1. Kyle Busch’s tenacity
Imagine, if you will, that you were starting a brand-new NASCAR race team, and you could not only choose, but create a driver with the best qualities of the sport’s top talent. What would you pick? Here’s a good place to start: Busch’s raw talent often spells trouble for the competition, but what sets him apart from the competition is his refusal to back down in any situation.
As long as his car is capable (and it almost always is), he’ll be in contention for the win. Nobody hates to lose more than Busch does. He’s not afraid to make bold, aggressive moves on the track, and he won’t hold back until the end.
In short, nobody wants to be between Busch and the checkered flag if they don’t have a much faster car. While that sometimes leads to trouble, it’s what makes Busch so hard to beat when things are going his way, and sometimes when they aren’t.
2. Jimmie Johnson’s mentality (and maybe that golden horseshoe…)
While Busch’s own worst enemy is often himself, Johnson’s ability to stay laser-focused to the point of getting inside the heads of the competition is a big part of why he has seven Cup titles. Not only can Johnson get in their heads, he can keep just about everything from getting in his. He remembers details of every race and recalls them when necessary, months or years later, perhaps at a different track where something else might work.
And he’s a bulldog. He’s every bit as tenacious as Busch when he smells the checkered flag, without creating the controversy that Busch often does. Johnson’s ability to keep his cool when things go wrong, and then to overcome them, is a hallmark of his career.
3. Kyle Larson’s car control
Larson can put a racecar just about anywhere he wants to on the track, often riding a groove other drivers won’t touch and making it work. He can keep a sliding, spinning car out of the wall often enough to make other teams envious of the life of his fabricators. Or maybe make his fabricators worry about their jobs.
Either way, Larson can make his car stick, which means he can use the track to his advantage. If racing is about racing the track as much as the other drivers, Larson’s one guy you want on your side.
4. Chase Elliott’s marketability
No doubt about it, Elliott’s stock is on the rise. He’s young enough for the young fans, and a second-generation Cup driver, appealing to those who rooted for his father, Bill. He also had the distinct advantage of driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his XFINITY days, which also brought some ready-made fans.
He won the fan vote at the All-Star Race this year and is expected to be a contender for the Most Popular Driver award this season, if not the frontrunner. All of that makes Elliott the kind of driver sponsors want to take a chance on, and he’s a smart return on investment, running well enough on race day to get some airtime and keep his fans cheering.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s personality
While no longer an active full-time driver, one of the reasons for Earnhardt’s popularity was his relatability. To fans, he came across as the kind of guy they’d want to sit down and share racing stories with over a beer or two.
Earnhardt was late to the social media game, but once he joined the fray, he used the platform flawlessly, interacting with fans (often at all hours of the night) and talking about everything from racing to family. He is genuine and has a sense of humor to boot.
Even at the height of his career, Earnhardt seemed somehow still the dude next door, just another blue-collar guy. Fans want to relate to drivers, and just about all of the drivers could take a page from Junior’s book.
Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.
6: Keeping the brain in charge of the right foot!