Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champ Kyle Busch believes two specific drivers are the most underappreciated in the sport right now.
Busch knows a lot about winning races in the iconic racing circuit. The Richard Childress Racing driver has the most wins of any active driver at 63 — which is also ninth all-time. He was in the Championship 4 every year from 2015 to 2019, and in two of those seasons, he took home the Cup Series title.
He is one of the best drivers ever and, arguably, of his era. Busch’s resume adds a lot of weight to his opinions, which is why he was the subject of Jeff Gluck’s latest “12 Questions” in a Wednesday post on The Athletic. Busch took part in the series back in 2011 and was prompted with one question he received back then. “Who is the most underrated driver in NASCAR?”
In 2011, Kyle Busch named Matt Kenseth as the most underrated in the sport. In 2025, the NASCAR great actually picked a pair of veteran drivers.
AJ Allmendinger is one of the most underrated NASCAR drivers right now?
“There’s two. I would probably say Chris Buescher is one of them. And then I’d also go with AJ Allmendinger,” he said. “I think AJ is really, really good. Being (alliance) teammates with the Kaulig guys and stuff like that, and knowing where he’s at and what he’s doing and how he’s driving with similar stuff as us — I think he’s getting a lot out of his cars.”
Buesher and Allmendinger sit at 11 and 18, respectively, in the current NASCAR standings.
Related: NASCAR Predictions for Watkins Glen, including AJ Allmendinger
Buescher is a one-time ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series champion. He has multiple wins in the Cup Series, with his most recent coming at Watkins Glen in September 2024. Allmendinger is a two-time Xfinity champ who has also posted some wins in the Cup Series. However, his last came all the way back in 2021 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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