There is only so much NASCAR fans can learn about drivers through social media and brief interviews at the race tracks.
Posting more than race or sponsorship information or making a sly on-camera joke helps. But it’s still challenging to get a sense of what they’re really like, unless you’re at the track regularly.
But many of the drivers know each other fairly well, and some are actually pretty good friends and hang out beyond NASCAR race weekends. So For The Win conducted its annual NASCAR Superlatives investigation to see what some of these drivers really think of each other.
“So Clint Bowyer wins goofball, again and again and again and again?” Brad Keselowski joked.
Answering these questions, 11 drivers shared some funny and quirky details about their peers and their personalities.
Answers have been lightly condensed and edited for clarity.
1. If you’re having a party, who’s the first driver you invite?
Clint Bowyer: None. Wouldn’t be a very a good party if you invited my peers to it. That’s rude. None of ‘em know how to party! Most of them aren’t old enough to drink anymore, so it’s out of control.
Jimmie Johnson: Probably Clint, and then my teammates. [Alex Bowman] had a hell of a party after his first win.
Brad Keselowski: Ryan Blaney, he’s a good party dude. He brings in a good crowd.
Kyle Larson: Ricky Stenhouse. He’s one of my best friends, and he’s really wild right now.
Joey Logano: Typically — not that we’re partiers in any way — I’d invite Brad because our families are all friends, and [Corey] LaJoie because we grew up together, and we’re all friends.
Denny Hamlin: Kyle Larson.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Larson, just because we’re great friends and have a lot of fun together.
Ryan Blaney: My buddies, Bubba [Wallace] and Chase [Elliott].
Landon Cassill: Corey LaJoie, we have fun.
Alex Bowman: I don’t have any friends. It’d be Clint Bowyer, but he probably wouldn’t come to my party. [Yells to Bowyer across the room.] We’re trying to decide if you would come to my party or not!
Bowyer: Hell yeah!
Bowman: Well, Clint’s coming to the party then.
Bowyer: Are you old enough to drink?
Bowman: Last week, I turned 21, so we’re good.
Bowyer: Oh my god. Are you really serious? Did you really just turn 21?
Bowman: No, I’m 26. Come on now.
2. Which driver is most likely to be cause “The Big One” at Daytona or Talladega?
Johnson: I think we’re all capable of it. I’ve caused plenty.
Bowyer: History would show, in recent years, it would be Ricky Stenhouse.
Larson: Ricky. Whatever, we’ll still party after.
Hamlin: I love him, but I’ve gotta say Ricky.
Stenhouse: We’ve all done it. I would always say Jamie McMurray back in the day.
Erik Jones: I’ve caused The Big One. We all have at some point.
Keselowski: That’s pretty easy for me, William Byron.
Bowman: Keselowski.
3. Which driver is most likely to apologize for wrecking you?
Hamlin: Probably Brad Keselowski.
Keselowski: Probably Clint Bowyer.
Bowyer: None of them. It’s not worth the breath. It’s something you just do because it’s the right thing to do. It means nothing. They’re still going to want you to have a bad day.
Larson: Ricky, just because we’re friends.
Jones: No one, to be honest.
Logano: Only saying this because it’s the freshest, but [Daniel] Suárez just did. He apologized pretty quickly, which, I knew it wasn’t on purpose. He’s was mature enough to admit fault.
Bowman: Byron.
Stenhouse: Blaney always apologizes. I’ll apologize if I’m in the wrong.
Cassill: None of them.
Johnson: Teammates obviously because of the relationship and dialogue. Over the years, I would say [Matt] Kenseth and I had a really good dialogue to work through issues. I had a dust-up with Blaney earlier this year, and it took a long time before we finally sat down and talked. And I just think the longer the relationship, the longer drivers have been around, the sooner that stuff happens.
4. Who’s definitely not going to apologize for wrecking you?
Keselowski: Oh, Kyle Busch for sure.
Larson: Probably Joey Logano or Kyle Busch.
Logano: Kyle Busch.
Johnson: [Kevin] Harvick.
Bowman: Newman, I don’t think he really cares.
Stenhouse: Kurt Busch.
Cassill: All of them.
5. Which driver do you think is the worst driver on the street in a regular car?
Keselowski: Only because I’ve heard an account, Denny Hamlin. He admittedly texts and drives a lot. It’s not a talent thing; it’s a focus thing.
Hamlin: Maybe me.
Johnson: The one I’ve experienced is Brian Vickers. We were teammates for a long time, and I literally thought I was going to die riding shotgun with him.
Bowyer: Well, Kyle Busch got caught in his own neighborhood going like 80 miles an hour. That’s pretty dumb. [It was 128 miles per hour in a 45 zone.]
Stenhouse: Clint because I’m going to guess he doesn’t pay a lot of attention.
Larson: Probably Ryan Newman, but I’m not really sure how much time he spends on the road because I think he’s just on his farm. But when I have been on the road with him, he’s pretty crazy.
Jones: I don’t know. I’ve never gotten a ticket in my life.
Bowman: Definitely William Byron because he can’t see over the dash.
6. Which driver has the biggest personality difference between on and off the track?
Larson: Joey Logano, for sure. In the car, he’s extremely intense. Outside of the car, he’s extremely dorky.
Keselowski: Probably Joey.
Logano: Frickin’ me, that’s for sure. I am definitely that guy. … Brad said me? Hahaha.
Johnson: [Matt] DiBenedetto. He seems so calm, but I’ve heard some radio stuff where he just loses it and gets so emotional and melts down. His ability to link cuss words together is phenomenal. And then outside of the car, he’s so chill.
Bowman: Probably Byron, he’s pretty quiet and then pretty aggressive on the race track.
Blaney: Kyle Busch gets misconstrued a lot. Very fiery personality at the race track. But when he’s away from the race track, I don’t want to say he calms down, but he’s a different person. It’s hard to see personalities at the race track because people are passionate about what they do. It’s a whole different vibe when you’re away from the race track.
Cassill: Kurt Busch is a pretty nice guy off the track. Pretty aggressive on track.
7. Which driver is having the largest impact on the sport this season?
Hamlin: Kyle Busch. He’s the guy that gets the most headlines. A lot of it is because of what he says, and he’s exciting on the race track. He’s our impact player right now.
Larson: Kyle Busch.
Jones: Chase Elliott, he’s the fan favorite right? Lot of fans of his dad and a lot of fans of his now that still come to the track to see him race.
Keselowski: Chase Elliott. Fans really like his last name because it brings back good memories of the past. [When asked if he thinks that draws fans in, he said, “Yes.”]
Logano: Maybe Denny. He’s pretty in-tune with what’s going on, and he’s pretty vocal and getting everyone’s opinions and communicating that [to NASCAR]. I would honestly say me, but Denny too.
Bowman: Jimmie Johnson, seven-time champion has a huge impact on the sport all the time. But at the same time, I feel like Chase Elliott’s the most popular guy right now, so there are a lot of eyes on him.
Blaney: There’s a lot of great personalities — Chase, Bubba, Kyle Busch is really good for the sport. Jimmie still being here is a really big personality for the sport. Those four guys are all really different, but they all impact it in different ways.
Stenhouse: I think Blaney does pretty good all around with fans, with kids, with the podcast he does.
Cassill: Dale Jr. or Kyle Busch.
Johnson: I just feel like Chase. When he’s running well and his victories, I feel like that moves the needle more than anyone with the fans.
Bowyer: It’s Chase Elliott, without a doubt. It beats the hell out of me. Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen.
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