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Grading Every NASCAR Driver's 2023 Season
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Now that we’ve had 10 seasons with the playoff format, I think it would be really cool if you did a video ranking the playoff seasons so far
Yess
2017-2019 were the best 3 IMO
@@doomusrlc I really dislike the 2018-2020 seasons tbh. 2014; 2016 and 2017 were the best
That’s a fantastic idea
My favorites are 2014 and 2016.
Corey LaJoie BTW, 36 races, 0 DNFs. That deserves mention. Taking care of your equipment will only help Spire’s growth. It certainly won’t hurt it!
Yk what's crazy? Corey is always causing or getting in wrecks yet he can't seem to be out of any races. He's just op when it comes to that.
@@Aar0nplayzthat’s exactly what I was thinking right now, 0 DNFs just blew my mind I swear he was in at least a dozen wrecks
LaJoje is a legend
He has 0 DNFS In the seaosn
@@hiraakif4223but hopefully he gets a win in his career and go from Stacking Pennies to Stacking Dollars.
@@Aar0nplayzOne time at Michigan in 2015, Danica got involved in 3 wrecks but wasn’t done in the race yet as her car took little damage. Or maybe she didn’t want to give up
I would have given Todd a B just because he had to play musical chairs to drive full time since Zane Smith took some of his rides at Frontrow
Giving Ty Dillon a D+ is generous
Yeah I'd have given him the F and Austin the D+.
He doesn't have a competitive car and he did get up in good positions but finishes are where they count
At least he tried and avoided given an F…until Big Bro came into scene
D-
A team as a whole RFK deserves an A easily.
If I had a Team of the Year Award, I'm giving it to them. I know Penske won the title, and Hendrick had 2 Cars in the final 4, but both Elliott and Bowman went winless, and missed the Playoffs, Logano won just 1 race before getting eliminated in round 1, and Cindric was garbage this year. RFK was definitely the most well-rounded team (I know only 2 cars, but still).
RFK and 23XI. If you told me 23XI would have both cars end the year in the top 10 in points, I would say you must be smoking something. For such a new team. And what Brad K has done to turn RFK around is just AMAZING!!!! A+ to both of those teams this year!
@@noahcoleman5556Chase made the Owner’s Playoffs and finished top ten there. So, HMS had 3 cars in the owner’s top ten.
With harvick retired, it's sadly time to say goodbye to the amazing class of the early 2000s 😢😢
Ummm hello Brad is still there, as is Ryan Newman.....
@truckercowboyed2638 Brad debuted in 2008 in cup !!!! Hardly early 2000s...
@@truckercowboyed2638lol Brad ?
@@truckercowboyed2638Newman is only around in races where he is sure the next gen car won’t injure him and he’s only seen when being lapped or crashing
@@truckercowboyed2638 Brad never raced in the Winston Cup Era and Ryan Newman only runs a select number of races
One thing with LaJoie is he finished the season without a DNF. That's really impressive with him being in an smaller team.
How does Buescher not get an A+ 💀 Dude won 3 races in a car that hasn’t been anywhere near consistent results in years
Crazy 😂😂
As an Elliott fan, that D was generous. That right hook of Hamlin was just plain stupid, especially after missing 6 races for a snowboarding injury. The 9 car made top 10 in owner points partly because Berry got a 2nd in one of his fill in races. I'm thrilled for Blaney, but this season couldn't end fast enough for a 9 fan. They really need to get it together over the off season.
Stenhouse gets a solid A- in my honest opinion. He gave JTG Daugherty Racing a career year in Top 10's, more than what Allmendinger got them back in 2014. Praying that he can use that momentum for more success next year!🤞🙏
Looked promising then halfway through the season he turned back into Crash Stenchhouse. Some weeks he looks good and others he looks like a rolling impending accident.
After the first Pocono, he had many mediocre to garbage finishes. Playoffs only 2 top 10s, surrounded by mediocre finishes.
SHR in 2023 = Roush-Fenway in the mid-to-late 2010s.
In the Cup Series, anyway. Cole Custer's demotion to the Xfinity Series ended up working out pretty well for him.
It’s almost identical as in 2015 roush was still struggling and won the xfinity title with Chris Buecher
Kyle Busch really had an under the radar collapse. After gateway people were genuinely saying he was the championship favorite. Then between driver errors, team errors, and the car just not being there he was pretty much an afterthought for a majority of the second half. Still better then his last few seasons at Gibbs though
Yeah, a lot of his good finishes post Gateway (Chicago, Atlanta) were due to strategy. That 8 car just did not have speed at the end of the year.
