What’s Happening?

Every NASCAR Cup Series driver dreams of getting an opportunity with one of the sport’s best teams. Racing in the best equipment on the grid can give drivers an ideal situation to show what they can do. Unfortunately, these opportunities do not always pan out as drivers hoped, and these are some of the biggest flops.

• For this list, a driver must have completed at least one full-time season for one of the sport’s top race teams. It doesn’t matter how the driver got there as long as they spent that one full season with the team.
• To be considered a “Top team”, we will look at how the rest of the team performed while the mentioned driver was there. A driver who joined a team on a downward trend, such as Ryan Preece joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2023, will not be included.
• Fans always want to see drivers succeed when given big opportunities. However, things don’t always turn out that way.

5. David Ragan – Roush-Fenway Racing (2006-2011)

David Ragan was tabbed as the replacement when Mark Martin stepped away from driving full-time after the 2006 season. Unfortunately, things did not go well for Ragan, as he never finished higher than 13th in points. That was in 2008, and the only season he finished above 23rd in points.

He got his first career win in 2011, his fifth season at Roush, but the whole body of work is underwhelming for a team with two runner-up points finishes and over 30 victories in that span.

4. Ricky Craven – Hendrick Motorsports (1997-1998)

This is more of a “What might have been” story. Ricky Craven joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1997 to drive the No. 25 car. Remember that HMS was coming off of back-to-back driver’s CHampionships with Jeff Gordon in 1995 and Terry Labonte in 1996. Things started well for Craven, with top-5 finishes in his first two races.

However, that spring, things began to turn. He crashed at Atlanta, again the next race at Darlington, and again in practice at the new Texas Motor Speedway two weeks later, sustaining a concussion in the latter. Craven was never the same after that, and he missed significant time in 1998 thanks to Post-Concussion Syndrome. While he did go on to win two races in the early 2000s with PPI Motorsports, one can only wonder what would happen if he never got injured.

3. Joey Logano – Joe Gibbs Racing (2008-2012)

When Tony Stewart abruptly announced midseason he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to form Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of 2008, Gibbs rushed teenager Joey Logano into the spotlight. Logano spent four years at JGR, never finishing better than 16th in points, but showing some flashes with two wins.

In 2012, Matt Kenseth announced he would join JGR for 2013, leaving Logano without a ride. Logano’s next step was a launching pad as he took over the No. 22 car at Joe Gibbs Racing, where he would win the 2018 and 2022 Cup Series Championships.

2. Brian Vickers – Hendrick Motorsports (2004-2006)

Brian Vickers, the 2003 Xfinity Series Champion, was also a teenage hotshot prospect, and he joined HMS full-time in 2004 after five races in 2003. While teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Kyle Busch routinely won races and competed for Championships, Vickers struggled. This all came to a head at Talladega in 2006 when he spun out Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the last lap to take the win.

Vickers was gone after 2006, replaced by another flop, Casey Mears. Vickers would have some mild success afterward, winning two more races and even making the Playoffs in 2009 with Red Bull Racing. However, he never recaptured that same magic from his Xfinity Series days.

1. J.J. Yeley – Joe Gibbs Racing (2004-2007)

J.J. Yeley was chosen as Bobby Labonte’s replacement in 2006, and Yeley could not fill the shoes of the 2000 Cup Series Champion. He rarely sniffed the front of the field, with his only top-five coming in a fuel mileage race at the 2007 Coca-Cola 600. He was gone after two seasons in favor of Kyle Busch.

Since then, Yeley has hung around the sport and still races part-time today. He’s the definition of a journeyman and made a solid career out of it. However, the hopes were higher when he joined JGR in 2006.

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