I would say Dale. Petty had money when no one else did, so he had a LOT better car than everyone else did. Pearson was in a similar situation, but i would put pearson above petty. Jimmie is NO WHERE near as good without chad. At that time, the 48 car was just plain faster than EVERYONE in the field. Gordon was a similar situation, the 24 car was FAST. not saying jimmie and jeff couldn't drive, but their cars were above everyone elses. Dale did what he did in a team that hasn't been good since dale died. RCR was never at the top of the game when it came to their equipment. not to mention dale had a LOT of different crew chiefs and won championships with different crew chiefs. I remember a quite by Andy Peetre that he was suprised how far behind RCR was with their cars when he went over there. to me that proves that Dale was able to get more out of a car than anyone.
I personally go for Bobby Allison. Yeah, he only has one championship. But he won for 13 different teams, was still winning at 50, and statistically outperformed Yarborough, Waltrip, Earnhardt and Pearson in the same rides. Give him a steady ride for 20 years, and the record books would be quite different.
Jeff Gordon & Dale Earnhardt are neck & neck for The GOAT. Both had dominant peaks & no valleys. Both went out as championship contenters, while winning races in their final years. Neither were a shadow of their former selves, compared to Richard or Jimmie at the end of their careers. Both also helped the sport explode in the 1990s & early 2000s.
Great video! The clearest and most fair answer yet to this age old question. But I'm going with Earnhardt, only because he very well COULD HAVE won another championship if he would've lived longer.
Johnson isn't even a thought for the goat. He was in the right place, at the right time. He was a product of the car being built by an overpowered, well funded team, and he only had his success due to Chad Knauss. When the car changed, and driving style needed to change, he failed to, wrecked, and was never the same
When it comes to the GOAT of NASCAR, my pick is Johnson, and I have a few reasons for this. Petty was the only driver to have real funding throughout the large majority of his dominance, and even then, Pearson had a better winning percentage than him. A lot of the people who say that Dale was better because he raced in a more competitive era forget that Jimmie raced in an even more competitive era and won more races, more poles, and won 5 championships in a row despite NASCAR constantly changing the format to stop him from winning. Don't like my opinion? LMK why I'm wrong and maybe I'll change my mind!
@@rcguy902 Wow. Ok. Why so aggressive? But if you insist... "Overrated af" I do not believe it is possible to simultaneously be overrated while also having 83 career wins. "just benefited from the flawed chase format" I wholeheartedly believe that without the Chase, Johnson would've been even more dominant, as he would've had to go out and win more races to stay ahead. He didn't have to with the Chase, so we never saw what Johnson's true potential was. "and a cheating crew chief" Really? You're defending a driver from one of NASCAR's most cheat prevalent eras while also calling someone else a cheater? Cheating isn't any more common than it was back in the 70s-90s, it's just more well documented now. What would've been a major scandal in today's NASCAR was just another weekend in the tech inspection office in Dale's era. Now, no disrespect to Dale, but you missed the mark pretty badly here. Also, here's all of the punctuation you missed. Can't believe that you'd use the word "period" in a sentence while also forgetting to put one at the end of it. , . , .
@@Pulse0n "just benefited from the flawed chase format". As a JJ fan, the summers were sort of brutal because his numbers were the worst then. The thing was, he was just so good early on in the season that he'd already pretty much be guaranteed to get in the Chase by May (unless some disasters happened). Once they were safe, they were free to test and experiment during the summer. Additionally, there was far less pressure on the team as a whole because they weren't worried about having to get into the Chase. They would go into the Chase much fresher and less stressed than other teams because of his early season dominance. Had it been a season long points deal, he'd have won more.
I dont really believe in "The Greatest of All Time" thing when it comes to NASCAR, since there so many legends to choose from, but i think the legend that made the biggest impact was jeff gordon, earnhardt is a close second, but gordon was the only one who could match dale and beat him more often than not. But Joey Logano is my personal GOAT, flame me all you want about being a logano fan😂😂😂
@@rcguy902Here is a fact that can’t be argued. Gordon, Earnhardt, and Petty are the only 3 drivers, according to statistics, that were the best drivers for 7 different seasons.
Definitely Dale Earnhardt. Dale won his championships in a much much harder era where teams and cars were becoming so even because of plates racing and what not. in the 60s and 70s it was either petty Yarbrough Pearson. The rest of the cars out there with some exceptions were mostly second rate equipment Petty won most of his races on tracks that NASCAR doesn’t even race anymore. And head to head it goes like this, Richard Petty won his last race in 1984. Raced for another eight years (92) without a win while Dale Earnhardt was winning championships.
Yes, but the goat was out there working his butt off to keep his operation continued getting a paycheck to pay the bills, in a multiple revolutions of Nascar.
As a Jimmie fan 8:32 this is the whole reason his career went downhill so quick, it would’ve been a slower decline without this wreck I’d say Jimmie is the GOAT due to the 5 in a row. That shire dominance is something that will never be matched
Smoke, wins three different titles on three different points formats 2002: Winston Cup Latford system 2005: Initial Chase format 2011: Revised Chase format Petty: Drove for many a year but fell off a cliff post 1985-6 and that to me hurts his case Plus Smoke was doing a lot to grow his team once he left JGR while driving for them, something only Petty and Smoke did out of the usual candidates. Dale? Drove for RCR and built DEI Gordon? HMS through and through and had a hand in the 48, but showed he ould win across different car eras Jimmie? How good was he without Chad? Like Petty, Jimmie went off a cliff post Pocono cash
It is close, but I'd have to say Jeff Gordon. He's the only one to rival Dale Sr., but that shouldn't take away anything that "The Intimidator" did. Jeff Gordon just had that little thing called "consistency", but Dale Earnhardt was still somewhat consistent and competitive from 1993 to 2000, since Gordon was slowly surpassing him in that timeframe.