BJ McLeod: A+++ (For OOTG sponsorship at Darlington)
This grade we can all agree, am I right?
Agree!
Extra credit
Wow
Disagree with this
While that paint schemes is goated, the Epilepsy Foundation scheme this team ran at Martinsville Spring 2022, was better
Also, while on paint schemes, LaJoie's Team NEGU scheme is awesome
I think what Erik managed to do in that 43 car in quite a few races was great. Some races they just weren't competitive but he got up there running in the top 10 quite a few times
Definitely looking forward to next year
Austin’s new crew chief used to be Kasey Kahne’s in 2015-2017. And the results dropped dramatically.
There's something that some people didn't know about LaJoie. Dispite being involved in wrecks, he was able to finish all 36 races, and think he was the only one to do that this season. Major probs to him.
He caused a few DNF's , that's for sure !
Will you ever do another "reacting to your guy's stop motion "stream again, it was a lot of fun the first time, and the community has changed a lot since than. Keep up the good work!
I approve of this lol
I approve of this as well
@@mlcsracingnetworkokay lol
I approve!
Personally I would have given Harvick a B based on how off SHR has been yet he was the one driver in that bunch to be consistent enough to point his way into the playoffs
Ty Gibbs lost his father a year ago and I think that affected his racing this past year.
He was also a rookie this year and was obviously going to be behind his teammates. I think he put in a decent season considering everything that happened.
I think ty Gibbs did really good he was quite he put his head down and just got work done.
I think your grades were accurate. I may have tweeked a couple but overall, you were spot on.
B+ is criminal when Hamlin ran great and get equipment failure in the round of 8. Put him anywhere in the top 20 that day instead of a dnf and he makes the championship 4
Eric gives Chase Elliot a D ....exits his studio to enter witness protection!
Suarez has been in 3 championship contending teams (Gibbs, Stewart-Haas, and Trackhouse)... he has 1 win to show for it...the Gibbs car he was in was in the championship 4 the year before... his teammate made it to the championship 4 last year...like no offense to the guy, be his seat should be hot
On Austin Dillon’s situation, you can ABSOLUTELY blame it on one guy. I don’t know how Keith Rodden keeps getting crew chief jobs. He killed Kasey Kahne’s competitive career at Hendrick and didn’t do Jack for McMurray in 2014. He should have stayed on as Kahne’s car chief instead of trying to play crew chief after 2013. He was actually decent at his job back then.
Yeah, Kasey Kahne never had a car that was fast enough to win during his time with Rodden on the box (except on the the plate tracks in 2017 where he contended). And then the first race with Rodden gone, Kahne was fast. Terrible crew chief.
Doesn't help that Austin Dillon was involved in almost every incident whether it was his fault or not. He had a ton of bad luck and lots of things happened that were out of his control.
8:47 I was at the track at phoenix, and Hemrick was interviewed and said that he can't wait to race with his teammate Aj Allmendinger next year, so maybe it's not up in the air about what he's doing next year?
Noah Gragson: Summer School
Cody Ware: EXPELLED
Great season Eric, thank u for all the info and coverage!
Denny Hamlin is like the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone that’s a fan of him always says this is our year, then blows it
Except the Dallas Cowboys actually have 5 CHAMPIONSHIPS 🤷🏼♀️
@@southernmermaid2526all of those came 30-60 years ago
I’m not even a Cowboys fan, but the point is Denny has ZERO CHAMPIONSHIPS so it’s not the best comparison.
In terms of teams, I think each team should get a grade:
Hendrick Motorports: C
Two drivers missing the playoffs is a bad year for them, but then two did end up in the championship 4, so average year
Joe Gibbs Racing: B-
It was a down year for them. They had 3 cars in the round of 8, only one made it into the champ 4 and he had a mechanical failure. Denny Hamlin was also out for a mechanical failure at homestead. Truex’s collapse started with the mechanical failure at Kansas, it’s been a trend. They need to work on that
Penske: B
Obviously winning the championship is great, but the 22 team was struggling the second half of the year and the 2 team was dead. Plus Blaney was doing terrible mid season, there was a stretch where he had zero top 15s like Truex
Trackhouse: B-
Chastain’s win really saved their score, but their performance was just very down from last year. I can’t forget about SVG’s win though, they have very good teams, just need consistency
Kaulig: C-
AJ’s win stops it from going any lower but they really under performed expectations this year
SHR: F
First winless season in years. Abysmal performance all around
Legacy MC: F
Gragson got suspended, JJ crashed out at every race he entered, Eric Jones wasn’t even a factor in all but 3 races. Atrocious
RFK: A+
No competition, this team did what Trackhouse did last year. They outperformed every expectation, they carried Ford for a good portion of the year. Both cars are making a deep playoff run next season
Spire: B+
The 77 was miserable but that was because of Ty Dillon, when the 77 was with Hocevar it was actually fast. That team has speed. The 7 has been good too. Next year will be exciting
JTG: A
Daytona 500 win, it was a good year for them
FRM: A-
Despite losing Blake Harris, the 34 team was very good this year and the 38 is showing improvement.
