The folks over at NASCAR on FOX have the definitive answer on the greatest drivers since 2000. Well, sort of. They got a little bit of help from that popular artificial intelligence chatbot known as ChatGPT. Not surprisingly, the list of 10 drivers sparked plenty of praise and backlash from fans on Twitter.
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Who are the best #NASCAR Cup Series drivers since 2000? We asked ChatGPT and here are the results. 👀 pic.twitter.com/RXPIHKZQ7O
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 23, 2023
The list, from lowest to highest, is as follows:
10). Brad Keselowski
9). Denny Hamlin
8). Carl Edwards
7). Kurt Busch
6). Kyle Busch
5). Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4). Kevin Harvick
3). Tony Stewart
2). Jeff Gordon
1). Jimmie Johnson
The drivers who made up the list, four of them still active, have a combined 20 Cup series championships and 14 Daytona 500 victories. Four members are currently in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, with the other six drivers all boasting Hall of Fame resume?s.
Plenty of arguments can be made about the drivers who make up this list of 10, and fans had no problem voicing their opinions. Some thought Kyle Busch should be higher on the list, while others thought that Tony Stewart deserved the No. 1 spot.
One Twitter user, Brandon Hitchcock, wasn't thrilled about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s high placement on the list and thought that Joey Logano should be included.
"No way is Dale Earnhardt Jr ranked that high. Kyle Busch would easily move ahead of him," Hitchcock wrote. "Joey Logano [not] even being on the list is a tragedy!"
As it turns out, several other fans weren't too happy with Earnhardt making this list, but believe Denny Hamlin earned his spot, despite the fact that Hamlin hasn't won any titles either. Sure, Logano has two championships, but he only won one race in the first decade of the 2000s.
If this was the list of the 2010s and on, maybe it would look very different. Earnhardt had some of his best years in the early 2000s, including when he won his first Daytona 500 in 2004. Arguments can be made about nearly everyone on the list, but the top two drivers clearly belong — with Jimmie Johnson winning seven championships, and Jeff Gordon winning 44 of his 93 career victories after 2000 (though one Twitter user really got the conversation going when he suggested that Gordon should be above Johnson on the list).
But back to Joey Logano not making this list. Hamlin famously said that Logano doesn't get the credit he deserves, and one fan made sure to hit that point with his tweet.
@NASCARJacked wrote, "I think @dennyhamlin is right that Logano doesn't get the credit he deserves. Even Ai is dissing him."
Go ahead and make your arguments, fans, but this list of top 10 drivers since 2000 was made by AI, so it certainly isn't perfect. I don't see an issue. Why all of the Dale Jr. hate? I thought he was the most popular driver 15 straight times for a reason. I guess that doesn't mean squat to some on Twitter.
