r/NASCAR • u/Loud-Entertainer5302 • 1d ago
Most insane driver for an entire season? Which season?
I mean a driver who always seemed to be doing something that jumped out to you almost every week. Not even winning.
Some of my examples. - 2011 Juan Pablo Montoya - 2011 Kurt Busch - 2007 David Regan - 2022 Ross Chastain - 2013 Xfinity Series Kyle Larson
Always noticed them caught up in something. Good or bad. Mostly aggressive driving or wheeling it
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u/HurricanesnHendrick 1d ago
Brad k had that year in like 2014 I think when everyone wanted to fold him up like a $2 lawn chair
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u/Nightwing2418129 Chase Elliott 1d ago
The camera shot of Stewart reversing into Keselowski after the Fall Charlotte race was absolutely hilarious. Follow that up with a scene straight out of WWE when Kenseth sprinted and tackled Keselowski between the haulers.
Bad Brad pissed off Hamlin, Stewart, and Kenseth all in the same race. Great times.
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u/Spagootee Jeff Gordon 1d ago
And then just a few weeks later him and Jeff Gordon were at each other's throats in a fight that was instigated by Kevin Harvick simply for the hell of it.
That was definitely the peak of the "Bad Brad" years & it's crazy how many people were mad at him in just a 1 month span.
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u/baconandtheguacamole Keselowski 1d ago
If I remember correctly, that's also the year he caused a huge wreck at Talladega when he was like 6 laps down in the middle of the pack, and then post-wreck interview he said he's a racer and racers race.
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u/joe_broke 1d ago
Kevin just standing at the back of the car watching and pushing Brad back to Jeff saying "go talk to him", fully aware Jeff is only trying to grab him to start using his "middle-age dad energy"
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u/DBTornado 21h ago
Brad had pissed off Harvick that race too. Harvick was like "Oh look, I can get my payback and watch Jeff get his." He did the WWE ramp intercept, "Nah go back and get your ass whoopin."
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u/HurricanesnHendrick 1d ago
The scene of Hamlin chasing Brad through the garage
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u/404merrinessnotfound 1d ago
Not sure if the rumor of keselowski sending transmissions through the garage was ever proven true
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u/ChaseTheFalcon 1d ago
Brad only being in 2 fights that season is honestly impressive
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u/HurricanesnHendrick 1d ago
Brad not eating dinner through a straw after all those incidents is an example of human restraint
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u/IAmTheWaller67 1d ago
2014 Brad was a menace. My roommate was watching with me every week of the playoffs just in case "that guy got his ass kicked again" lmao
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u/Loud-Entertainer5302 1d ago
2014 Brad was another one that came to mind after I posted it. Never seen a driver get into two physical altercations in one year
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u/joe_broke 1d ago
Dude got Matt Kenseth to jump him
Do you know how hard that is?
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u/sophia_alexandria8 Ryan Blaney 1d ago
I stopped watching NASCAR in the early 2010s, but went back and watched the 2014 season on youtube last year. Bad Brad was the Enemy 🤣🤣
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u/HurricanesnHendrick 1d ago
Brad is one of those that like 6 years from now there will be some shit head that is being a terrorist on the track and Brad is gonna pull them aside and say “listen….. at one point everyone in the garage wanted to park me firewall deep” and impart some wisdom on a kid that changes their career
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u/PenskeFiles Cindric 1d ago
And Brad won a lot that year. I’ll still argue if he makes the championship race he beats Harvick, part of why Harvick pushed him into Gordon.
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u/Hawks20200 Checkered Flag 1d ago
Wasn’t 2004 the year where Tony Stewart was always mad at somebody? Also the same year he shit himself while winning at the Glen? If that’s the same season that’s gotta be up there.
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u/KitchenBanger 1d ago
2011 JPM? Brian Vickers would like a word.
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u/Fire_Jeff_Weltfraud 1d ago
Big shoutout to Vickers for winning Tony the championship by being a menace at Martinsville
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u/Flameosaurus 1d ago
He felt bad for Sonoma
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u/RacingNeilo Kahne 1d ago
I love that Sonoma video.
Come back from commercial and he's stuck on the tyres.
Wish more people did that to Tony. He deserved a lot more.