Dale is kind of a big "What-If". I don't think he was going to bring another championship, per say (though his whole team was certainly on top of the game in that fateful 500), but I do feel like he had a couple of milestones to achieve yet. It is hard to know what the early 2000s had in store.
Earnhardt is obviously not a bad choice but for me I’m going with Gordon, 33 wins in 3 seasons is crazy (96-98) plus this is bias but I actually seen Gordon race (started watching in 2007) so now that I’m older even tho that 8 year stretch wasn’t his peak he still racked up a few wins and maybe could’ve won two chips if a few things went different (07,’14) and before I even got into NASCAR I remember hearing Jeff Gordon’s name in cartoon shows and Nellys song E.I so yeah for 7 chips is better than 4 but I’m still going with Gordon because of the wins
Jimmie's 5 in a row is the greatest feat. No one has gone back to back in the Chase/Playoffs except him. It erased Cale's 3 in a row. Plus Jimmie, like Jeff was clean and Earnhardt wasnt
5 in a row isn't that hard when they bunch the points back up after race 26 What's far more impressive is winning 4 out of 5 when you have to be the best all year not just last 10 races
@@rcguy902 "5 in a row isn't that hard when they bunch the points back up after race 26" - Nonsense. If it's so easy, then why wasn't there a single other driver who won a back to back championship in the Chase system? Meanwhile, there were 12 different times that back-to-back championships happened in the old points system.
A cool feat, but you can't hold that in the same breath as a driver being the best all year and not just the final 10 races. Let's look back at the five in a row and who would have won the season long format. That's more impressive. NASCAR implemented the seed system in 2007, so although Gordon entered the Chase with a 317 point lead, Johnson started the final 10 races in 1st because he had more wins. I believe Jimmie was 6th or 8th at the time due to DNFS. Gordon set the modern era record for top tens in 2007 with 30. He would have won the championship by 352 points or so. Carl Edwards wins 2008 Jimmie Johnson wins 2009 Kevin Harvick dominated 2010. And this is coming from a guy who has like five Jimmie hats and jackets in his closet. Dale and Jeff were the best, imo. Jeff also went out battling for a championship, while Jimmie went out winless his final three seasons.
@@jek4837They changed the system to the elimination format in 2014, which makes it nearly impossible to win back to back championships do to how much luck plays a factor
I always said Petty, but looking back he was racing against bad equipment. I know 200 wins is a lot and is the most but Kyle Busch has more, I’ll say Earnhardt because he fought his way up to the top. Gordon is great two but I’ll say Earnhardt because RCR wasn’t a great team the time Dale went to them. And look at the success he made them
Ok here me out instead of the 5 drivers that are in the goat debates i believe you can argue that thier is 7. Kyle Busch has a case between all his "NASCAR" success Kevin Harvick has a case for carring a diying RCR and under different formats would be a 4 time cup champ Do i belive rhese guys are or should be in the debate? No not really, however i am seeing more and more of NASCAR fans put these guys (more Kyle then anything) into the goat debate
Kyle Busch's 229 Nascar wins are more impressive than Petty's 200. Petty raced against some absolute shitty competition, and their funding and equipment was a huge reason for their dominance as well.
Jimmie, was the only driver in the goat debate who basically force Nascar to change the points system to stop him. Can you say he got put in a great situation? Yeah without a doubt he did, but also Jeff Gordon, JR and kahne ( the most winningest 3 when JJ was in his prime) all had the same equipment and barely won a quarter of what JJ did.
@@lucyloo2228 after 2010 ( the end of the 5 peat) Nascar completely took away the Winston style of points and brought In the wild card chase in which every car was a single point. Also after Jimmie won the 2013 championship they brought in the Elimination style format. After both dominating years they completely changed how the champion was decided. Also I must ask Gordon, won his final ring 3 years before the chase was brought in, so how did Gordon force Nascar to change? (Btw that sounded rude reading that last sentence back did not mean it in anyway rude way)
@@idkIamBORED nascar didn’t want another driver to come along and win 50 races in 5 seasons. So Nascar came up with the Chase Format. How did Gordon win a championship before and after the chase era? Gordon never won a championship in the Chase era.
@@lucyloo2228 then that honor would have to go to dale Sr. Because nascar had been toying with a post season since dale Sr won his 7th championship in dominating fashion. You can say Gordon domination help make their decision easier, but at the end of the day it was Matt's Championship that finally made their choice for them. Unlike Gordon Nascar seemed to be throwing everything thing but the kitchen sink to end Jimmie's dynasty
**The GOAT is Jeff Gordon. Statistically he was the best driver in 7 seasons. His dominance from 1995 to 2001 was incredible. He’s won at every track, and has tons of poles. Earnhardt is the 2nd best. Statistically he was also the best driver in 7 seasons. Petty is not in the top 5. He raced in an era where he beat up on smaller teams until the big dogs started showing up, which is why he went winless in his final 8 seasons. Johnson is probably 3rd with 83 wins, but statistically he was NOT the best driver in 7 seasons. Bobby Isaac was an incredible driver. Go watch the race at Greenville Pickens Speedway in 1970. He lapped the entire field, including the 2nd place car TWICE. Bobby just don’t have the stats. Cale Yarborough or Darrell Waltrip could be in the top 5. They both won 3 championships and both won over 80 races. If I was forced to choose, I would probably pick Darrell over Cale because he was one of the greatest short-track racers of all time. My top 5 would be: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmy Johnson, Darrell Waltrip, Kyle Busch. My top 10 would be: Gordon, Earnhardt, Johnson, Waltrip, Ky Busch, Petty, Pearson, Allison, Yarborough, Wallace. The way I look at it…if Jeff Gordon had the chance to race against Richard Petty’s competitors, he would be banned from racing because he would put the entire field 7 laps down. Petty had the chance to race against Gordon’s competitors and he failed to win for almost a decade. Petty won 200 races, but then goes 8 years without 1 single win.
