NASCAR Superlatives 2021: We polled drivers to see what they think of everyone else

For The Win's conducted its annual poll asking drivers fun personality questions about each other.

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is officially over, and a new champ, Kyle Larson, has been crowned. And that means it’s time for For The Win’s annual investigation to see what some drivers really think of each other after another year. Throughout the last several weeks, we asked drivers these 12 questions about their competitors’ personalities off the track and their skills and tactics on it.

While there are plenty of examples from this season of drivers really not liking each other, some drivers are friends after racing against each other for a long time and actually know each other pretty well.

So, here’s what some of NASCAR’s top drivers had to say about each other this year. And if you’re curious about previous years…

NASCAR Superlatives: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

These answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

Who’s been the most fun driver for you to race against this year?

Bubba Wallace: I think you have your most fun around your buddies, so I’d have to go with [Ryan] Blaney.

Brad Keselowski: William Byron. We seem to race around each other a lot. He’s just good to race around.

Kyle Busch: I would Kyle Larson, but I haven’t run around him a whole lot this year. He’s been too far out front. So I probably go with my teammate, Martin Truex Jr. Him and I are pretty respectful with one another. We’ve run each other a little bit through these races, and we’ve run each other really well, really clean.

Joey Logano: None of them. I don’t have fun racing; I want to win. I’ll have fun afterwards, but, for me, it’s not about enjoyment as much as it is about completing the mission.

Daniel Suárez: Probably Wallace. Every time I’m racing him, I give him the finger. We’re good friends, and a few years ago, we had a big fight because he gave me the finger, and then it kind of became a joke after that. And every time we see each other on the race track, we give the finger for sure.

Chase Elliott: I don’t know if any of them are very fun to be real honest with you. Probably none.

Cole Custer: I like racing my teammate, Chase Briscoe. We kind of have grown up racing each other a little bit, and I think it’s just kind of fun to be able to race with people you’re friends without there.

Erik Jones: I raced with Cole Custer, and he’s always pretty fair on the track to me. I know him pretty well off the track as well, so I probably enjoy racing with him most. It’s not like he’s giving me the spot, but it’s always a pretty straight-up and fair race, which is kind of what you want.

Alex Bowman: Probably my teammate, Kyle Larson. Feel like I haven’t been around him lately, but at the beginning of the season we had some fun races for wins that was a lot of fun.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Erik Jones.

Matt DiBenedetto: I think we’ve joked about it lately. Me and Chase Briscoe have found ourselves in a couple of fun battles, where we’ve been glued to each other in a couple of races.

Christopher Bell: Martin Truex Jr. We’ve been around each other a lot this year, and he always races me clean and respectful. So it’s a lot of fun being around him.

Who’s been the most frustrating driver for you to race against this year?

Wallace: Probably Ricky.

Keselowski: Usually my teammates because I feel like I have to wear kid gloves. They’re probably gonna say the same thing. Who would I pick? I would probably pick Joey.

Busch: Joey Logano, every day.

Logano: All of them, in their own way.

Suárez: You have a pen and paper? There’s a lot of them. Any driver that races you hard, you get frustrated at one point, but it’s really hard to only pick one. There are some slow drivers, and I don’t know what they’re doing.

Elliott: I don’t like naming people out. Everybody’s frustrating. Me, I’m frustrating.

Custer: [Ryan] Newman always wins the category for hardest to pass you know.

Jones: It changes each week.

Bowman: Ross Chastain, and I say that because he knows I think that. It’s never easy with Ross.

Stenhouse: Chase Briscoe.

DiBenedetto: I don’t think I’ve really had any runs with anybody.

Bell: Ryan Blaney.

Say you’re having a party. Who’s the first driver you’d invite?

Wallace: Blaney, that’s easy.

Keselowski: Ryan Blaney.

Busch: Probably Truex if he would come. I think he spends most of his days now down in Florida, but he’s in the area I’m sure he’d get by.

Logano: [Corey] LaJoie. We grew up together, and shoot, I do invite him when we do have parties at the house. I actually think my wife and his wife are hanging out right now together with the babies.

Suárez: I don’t think I would invite any drivers.

Elliott: Blaney.

Custer: Erik Jones.

Jones: The group of guys that I hang out with is William Byron, Cole and Ross Chastain, so those guys would definitely be ones that I would invite right off the bat.

Bowman: I’m gonna invite William Byron because I feel like he won’t show up anyway, but I’m gonna throw the invite out.

Stenhouse: Larson

DiBenedetto: If I was having a party, it would have to be A.J. Allmendinger.

Bell: Tyler Reddick.

Which driver is most likely to rear-end you on the race track?

Wallace: Ricky.

Stenhouse: Bubba Wallace.

Keselowski: Any one of those cars that has a 50 on them. They seem to always have trouble. There’s only 10 numbers in the 50s, but I swear, there’s 20 of them on the race track.