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u/PreviousMedicine7085 1d ago
Vickers should’ve parked during that race & suspended for several more. He eliminated multiple drivers from title contention too. The fact that he wasn’t shows just how bad NASCAR officiating has always been.
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u/HurricanesnHendrick 1d ago
Idk if it was 2011 but Kevin Harvick wanted absolutely none of that smoke from JPM at the Glen.
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u/iamkingjamesIII Ryan Blaney 1d ago
Didn't Harvick get out and grab him by the helmet? Seems like he wanted it.
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u/undertaker0024 1d ago
He did (or something similar) but Juan started shoving him back and you can see Harvick's demeanor change.
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u/390v8 1d ago
Juan intimidated Harvick?
I know Harvick isn't that filled out but JFC - Juan wasnt that big -
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u/KitchenBanger 1d ago
That was like 2007
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u/Cjmadison01 1d ago
Maybe 2004 Kasey Kahne. Dude came so close to his first win so many times that year just to never get it that year.
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u/PaulRingo64 1d ago
Could've won about 7-8 races that year if just a few things go his way.
-Rockingham -Vegas -Atlanta 1 -Texas -Dover 1 -Michigan 1 -Chicago -Fontana 2 -Charlotte 2
These are all races where he either led the most laps, had the best car late (Rockingham, Fontana, Michigan), or had the win wrapped up before crashes (Charlotte, Chicago, Dover). There is many more too. 13 Top 5 finishes all year, most of them not listed above. Just an all around nutty season that can rarely be replicated. Only six drivers led more laps than he did in 2004, he only led more laps in 2006 when he did win six races.
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 23h ago
Not to mention Texas, where he came up a half a car length short of beating Elliott Sadler
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u/maroonmenace 1d ago
Travis Kvapil 2008. Dude was unsponsored for a dying team and was still in the top 20 sprint cup points. He was outrunning roush guys who were fully sponsored.
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u/my_son_is_a_box 1d ago
Geoff Bodine's 1994 was insane
More than 1700 laps led, had 3 wins and 5 poles.
On the flip side, he had 15 DNFs and finished 17th in ponts
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u/PenskeFiles Cindric 1d ago
Hoosier tires were ticking time bombs, but they were bad fast. Bristol 1994 is the perfect example.
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u/ElectricPeterTork 1d ago
Plus, that was the first full year he owned his team (the former Alan Kulwicki Racing), he made the ill-fated Hoosier deal, was seen palling around with country music star Tanya Tucker at the same time his longtime wife Kathy was packing up and leaving him, and he was feuding with his brother Brett after the Indy crash.
Only thing missing was renaming himself "Geoffrey", which didn't happen until 1999.
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u/TheRealCheeeser00 1d ago
Chris Buescher randomly appeared in the top 5 at the end of what felt like every single race in 2023.
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u/daveismypup 1d ago
Can’t forget that three win streak he pulled out of nowhere in the midst of that season
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u/daveismypup 1d ago
Can’t forget that three win streak he pulled out of nowhere in the midst of that season
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u/AngryWhiskey Truex Jr. 11h ago
I think it was only 2, Michigan 2 and Richmond 2. Only reason I know is they made a big deal of Bell being the first to win three in a row in the next gen.
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u/MikeBuildsThings Whelen Modified Tour 1d ago edited 1d ago
Jamie Mac 2004. Felt like he was the 2nd best car nearly every week. So frustrating to see him be so close but not win.
Edit: fixed year.
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u/bruhmoment2248 1d ago
2010 Montoya was an even bigger bulletin board item at first:
- Lost the 500 to his teammate in their first race together
- wrecks with said teammate 2 races later at Vegas in stupid fashion
- nearly won at Atlanta if not for Kurt Busch becoming a demigod temporarily
- gets caught up in a dumbass bristol pileup
and all of that was just in the first 5 weeks, this aint even mentioning getting taken out at the Brickyard before his win at Watkins Glen a few weeks later
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u/KentuckyHorsepower 1d ago
I thoroughly enjoyed Chastain's NFG Tour 2022. More, please.
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u/DollarsAndDreams 1d ago
It was fun until Mr. H put in the boss call at Chevy 😩
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u/KentuckyHorsepower 1d ago
Actually, Ross requested the call with Hendrick. Regardless of what was said between them, Hendrick would hire Chastain if he could get him away from Marks.