Don't forget Petty was 55 when he retired, raced in an era that didn't have power steering or cooling fans, the dude kept a wet rag in the car for hydration, raced on both asphalt and dirt, left to drag race for a while, did not get behind the wheel of a racecar til he was 21, and didn't technically own his ride in the twilight of his career. And on top of that, the first race he won was protested by his own father and overturned. Wasn't given anything. Bobby Allison came to my high school and spoke once at an event. Later on, someone asked how he managed the heat during the races. Said that he would drive around Birmingham year round with the windows up and heater turned up on high to stay conditioned. Not an advocate for Petty, I've been a Dale Sr fan since the mid 80's. But these guys were cut from a different cloth than the guys who's raced in last couple of decades.
@@Alex-dc5mx if Jeff would have raced in the 1980’s Dale would have less championships. Petty only has 63 wins on modern tracks. 10 of those are Daytona. 26 are at Richmond and Martinsville. Petty was winning races that only ran 200 laps. Which because the modern day Busch Series. Cup wins he only has 104. Not sure why Nascar says he has 200 cup wins.
If not for Chad Knauss, Jimmie Johnson wouldn’t have 30 wins, if any. There is only one driver on this list that won from the beginning to the end of their careers. Petty can’t say that, Pearson can’t say that, Gordon can’t say that and, neither can Jimmie Johnson. You seen how good Jimmie was when he and Knauss were split up. He literally never threatened to win ever again, which is why I questioned if he would even have any wins!
The NASCAR G.O.A.T. “debate” will always be a tricky one to explain. But to me, it’s simple. Dale Earnhardt put butts in seats, and did more to usher in a reliable, consistent fan base at a time when the sport needed a “hero vs. villain” storyline. Earnhardt was both to every race watcher, both in the grandstands and on TV, and attendance during his peak era - mid-to-late ‘80’s to the mid-‘90’s exploded. There was a definite “Passing of the Torch” from Petty to Earnhardt to Gordon, but the guy in the Wrangler and Goodwrench Chevy Monte Carlo clearly had the biggest impact on the NASCAR fan base. Dale Earnhardt - THE G.O.A.T.!
I've said forever that Earnhardt would have 90 wins if NASCAR had run 34 or 36 races a season during the 80s instead 28. Give Dale another 80 races during that era, he is winning another ten to fifteen. Not to mention, how close he came to beating Rusty in the 89 championship. Jeff was robbed of being a seven time champion and Jimmie only scored the most points in a season three times, making his numbers less impressive than DW's. 1. Earnhardt, 2. Gordon, 3. Petty, 4. Pearson, 5. Waltrip, 6. Cale, 7. Jimmie, 8. Bobby, 9. Harvick, 10. Kyle Busch
@@lemonjuicegaming6551against kids with less experience and far better equipment far less impressive Busch is a no talent overrated childish loser very overrated
@jek4837 HMS was the first to implement engineering, aerodynamic specialists, and full-time (specialized) pit crews, to name a few innovative ideas they had. They revolutionized the sport, resulting in cars that were far superior to the competition. Soo.. Team over talent..
@@scottmoyershatbackwordsbel7095 And when did all these other teams follow suit? Are you saying that JJ's 7 championships were due to these other teams not having engineering, full time pit crews, etc.? Go back and look at all the races during Petty's dominant years. Go see how often races had 5 or less drivers on the lead lap. There were times when the vast majority of the field were numerous laps down. So there might be some weeks where Petty has a win and David Pearson finished a couple laps down (but with no accident/engine failures). And then during the same season, you might have Pearson win with Petty a few laps down. Was it that Pearson or Petty just completely forgot how to drive for all those races they were a couple laps down? No. It's because their cars/engines or whatever new cheating they came up with that week were so much better. Sooo...team/equipment over talent.
@jek4837 I agree with petty/Pearson..however the same can be said about modern NASCAR. For many many years before this next Generation of car. If you didn't drive for Hendrick or Gibbs your chances of winning a championship were slim to none. They are the two super teams with the most money. JJ would not be a 7 time champion driving for Roush. Let's look at Kyle Larson. He's an amazing driver but he didn't win a lot until he got in a great car. So now, it's more team then talent. Imo.
@@scottmoyershatbackwordsbel7095 There were years when other teams were the class of the field. There were a few years when Penske was near the top (especially those years when they were getting way, way better gas mileage than everyone). SHR racing were super dominant a couple years, and Roush was great at one point as well. I will absolutely give credit to the manufacturers for years during Gordon/Johnson. For a big chunk of those years, Chevy was the top manufacturer. During those years, HMS was the best of Chevy by far. But then Chevy dropped off the face of the earth as Gordon was leaving. Ford and Toyota took over for those years, and Chevy was lucky to win any races at all.
Jimmie, why because he went to indycar and imsa after his championships and raced decent competitively and in much harder series. His final cup year could’ve had good finishes he came so close
The previous year, he'd gotten a brand new crew chief that was horrible, but he was doing much better by the end of that year with Cliff Daniels. He would have absolutely won a race or two in his final year, but covid absolutely screwed everything up because of no qualifying. The top 12 drivers were guaranteed the top 12 starting positions each week. If you were out of the top 12 a few months into the season, you were absolutely done. You might have an awesome car, but you might get the 23rd starting spot that week from the drawing. Week after week after week you were having to fight your way up through the field. I can't remember which race it was, but it was 1.5 or 2 mile track that spread the field out quickly. Harvick's car was complete shit during practices, but he was guaranteed a spot close to the front. They had completely missed on the car setup. He was able to stay in the top 10 forever though due to already being up front and some cautions, and they finally got the setup much better. If he had been in the back of the field from the beginning, he'd have been lapped early on and had a shitty finish. Because of the no-qualifying, he ended up with a top 5.
