The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign has reached the halfway mark of the regular season. Now 13 races in and we’re starting to see some interesting trends develop. Let’s start at the highest level and the manufacturers.
Wins are most important and Chevrolet is leading the way at seven, with the Toyotas close behind at 5. Brad Keselowski erased the goose egg for the Blue Ovals at Darlington.
Interestingly, of the top metrics measured, Ford is fairly equal to the other two, and even better in second-place finishes. The Toyotas lagging in Top-20 results is the most significant gap between manufacturers.
How Have NASCAR Cup Teams-Drivers Done in First Half of Regular Season?
Through the first 13 races, it’s been the Hendrick Motorsports-Joe Gibbs Racing Show. Chase Elliott has been Mr. Consistency the first half of the season, batting a perfect .1000 and the only driver to finish inside the top 20 in every race. If we had done this last week, Martin Truex Jr. would have joined Elliott at 13 but his 25th place at Darlington ended that streak.
Tied for third with 11 top 20s are Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs, and Ross Chastain. And rounding out the top 10 in top 20s with 10 apiece are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, and Noah Gragson.
When it comes to top 10s, there are some names here that weren’t inside the top 20s, including Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson. Interestingly, at the top of this category are two of Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, William Byron and Alex Bowman with eight apiece.
When it comes to top-5 finishes, Larson sits atop all alone with six, and is followed by Elliott, Hamlin, and Keselowski with five each. The rest of those in the top 10 are many of the same cast of characters with the addition of reigning Cup Series champ Ryan Blaney. When he’s good, he’s really good.
Average Finishing Position for NASCAR Cup Series
Combining all those wins, top 5s, top 10s, top 20s, and every other finishing position for all 13 races, and we produce our average finishing position.
Chase Elliott is third on the HMS totem pole when it comes to wins with just the one at Texas, but has the best average finishing position of 9.8. Truex is on the No. 9’s heels at 10.2 and then there’s a gap of two positions before Ty Gibbs comes in at No. 3. The 21-year-old has been impressive this year with his four top 5s, including his career-best runner-up finish last weekend at Darlington.
A pair of HMS drivers follow in William Byron and Kyle Larson, and are followed by an interesting pairing of Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman. The JGR driver has received a lot of attention and deservedly so with his three wins. But his 12.7 average finishing position is tied with Bowman, who has received a lot less attention because he’s the fourth car at HMS. The 48’s numbers show outside of a couple of rough finishes at Texas and Atlanta, Bowman has been pretty good with eight top 10s and four inside the top 5.
Ross Chastain is next at 13.5 and the first Ford inside the top 10 in average running position is a surprise. It’s not Keselowski or Ryan Blaney, but Chase Briscoe at 14.5. Tyler Reddick rounds out the top 10.
Rookie of the Year Candidates
This year’s candidates are: Josh Berry, Carson Hocevar, and Zane Smith.
The No. 71 team has struggled all season with just two finishes inside the top 20. Unless something dramatically changes, Smith is out of the running.
It’s down to Berry and Hocevar, and at this juncture in the season, it’s a close one, but based on average finishing position alone, Berry edges out the 21-year-old by one spot.