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u/ar51501998 1d ago
Harvick in 2015.. over 2,000 laps led and if every race he had a shot in worked out, he seriously could've won 20+ races. Only won 3 which is a shame. Also had time for some drama lol.
That was the last season a driver had 20+ top 3 finishes
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u/CartoonistAnnual4672 1d ago
his pit crew was complete garbage. he would come in for the final pit stop first every time and leave like 5th and have to claw his way back to a top 2/3 finish over the final couple laps.
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u/Squishy_20 1d ago
I will never understand how good David Ragan was in 2008. Dude straight up almost made the chase on points and still ran Well in the chase.
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u/26007 1d ago
See, I thought you meant most clinically insane driver in a season
2011 Brian Vickers, he was even diagnosed with Vickernism
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u/OhDonPianoooo Chastain 1d ago
Here's the reason why we need to build awareness, Steve. Because, McMurray doesn't know Brian has a problem. He just thinks Brian's a dope!
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u/Broad-Association206 1d ago
Dale Jr 2009/2010. Never seen someone suck so bad on the TV every lap before or since.
The sport's biggest driver on TV running 25th every week. They had to talk about him and had to interview him.
Hell directtv had his in car every week back then on one channel so you could see every lap of the suck.
Oh, and every caution was right before Dale got lapped... Literally how we decided yellows before stage racing.
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u/iamkingjamesIII Ryan Blaney 1d ago
2010 wasn't good, but it was nowhere near as bad as 2009.
2010 he flirted with the Chase until wilting over races 19-26. Ended up with an average finish around 18th. Had a few races that he was running in the top 5/10 end in wrecks. I remember Loudon, Talladega, and I think maybe it was Texas where he was in the top 5 when a wreck happened.
Meanwhile 2009 was absolutely miserable. Worst season by far. I think the highlight was a 2nd at Talladega and not much else.
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u/AggressiveGoesAr0und Reddick 1d ago
2012 Kurt Busch
2004 Tony Stewart
2002 Kevin Harvick
2010 Kyle Busch
2014 Brad Keselowski
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u/Loud-Entertainer5302 1d ago
2007-2013 Kyle was insane almost every week in at least one of the series
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u/AggressiveGoesAr0und Reddick 1d ago
Yeah you could probably just include all those years lol.
If he wasn't doing something dumb on track, he was having some sort of rant on the radio that would become part of radioactive lore.
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u/JayDee_185 Kyle Busch 1d ago
Martin Truex 2015. Stark reminder that this was before we knew what Furniture Row was capable of. They were a big point of discussion all season
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u/404merrinessnotfound 1d ago
I'd argue Kurt's 2013 season with FRR was equally as impressive, he had a lot of issues that year yet somehow got 11 top-5s
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u/Dgebharr96 Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series 1d ago edited 1d ago
Keselowski 2014 was on the following drivers' shit lists:
Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth (fight), Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon (fight)...
6 drivers, 2 fights. That's more action than some guys will get in an entire career.
Honorable mentions: Chastain 2022, Gragson 2019 Xfinity, Ty Gibbs 2022 xfinity, Harvick 2002, Kurt Busch (any given year between 2006-2012), Larson 2020 (get excommunicated from the sport and win like 40 dirt trophies while you rebuild your reputation).
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u/FrightFeats 1d ago
On a less “wow” note and more “wtf is happening here”, Ty Gibbs comes to mind. Dude has been consistent at either just flat out having lackluster races or being in the wrong place at the wrong time his entire cup career.
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u/Obvious_Skill_2630 1d ago
There was a year (or maybe every year) when Jeb Burton was going after someone after every xfinity race. Something about a dog race with Noah Gragson.
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u/BOBANSMASH51 Jeb Burton 1d ago
We don’t talk about his year at OUR.
Besides that season he generally only confronts guys when there is legitimate reason to.
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u/Kafa_Lalala 1d ago
Sam Hornish Jr. in 2008 and 2009. Always involved in incidents with races where he both ran in the Top 10 for more than half of the race and spun 3 times. Whenever there was a weird caution you knew he would be involved in it somehow.
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u/hyperquad123 1d ago
Jeff Gordon 1998
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u/DBTornado 20h ago
And Mark Martin that same year, who had a run that would have won a championship in almost any year except that one.
