NASCAR Drivers and Their Jockey Equivalents

Gary Stevens and Jeff Gordon. (NASCAR driver photos courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Jockey photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
Successful NASCAR drivers share many compelling characteristics with top jockeys. They are competitive, fearless athletes by nature, who seek out the need for speed in their athletic pursuits.
Whether steering a stock car at more than 190 miles per hour, three wide on the final turn at Talladega or deftly maneuvering an elite Thoroughbred at more than 40 miles per hour among a pack of hard-charging racehorses in the stretch run at the Kentucky Derby, driver and jockey must be confident, mentally and physically strong, and possess the intuitive athletic instinct to know just when to make their move.
We thought it would be fun to compare these kindred spirits and match some of NASCAR’s top drivers and personalities with some of horse racing’s top jockeys. Let us know what you think.
1. Kevin Harvick - Javier Castellano

The Sprint Cup champion in 2014, Kevin Harvick currently leads the NASCAR standings this year and has won two of the 24 races this season. Javier Castellano is the defending outstanding jockey, winning the Eclipse award in both 2013 and 2014 and leading the standings this year with over 230 wins. 
2. Joey Logano - Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Two young guys at the top of their sport, the brash Joey Logano has won three races this year and looks to be a big contender for the Sprint Cup title this year as the third seed in the Chase playoffs. Irad Ortiz, Jr. won his 1,000th race on Aug. 24 in just his fifth season of riding in the United States and looks to dethrone Javier Castellano at the top of the standings this year.
3. Brad Keselowski - Joel Rosario

The 2012 Sprint Cup Champion, Brad Keslowski has won nearly everything there is to win in NASCAR, except for the coveted Daytona 500. Rosario is in a similiar position, the jockey has won two legs of the Triple Crown (the 2013 Kentucky Derby and 2014 Belmont Stakes) but is still chasing a Triple Crown victory.
4. Jeff Gordon - Gary Stevens

The elder statesmen of their sports, Jeff Gordon and Gary Stevens have been on top for many years. Stevens took a break from racing from 2005 to 2013 in what he called a retirement but won the 2013 Preakness on Oxbow and currently has the mount on top U.S. mare Beholder and Jeff Gordon will be stepping back from full time racing at the end of the 2015 season. But like Stevens, Gordon hasn't ruled out driving again in the future. 
5. Jimmie Johnson - John Velazquez

Other than being  top athletes in their respective sports, bioth Jimmie Johnson and John Velazquez have taken up the role of spokesmen. Velazquez is a board member of the Permanently Disabled Jockeys' Fund and Johnson helps families in need through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. While both look a little "vanilla" in those roles, we've learned that isn't the case when seeing them sing karaoke or interacting with fans on Twitter.
6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Mike Smith

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Mike Smith have recognizable names for nearly every fan of their sports, even the casual fan. Earnhardt joined his late father as a Daytona 500 winner in 2004 (his first of two wins in the race) in addition to winning 23 other Sprint Cup races during his career. Smith won his first Kentucky Derby in 2005 and has had the mount on all-time greats such as Holy Bull, Zenyatta, Azeri and Unbridled's Song. 
7. Matt Kenseth - Victor Espinoza

Matt Kenseth has won championships in multiple NASCAR series and is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 while Victor Espinoza won the Triple Crown in 2015 after winning the first two legs of the Triple Crown with War Emblem in 2002 and California Chrome in 2014. 
8. Kurt Busch - Kent Desormeaux

Both Kurt Busch and Kent Desormeaux can be brash but have the results to back it up. Busch was the Sprint Cup (then the Nextel Cup) Champion in 2004 and is one of only a handful of drivers to win races in all three top series while Desormeaux has won six Triple Crown races including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness double in 1998 and 2008.
9. Denny Hamlin - Drayden van Dyke

Both Denny Hamlin and Drayden van Dyke have been on fire from the start of their careers with Hamlin taking home the Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and van Dyke winning outstanding apprentice jockey last year. Hamlin was the only rookie ever to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup while van Dyke won his first stakes race in his "rookie" season on Sistas Stroll in the Pucker Up Stakes.
10. Ryan Newman - Martin Garcia

