{"id":204502,"date":"2025-10-11T05:56:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T05:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/204502\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T05:56:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T05:56:06","slug":"biggest-driver-rating-snubs-and-overratings-in-iracings-nascar-25-console-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/204502\/","title":{"rendered":"Biggest Driver Rating Snubs and Overratings in iRacing’s NASCAR 25 Console Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

We finally have the full list of driver ratings for the release day of iRacing\u2019s 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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s hard to argue that he didn\u2019t deserve consideration for being the top-rated Cup Series driver.<\/p>\n

And nobody will fight the developers on the ratings handed out to Zilisch<\/a> and Heim<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

Specific Style of Track Rating Snubs:<\/p>\n

Among the biggest glaring issues with the driver ratings in NASCAR 25 has to be Denny Hamlin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Sure, I\u2019ll admit that the three-time Daytona 500 champion hasn\u2019t been nearly as potent on drafting tracks since the NASCAR Cup Series moved to the Next Gen car in 2022, but let\u2019s not forget had it not been for an errant move by Cole Custer on the final lap of the Daytona 500 in February<\/a>, Hamlin would likely be polishing his fourth Harley J. Earl trophy in his home right now.<\/p>\n

Another stunning ratings snub, in my humble opinion, is AJ Allmendinger\u2019s 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\u2019t just feel wrong \u2014 it is wrong.<\/p>\n

Allmendinger doesn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s biggest juggernauts.<\/p>\n

For that matter, the ratings also have Michael McDowell at an 82 on road courses, which also feels highly suspect.<\/p>\n

While this one won\u2019t likely get as much buzz, Josh Bilicki\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Bilicki certainly elevated things for Garage 66 in Chicago, and he\u2019s 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\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n

Speaking of Road Course driver ratings in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, how is Carson Kvapil only rated at an 80?<\/p>\n

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\u2019 best road racers, even if the finishing position doesn\u2019t necessarily always reflect it. 80 is too low.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Overall Rating Snubs:<\/p>\n

When it comes to overall ratings for drivers in NASCAR 25, I don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Rajah Caruth\u2019s Overall rating of 79 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (19th overall) and Jake Garcia\u2019s 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<\/p>\n

Timmy Hill\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

What Was Overrated:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not. And I certainly wouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

William Sawalich at 83 overall in the NASCAR Truck Series also feels like a severe miss.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Sammy Smith\u2019s 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 \u2014 JR Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Another oddity in the ratings within the game comes in the form of Rita Goulet\u2019s overall driver rating of 61 in the ARCA Menards Series. I don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