RWR: F
Having a driver suspended is almost a sure fire way to torpedo your season, but they haven’t been remotely competitive even when everything was right. It’s been terrible
23XI: A
If Bubba Wallace had a win, this would be an A+, but still a fantastic year. MJ shows up every week, and both cars are extremely competitive. They’re both making deep playoff runs next year and Reddick might make champ 4
Wood Brothers: F
I forgot they existed for most of the year
I think that’s all of them. Overall the big teams regressed and the small teams improved. Parity is stronger than ever. Say what you want about the Next Gen, but it’s brought parity back. It’s super fun seeing small teams win
You forgot to grade RCR lol
@@josecruzjr.0308 lol, I knew I was forgetting one. I think they should get a C+. Brining KFB onboard was huge for them and 3 wins is great, even if he got eliminated at the Roval (I really thought he could make the round of 8 with his level of performance). Austin Dillon was atrocious, this was his worst season in years.
JJ Yeley and RickWareRacing deserves a shoutout for 5 Top20 finishes with a 7th Place Best Finish deserves a B+ given the circumstances.
C- is a pretty good grade as an Almirola fan.
Aric will always be my favorite driver. Same with smoke. He showed he had talent in 2014. 2018 was a great year. Almirola definitely had his bright spots this year like New Hampshire and Talledega. Thank you Aric. I will always remember you: great video Eric!
So Richard Childress get's mad at Sheldon for racing for a win and a chance at a title. And the spoiled grandson who can't perform in tier equipment has 10 DNFs. Where is his tongue lashing.
Truex fan, I'm pretty sure he was affected after Sherry passed late in the season.
As a chase Elliott fan, I feel a D is generous (comparing to last year and the expectations)
That right hook of Hamlin was just plain stupid. Chase is a good enough driver to make revenge look like "hard racing". That move was blatant.
Drivers, Professor Eric has arrived with your season grades!
Noah gragson should have been mentioned, and graded F. Josh Betty deserves a mention too and I’d say an A for Berry
Kevin Harvick is the last current full-time driver that raced in the Winston Cup Series. End of an era. 😢 4EVER
These grade videos have to be my favorite you make! Love watching these each year!!
Being a Cuban American myself, it was fun to see a fellow asere like Almirola each and every race weekend. Liked his reserved but well calculated attitude, had times where he reached great speeds, got top tens and even won a few big ones. (2018 Talladega Fall Race) Despite not being consistent throughout his entire career, Aric still had plenty to show for in his final seasons and always put a smile on my face regardless through his very positive and optimistic attitudes. Something could go wrong and he still did his best to keep his composure.
Despite my Hendrick / Chevy ways he was a favorite, always surprising me on a season to season basis as he worked his way up. Long live the Cuban Rocket!
Gonna get myself and Out of the grove T-shirt
Thanks Eric!
Y is it nobody can take into account the fact Bowman has the best start to the season than anyone, he took the points the lead and if not for the injury who knows how long he actually would hold on bc he had great speed good enough to keep it at the time
Your correct on Alex Bowman...I think he was not healed and came back to early
You're not going to get much pushback on giving an F to Austin Dillon. He def deserves it.
SVG should take the 99.
Best NASCAR show on social media,thank you E
The 3 team was definitely dragged back hard by Keith Rodden's inability as a CC. While I think it isn't entirely on Keith, the last time Keitg was even a half decent crew chief was 2013, over a decade ago
Not sure why JA left last year, maybe just wanted less commitment to be at the track, but he and Austin have made magic in the past. Not sure why they click but they do. Solid Spotter,Solid crew, they should be in the top 15 every week. This year he was thrilled to be in top 18-20.