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u/JRob1998 1d ago
Austin Cindric 2020 xfinity series, after he swept the Kentucky weekend he just exploded for top 5 after top 5 and took it all the way to a championship
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u/OhDonPianoooo Chastain 1d ago
Kyle Larson 2016 running the 1.5-mile ovals at four inches from the wall.
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u/PenskeFiles Cindric 1d ago
Rusty Wallace in 1993 won 10 races and had two airborne crashes at Daytona and Talladega, the second which he finished 6th and probably cost him the title (took him 2 months to recover from injuries).
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u/slotrod Irvan 1d ago
1993 to 1994 Ernie Irvan - Had just taken over for Davey in the 28. In 29 starts between the 2 seasons he had 5 wins, 18 top 5s, and 21 top 10s. He led the most laps in 1994 of all drivers even though he missed the final 11 races of the season due to his near-death accident at Michigan.
2001 Robby Gordon - Started the year doing absolutely terrible in the Morgan McClure 4 car getting fired after just 5 races. Almost put the Jim Smith 7 in victory lane at Sonoma but acted like a fool with Kevin Harvick allowing Tony Stewart to win. Almost put the 31 Lowes car in victory lane at Watkins Glen until the onboard telemetry box for NBC coverage caught on fire. DNQ'd the fall Charlotte race in the Lowes 31 while an up-and-coming Jimmie Johnson made the race in his brand-new Lowes 48. Then got his first win to end the season on an OVAL at New Hampshire while sending Jeff Gordon into a rage to end the race. Jeff had already locked up the championship, but instead of celebrating he was furious with Robby.
2005 Robby Gordon - Brand new startup team after purchasing the assets of the previously mentioned Jim Smith 7. Struggled to make races. Leased engines from John Menard. The engines were fast when he made the race and would blow up regularly by halfway. Had 9 engine failures that season in his Chevy. Stayed with Chevy one more year before switching manufacturers for 4 consecutive seasons (Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Toyota).
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u/Ill_Message_9645 1d ago
Boris Said anytime he raced in the 2000s. Dude felt like he was 39-43 every race lmao
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u/GTOdriver04 Johnson 1d ago
2021 Kyle Larson.
That man was absolutely on fire that year winning 1/3rd of the races run.
I hate that NASCAR’s stupid title “battle” almost robbed him of it that year.
I don’t know if we’ll see a season like that again where one driver and team just roll heat off the truck every single week like that.
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u/CartoonistAnnual4672 1d ago
especially with the gen 7 car, it would be very rare if it happened again
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u/Glimmer45 2024 NXS Champion Justin Allgaier 1d ago
Justin allgaier 2011 Xfinity series Inside the top 20 for 30 of the 34 races Also being apart of a controversial finish at Road America
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u/Secure-Employee-1469 1d ago
Ross Chastain really ticked a lot of his fellow drivers off in 2023, especially Denny Hamlin. Ricky Stanhouse when he was parked for a couple races for rough driving by Jack Roush. I think that was 2017, but could be wrong about the year.
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u/Fickle-Newspaper-445 Chase Elliott 1d ago
Most of these I remember, but what did 2013 Xfinity Series Kyle Larson do? I can only remember him flying into the catch fence at Daytona.
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u/Loud-Entertainer5302 1d ago
He was just raw. Always seemed to be saving the car or wrecking. Just driving hard. He did not have a great year but you could see the potential he had
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u/World71Racer NASCAR 23h ago
2012 Jeff Gordon was pretty wild.
At the start of the season, he had fast cars but so many issues and crazy things, like a lap car stopping on the track and bringing out a caution when he was about to win at Martinsville, that kept him from winning and getting good finishes.
Then, as the playoffs came closer, he started reeling off good finishes, won in a crazy finish at Pocono, and then made the Chase after Alan Gustafson miraculously got the car fixed up during a long caution for rain at Richmond.
Then, in the Chase, he crashes out in the first race but has a fringe shot at the title until a couple of bad races take him out of it by the time Phoenix. He has the whole thing with Bowyer, doesn't get suspended and wins Homestead with Bowyer in second no less
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u/RefuelTheFire 1d ago
Ryan Newman 2003 comes to mind, 7 DNFs and 8 wins. Man was a rocket that year and it was checkers or wreckers.