NASCAR 25 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Ratings:<\/p>\n

\tRankDriverOVRSSWSWINTS.INTCRC<\/p>\n

\t1William Byron1009894100979088<\/p>\n

\t2Denny Hamlin9983100949410070<\/p>\n

\t3Kyle Larson99939496929783<\/p>\n

\t4Ryan Blaney98978893999281<\/p>\n

\t5Christopher Bell979187921009291<\/p>\n

\t6Chase Elliott96999390938985<\/p>\n

\t7Tyler Reddick92949093858485<\/p>\n

\t8Chase Briscoe92848786868787<\/p>\n

\t9Joey Logano901008286918277<\/p>\n

\t10Bubba Wallace90949184878475<\/p>\n

\t11Chris Buescher89909088837884<\/p>\n

\t12Brad Keselowski88939082897871<\/p>\n

\t13Alex Bowman87948187838581<\/p>\n

\t14Ross Chastain87837787838382<\/p>\n

\t15Ty Gibbs86828580788682<\/p>\n

\t16Ryan Preece84848086807776<\/p>\n

\t17Kyle Busch84898181778081<\/p>\n

\t18Carson Hocevar84828677808272<\/p>\n

\t19Austin Cindric83998179827672<\/p>\n

\t20AJ Allmendinger80817283737682<\/p>\n

\t21Josh Berry78867477837060<\/p>\n

\t22Erik Jones77838077717364<\/p>\n

\t23Michael McDowell77826873727482<\/p>\n

\t24Daniel Suarez76787677756670<\/p>\n

\t25Austin Dillon76757274787165<\/p>\n

\t26John Hunter Nemechek76817877716765<\/p>\n

\t27Zane Smith75807675657365<\/p>\n

\t28Justin Haley74817374707165<\/p>\n

\t29Shane van Gisbergen727769666463100<\/p>\n

\t30Todd Gilliland71867168666267<\/p>\n

\t31Noah Gragson71766975646659<\/p>\n

\t32Ricky Stenhouse Jr.69886669626663<\/p>\n

\t33Cole Custer68707164626365<\/p>\n

\t34Ty Dillon66756567606261<\/p>\n

\t35Connor Zilisch63715663575880<\/p>\n

\t36Riley Herbst63745962586163<\/p>\n

\t37Martin Truex Jr.63515565646260<\/p>\n

\t38Corey LaJoie60775862535756<\/p>\n

\t39Cody Ware55625653535251<\/p>\n

\t40Jimmie Johnson54725145516446<\/p>\n

\t41Justin Allgaier52695441525750<\/p>\n

\t42JJ Yeley50495351494943<\/p>\n

\t43BJ McLeod50595248494842<\/p>\n

\t44Josh Bilicki49415248454849<\/p>\n

\t45Chad Finchum46414547474742<\/p>\n

\t46Helio Castroneves44534643434244<\/p>\n

\t47Burt Byers40404040414040<\/p>\n

NASCAR 25 NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Ratings:<\/p>\n

\tRankDriverOVR<\/p>\n

\t1Connor Zilisch100<\/p>\n

\t2Justin Allgaier99<\/p>\n

\t3Aric Almirola97<\/p>\n

\t4Jesse Love94<\/p>\n

\t5Sam Mayer93<\/p>\n

\t6Ross Chastain93<\/p>\n

\t7Sheldon Creed92<\/p>\n

\t8Austin Hill92<\/p>\n

\t9Sammy Smith89<\/p>\n

\t10Carson Kvapil88<\/p>\n

\t11Taylor Gray88<\/p>\n

\t12Brandon Jones87<\/p>\n

\t13Ryan Sieg86<\/p>\n

\t14William Sawalich85<\/p>\n

\t15Nick Sanchez85<\/p>\n

\t16Christian Eckes83<\/p>\n

\t17Daniel Suarez83<\/p>\n

\t18Harrison Burton79<\/p>\n

\t19Shane van Gisbergen79<\/p>\n

\t20Jeb Burton77<\/p>\n

\t21Dean Thompson75<\/p>\n

\t22Daniel Dye75<\/p>\n

\t23Corey Day71<\/p>\n

\t24Anthony Alfredo69<\/p>\n

\t25Jeremy Clements68<\/p>\n

\t26Parker Retzlaff68<\/p>\n

\t27Ryan Truex68<\/p>\n

\t28Brennan Poole68<\/p>\n

\t29Matt DiBenedetto68<\/p>\n

\t30Josh Williams67<\/p>\n

\t31Kyle Sieg62<\/p>\n

\t32Josh Bilicki59<\/p>\n

\t33Leland Honeyman59<\/p>\n

\t34Ryan Ellis58<\/p>\n

\t35Austin Green57<\/p>\n

\t36Blaine Perkins55<\/p>\n

\t37Mason Massey53<\/p>\n

\t38Thomas Annunziata52<\/p>\n

\t39Garrett Smithley51<\/p>\n

\t40Patrick Emerling50<\/p>\n

\t41Joey Gase50<\/p>\n

\t42Dawson Cram46<\/p>\n

\t43Nick Leitz45<\/p>\n

\t44Greg Van Alst44<\/p>\n

\t45Brad Perez43<\/p>\n

\t46Jordan Anderson42<\/p>\n

\t47Caesar Bacarella41<\/p>\n

\t48Preston Pardus41<\/p>\n

\t49Chad Finchum41<\/p>\n

\t50Jesse Iwuji40<\/p>\n

NASCAR 25 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Driver Ratings:<\/p>\n