Cody Ware: F-------------
Awesome video, I love it, you plan to do the worst and best 2023 paint schemes?
I have to agree with the f for Dillon. He’s my fav driver, but yikes… this year was bad. Between his penalty and insane number of dnf’s (most of which were not his fault) it was rough to watch. I think that’s there’s lots of room to be optimistic about the 3 going into next year tho!!
Gonna need a new or old(JA) to be competing again. Rodden ain't the guy.
The fact that he posted this the day my actual school report card is due 😂😂
Contracts can be bought out , I could see Bowman out of the 48 if he has another lackluster year.
Eric: In a happy mood
*austin dillon appears*
Eric: becomes very sad for austin dillon
You're right about William Byron he did amazing this season 6 wins I was at 1 of the races that he won wow
I would like to see you do the truck and xfinity grades too
Really good evaluations.
Im a McDowell fan. THANKS FOR THE LOVE!!! one point to consider.... His age n racing history!! Imagine he could've done so much more with the right team in the past. Still, hes focused and improving with age.
I would rate your grading as generally fair.
I give Chris Buscher an A+.
I'd also throw Noah in here and give him an F.... Just so Dillion doesn't feel lonely...
I give Eric an A-. He still needs to buy a pair of glasses that fits.
i forgot harrison burton existed before this video
Great video. would be very nice if you make a similar video with your predictions grades for 2024 year for each driver.
As an Elliott fan I would grade him at least a C- he had that injury+suspension and it also seemed like he lacked speed even at some his stronger tracks
Yet he had only 3 less top 10s that larson and 6 less than byron. There is only 5 drivers in the top 16 with a better average finish. He had a good year if not for the injury.
@@Roadhouse1997 yeah but most of those top 10s he had to scratch and claw to get. They haven’t had good speed since before the playoffs last year. I’m curious to see if HMS will make any changes to that team for next year, because having a driver of Chase’s caliber running in the 20s week after week is unacceptable.
A+ for Both Ryan Blaney & William Byron
Yeah, you were pretty much spot on with all of them enclosing my driver -#9/sucking pond water.
Was fun guessing the Letter Grade when the pic went up. And listening to what Eric had to say & guess before he reveals his Grade
I feel like Harvick was a solid B/B-.
The only reason is considering the equipment he was running with. I feel that he and the 4 team were pushing to the limits of what they could achieve. Their speed was absent all season, and he still pushed his car further than any of his teammates in most races.
I think had SHR had something competitive to put their drivers in he'd have won at least 1-2 races.
Ross Chastain probably made the biggest turnaround in how he was seen during a season. The start of the year he was the guy who was at fault for everything that went wrong for people, then he took it down a notch, kept his nose clean, and kept steady up until the last race. I think it took him that long to figure out how to race real clean and still get to the front. Blaney was pissed with him at Phoenix, but in no way did him dirty. Who ever has been working with Ross to be more controlled should get a A+.
We know who done really well with not only their equipment and also surpassing the expectations of many; JJ Yeley A+, top ten at Atlanta sealed it.
Eric,
I am definitely expecting you to predict McDowell to make the 2024 playoffs next year.
Well, that would be Austin, Dillon's problem, Keith Rodden 😂😂 he failed Kasey Kahne multiple times. He failed Jamie McMurray if anybody expected more that's on them.
could we see an announcement of matty d to the #10 car next year for shr?
If it said anything else about how bad Austin Dillon (and others) finished, Chase Elliott missed 7 races, and still finished 50+ points ahead of the next closest driver. He could've most likely missed an 8th and STILL stayed in 17th lol
next up, early nascar cup series playoff prediction
Blaney and Chastain made a hell of a grading curve.
My Grades for Every Driver's 2023 Season.
Ty Gibbs: B
Austin Cindric: D-
Harrison Burton: D- (Almost F)
Todd Gilliland: C
Justin Haley: C-
Kevin Harvick: B-
Aric Almirola: C-
Kyle Busch: B
Brad Keselowski: A-
AJ Allmendinger: B-
Denny Hamlin: A-
Martin Truex Jr.: B
Christopher Bell: A
Tyler Reddick: A-
Bubba Wallace: A
Erik Jones: C+
Ryan Blaney: A+
Joey Logano: C
Chris Buescher: A
Ryan Preece: C+
Chase Briscoe: D+
Michael McDowell: B+
Ricky Stenhouse Jr: B+
Kyle Larson: B+
William Byron: A+
Chase Elliott: C-
Alex Bowman: D+
Corey LaJoie: B
Ty Dillon: D-
Austin Dillon: F
Daniel Suárez: C-
Ross Chastain: B-
A championship race at Talladega or Bristol Dirt would be AWESOME
I’d actually give Bowman a higher grade because with lower back injuries like that he has to refind his feeling of the balance of the car in his butt. I’m pretty sure Denny said that.
