We finally have the full list of driver ratings for the release day of iRacing’s first-ever NASCAR console game, NASCAR 25. Among the more than 170 real-world NASCAR and ARCA drivers, only three were awarded 100-overall driver ratings. William Byron received the 100 rating in the NASCAR Cup Series, while Connor Zilisch in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Corey Heim in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series also received the 100 overall honor.
With Byron earning the regular-season championship this season and being a Championship 4 contender in each of the last two seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, it’s hard to argue that he didn’t deserve consideration for being the top-rated Cup Series driver.
And nobody will fight the developers on the ratings handed out to Zilisch and Heim, who have each scored 10 victories this year in their respective series, either. That being said, there were some glaring snubs within the overall driver ratings and ratings on specific styles of tracks throughout.
Specific Style of Track Rating Snubs:
Among the biggest glaring issues with the driver ratings in NASCAR 25 has to be Denny Hamlin’s superspeedway rating. While Hamlin is the second-highest rated NASCAR Cup Series driver at 99 overall, he was only given an 83 rating on drafting tracks like Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta.
Sure, I’ll admit that the three-time Daytona 500 champion hasn’t been nearly as potent on drafting tracks since the NASCAR Cup Series moved to the Next Gen car in 2022, but let’s not forget had it not been for an errant move by Cole Custer on the final lap of the Daytona 500 in February, Hamlin would likely be polishing his fourth Harley J. Earl trophy in his home right now.
Another stunning ratings snub, in my humble opinion, is AJ Allmendinger’s 82 rating on Road Courses. This rating places Allmendinger in a tie for the 9th-best NASCAR Cup Series driver in the game on road courses, which doesn’t just feel wrong — it is wrong.
Allmendinger doesn’t deserve a 100 overall rating on road courses, a distinction that was deservedly credited to Shane van Gisbergen, but for the rankings to suggest that Allmendinger is tied for the ninth-best driver on road courses is head-scratching.
The Kaulig Racing driver has three career wins on road course tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series, and he scored the wins with Kaulig Racing and JTG Daugherty Racing, not among the sport’s biggest juggernauts.
For that matter, the ratings also have Michael McDowell at an 82 on road courses, which also feels highly suspect.
While this one won’t likely get as much buzz, Josh Bilicki’s 49 rating on Road Courses in the Cup Series and 67 rating on road courses in the Xfinity Series is far too low. Bilicki recorded a 21st-place result in this year’s Chicago Street Race, driving the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66. And while you have to respect the hard-working Garage 66 group, they field a car that is not expected to have that level of finish on a road course.
Bilicki certainly elevated things for Garage 66 in Chicago, and he’s done the same for DGM Racing on road courses in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season, as he came home 14th at Sonoma Raceway. Again, I’m not expecting Bilicki to be rated 100 overall, but 49 overall on Road Courses in Cup, and 67 overall on Road Courses in Xfinity feels a tad low for the part-time racer.
Speaking of Road Course driver ratings in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, how is Carson Kvapil only rated at an 80?
None of us expected the young short track racer to deliver incredible results on squiggly tracks in his rookie season, but he has gone toe-to-toe with Connor Zilisch at points this season and has been among the series’ best road racers, even if the finishing position doesn’t necessarily always reflect it. 80 is too low.
I say this one half-jokingly, but it feels wrong that Sheldon Creed, who has 15 career runner-up finishes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, is not the second-highest rated driver on every style of track in the series, as he has runner-up finishes at literally every style of track despite not breaking through for career win No. 1, yet.
Overall Rating Snubs:
When it comes to overall ratings for drivers in NASCAR 25, I don’t think any driver got more disrespect than Brennan Poole, a full-time competitor for Alpha Prime Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Poole was given a 68 overall driver rating in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, yet he ranks 18th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship standings, which places him between William Sawalich (85 rating) and Daniel Dye (75 rating), and Poole has done it with inferior equipment.
This year, Poole has two top-five finishes and five top-10s, and he was even eligible for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus at Bristol Motor Speedway due to his solid performances prior to that event. Put some respect on Poole’s name.
