waiting to happen. Sooner or later Tony Stewart will get smart and replace with someone who can compete.
#1 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Junior is retiring after this season which means Danica will likely replace him as number one on this list in 2018. To be fair Dale Jr. has had some success, but most of it came before 2006 and it's 2017. If his name was Dale Smith, he would have never gotten a ride with Hendrick and would have been out of NASCAR a while ago. Junior has been named the most popular driver for the past fourteen seasons and will inevitably be given this meaningless award again this year. Junior has a large fan base, mainly because many people feel sorry for him because his dad died in the 2001 Daytona 500. Don't get me wrong, Junior is a really likeable and marketable guy, but his career really hasn't necessarily warranted his extreme fan-following. Junior has won two Daytona 500's, but so did Sterling Marlin. He did win two Busch Series Championships, but so did Johnny Benson. So even Junior's greatest accolades aren't that exclusive. Junior has amassed 26 wins in 606 starts while Brad Keselowski has 23 in less than half the amount of starts. Junior has had a pedestrian career. In his seventeen seasons he's finished in the top ten in points just seven times, he's finished outside the top 20 three times and has never really been a factor in the championship. Junior won just three races from 2006 to 2013 which included a 143 race winless streak from 2008 to 2012, those are not numbers you would expect from a guy who has a ride the caliber of what he had at Hendrick Motorsports. Junior's announcement of his retirement might be disappointing for his fans, but it's not the first time they've had to find a new favorite driver (that's how they all became Junior fans) so it will be just fine. Junior's retirement does nothing to the competiveness of NASCAR because he really hadn't been all that competitive.
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