I think it's either Gordon or Johnson, considering they were the most recent drivers to have such impressive stats, where teams are more competitive than ever. Your analysis on Earnhardt puts him in the mix though, considering he achieved those stats before his career was cut short.
Despite having an unhealthy dislike for Rick "I had cancer after I got into legal trouble and was miraculously cured when I was pardoned" Hendrick, I kind of agree with you
David Pearson. Hands down. Only three full time seasons and champion of all three. Highest winning percentage (don't quote me on that, it was true at one point) absolutely brilliant behind the wheel
Pearson- great...but cherry picking races you're good at doesn't come close to GOAT material Johnson- same team and crew cheif for entire career - can't say Goat when everything he won was with the same car Gordon- same as johnson. Sure he won after Ray left...but not as much... Earnhardt- true consideration for goat...won at everything...knew how to win in everything, multiple owners, crew cheifs, series etc 7 champs The king- many wins came at a time where if you raced the whole year, you raced against lesser competition at times...but 200 w's is 200 w's and 7 champs to go with that. Kyle bush should absolutely be included here. 218 w's across 3 series...champs in each series, 2 cup champs, wins with every team he's driven for. Career ain't over. One more champ puts him near the top imo. All the goats had down years. If kfb has a resurgence, it would be akin to Dale in 2000, 2001 and what could've been..
@bearmarsh6579 Petty, Pearson, Earnhardt, Gordon. My defense for leaving Johnson off is the clear cut case that a supermajority of his success was thanks to Chad. When he left, Johnson tanked. The others had success with multiple crew chiefs. Johnson didn't
It's Gordon or Johnson. Then Earnhardt. Then you can argue about who the next 2 are because Petty and Pearson drove at a time when equipment/funding was far, far, far more important than talent.
@@darthhull85 Nobody else comes even close. I would say that Dale Earnhard is second and its undisputed as well. For third we can start talking: Waltrip, Johnson, Gordon, Allison, Yarborough..., but the first two are set.
Dale Earnhardt is Nascars greatest ever Jeff and Jimmie fans can cry all they want but jeff only 4 Jimmie is just a product of the chase system and cheating Chad
It depends on witch Era of Nascar you grew up in some will say Lee petty or Ralph Earnhardt some will say Pearson or Richard Petty or Cale Yarbrough Bobby Allison then some will say Dale Earnhardt or Gordon and most will say like me is The real 🐐 none other than Jimmy Johnson #48 7 time champ
In his prime David Pearson had years where he won over half the races entered
I would say Dale. Petty had money when no one else did, so he had a LOT better car than everyone else did. Pearson was in a similar situation, but i would put pearson above petty. Jimmie is NO WHERE near as good without chad. At that time, the 48 car was just plain faster than EVERYONE in the field. Gordon was a similar situation, the 24 car was FAST. not saying jimmie and jeff couldn't drive, but their cars were above everyone elses. Dale did what he did in a team that hasn't been good since dale died. RCR was never at the top of the game when it came to their equipment. not to mention dale had a LOT of different crew chiefs and won championships with different crew chiefs. I remember a quite by Andy Peetre that he was suprised how far behind RCR was with their cars when he went over there. to me that proves that Dale was able to get more out of a car than anyone.
Dale Earnhardt is the GOAT on one could get as much out of a car as he could.
I personally go for Bobby Allison. Yeah, he only has one championship. But he won for 13 different teams, was still winning at 50, and statistically outperformed Yarborough, Waltrip, Earnhardt and Pearson in the same rides. Give him a steady ride for 20 years, and the record books would be quite different.
He could have stayed with many of his teams but his personality wouldn’t allow it.
that’s a huge hypothetical tho
Davis Pearson, without a doubt. If he had ran full seasons every year he would have eclipsed Richard Petty.
In an easier era 🥱
“If” you can’t go by ifs. Would he have? Probably but, we don’t go by probably.
Jeff Gordon & Dale Earnhardt are neck & neck for The GOAT.
Both had dominant peaks & no valleys.
Both went out as championship contenters, while winning races in their final years.
Neither were a shadow of their former selves, compared to Richard or Jimmie at the end of their careers.
Both also helped the sport explode in the 1990s & early 2000s.
David Pearson is the goat. How nobody talks about him is beyond me and he only raced a full season 3 times and put up the numbers he did.
How can he be GOAT if nobody talks about him?
@@kg0173bro lol 😂
Agree. Pearson is THE G.O.A.T.
Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are the goats of Nascar. Bar none. :)
If you include success as both a driver and owner, Junior Johnson would certainly be in the conversation.
Great video! The clearest and most fair answer yet to this age old question.
But I'm going with Earnhardt, only because he very well COULD HAVE won another championship if he would've lived longer.
Johnson isn't even a thought for the goat. He was in the right place, at the right time. He was a product of the car being built by an overpowered, well funded team, and he only had his success due to Chad Knauss. When the car changed, and driving style needed to change, he failed to, wrecked, and was never the same
bro forgot that it was a brake failure crash at Pocono in 2017 that began the decline of Johnson.
@@BlueJimmie48FanFr,He was the best at adapting to the Chase,and the Playoffs before his Pocono crash
Jimmie had success in 3 different cars lol what are you talking about
@roymcdre9180 Jimmie was overrated Dale is goat
@BlueJimmie48Fan Yea that's what he's talking about bc remember when Jimmie said he was going to change his driving style after that wreck
When it comes to the GOAT of NASCAR, my pick is Johnson, and I have a few reasons for this.