\tRankDriverOVR<\/p>\n

\t1Corey Heim100<\/p>\n

\t2Kyle Busch98<\/p>\n

\t3Ross Chastain95<\/p>\n

\t4Layne Riggs93<\/p>\n

\t5Kyle Larson90<\/p>\n

\t6Ty Majeski90<\/p>\n

\t7Chandler Smith89<\/p>\n

\t8Daniel Hemric86<\/p>\n

\t9Grant Enfinger86<\/p>\n

\t10Tyler Ankrum85<\/p>\n

\t11Ben Rhodes83<\/p>\n

\t12William Sawalich83<\/p>\n

\t13Gio Ruggiero82<\/p>\n

\t14Kaden Honeycutt81<\/p>\n

\t15Parker Kligerman80<\/p>\n

\t16Connor Mosack79<\/p>\n

\t17Brandon Jones79<\/p>\n

\t18Stewart Friesen79<\/p>\n

\t19Rajah Caruth79<\/p>\n

\t20Corey LaJoie78<\/p>\n

\t21Jake Garcia76<\/p>\n

\t22Tanner Gray76<\/p>\n

\t23Matt Crafton75<\/p>\n

\t24Andres Perez de Lara75<\/p>\n

\t25Brent Crews73<\/p>\n

\t26Bayley Currey70<\/p>\n

\t27Dawson Sutton62<\/p>\n

\t28Jack Wood62<\/p>\n

\t29Matt Mills62<\/p>\n

\t30Luke Fenhaus60<\/p>\n

\t31Timmy Hill59<\/p>\n

\t32Lawless Alan59<\/p>\n

\t33Josh Bilicki58<\/p>\n

\t34Luke Baldwin54<\/p>\n

\t35Spencer Boyd52<\/p>\n

\t36Conner Jones52<\/p>\n

\t37Johnny Sauter51<\/p>\n

\t38Frankie Muniz49<\/p>\n

\t39Toni Breidinger48<\/p>\n

\t40Matt Gould47<\/p>\n

\t41Cody Dennison46<\/p>\n

\t42Josh Reaume45<\/p>\n

\t43Cory Roper44<\/p>\n

\t44Clay Greenfield44<\/p>\n

\t45Jayson Alexander43<\/p>\n

\t46Norm Benning43<\/p>\n

\t47Bryan Dauzat42<\/p>\n

\t48Stephen Mallozzi41<\/p>\n

\t49Caleb Costner40<\/p>\n

NASCAR 25 ARCA Menards Series Driver Ratings:<\/p>\n

\tRankDriverOVR<\/p>\n

\t1Brenden Queen99<\/p>\n

\t2William Sawalich97<\/p>\n

\t3Lavar Scott90<\/p>\n

\t4Lawless Alan90<\/p>\n

\t5Isabella Robusto86<\/p>\n

\t6Jake Finch84<\/p>\n

\t7Tyler Reif83<\/p>\n

\t8Andy Jankowiak83<\/p>\n

\t9Jason Kitzmiller81<\/p>\n

\t10Greg Van Alst80<\/p>\n

\t11Thad Moffitt78<\/p>\n

\t12Corey Day76<\/p>\n

\t13Alex Clubb74<\/p>\n

\t14Amber Balcaen73<\/p>\n

\t15Michael Maples72<\/p>\n

\t16Isaac Kitzmiller72<\/p>\n

\t17Cody Dennison72<\/p>\n

\t18Trevor Huddleston72<\/p>\n

\t19Kole Raz71<\/p>\n

\t20Takuma Koga71<\/p>\n

\t21Patrick Staropoli71<\/p>\n

\t22Brad Smith71<\/p>\n

\t23Lanie Buice69<\/p>\n

\t24Tanner Reif69<\/p>\n

\t25AJ Moyer69<\/p>\n

\t26Brayton Laster68<\/p>\n

\t27Ryan Roulette67<\/p>\n

\t28Zachary Tinkle67<\/p>\n

\t29Tim Richmond65<\/p>\n

\t30Kyle Keller63<\/p>\n

\t31Eloy Falcon63<\/p>\n

\t32Caleb Costner62<\/p>\n

\t33Ed Pompa62<\/p>\n

\t34Timmy Hill61<\/p>\n

\t35Rita Goulet61<\/p>\n

\t36Robbie Kennealy60<\/p>\n

\t37Todd Souza60<\/p>\n

\t38DL Wilson59<\/p>\n

\t39Nate Moeller59<\/p>\n

\t40Eric Johnson Jr.59<\/p>\n

\t41Will Kimmel58<\/p>\n

\t42Cleetus McFarland56<\/p>\n

\t43David Smith56<\/p>\n

\t44Jake Bollman55<\/p>\n

\t45Blake Lothian55<\/p>\n

\t46Jonathan Reaume52<\/p>\n

\t47Brian Clubb52<\/p>\n

\t48Presley Sorah51<\/p>\n

\t49Hunter Wright51<\/p>\n

\t50Sean Corr51<\/p>\n

\t51Dale Quarterley50<\/p>\n

\t52Willie Mullins48<\/p>\n

\t53Jackson McLerran46<\/p>\n

\t54Becca Monopoli44<\/p>\n

\t55EJ Tamayo44<\/p>\n

\t56Kyle Steckly43<\/p>\n

\t57Steve Lewis43<\/p>\n

\t58Alex Quarterley42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We finally have the full list of driver ratings for the release day of iRacing\u2019s first-ever NASCAR console…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":204503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[975,924,7059,49,48,100286,100287,100288,634,78703,18241,8354,7576,82,66414],"class_list":["post-204502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-975","tag-arca","tag-arca-menards-series","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-console-game","tag-driver-ratings","tag-iracing","tag-nascar","tag-nascar-25","tag-nascar-craftsman-truck-series","tag-nascar-cup-series","tag-nascar-xfinity-series","tag-sports","tag-video-game"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=204502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/204502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/204503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=204502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=204502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=204502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}