NASCAR champion reveals why Cup Series 'lacks' superstars

Former NASCAR champion Dale Jarrett has offered his verdict on why the Cup Series currently lacks superstars.

In 2025, whether we like it or not, NASCAR was a sport on the decline, with TV ratings falling and fans growing increasingly frustrated with a playoff system that they do not feel crowns a worthy champion come the end of the season.

One factor that has been put forward to explain the sport's decline in recent decades is that the Cup Series no longer has major superstars.

Sure, there are incredibly successful drivers, but do they really have the same cut through to the general public that some of the sport's biggest names did 20 or 30 years ago? It's hard to argue that they do.

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Dale Jarrett: This is why Cup Series lacks superstars

Now, Jarrett, who competed in 668 Cup Series races and won the championship in 1999, has offered his thoughts on why that is the case.

Speaking on an NBC press call in the fall, Jarrett cited the fierce competition and lack of dominance in the next-gen era as a possible factor when quizzed on why it's so hard to create NASCAR superstars in 2025.

"I’ll have to say that I think that because of the level of competition throughout, it has gotten so much closer," he explained.

"Since Larson’s championship season [in 2020] and those couple of years where he won a lot of races, we haven’t had anyone to get anywhere near that double digit [wins]. So I think that makes it more difficult.

"A lot of that comes from the fact that we have a good group when you look at Logano, who has been around for a while, even though he’s still a very young man. He’s kind of the elder statesman, along with Denny. But when you look at someone who has championships and puts themselves in that position, Logano is that person."

Superstars will emerge

Despite the place the sport currently finds itself in, Jarrett believes it is only a matter of time before more superstars come to the fore, with several current drivers simply not having arrived at that status yet.

"Bell’s going to win a championship. William Byron is going to win a championship. Chase Briscoe has put himself in a position," he added.

"We talk about these drivers week in and week out, and they are superstars, maybe not in the minds of the fans, and I think that some are maybe now that have been around for a while are maybe having a tougher time as Harvick and others have moved on, exactly kind of latching on to who that superstar is that they want to be their favorite.

"That’s going to come. Again, they’re all superstars. I think they all kind of feel maybe that it’s Denny against the rest of them, and they’re all willing to step up to the challenge and see if they can handle him every week."