Petty was the only driver to have real funding throughout the large majority of his dominance, and even then, Pearson had a better winning percentage than him.
A lot of the people who say that Dale was better because he raced in a more competitive era forget that Jimmie raced in an even more competitive era and won more races, more poles, and won 5 championships in a row despite NASCAR constantly changing the format to stop him from winning.
Don't like my opinion? LMK why I'm wrong and maybe I'll change my mind!
It's Dale Earnhardt period Jimmie was overrated af just benefited from the flawed chase format and a cheating crew chief
@@rcguy902 Wow. Ok. Why so aggressive? But if you insist...
"Overrated af"
I do not believe it is possible to simultaneously be overrated while also having 83 career wins.
"just benefited from the flawed chase format"
I wholeheartedly believe that without the Chase, Johnson would've been even more dominant, as he would've had to go out and win more races to stay ahead. He didn't have to with the Chase, so we never saw what Johnson's true potential was.
"and a cheating crew chief"
Really? You're defending a driver from one of NASCAR's most cheat prevalent eras while also calling someone else a cheater? Cheating isn't any more common than it was back in the 70s-90s, it's just more well documented now. What would've been a major scandal in today's NASCAR was just another weekend in the tech inspection office in Dale's era.
Now, no disrespect to Dale, but you missed the mark pretty badly here.
Also, here's all of the punctuation you missed. Can't believe that you'd use the word "period" in a sentence while also forgetting to put one at the end of it.
, . , .
@@Pulse0n "just benefited from the flawed chase format". As a JJ fan, the summers were sort of brutal because his numbers were the worst then. The thing was, he was just so good early on in the season that he'd already pretty much be guaranteed to get in the Chase by May (unless some disasters happened). Once they were safe, they were free to test and experiment during the summer. Additionally, there was far less pressure on the team as a whole because they weren't worried about having to get into the Chase. They would go into the Chase much fresher and less stressed than other teams because of his early season dominance. Had it been a season long points deal, he'd have won more.
@Pulse0ni’m not reading allat but buddy took it personal 😂
I dont really believe in "The Greatest of All Time" thing when it comes to NASCAR, since there so many legends to choose from, but i think the legend that made the biggest impact was jeff gordon, earnhardt is a close second, but gordon was the only one who could match dale and beat him more often than not. But Joey Logano is my personal GOAT, flame me all you want about being a logano fan😂😂😂
I think it’s Gordon
Nope he's #2 it's Dale Earnhardt period 7 beats 4
@@rcguy902Here is a fact that can’t be argued. Gordon, Earnhardt, and Petty are the only 3 drivers, according to statistics, that were the best drivers for 7 different seasons.
@@lucyloo2228 Jimmie was not the best all year on some of his 7 titles
@@rcguy902 Oh look, RC Clown 88
Jimmie was nothing without chad
Pearson nuff said
The King Richard Petty. End of discussion.
sometimes I think of a Jimmie Johnson-Dale Earnhardt-Richard Petty hybrid who I call Richard Johnson Sr.
Jeff Gordon 100%
Petty and Pearson raced in an easier time for the sport. They’re great but totally different. Pioneers but not the best.
Definitely Dale Earnhardt. Dale won his championships in a much much harder era where teams and cars were becoming so even because of plates racing and what not. in the 60s and 70s it was either petty Yarbrough Pearson. The rest of the cars out there with some exceptions were mostly second rate equipment Petty won most of his races on tracks that NASCAR doesn’t even race anymore. And head to head it goes like this, Richard Petty won his last race in 1984. Raced for another eight years (92) without a win while Dale Earnhardt was winning championships.
Yes, but the goat was out there working his butt off to keep his operation continued getting a paycheck to pay the bills, in a multiple revolutions of Nascar.
I have always hated that stupid playoff system they adopted. NASCAR had the perfect system in place and got rid of them.
As a Jimmie fan 8:32 this is the whole reason his career went downhill so quick, it would’ve been a slower decline without this wreck
I’d say Jimmie is the GOAT due to the 5 in a row. That shire dominance is something that will never be matched
Jimmie is not even close to Earnhardt
@@Alex-dc5mx Yea, he's better.
Smoke, wins three different titles on three different points formats
2002: Winston Cup Latford system
2005: Initial Chase format
2011: Revised Chase format
Petty: Drove for many a year but fell off a cliff post 1985-6 and that to me hurts his case
Plus Smoke was doing a lot to grow his team once he left JGR while driving for them, something only Petty and Smoke did out of the usual candidates. Dale? Drove for RCR and built DEI
Gordon? HMS through and through and had a hand in the 48, but showed he ould win across different car eras
Jimmie? How good was he without Chad? Like Petty, Jimmie went off a cliff post Pocono cash
It is close, but I'd have to say Jeff Gordon. He's the only one to rival Dale Sr., but that shouldn't take away anything that "The Intimidator" did. Jeff Gordon just had that little thing called "consistency", but Dale Earnhardt was still somewhat consistent and competitive from 1993 to 2000, since Gordon was slowly surpassing him in that timeframe.
A career average of finishing at 11th? Insane!
Dale is kind of a big "What-If". I don't think he was going to bring another championship, per say (though his whole team was certainly on top of the game in that fateful 500), but I do feel like he had a couple of milestones to achieve yet. It is hard to know what the early 2000s had in store.
