NASCAR: Top-Five Drivers To Never Make The Chase
The Chase has been NASCAR’s playoff since the sport introduced it to the NASCAR world back in 2004. Since then there have been 31 different drivers to make the Chase and that number could potentially grow when the 2017 NASCAR chase begins this season.
In 2016 Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon became the 29th, 30th and 31st different drivers to qualify for the NASCAR Chase since its inception. While neither made a great deal of noise in the Chase, it was still an accomplishment for the three of them to get there.
That got me thinking aside from Larson, Dillon and Elliott (who have now made the Chase) who are the five best drivers to never make a Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series. In this article, I give you my top-five drivers which are certainly open for debate.
I think it’s unfair to put a driver who has three or less (full-time) years of service time in the conversation because they have yet to prove whether or not they are good or bad. That eliminates drivers like Ryan Blaney among others.
Also keep in mind that this will also eliminate drivers who did not race during the time in which the Chase existed. If a driver was not running in 2004 or beyond they will not be on this list because they never had a chance to make the NASCAR Chase in the first place.
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Honorable Mention: Dale Jarrett
Jarrett’s greatness, which led him to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, was all done prior to the 2004 season. When 2004 came along Jarrett’s team, Robert Yates Racing, was not the same team as they once were. He had won over 25 races with them and the 1999 NASCAR Cup championship. The team was fading fast and Jarrett was paying the price. He finished 15th in points in 2004 and 2005, winning just one race in that time period. His teammate at the time, Elliott Sadler, had made the Chase in 2004. However by the time 2006 came around Sadler was gone and Jarrett’s time with the team was running out too. He finished a dismal 23rd in the series standings in 2006 and would move onto Michael Waltrip Racing for 2007.
His 2007 season was one to forget, missing 12 race and finishing a horrifying 41st in the point standings. Jarrett decided at the age of 51 that the start of the 2008 season was going to be his last and retired five races into that season. His 2004 and 2005 campaigns get him an honorable mention.
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No. 5 – David Reutimann
Maybe the most surprising of all the drivers on the list but No.5 on my list is Zephyrhills, Florida native David Reutimann. Reutimann’s Sprint Cup Series career started off just about as rocky as it ended, however in the middle there were some really nice bright spots including two victories. That is something plenty of other drivers haven’t had the chance to do.
Reutimann’s big break in the Cup Series came when he was hired to drive the No. 00 Dominos Pizza/Burger King Toyota for Michael Waltrip. He was part of a three team operation in the first year of MWR and it was a disaster from the getgo. Reutimann missed eight races that season and the team struggled and lost both sponsors Dominos Pizza and Burger King after the season. Businessman Rob Kauffman bought into the team and Aaron’s came aboard as a sponsor for the No.00 car in 2008. Reuitmann, however, was slated to drive the No. 44 UPS Toyota for MWR replacing the retiring Dale Jarrett who would run the first five races of the 2008 season before calling it a career. Reutimann turned heads immediately after entering that car especially after an impressive race at Richmond in September in which he led 104 laps and finished in the ninth position. He ended up finishing the season 22nd in points.
UPS left for Roush Fenway Racing and driver David Ragan starting 2010 and Reutimann was back in the No. 00 car with Aaron’s as sponsor. The team ran well at times recording 10 top-10 finishes including Reutimann’s first career win in a rain shortened race at New Hampshire. He finished 16th in points and would have made the Chase under the 2015 format.
In 2011 he and the team ran well again. It was almost an identical season recording nine top-1o finishes including a win at Chicagoland Speedway in July. Again, under the current format Reutimann would have made the Chase. A dismal 2011 season saw Reutimann dismissed from MWR after the season even though he had two years left on his contract. Reutimann received the news in October and was left with little to no time to find a competitive ride.
The last three years of Reutimann’s career he was left running around in underfunded equipment and the driver from Florida found himself completely out of a ride in 2014. However, his success at Michael Waltrip Racing helped him make our list.
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
No. 4 – Bobby Labonte
The 2000 Cup Series champion did his best driving the the days before the Chase in what old school fans call the ‘Winston Cup era.’ Even so it’s hard to believe Labonte never made a Chase birth in nine full-time seasons during the Chase era. In 2004 Labonte he barely missed the Chase finishing 12th in the point standings for Joe Gibbs Racing. He spent the 2005 season with JGR finishing 24th in the standings before both sides moved on.
Labonte moved to Petty Enterprises to drive the famed No. 43 car for the 2006 season. The Petty organization had seen better days by the time Labonte got there. He joined a team that had won just two races since 1985. He would have three respectable seasons with Petty Enterprises, finishing 21st, 18th and 21st in the point standings. After the 2008 season the team merged with Gillette Evernham Motorsports to form Richard Petty Motorsports. Labonte was out of a ride for the first time in his career and was still searching for a ride through December.
In January 2009 it was announced Labonte would run the full season for Yates Racing driving the No. 96 car with sponsorship from Ask.com. He would also be paired with former crew chief Todd Parrott. The team got off to a great start including an impressive fifth place finish at Las Vegas. Turmoil soon followed as his sponsor backed out and the team finished 30th in the points. He finished 31st in points in the 2010 season driving for TRG Motorsports and Phoenix Racing before JTG/Daugherty Racing gave him a call.
In his time with JTG Daugherty Racing Labonte ran for a single car operation with no affiliation. That’s tough to do and the performance lacked at times. Still Labonte and his team finished a respectable 23rd in the standings in 2012. In the middle of the 2013 season the 49 year old Labonte and the growing team decided to move in another direction. The team hired AJ Allmendinger and got a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Since leaving JTG Daugherty Racing Labonte has run part-time and hasn’t competed for a Chase spot since, however consistency got Labonte on the list.
