Top Five NASCAR Cup Drivers in 2022 so far as the series enters the Mid-Season break
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Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson
NASCAR cup series, the world’s premier stock car racing event, has hit the mid-season break of its 2022 season after 16 regular-season races and two exhibition races, including the clash and the all-Star race. The season which saw the introduction of Next-Gen cars to the grid aimed at making the races more competitive has been among the most entertaining over the last decade of the cup series as it produced 12 different race winners in 2022.
Penske driver Austin Cindric was the first cup race winner of 2022 as the rookie won the Daytona 500, while Trackhouse driver Daniel Suarez is the latest winner as he conquered Sonoma while making history in the process. Four drivers have won more than one race this season: HMS driver William Byron, Trackhouse’s Ross Chastain, JGR’s Denny Hamlin, and Penske Racing’s Joey Logano.
The season also saw the trend of under-30 drivers topping the speed chart every race as the veterans had to wait until Richmond to get a win in 2022 coming from Denny Hamlin. The challenges that came with the adoption of Next-Gen cars and the radical changes that have been introduced to the sport along with it have been the significant challenges drivers had to overcome in their pursuit of a win.
The top 5 NASCAR Cup drivers who have impressed us the most in 2022 so far
When ranking the top drivers so far this season, it isn’t just how many races they have won this season hasn’t been counted as the main factor; factors such as the level of performance, hard work put in by the drivers, pace, and consistency among many factors are being considered.
5. Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin will surely be a controversial choice because the veteran has been among the most inconsistent driver at the beginning of the season and ranked P20 in the championship table, making him ineligible for playoffs based solely on points secured by the wins. Hamlin, who drives the No:11 JGR Toyota Camry, isn’t even the top-ranked driver in his team as he ranks all his teammates below in terms of secured championship points.
But the veteran secures his spot at the P2 because of the comeback he has produced after being one of the most inconsistent, disappointing drivers at the beginning of the season. Hamlin is now a regular top 10 contender at the sometimes slip down the pack. Hamlin has shown some consistency with 3 top 10 finishes, two of which are wins and 4 top 20. The driver indeed lacks when it comes to his finishes outside the top 20 as most of the time it’s outside the Top 30, which races questions about his place at the top for sure. But his incredible comeback at Richmond and the Coco-Cola 600 deserve recognition.
Also read: Kyle Larson’s Crew Chief Cliff Daniels Suffers severe penalty for wheel infraction in Sonoma
4. Ryan Blaney
Ryan Blaney is the only driver on the list who is yet to win a cup race this season though he has been successful in securing his first win behind the wheels of a Next-Gen car in the Texas Motor Speedway All-Star race. Blaney, who drives the No:12 Penske, has intense competition coming within his team for his place from the Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric and Joey Logano, who is technically the driver with the most wins this season in the Next-Gen cars as he conquered 2 cup races and the clash and ranks one place below Blaney in the championship, the consistency factor gives the former an edge,
Ryan Blaney has secured eight top 10 and five complete 20 finishes this season, of which five are top-five. Blaney has slipped outside the top 20 only three times this season as he crashed out of those races, and he even had to sacrifice the Daytona win earlier this season as the team directed him not to make an advance on Cindric.
3. Kyle Larson
The defending champion of the cup series Kyle Larson comes forth in this year’s ranking as his inconsistent run considering the potential his car has; the No:5 Chevy has been among the most dominating rides this season, bringing him down. The champion has only been able to secure a single win this season, coming at the second race, and has been struggling since to get to the top as bad luck or mistakes is limiting him from getting g there.
The 30-year-old has secured only a P7 spot in the Championship table this season but has undoubtedly earned his place in the top five with the resilience he showed in most of the races as he is among the drivers to make most passes this season. Larson has secured eight top 10 finishes this season, five of which are top 5, with two P2 finishes. Though Kyle Larson is not out of contention for the championship, it’s high time for the champ to get more consistent and a little bit of luck which will come in handy as he will surely be searching for couple more wins before the season ends.
2. Chase Elliott
The Championship leader of the 2022 season Chase Elliott has shown that he is still among the best drivers NASCAR has to offer after his underwhelming 2021 season, just after his championship run in 2020. Chase Elliott was able to conquer the Monster Mile this season. Though the win came very late in the season compared to his teammates, the No:9 driver was the most consistent campaigner as he could overshadow every other driver that has won the championship table. However, some latest inconsistency has affected his lead.
The second-generation driver has had ten top 10 finishes this season, including his Dover win alongside two top 5 finishes. Elliott finished in the entire 20 two times, and his finishes outside the top 20, three of which came in consecutive race weekends, have brought down Elliott in the ranking as he should be more productive with the ability he possesses and the Chevy his team has been able to provide to him.
1. Ross Chastain
Ross Chastain, undoubtedly, has been the most impressive driver of the 2022 season, which surely earns him the best driver position this season as he was successful in getting his No:1 Trackhouse Racing Chevy Camaro ZL1 to the top of the victory lane twice. One of the most impressive parts of his achievement is that he has been able to achieve all this in his debut season with a team that is entering only its second cup season.
One of the most aggressive drivers on the track, the “Watermelon Man,” has produced some amazing on and off-field fights this season, with his latest run at the inaugural cup race at gateway being the nutritious one. Following his disappointing start to the campaign at the first two races of the season, Chastain has been the definition of consistency with his incredible runs in the consecutive races that came after that. Chastain, who now sits P2 in the championship table, has two wins to his name coming at COTA and Talladega and has come close to winning two more times only to see it slide in the last second with two P2 finishes.
Ross Chastain has ten top 10 finishes this season, of which two are his wins, and the rest includes his five top 5 and 3 top 10 finishes. The driver has only finished outside the entire 20 4 times this season, with the first coming in the first two races of the season and the latest one being at five race weeks ago at Darlington. The consistent top runs indeed earn Chastain the top place, and he is among the drivers who have a real shot at winning this year’s championship.
The other NASCAR drivers n the grid, such as Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Daniel Suarez, are also strong cases to replace any of the drivers from the above list as the Next-Gen cars have indeed been able to bring forth a parity that increased the performance level and competition within and among the teams in NASCAR Cup Series.
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Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)