Earnhardt is obviously not a bad choice but for me I’m going with Gordon, 33 wins in 3 seasons is crazy (96-98) plus this is bias but I actually seen Gordon race (started watching in 2007) so now that I’m older even tho that 8 year stretch wasn’t his peak he still racked up a few wins and maybe could’ve won two chips if a few things went different (07,’14) and before I even got into NASCAR I remember hearing Jeff Gordon’s name in cartoon shows and Nellys song E.I so yeah for 7 chips is better than 4 but I’m still going with Gordon because of the wins
Jimmie's 5 in a row is the greatest feat. No one has gone back to back in the Chase/Playoffs except him. It erased Cale's 3 in a row. Plus Jimmie, like Jeff was clean and Earnhardt wasnt
5 in a row isn't that hard when they bunch the points back up after race 26
What's far more impressive is winning 4 out of 5 when you have to be the best all year not just last 10 races
@@rcguy902agreed
@@rcguy902 "5 in a row isn't that hard when they bunch the points back up after race 26" - Nonsense. If it's so easy, then why wasn't there a single other driver who won a back to back championship in the Chase system? Meanwhile, there were 12 different times that back-to-back championships happened in the old points system.
A cool feat, but you can't hold that in the same breath as a driver being the best all year and not just the final 10 races.
Let's look back at the five in a row and who would have won the season long format. That's more impressive.
NASCAR implemented the seed system in 2007, so although Gordon entered the Chase with a 317 point lead, Johnson started the final 10 races in 1st because he had more wins. I believe Jimmie was 6th or 8th at the time due to DNFS.
Gordon set the modern era record for top tens in 2007 with 30. He would have won the championship by 352 points or so.
Carl Edwards wins 2008
Jimmie Johnson wins 2009
Kevin Harvick dominated 2010.
And this is coming from a guy who has like five Jimmie hats and jackets in his closet. Dale and Jeff were the best, imo. Jeff also went out battling for a championship, while Jimmie went out winless his final three seasons.
@@jek4837They changed the system to the elimination format in 2014, which makes it nearly impossible to win back to back championships do to how much luck plays a factor
Richard Petty forever
Only one. Dale sr!!
I always said Petty, but looking back he was racing against bad equipment. I know 200 wins is a lot and is the most but Kyle Busch has more, I’ll say Earnhardt because he fought his way up to the top. Gordon is great two but I’ll say Earnhardt because RCR wasn’t a great team the time Dale went to them. And look at the success he made them
Michael McDowell
At the time who would’ve thought Richard Perry’s 200th win would’ve been his last?
Ok here me out instead of the 5 drivers that are in the goat debates i believe you can argue that thier is 7. Kyle Busch has a case between all his "NASCAR" success
Kevin Harvick has a case for carring a diying RCR and under different formats would be a 4 time cup champ
Do i belive rhese guys are or should be in the debate? No not really, however i am seeing more and more of NASCAR fans put these guys (more Kyle then anything) into the goat debate
1 time Champs don't have a case
@@rcguy902 I agree, I am just pointing out that a lot of fans are starting to say that
Kyle Busch's 229 Nascar wins are more impressive than Petty's 200. Petty raced against some absolute shitty competition, and their funding and equipment was a huge reason for their dominance as well.
@@jek4837 nope Busch is overrated trash
@@jek4837 I would agree
If we remove Richartd Petty from this conversation, we can talk.
Jimmie, was the only driver in the goat debate who basically force Nascar to change the points system to stop him. Can you say he got put in a great situation? Yeah without a doubt he did, but also Jeff Gordon, JR and kahne ( the most winningest 3 when JJ was in his prime) all had the same equipment and barely won a quarter of what JJ did.
Jimmy Johnson didn’t force Nascar to change anything. Jeff Gordon did.
@@lucyloo2228 after 2010 ( the end of the 5 peat) Nascar completely took away the Winston style of points and brought In the wild card chase in which every car was a single point. Also after Jimmie won the 2013 championship they brought in the Elimination style format. After both dominating years they completely changed how the champion was decided. Also I must ask Gordon, won his final ring 3 years before the chase was brought in, so how did Gordon force Nascar to change? (Btw that sounded rude reading that last sentence back did not mean it in anyway rude way)
@@idkIamBORED nascar didn’t want another driver to come along and win 50 races in 5 seasons. So Nascar came up with the Chase Format. How did Gordon win a championship before and after the chase era? Gordon never won a championship in the Chase era.
@@lucyloo2228 then that honor would have to go to dale Sr. Because nascar had been toying with a post season since dale Sr won his 7th championship in dominating fashion. You can say Gordon domination help make their decision easier, but at the end of the day it was Matt's Championship that finally made their choice for them. Unlike Gordon Nascar seemed to be throwing everything thing but the kitchen sink to end Jimmie's dynasty
The WHOLE reason Nascar started to change the points sysyem was to stop GORDON, not Jimmie !!!!
**The GOAT is Jeff Gordon. Statistically he was the best driver in 7 seasons. His dominance from 1995 to 2001 was incredible. He’s won at every track, and has tons of poles.
Earnhardt is the 2nd best. Statistically he was also the best driver in 7 seasons.
Petty is not in the top 5. He raced in an era where he beat up on smaller teams until the big dogs started showing up, which is why he went winless in his final 8 seasons.
Johnson is probably 3rd with 83 wins, but statistically he was NOT the best driver in 7 seasons.
Bobby Isaac was an incredible driver. Go watch the race at Greenville Pickens Speedway in 1970. He lapped the entire field, including the 2nd place car TWICE. Bobby just don’t have the stats.
Cale Yarborough or Darrell Waltrip could be in the top 5. They both won 3 championships and both won over 80 races. If I was forced to choose, I would probably pick Darrell over Cale because he was one of the greatest short-track racers of all time.
My top 5 would be: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jimmy Johnson, Darrell Waltrip, Kyle Busch.
My top 10 would be: Gordon, Earnhardt, Johnson, Waltrip, Ky Busch, Petty, Pearson, Allison, Yarborough, Wallace.