Rajah Caruth’s Overall rating of 79 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (19th overall) and Jake Garcia’s Overall rating of 76 also feel extremely low. Both young drivers made the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Playoffs this year, and Caruth has a pair of wins over the last couple of seasons
Timmy Hill’s 61 Overall rating in the ARCA Menards Series also feels quite low. I know Hill has had a limited selection of races this season, but in two starts, which came at Dover Motor Speedway and at Bristol, he finished sixth and 19th. Both of those finishes would give him a better season finish than some of the drivers rated around him in the rankings.
What Was Overrated:
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, is without a doubt one of the most talented drivers in the world. But the one thing he has struggled mightily with throughout his career is Superspeedway racing. However, his 93 rating on Superspeedways in NASCAR 25 would have you believe this discipline is one of his best.
It’s not. And I certainly wouldn’t rank him as the ninth-best Superspeedway racer in the sport today, tied with Brad Keselowski and ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, and others.
William Sawalich at 83 overall in the NASCAR Truck Series also feels like a severe miss.
Sawalich is a full-time competitor in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, but in 21 career NASCAR Truck Series starts, he has just four top-10 finishes. Yet, he’s ranked higher than Kaden Honeycutt, Rajah Caruth, Stewart Friesen, and Jake Garcia, who have all either won races and/or landed in the Playoffs this year in the NASCAR Truck Series, and ahead of Gio Ruggiero, who in his Rookie season has 6 top-five finishes and 10 top-10s in one more start than Sawalich has, and in the same equipment.
Sammy Smith’s 90 rating on Road Courses also feels a bit high. While he secured advancement to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Round of 8 with a solid finish at the Charlotte Roval, Smith has a career average finish of 15.5 at road courses in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career despite driving for two of the best teams in the history of the series — JR Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.
He’s had a good season by his career standards on road courses this year, but breaking the 90 barrier while his teammate, Carson Kvapil, who has looked really good on road courses as well, sits at an 80 seems strange.
Another oddity in the ratings within the game comes in the form of Rita Goulet’s overall driver rating of 61 in the ARCA Menards Series. I don’t know if you’ve watched Goulet in a race in the ARCA Menards series, but to suggest she should be tied with drivers like Timmy Hill, or ahead of drivers like Todd Souza, Cleetus McFarland, Jake Bollman, Dale Quarterley, and Willie Mullins is just flat-out unserious.
NASCAR 25 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Ratings:
RankDriverOVRSSWSWINTS.INTCRC
1William Byron1009894100979088
2Denny Hamlin9983100949410070
3Kyle Larson99939496929783
4Ryan Blaney98978893999281
5Christopher Bell979187921009291
6Chase Elliott96999390938985
7Tyler Reddick92949093858485
8Chase Briscoe92848786868787
9Joey Logano901008286918277
10Bubba Wallace90949184878475
11Chris Buescher89909088837884
12Brad Keselowski88939082897871
13Alex Bowman87948187838581
14Ross Chastain87837787838382
15Ty Gibbs86828580788682
16Ryan Preece84848086807776
17Kyle Busch84898181778081
18Carson Hocevar84828677808272
19Austin Cindric83998179827672
20AJ Allmendinger80817283737682
21Josh Berry78867477837060
22Erik Jones77838077717364
23Michael McDowell77826873727482