Ryan Newman and Martin Garcia quietly turn in results in their sports. Newman has 17 wins in the Sprint Cup series and was the 2002 Rookie of the Year while Garcia is an important part of the Bob Baffert barn, working most of his horses and winning three Breeders' Cup and one Triple Crown race for the trainer.
11. Kasey Kahne - Joe Talamo

Both making a splash early in their careers, Kasey Kahne was the 2004 Rookie of the Year and has won three Coca-Cola 600 races while Joe Talamo won the outstanding apprentice Eclipse award in 2007 and has won many big races around the country since then, including a Breeders' Cup race.
12. Danica Patrick - Emma-Jayne Wilson

Proving that "runs like a girl" isn't in the least bit bad, Danica Patrick and Emma-Jayne Wilson are well known for their competitive drive. Patrick sits just outside the top 20 in this year's Sprint Cup standings and Wilson is a three-time champion jockey (outstanding apprentice in the U.S. [2005] and Canada [2005 and 2006]).
13. Kyle Busch - Joe Bravo

Kyle Busch and Joe Bravo have always been at the top of their game but both have recently made big comebacks. Busch broke his leg in Daytona and was off until May but has given himself a chance at the championship by winning four races since his return. Bravo is known as "Jersey Joe" for dominating the New Jersey circuit but over the last few years has been seen a lot more on the national circuit, finishing third in the 2014 Kentucky Derby and recently winning the Beverly D. with Watsdachances in Illinois.
14. Martin Truex, Jr. - Julien Leparoux

Martin Truex, Jr. was the 2004 and 2005 Busch Series champion (the series one step down from the Sprint Cup) with 111 top 10s in 357 career Sprint Cup starts. Leparoux was the 2006 outstanding apprentice jockey in the United States and the outstanding jockey of 2009 and has over 2,100 wins since starting his career in 2005.
15. Carl Edwards - Corey Nakatani

Both Carl Edwards and Corey Nakatani have won nearly everything there is to win at the top level of their sports, except for the crown jewel of each series. Carl Edwards is still chasing a Daytona 500 win and Corey Nakatani is still looking for a Kentucky Derby win after finishing second with Nehro in 2011.
16. Paul Menard - Rafael Bejarano

Both Paul Menard and Rafael Bejarano are supported by one of the biggest "teams" in their sport with Menard driving for Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and Bejarano riding for trainer Doug O'Neill. Bejarano won the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile twice with Goldencents while Menard won the Brickyard 400 for RCR.
17. Jamie McMurray - Shaun Bridgmohan

Jamie McMurray and Shaun Bridgmohan both know how to step up at big events with McMurray winning both the 2010 Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, a big feat in NASCAR, and Bridgmohan getting Commanding Curve to finish second in the 2014 Kentucky Derby at odds of 37.80-to-1.
18. Austin Dillon - Rajiv Maragh

Austin Dillion hasn't raced long in the Sprint Cup series with 2015 being only his second full season but he has made a huge splash by sitting in the top 20 in points. Maragh is also a younger talent that has made a name for himsefl, winning his first of four Breeders' Cups in 2011 on Caleb's Posse and  doubling up on the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in 2012 and 2013 with Groupie Doll. 
19. Tony Stewart - Calvin Borel

Both Tony Stewart and Calvin Borel are known for thir competitive nature and their temper. Stewart has been known to get into arguments with the media and other drivers, and who can forget Borel's reaction to Javier Castellano cutting him off in the Breeders' Cup Marathon?
20. Aric Almirola - Mario Gutierrez

Aric Almirola's first win in the Sprint Cup series was his breakthrough win, coming in the Coca Cola 400 on the 4th of July weekend at Daytona International Speedway (NASCAR's version of Churchill Downs) and Mario Gutierrez first came into the limelight as the rider of I'll Have Another who won the 2012 Santa Anita Derby (Gutierrez's first Grade 1 win), Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.