The way I look at it…if Jeff Gordon had the chance to race against Richard Petty’s competitors, he would be banned from racing because he would put the entire field 7 laps down. Petty had the chance to race against Gordon’s competitors and he failed to win for almost a decade. Petty won 200 races, but then goes 8 years without 1 single win.
Don't forget Petty was 55 when he retired, raced in an era that didn't have power steering or cooling fans, the dude kept a wet rag in the car for hydration, raced on both asphalt and dirt, left to drag race for a while, did not get behind the wheel of a racecar til he was 21, and didn't technically own his ride in the twilight of his career. And on top of that, the first race he won was protested by his own father and overturned. Wasn't given anything.
Bobby Allison came to my high school and spoke once at an event. Later on, someone asked how he managed the heat during the races. Said that he would drive around Birmingham year round with the windows up and heater turned up on high to stay conditioned.
Not an advocate for Petty, I've been a Dale Sr fan since the mid 80's. But these guys were cut from a different cloth than the guys who's raced in last couple of decades.
Dale was better than Jeff 7 to 4n
@@Alex-dc5mx Dale didn’t have to race in the chase era. Jeff had more points than any other driver 7 times.
@lucyloo2228 if he had he would have even more championships
@@Alex-dc5mx if Jeff would have raced in the 1980’s Dale would have less championships. Petty only has 63 wins on modern tracks. 10 of those are Daytona. 26 are at Richmond and Martinsville. Petty was winning races that only ran 200 laps. Which because the modern day Busch Series. Cup wins he only has 104. Not sure why Nascar says he has 200 cup wins.
If not for Chad Knauss, Jimmie Johnson wouldn’t have 30 wins, if any. There is only one driver on this list that won from the beginning to the end of their careers. Petty can’t say that, Pearson can’t say that, Gordon can’t say that and, neither can Jimmie Johnson. You seen how good Jimmie was when he and Knauss were split up. He literally never threatened to win ever again, which is why I questioned if he would even have any wins!
Gordon is the GOAT
Dale was better 7 to 4
@@rcguy902 Yet Gordon had more wins.
@@lemonjuicegaming6551ya because he raced 129 more races
Any answer that is Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon or Pearson is correct. NASCAR's Mt. Rushmore
The NASCAR G.O.A.T. “debate” will always be a tricky one to explain. But to me, it’s simple. Dale Earnhardt put butts in seats, and did more to usher in a reliable, consistent fan base at a time when the sport needed a “hero vs. villain” storyline. Earnhardt was both to every race watcher, both in the grandstands and on TV, and attendance during his peak era - mid-to-late ‘80’s to the mid-‘90’s exploded.
There was a definite “Passing of the Torch” from Petty to Earnhardt to Gordon, but the guy in the Wrangler and Goodwrench Chevy Monte Carlo clearly had the biggest impact on the NASCAR fan base.
Dale Earnhardt - THE G.O.A.T.!
David Pearson
Jeff Didn't make sure no one else died in his sport. Dale Died so everyone else could race safely.
I've said forever that Earnhardt would have 90 wins if NASCAR had run 34 or 36 races a season during the 80s instead 28. Give Dale another 80 races during that era, he is winning another ten to fifteen. Not to mention, how close he came to beating Rusty in the 89 championship. Jeff was robbed of being a seven time champion and Jimmie only scored the most points in a season three times, making his numbers less impressive than DW's. 1. Earnhardt, 2. Gordon, 3. Petty, 4. Pearson, 5. Waltrip, 6. Cale, 7. Jimmie, 8. Bobby, 9. Harvick, 10. Kyle Busch
You play with the rules your given, 😂😂
Kyle Busch's wins across all series is greater than Petty's 200
Wrong it's far less impressive
@@Alex-dc5mx Did it in a more competitive era.
@@lemonjuicegaming6551against kids with less experience and far better equipment far less impressive Busch is a no talent overrated childish loser very overrated
Crying Kyle is NASCARs most overrated driver ever
David Pearson.
Gordon and Johnson are from the era when teams were more important than driver talent. So it's hard to say how good they really were.
That's quite literally the opposite of the truth. Driver talent was the least important during Petty/Perason/Earnhardt's time.
@jek4837 HMS was the first to implement engineering, aerodynamic specialists, and full-time (specialized) pit crews, to name a few innovative ideas they had. They revolutionized the sport, resulting in cars that were far superior to the competition. Soo.. Team over talent..
@@scottmoyershatbackwordsbel7095 And when did all these other teams follow suit? Are you saying that JJ's 7 championships were due to these other teams not having engineering, full time pit crews, etc.?
Go back and look at all the races during Petty's dominant years. Go see how often races had 5 or less drivers on the lead lap. There were times when the vast majority of the field were numerous laps down. So there might be some weeks where Petty has a win and David Pearson finished a couple laps down (but with no accident/engine failures). And then during the same season, you might have Pearson win with Petty a few laps down. Was it that Pearson or Petty just completely forgot how to drive for all those races they were a couple laps down? No. It's because their cars/engines or whatever new cheating they came up with that week were so much better. Sooo...team/equipment over talent.
@jek4837 I agree with petty/Pearson..however the same can be said about modern NASCAR. For many many years before this next Generation of car. If you didn't drive for Hendrick or Gibbs your chances of winning a championship were slim to none. They are the two super teams with the most money. JJ would not be a 7 time champion driving for Roush. Let's look at Kyle Larson. He's an amazing driver but he didn't win a lot until he got in a great car. So now, it's more team then talent. Imo.
@@scottmoyershatbackwordsbel7095 There were years when other teams were the class of the field. There were a few years when Penske was near the top (especially those years when they were getting way, way better gas mileage than everyone). SHR racing were super dominant a couple years, and Roush was great at one point as well.