Busch: Probably every single one of them. I would go with any of the Penske guys, but the teammates have been pretty good so none of those guys.

Suárez: Honestly, every single driver is willing to do something like that, but I would say Kyle Busch.

Elliott: Depends on the week before.

Custer: It’s happened a few times this year [with] Bubba and Keselowski.

Jones: I got hit under caution one time by Brad Keselowski. I don’t think it was on purpose. It was at Martinsville [Speedway]. I’m pretty sure he apologized to me after, but he ran right in the back of me.

Bowman: Ross Chastain again.

DiBenedetto: Ryan Newman.

Bell: Ross Chastain.

Which driver is most likely to bump you out of the way to win a race?

Wallace: Hell, any of them.

Keselowski: Probably Joey.

Busch: Any one of them, no question for sure. You’re a fan favorite if you can knock me out of the way for a win.

Logano: For the win? Probably any of them.

Suárez: That’s a tough question because whoever is behind you and gets tired of you is literally going to push you out of the way. It’s not just one driver, but let’s say Kevin Harvick.

Elliott: Also depends on the week before, for sure.

Jones: Any of them would. Everybody’s aggressive. Harvick’s been aggressive the last few weeks. I think Kevin would bump anyone out of the way right now to win a race.

Bowman: I think you can pick pretty much anybody. Wins mean so much lately I feel like literally anybody will do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Stenhouse: Any of them.

DiBenedetto: Even though he is a teammate, I would say Joey Logano.

Bell: Joey Logano.

Which driver do you think has the best taste in music?

Wallace: Since Blaney and I go to concerts together, we share a lot of the same music. So I’m gonna have to go with Blaney.

Keselowski: Probably Truex. He’s a country guy, but he also likes a little bit of alternative and rock music, a good mix.

Logano: I know it’s not me! Blaney and Bubba into some metal rock, but I know I’m not. So probably depends on who you’re asking.

Suárez: It has to be me. I hope every driver you ask that question to picks me because we definitely have the best music on this team.

Elliott: I feel like I pick good music when I’m riding down the road, so probably me.

Jones: Probably Ryan Blaney. He listens to a lot of the same music as I do. Some older [country], some newer stuff. I can relate to a lot of the stuff he’s interested in.

Bowman: Nobody is going to say me, but I’m going with me. I listen to pretty much anything, but definitely a big metal fan so that’s why nobody’s gonna say me.

Stenhouse: Besides myself? [I like] ’90s country and Texas country. So Blaney would be my other option. He goes around a wide range of variety, but I can’t pick him. He does too much metal.

DiBenedetto: Michael McDowell has obviously made a big impact in my life in general, but a big part of my faith journey. And so I would say him because I have definitely changed what I listened to. Between him and my wife, I listen to a lot more Christian music.

Bell: Bubba Wallace always has headphones on so maybe Bubba.

Which driver do you think has the worst taste in music?

Keselowski: Any of the guys that listen to the really hardcore rock and rap. There’s like seven of them that do, so between Bubba and Blaney, any of those guys.

Suárez: I know Wallace likes a lot of metal music, and I’m not a huge fan of that music.

Jones: Bubba had an intro song at Bristol [Motor Speedway]. It was like some death metal screamo music. I think he’s into that, so I’m gonna say his taste can be questionable at times.

Bowman: That’s the one that everybody’s gonna say me. I don’t have a good answer, so I’m just gonna say William Byron to pick on him.

Stenhouse: Probably Bubba because he listens to the hardcore metal like Blaney does, but I think he listens to more often than Blaney does.

Bell: Ryan Blaney for sure.

Who is the most fashionable driver?

Wallace: Kurt [Busch] has some style. Austin [Dillon] has some style. I’ll put myself in the hat. Denny.

Keselowski: Austin Dillon.

Busch: Denny probably thinks he is with the Jordan Brand and everything he’s got going on there. But my wife does a really good job for dressing me very well, so I’m going to go with her.

Logano: Austin Dillon. When we go to the [awards] banquet, he has the most cutting-edge tuxedo.

Suárez: I don’t think NASCAR drivers are very fashionable. Denny Hamlin wears weird stuff, so maybe Denny. There’s also a crazy Mexican who wears a sombrero once in a while. Maybe that guy too.

Elliott: Certainly, the one that dresses up the most is Austin Dillon. I feel like I see him dress up more than most guys do.

Custer: It seems like Austin Dillon’s always got something going on. I’m not really a fashion person but I feel like he might be into that.

Jones: Anytime we’ve got together for events, Austin Dillon’s always got some custom suit or some odd, so he’s probably the most up on it. Definitely puts a lot of effort into having some nice dress wear.

