50 states, 50 drivers: NASCAR's best, from Colorado to Georgia; which Elliott is chosen?
Editor's note: This is the second in a 10-part series, choosing the best NASCAR driver from each state.
This 5-pack of states includes a couple of NASCAR deserts, in terms of producing stock-car stardom, but also some incredible firepower — particularly the horsepower coming from a pair of neighboring states in the Southeast.
Marshall Teague, Chase Elliott, Roy Hall, LeeRoy Yarbrough ... those are just some of the names left off the Florida-Georgia lists.
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Colorado: Rick Carelli (Arvada)
Why Rick: Ran five full-time seasons between 1995-2000 during the early heyday of NASCAR’s Truck Series. Won four races and finished top-10 in points three times.
Others from Colorado: Wally Dallenbach Jr., Bobby Unser.
Fun fact: The Unsers are associated with New Mexico, but Bobby and brother Jerry were born in Colorado Springs and moved away with the family as toddlers.
Connecticut: Joey Logano (Middletown)
Why Joey: Two Cup Series championships and 32 wins in a 15-year career, so far.
Others from Connecticut: Randy LaJoie, Rob Moroso, Jerry Nadeau, Parker Kligerman
Fun fact: It was a fellow Nutmeg State racer, LaJoie, who tagged Logano with the “Sliced Bread” nickname as Logano was coming up through NASCAR as a teenager.
Delaware: C.J. Faison (Felton)
Why C.J.: Ran five Xfinity and Truck Series races, with a best finish of 19th 10 years ago, but is credited with three top-10s in 18 ARCA East starts between 2011-13.
Others from Delaware: Brett Lunger.
Fun fact: Brett Lunger? He never recorded a championship point, but made 34 Formula One starts between 1975-78. For a state that was a longtime host to two annual Cup Series races at Dover, this is a shockingly low number of drivers from which to choose.
Florida: Fireball Roberts (Daytona Beach)
Why Fireball: Though he never ran a full season, he was a NASCAR star from the mid-’50s to the mid-’60s, winning 33 races and dominating Daytona’s early years in a Smokey Yunick Pontiac.
Others from Florida: Ross Chastain, Joe Nemechek, Marshall Teague, Bobby Johns, Aric Almirola, LeeRoy Yarbrough, David Reutimann, Rick Wilson.
Fun fact: Glenn Roberts was born in Tavares and his family moved to Daytona Beach when he was 16. It was in Tavares, as a youth-league baseball pitcher, where he earned the Fireball nickname.
Georgia: Bill Elliott (Dawsonville)
Why Bill: The 1988 Cup champ ended his Hall of Fame career with 44 wins and an enduring label: “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.”
Others from Georgia: Chase Elliott, Roy Hall, Dave Ragan, Ken Ragan, Jody Ridley, Gober Sosebee, Jack Smith, Bubba Pollard, Sam McQuagg, Lloyd Seay.
Fun fact: Along with wrench-wielding brothers Ernie and Dan, Bill Elliott produced so much mid-’80s speed, NASCAR had to rewrite the rulebook. Driving the famed No. 9 Thunderbird for owner Harry Melling in 1987, Bill topped 212 mph at Talladega and 210 at Daytona, ushering in the era of restrictor plates, beginning in 1988, and basically guaranteeing those records will never be broken.
So far ...
Alabama: Bobby Allison; Alaska: Keith McGee; Arizona: Alex Bowman; Arkansas: Mark Martin; California: Jimmie Johnson.
Next up: Hawaii through Iowa
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 50 NASCAR racers, 50 states: Bill or Chase Elliott, who takes Georgia?
