It is only a select few drivers who have created the biggest impact on NASCAR in the 21st century. The 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick and two-time title winner Kyle Busch are key members of that list. But who between the two of them has been the better driver in these 25 years of racing?
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What makes these two drivers worthy of being compared is that they have a good number of starts in all three NASCAR series. Harvick has started 826 races in the Cup Series and retired with an average finish rate of 12.79. No driver beats him in this category. He has an average finish rate of 8.31 in the Xfinity Series (across 349 races) and ranks third among all drivers.
Down in the Craftsman Truck Series, he has an average finish rate of 6.93 across 124 races. Turning the lights to Busch reveals interesting details. Busch, still an active driver, has an average finish rate of 14.06 in the Cup Series. He has started 714 races in the premier series and is one of the longest-running drivers in it.
Happy New Year’s Eve!
To commemorate the end of the 25th year of the 2000s, here are the 25 drivers with the best Average Finish in Cup, Xfinity and Truck so far this century: pic.twitter.com/nX1UeFURjF
— Daniel Céspedes (@_DanielCespedes) December 31, 2024
The RCR driver has 367 starts in the Xfinity Series with an average finish rate of 8.95. The Craftsman Truck Series is where he gains the upper hand over Harvick with an average finish rate of 6.52 across 175 starts. No driver beats him on average finish rate in the third tier of NASCAR racing. So, what does all this mean?
Finishing high in races is one thing. Winning them is another. While Busch’s average finish rates might not hold up to Harvick’s, his number of wins does. He has 63 wins in the Cup Series while Harvick only has 60. Busch has 102 wins in the Xfinity Series while Harvick has only 47. Lastly, ‘Rowdy’ holds 66 wins in the Truck Series while Harvick falls short once again with 14.
These wins are what make all the difference when comparing these two Titans. No NASCAR driver in history has been as successful as Busch in the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series. His dominance in them was so severe that NASCAR had to intervene and limit Cup Series drivers from racing in the lower tiers.
This is to not again mention that ‘Rowdy’ is still an active driver. There is no telling how much his numbers will improve before he decides to call it quits. However, for now, he has an edge over Harvick in the book of statistics.
