1990-2000s NASCAR Drivers
By: Kristen Zeimetz
Dale Earnhardt
This one goes without explanation. The greatest driver of the 90s, if not of all time. The Intimidator. The Man in Black. Seven championships, 76 wins and 26 poles, before his untimely death. Raise Hell, Praise Dale. R.I.P to the GOAT. A+
Jeff Gordon
It goes without saying Gordon played the perfect rival to Earnhardt’s hero role. His rainbow #24 car was a stark contrast to Earnhardt’s too cool black #3 car. He became a target for backlash for not doing anything wrong other than giving Dale chase. Did I hate him myself? Yes. Did I secretly actually like him because he was a good driver? Perhaps. Do I miss him now that he retired? Absolutely. B+
Ward Burton
Poor Ward never lived up to his brother, Jeff Ward. He wasn’t a bad driver, but was never quite able to make any huge career notes. On the plus side, he occasionally hot tempered, and with that came an onslaught of rants that came out as a garbled, hee-haw mess. He had the oddest of hick accents and spoke like he had a bag of shit in his mouth. Always a laugh. C-
Dale Jarrett
Jarrett was like the friendly, happy uncle that everyone loved. He drove the UPS car for many years towards the end of his career. I personally always liked him, but he kind of disappeared into the pack sometimes. You were excited when he won, but if he was trapped in a fishing net and couldn't participate in the race, and you weren’t informed, you probably wouldn’t notice he wasn’t there. C+
Jeremy Mayfield
He was a promising driver for a while in his #19 Dodge for Everham Racing. Then, he was fired for apparently having a meth lab, which I believe may have been a first for the sport. Running moonshine seems plausible. Cooking meth, though, is frowned upon in any sport. D
Rusty Wallace
Again, like Jarrett, Wallace was one of those driver that was just a good guy. One of the drivers to have a premium sponsor in the 1990s-2000s: Miller Lite beer (sound familiar?). There wasn’t many people to be put off if Wallace won, plus Rusty is a super fun name. Fight me. B+
