Through 22 NASCAR Cup Series races, here’s a look at who’s trending in the right direction and who’s been slipping during the summer months.
HOT: Tyler Reddick
Though he has just one victory on the season, Tyler Reddick is in contention to win nearly every single week. He’s finished eighth or better in eight of the last nine races, including a runner-up at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after Brad Keselowski ran out of fuel before the first overtime restart. The only outlier came at Iowa Speedway, where Reddick finished 22nd.
Other than IMS, arguably Reddick’s best chance to win came at the Chicago Street Course. Chasing down Alex Bowman on the final lap, he cut turn 5 too close and slapped the wall, ending his hopes of a victory.
Reddick sits third in driver’s points.
NOT: Kyle Busch
Maybe the most obvious choice, it’s been a summer to forget for Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing. The No. 8 team has had a plethora of issues – many of which have been out of their control.
Busch’s last eight races are as follows:
- Crashed and finished 35th at World Wide Technology (Ill.) Raceway.
- 12th at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway after getting spun by Ross Chastain battling for a top-five spot.
- 35th at Iowa due to mechanical issues.
- Crashed after 220 laps and finished 35th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
- 27th at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway after wrecking in the second row during the third overtime attempt
- Ninth at Chicago.
- 32nd at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway after contact with Corey LaJoie on a restart resulted in a pileup in turn 1.
- Crashed and finished 25th at Indianapolis, one lap down.
Busch sits 112 points below the playoff cutline with four races remaining, facing a must-win situation.
HOT: Ryan Blaney
It’s been a pretty memorable summer for Ryan Blaney.
Since running out of fuel with two laps to go at WWT Raceway, Blaney caught fire, winning two of the final six races heading into the Olympic break. He dominated and led 201 of 350 laps in his triumph at Iowa before driver No. 12 scored win No. 12 of his career at Pocono in July.
Blaney nearly went into the break with back-to-back victories, but ultimately finished third at Indianapolis.
He’s fifth in driver’s points.
NOT: Martin Truex Jr.
The summer months quietly haven’t been kind to Martin Truex Jr.
In his final season of full-time competition, Truex has six finishes of 15th or worse in the last eight races, including three finishes outside the top 20 in the last four. Results of ninth at New Hampshire and eighth at Pocono have kept him a reasonable seventh in driver’s points, but the Mayetta, N.J., driver remains winless.
Can Truex turn things around and knock out one more Cup Series victory?
HOT: Kyle Larson
He hasn’t been quite as dominant as his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, but it’s been pretty difficult to keep Kyle Larson out of victory lane in 2024. With a series-leading four victories, Larson has a 10-point lead in the series standings over teammate Chase Elliott.
And not to forget that he missed Charlotte Motor Speedway due to Indianapolis 500 obligations, as well.
Larson scored his latest victory at IMS two weeks ago, coming through the field late on fresh tires after a mid-race penalty. His other wins came at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway – two mile-and-a-halves – and the road course at Sonoma.
While he can’t quite control his own destiny for the regular-season title, Larson has an edge heading into the final four races.
NOT: Daniel Suárez
Ever since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, Daniel Suárez has struggled.
The Mexican-born driver has just three top 10s in the last 20 races with just as many finishes worse than 25th in that span. He did, however, score one of those top 10s at Indianapolis, coming home eighth.
Though he has a guaranteed playoff spot, the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing team may have some work to do to prepare for a championship fight.
HOT: Todd Gilliland
Flying under the radar, Todd Gilliland’s riding the best stretch of his Cup Series career by far.
Dating back to Kansas in May, Gilliland has just one finish worse than 17th, which came at Pocono when he got involved in a crash. He’s finished inside the top 10 in two of the last three races and contended for the win at IMS.
Although pointing his way into the playoffs is highly unlikely, the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports team is seemingly trending in the right direction.
NOT: Chase Briscoe
After a stretch of solid races early on, Chase Briscoe’s slipped a bit throughout the summer. He has just one top 15 in the last nine races — when he nearly won at New Hampshire in the wet after struggling most of the race.
For much of the season, he sat well inside the playoff picture. At one point in May, he was 12th in the series standings. But now he’s 83 points below the cutline and has significant work to do to make the playoffs on points. Otherwise, it’ll be a must-win situation for the Stewart-Haas Racing driver.