Clearly, it didn't hurt to be in a factory backed Chevrolet.....
Ty Gibbs was was long better behaved in Cup versus last year. Truex looked like a rookie on a number of road/street courses...
Hey Eric! Big fan 👊🏻 would you pleassssse do a video grading the Race teams for the year
Part time drivers
SVG: A, won in his debut at Chicago and finished 10th at Indy.
Jimmie: Unfortunately F or D-, did good in the 500 until caught up in the 2nd to last big one and then the bad finishes at CoTA and Charlotte.
BJ McLeod, Josh Blicki, and Anthony Alfredo: D, I wouldn’t say they did bad, they drive for a back marker team, but I was very impressed at Chicago when Josh ran in the top 5 cuz he didn’t pit yet so he was up there with Ty Gibbs and SVG.
Josh Berry: C-, finished 2nd at Richmond when he was filling in for Chase Elliott.
Zane Smith: D+, made multiple starts in the 38 and one in the 51, I gave him a D+ cuz I can’t think of much of what he did in cup this year.
Cody Ware: F-, cuz of what he did, good job on finishing 14th in the 500, tho.
Jensen Button: D+, same with Zane.
Austin Hill: C+, not much memorable stuff, but he gets a C+ for how well he did in Xfinity.
Chandler Smith: C+, same with Austin.
JJ Yeley: D+, one top 10 thanks to the summer Atlanta race, but he performs the same as he does post 2007.
I’d give Carl Edwards a B+ or A- if he came back.
Yeley also got a 16th place finish in the Coke 600 beating out several big teams and drivers. Also an 11th at Talladega I believe
@@isaiahmarker407Thanks for the reminder👍
We get it shr has work to do over the winter but I think hopefully will come out stronger, fingers crossed 🤞
This is the first year that your grades matched mine across the board. Not too sure which of us should be most worried about that though.
Ty Dillon may have been bad, but he showed what he could do in the regular season finale. He's definitely a good plate racer. This last stretch of this season saw some good top 25 runs under green for Ty. He just needs a competitive ride.
18:39 D as in D’oh!
Just having fun with my fav TH-camr, comparing grades n giving my opinion
Your grades were mostly on point in my opinion. But man, you were very generous with Briscoe and Almirola. They were invisible all year. I don't get why sponsors put money on cars that are never on camera.
Briscoe had a very solid close to the season the last quarter. Especially if considered in context with his team's current standing. SHR was rough this year. The 14 was legit fast a handful of races the last couple months and Briscoe has shown promise imo.
Silver Spoon Cindric should not be anywhere near a cup car. He can thank daddy for that ride
Facts
Yay just what I was hoping for
RFK and 23XI have to get a special A+ for what they achieved this year. If you told me 23XI would have both cars end the year in the top 10 in points, I would say you must be smoking something. Especially for such a new team. And what Brad K has done to turn RFK around is just AMAZING!!!! I don't think one person here thought Brad could get that organization turned around so quickly. A+ to both of those teams this year!
Corey Lajoie had zero DNFs
My thoughts with Truex are that he parted ways with his longtime partner Sherry Pollex in January and she passed away in September 2023 after a long battle with ovarian cancer. I feel that this was a large and unavoidable distraction.
Chase and bowman where off
They need to change the round of 4, if you are the regular season champ you get a bye until the round of 4. Make the points championships worth something
Truex Jr. just discovered what athletes is other sports have known for a long time. Once the playoffs start, regular season performance doesn't mean squat. It is all about who can get the hottest at the right time
I think Byron had the best season
William Byron did have that summer dry spell. If you take away Atlanta, june and july were not good for Byron
As a Bowman fan, I agree with the ranking. The year of what could have been, had it not been for penalties and injuries. I also meant to comment the other day on Phoenix as the finale. I think the race is boring, and not a good, exciting ending to our season, but my biggest problem with it is that if your favorite driver does not excel there what chance do they ever have to win a championship? Thats why I feel there should be some sort of rotation of tracks. Kevin Harvick in his prime would have been a lock each year for the championship, but it should not just benefit a few drivers in my opinion.