I will absolutely give credit to the manufacturers for years during Gordon/Johnson. For a big chunk of those years, Chevy was the top manufacturer. During those years, HMS was the best of Chevy by far. But then Chevy dropped off the face of the earth as Gordon was leaving. Ford and Toyota took over for those years, and Chevy was lucky to win any races at all.
And you left out Bobby Allison? He won fpr 14 different teams (including the car he owned) driving for 9 different makes.
Jimmie Johnson would have only three championships (2006, 2009, and 2013) with the old points system
As if Chad and Ron wouldve lost to Gil, alan, or anyone else lol
Jimmie only won cuz Chad Knaus ....its DALE EARNHARDT ❤❤❤
Kasey Kahne is the goat 🐐 prove me wrong
Jimmie, why because he went to indycar and imsa after his championships and raced decent competitively and in much harder series. His final cup year could’ve had good finishes he came so close
The previous year, he'd gotten a brand new crew chief that was horrible, but he was doing much better by the end of that year with Cliff Daniels. He would have absolutely won a race or two in his final year, but covid absolutely screwed everything up because of no qualifying. The top 12 drivers were guaranteed the top 12 starting positions each week. If you were out of the top 12 a few months into the season, you were absolutely done. You might have an awesome car, but you might get the 23rd starting spot that week from the drawing. Week after week after week you were having to fight your way up through the field.
I can't remember which race it was, but it was 1.5 or 2 mile track that spread the field out quickly. Harvick's car was complete shit during practices, but he was guaranteed a spot close to the front. They had completely missed on the car setup. He was able to stay in the top 10 forever though due to already being up front and some cautions, and they finally got the setup much better. If he had been in the back of the field from the beginning, he'd have been lapped early on and had a shitty finish. Because of the no-qualifying, he ended up with a top 5.
Jimmie is not even close to the goat that's Dale Earnhardt period
@@rcguy902 He's far better than Dirty Dale
If you take every drivers prime self out them in the gen 4 car in a ten race variety schedule Jeff Gordon walk away with it a race early
Petty and Jesus are the only kings in America, and they're both alive today! Hallelujah!
Jimmie Johnson, And Chase Elliott.
not a hater but chase no where near the goat rn, he ain't even the best driver currently in nascar
Dale Earnhardt was far better than overrated Jimmie or chaae
@@rcguy902 Not even close to Jimmie
@@lemonjuicegaming6551correct he’s not close to Jimmie he’s far above Jimmie
Richard Petty....
Gordon
IMO, THE KING FOLLOWED BY SENIOR.
The King didn’t win not 1 single race in his final 8 seasons.
Pearson is the goat
3
Coming from a life long hater, its Jeff Gordon
Agreed that Dale and Jeff are the top 2
I think it's either Gordon or Johnson, considering they were the most recent drivers to have such impressive stats, where teams are more competitive than ever. Your analysis on Earnhardt puts him in the mix though, considering he achieved those stats before his career was cut short.
Despite having an unhealthy dislike for Rick "I had cancer after I got into legal trouble and was miraculously cured when I was pardoned" Hendrick, I kind of agree with you
Jfj easy
David Pearson. Hands down. Only three full time seasons and champion of all three. Highest winning percentage (don't quote me on that, it was true at one point) absolutely brilliant behind the wheel
Pearson- great...but cherry picking races you're good at doesn't come close to GOAT material
Johnson- same team and crew cheif for entire career - can't say Goat when everything he won was with the same car
Gordon- same as johnson. Sure he won after Ray left...but not as much...
Earnhardt- true consideration for goat...won at everything...knew how to win in everything, multiple owners, crew cheifs, series etc 7 champs
The king- many wins came at a time where if you raced the whole year, you raced against lesser competition at times...but 200 w's is 200 w's and 7 champs to go with that.
Kyle bush should absolutely be included here. 218 w's across 3 series...champs in each series, 2 cup champs, wins with every team he's driven for. Career ain't over. One more champ puts him near the top imo. All the goats had down years. If kfb has a resurgence, it would be akin to Dale in 2000, 2001 and what could've been..
I am a diehard Earnhardt fan, but I think David Pearson is probably the G.O.A.T.
Earnhardt #1 Petty #2 and then put whoever you want at #3
Richard Petty is the real GOAT...
You spelled "David Pearson" wrong
Hey David Pearson was awesome...But numbers just don't lie when it comes to Greatness.
@@bearmarsh6579 I'm going off of what the king himself said.
If you could build a Mount Rushmore who would you pick...
@bearmarsh6579 Petty, Pearson, Earnhardt, Gordon. My defense for leaving Johnson off is the clear cut case that a supermajority of his success was thanks to Chad. When he left, Johnson tanked. The others had success with multiple crew chiefs. Johnson didn't
It's Gordon or Johnson. Then Earnhardt. Then you can argue about who the next 2 are because Petty and Pearson drove at a time when equipment/funding was far, far, far more important than talent.
Dale was better than Jimmie or jeff
JJ. All-day! When someone brings home 5 championships in a row come talk to me? Well guess I'll never here from ya
Dale Earnhardt was far better than overrated Jimmie ever was try again
Definitely Richard Petty and its not based just on numbers.
Definitely not based on the era he raced in either
@@darthhull85 Nobody else comes even close. I would say that Dale Earnhard is second and its undisputed as well. For third we can start talking: Waltrip, Johnson, Gordon, Allison, Yarborough..., but the first two are set.
Dale Earnhardt is Nascars greatest ever
Jeff and Jimmie fans can cry all they want but jeff only 4
Jimmie is just a product of the chase system and cheating Chad
It depends on witch Era of Nascar you grew up in some will say Lee petty or Ralph Earnhardt some will say Pearson or Richard Petty or Cale Yarbrough Bobby Allison then some will say Dale Earnhardt or Gordon and most will say like me is The real 🐐 none other than Jimmy Johnson #48 7 time champ