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NASCAR: Top 10 active drivers from an all-time perspective

By Asher Fair

MARTINSVILLE, VA - APRIL 02: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, leads Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Tide Pods Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 2, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
MARTINSVILLE, VA - APRIL 02: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, leads Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Tide Pods Toyota, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 2, 2017 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 11: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 11: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 11, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /

#6 – Kurt Busch, Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 41 Ford

Kurt Busch, 39, comes in at #6 in these rankings as the lowest ranked former champion of the sport. While his win total of 29 is not the lowest among active former champions, he has been a full-time Cup Series driver for much longer than the only active former champion with fewer wins than he has, and that other driver’s total is barely lower than Busch’s, which is why he is in the top 5 in these rankings and Busch is not.

Busch’s lone Cup Series championship came way back in the 2004 season, so the emphasis on recent success really doesn’t bode well for him. He was, however, younger at the time of his first championship than any other driver on this list was at age 26.

While there is another former champion in these rankings whose lone championship actually came before Busch’s, that driver has not fallen off as much as Busch has over the years, which is why he is ranked higher than Busch even with emphasis on recent success.

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Since winning that championship in 2004, Busch has only finished in the top 10 in the championship standings five times, with only one finish higher than 7th place and no finishes in the top 3. Sure, he did win this season’s Daytona 500 for the first time in his career, but he has simply not been a true championship contender in recent seasons.

The reason Busch is higher than all active full-time drivers who have not won championships despite the fact that he hasn’t been super great lately is simple. He has won 29 races in his career, while the highest total of victories by any active non-champion is 30 by Denny Hamlin. Busch, unlike Hamlin, has a championship to go along with that slightly inferior total, making him one of the best active drivers from an all-time standpoint despite the fact that he hasn’t really been one of the elite drivers in quite a while.

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