24Daniel Suarez76787677756670
25Austin Dillon76757274787165
26John Hunter Nemechek76817877716765
27Zane Smith75807675657365
28Justin Haley74817374707165
29Shane van Gisbergen727769666463100
30Todd Gilliland71867168666267
31Noah Gragson71766975646659
32Ricky Stenhouse Jr.69886669626663
33Cole Custer68707164626365
34Ty Dillon66756567606261
35Connor Zilisch63715663575880
36Riley Herbst63745962586163
37Martin Truex Jr.63515565646260
38Corey LaJoie60775862535756
39Cody Ware55625653535251
40Jimmie Johnson54725145516446
41Justin Allgaier52695441525750
42JJ Yeley50495351494943
43BJ McLeod50595248494842
44Josh Bilicki49415248454849
45Chad Finchum46414547474742
46Helio Castroneves44534643434244
47Burt Byers40404040414040
NASCAR 25 NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Ratings:
RankDriverOVR
1Connor Zilisch100
2Justin Allgaier99
3Aric Almirola97
4Jesse Love94
5Sam Mayer93
6Ross Chastain93
7Sheldon Creed92
8Austin Hill92
9Sammy Smith89
10Carson Kvapil88
11Taylor Gray88
12Brandon Jones87
13Ryan Sieg86
14William Sawalich85
15Nick Sanchez85
16Christian Eckes83
17Daniel Suarez83
18Harrison Burton79
19Shane van Gisbergen79
20Jeb Burton77
21Dean Thompson75
22Daniel Dye75
23Corey Day71
24Anthony Alfredo69
25Jeremy Clements68
26Parker Retzlaff68
27Ryan Truex68
28Brennan Poole68
29Matt DiBenedetto68
30Josh Williams67
31Kyle Sieg62
32Josh Bilicki59
33Leland Honeyman59
34Ryan Ellis58
35Austin Green57
36Blaine Perkins55
37Mason Massey53
38Thomas Annunziata52
39Garrett Smithley51
40Patrick Emerling50
41Joey Gase50
42Dawson Cram46
43Nick Leitz45
44Greg Van Alst44
45Brad Perez43
46Jordan Anderson42
47Caesar Bacarella41
48Preston Pardus41
49Chad Finchum41
50Jesse Iwuji40
NASCAR 25 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Driver Ratings:
RankDriverOVR
1Corey Heim100
2Kyle Busch98
3Ross Chastain95
4Layne Riggs93
5Kyle Larson90
6Ty Majeski90
7Chandler Smith89
8Daniel Hemric86
9Grant Enfinger86
10Tyler Ankrum85
11Ben Rhodes83
12William Sawalich83
13Gio Ruggiero82
14Kaden Honeycutt81
15Parker Kligerman80
16Connor Mosack79
17Brandon Jones79
18Stewart Friesen79
19Rajah Caruth79
20Corey LaJoie78
21Jake Garcia76
22Tanner Gray76
23Matt Crafton75
24Andres Perez de Lara75
25Brent Crews73
26Bayley Currey70
27Dawson Sutton62
28Jack Wood62
29Matt Mills62
30Luke Fenhaus60
31Timmy Hill59
32Lawless Alan59
33Josh Bilicki58
34Luke Baldwin54
35Spencer Boyd52
36Conner Jones52
37Johnny Sauter51
38Frankie Muniz49
39Toni Breidinger48
40Matt Gould47
41Cody Dennison46
42Josh Reaume45
43Cory Roper44
44Clay Greenfield44
45Jayson Alexander43
46Norm Benning43
47Bryan Dauzat42
48Stephen Mallozzi41
49Caleb Costner40
NASCAR 25 ARCA Menards Series Driver Ratings:
RankDriverOVR
1Brenden Queen99
2William Sawalich97
3Lavar Scott90
4Lawless Alan90
5Isabella Robusto86
6Jake Finch84
7Tyler Reif83
8Andy Jankowiak83
9Jason Kitzmiller81
10Greg Van Alst80
11Thad Moffitt78
12Corey Day76
13Alex Clubb74
14Amber Balcaen73
15Michael Maples72
16Isaac Kitzmiller72
17Cody Dennison72
18Trevor Huddleston72
19Kole Raz71
20Takuma Koga71
21Patrick Staropoli71
22Brad Smith71
23Lanie Buice69
24Tanner Reif69
25AJ Moyer69
26Brayton Laster68
27Ryan Roulette67
28Zachary Tinkle67
29Tim Richmond65
30Kyle Keller63
31Eloy Falcon63
32Caleb Costner62
33Ed Pompa62
34Timmy Hill61
35Rita Goulet61
36Robbie Kennealy60
37Todd Souza60
38DL Wilson59
39Nate Moeller59
40Eric Johnson Jr.59
41Will Kimmel58
42Cleetus McFarland56
43David Smith56
44Jake Bollman55
45Blake Lothian55
46Jonathan Reaume52
47Brian Clubb52
48Presley Sorah51
49Hunter Wright51
50Sean Corr51
51Dale Quarterley50
52Willie Mullins48
53Jackson McLerran46
54Becca Monopoli44
55EJ Tamayo44
56Kyle Steckly43
57Steve Lewis43
58Alex Quarterley42