Marcos Ambrose – Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
No. 3 – Marcos Ambrose
Marcos Ambrose’s career in NASCAR may be over but not before he made our list at No. 3. Ambrose’s Cup career started with the Wood Brothers Racing team and immediately off the bat showed promise. He finished an impressive third at Watkins Glen in 2008 and was tabbed to drive the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing car as the team made their way to the Cup Series in 2009.
Ambrose drove with the team with an alliance with MWR and finished an impressive 18th in the point standings in his first full year in the Cup Series including a runner-up finish to Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen.
In 2010 the team struggled finishing a dismal 26th in the point standings. The 2010 season was also shadowed by a devastating moment in which Ambrose was attempting to save fuel at while leading in the closing stages of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and Ambrose’s car shut off losing the lead. He would go on to finish sixth that day after leading 35 laps, however the devestation was something the team was never able to recover from.
From there Ambrose moved on the newly formed Richard Petty Motorsports to drive the No. 9 Ford with Stanley Tools as sponsor. Ambrose and crew chief Todd Parrott rolled off 12 top-1o finishes that season including his first career win at Watkins Glen in August. He and Parrott would be paired together for the start of the 2012 season and again would win at Watkins Glen. He finished 19th in the points in 2012 but after Richmond Parrott was moved to the No. 43 team and driver Aric Almirola a move that Ambrose never seemed to recover from.
He would go on and drive the No. 9 car for two more seasons finishing 22nd and 23rd in the point standings. After the 2014 season Ambrose left to pursue a Sports car career with Roger Penske. However, that didn’t seem to work out quite right.
His two wins on the road course tracks helped him crack our list.
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No. 2 – David Ragan
David Ragan’s championship aspirations may be up in the air coming into the 2016 season, however he is still number two on my list.
In order to understand why Ragan is so high on this list you have to go back to the 2008 season. Ragan had a decent rookie season in 2007 when he finished 24th in the point standings driving the No. 6 car for Roush Fenway Racing. In 2008 it seemed like everything came together for the young driver.
Ragan recorded six top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes in 2008, all of which are still career highs. He narrowly missed the Chase after a crash with teammate Matt Kenseth at Richmond cost him what could have been a Chase birth in his second full season in Cup. Ragan wound up finishing 13th in the standings.
The next three years at Roush though hurt his stance immensely. Ragan and his team struggled, finishing 27th in the point standings in 2009 and 24th in the standings in 2010. He would record his first career win at Daytona International Speedway in July 2011 and would finish 23rd in the series point standings.
After three lackluster seasons at Roush Fenway Racing Ragan moved to Front Row Motorsports. It was a far tumble for the young driver but his patience paid off when Ragan won the 2013 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway in miraculous fashion. It was a win everyone was impressed with and one that if we ran with today’s rules would have gotten him in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
In 2015 Ragan ran the majority of the season between Joe Gibbs Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing recording just one top ten finish through 26 races.
His near miss in 2008 has him high on this list.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
No. 1 – Casey Mears
Casey Mears’ career has consisted of several different rides. There was one time in Mears’ career where he had six different rides in six different seasons including stops at Chip Ganassi Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing. Mears started off struggling with Chip Ganassi Racing but once he got his feet underneath him, turned into a real nice driver, until lack of a stable ride got in his way.
His instability started when he ran the No. 41 car for Chip Ganassi in 2005. He moved to the No. 42 Havoline Dodge in the 2006 season where he finished 14th in points. That would have been good enough to make the Chase had we had today’s format back in 2006. That success led him to the No. 25 car at Hendrick Motorsports where Mears won his only Cup race to date, the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend. Mears finished 15th in the standings in 2007, another respectable season. In 2008 Rick Hendrick moved him to the No. 5 team to replace Kyle Busch who had left for Joe Gibbs Racing. Dale Earnhardt Jr joined the team and he drove Mears’ old No. 25 car. It was Mears’ fourth ride in four years.
Mears struggled in the No. 5 car, finishing 20th in points and would be replaced by Mark Martin in the 2009 season. Mears moved to his fifth ride in five years when he joined Richard Childress Racing and the No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet in 2009. After finishing 21st in points Mears was out the door after sponsor Jack Daniels left the sport entirely.
Mears then joined the start up team Keyed-Up Motorsports and missed the Daytona 500 by an eyelash. It was Mears’ sixth team in six years and by the end of 2010 he would add more to his total. Keyed-Up struggled to make races and the team shut down. Mears was out of a ride. He then joined Tommy Baldwin Racing and then moved to Red Bull Racing before an incident with then teammate Scott Speed got him out of that ride after just four races. Baldwin came calling again and Mears did a good job making races for the team at an impressive rate.
Then Mears got the break he was looking for. Germain Racing had Max Papis driving for them and the team was underperforming and needed a change. Mears was tabbed to drive the No. 13 then Geico Toyota. It was a move that benefitted both parties. Papis was missing races for the No. 13 team on a regular basis and Mears made all but one in the final 18 races of the season.
Since then Mears and the Germain Racing team have grown together. The team finished 31st in the standings in 2011, 29th in 2012, 24th in 2013, 26th in 2014, 23rd in 2015 and 28th in 2016.
In 2017 Mears will not be in the No. 13 machine as that ride has been taken over by Ty Dillon. Mears stepping down equipment wise might not increase his chances of making the Chase, but who knows.
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