Bowman: None of us. I don’t feel like there’s any of us here that have very good fashion sense. If anybody here is like trying to be fashionable we all know that it’s just their girlfriend or their wives dressing them.

Stenhouse: Probably Dillon. I feel like he he tries hard in that are

DiBenedetto: Austin Dillon, that’s an easy one. He’s always dressing to the nines, him and Whitney [Dillon].

Who is the least fashionable driver?

Wallace: I don’t know why, but Brad came to mind.

Keselowski: Ryan Newman.

Busch: Some guys just wear the same thing every day. And look, I could be I could be guilty of that as well too. So I have no idea. Maybe Brad Keselowski.

Suárez: I would say Erik Jones.

Elliott: I feel like you have Austin, and then you have everybody else. So that’s my viewpoint on how people dress.

Custer: Probably me.

Jones: Probably have to say Ryan Newman, which, I don’t mind his fashion. But he’s definitely a jeans-and-Carhartt-jacket kind of guy. Ryan’s going with the flow. He’s definitely not looking to win the fashion show.

Bowman: I’m pretty boring, not very fashionable, just wear a lot of black t-shirts and Vans, so that’s that’s pretty much my entire closet.

Stenhouse: Keselowski. Definitely, for sure, Brad.

DiBenedetto: Chris Buescher would always prefer to just be in clothes working out on his land or something like that. He’s a very outdoorsy, blue-collar, hard-working kind of guy, which I respect. So he’s the very opposite of being all super dressed up and proper.

Bell: I’m probably pretty high on that list. I don’t ever really dress up.

Which driver do you think you’d most likely beat in a fight?

Wallace: Probably Brad.

Keselowski: Any of the short guys just because I have a reach advantage. Tyler [Reddick] is really short. Larson’s really short. Byron’s really short. Just thinking purely from a reach perspective.

Busch: I’d say all of them. Bring ’em on.

Elliott: I feel like me and Blaney would put on a good a good fight, but I think I could get him.

Jones: Who’s the shortest driver in the sport? Probably Kyle Larson. I think I could take him on.

Bowman: There’s a long list there. I feel like I got reach on about half the field because everybody’s short. Not Matt DiBenedetto because he spends way too much time picking things up and putting them down. I’m going to Tyler Reddick because he’s like three feet tall.

Stenhouse: I’d like to be confident and go for all — I feel like I could take all of them. Larson and I wrestled before, so I know for sure I can take him.

DiBenedetto: Let’s go as Brad Keselowski because I’m going to pick on him because he’s a little uncoordinated in a funny way.

Bell: Tyler Reddick’s a super small guy, so hopefully I’d be able to beat him.

Which driver is having the largest impact on the sport this season?

Wallace: I’d say Larson [with] everything that he went through last year and to see how he’s dominating this year. So be able to bounce back and stay true to his path is pretty cool. Besides me, obviously. And like, humble brag, but in all honesty, I mean, there’s a lot that’s gone on this year in the sport.

Keselowski: Bubba Wallace. He brings a different demographic to our sport than I think it’s traditionally known for.

Busch: Larson has just from his turmoil that he went through last year. So now him coming back and kind of being under the radar, if you will, but yet being on top of the sport, winning the most races and leading the most laps and leading the points for majority of the year.

Logano: What Kyle Larson’s done as far as wins has a huge impact. But from behind the scenes, you see what other drivers are doing to help progress the sport together — and I argue that at times. that can be Denny [Hamlin], that could be me — trying to push and work together with NASCAR to make our sport better as a whole. So it depends which lens you want to look through.

Suárez: Kyle Larson. He’s done a very good job this year.

Elliott: Kyle Larson, to me, his you know his performance has been the best of anybody this year. So I feel like he deserves the credit on that one right now.

Custer: Kyle Larson with how many races he’s winning, and they’ve just really taken this year by storm.

Jones: The latest impact has been Harvick and Chase. That’s been a huge boost for the sport. There’s been a few guys that have have had impacts on the sport in different ways. But the most recent one has definitely been with with Chase and Kevin with the on-track stuff that they’d have going on.

Bowman: Bubba winning was huge for the sport. Great to see, and I’m happy to see that for him. Obviously, Kyle Larson coming back and absolutely destroying all of us all year has been a big story.

Stenhouse: I think Kyle Larson from him going back and racing dirt cars all last year. We got so many fans that I feel like were only dirt race fans, and they kind of got turned off by NASCAR I think for a while. So I feel like he’s definitely brought more people back to the sport to watch.

DiBenedetto: Even though I think Chase Elliott has been one. Between him and Kyle Larson. I think Kyle with his some of his dominance, and then Chase with some of his aggressive driving style, and some of the battles he’s had on track this year have been exciting.

Bell: Bubba would probably have to be up there. He’s kind of been the talk of the town driving for the new team with Michael Jordan.

Contributing: Larry Berger.

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