The NASCAR Cup Series season has featured a little bit of everything as it’s almost two-thirds complete. Here are five of the top storylines so far:
Byron’s Tone-Setting Start
It didn’t take very long for William Byron to make his mark on the season.
Byron won three of the first eight races this season, winning some of the most prestigious venues. He started off with a victory in the 66th Daytona 500 before winning at Circuit of The Americas — home of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
Two weeks later, Byron won at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on the day of Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary celebration. More than 1,500 employees, family and friends of the organization were in attendance for the 305th all-time victory for HMS.
Although Byron hasn’t won since, he remains sixth in driver’s points and has 12 top 10s on the season. A Championship 4 driver a year ago, Byron’s pursuing his first career title.
The Closest Finish In History
The 2024 season has included both the closest and fourth-closest finishes in series history.
At Atlanta Motor Speedway — just the second race of the season — Daniel Suárez narrowly squeaked past Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in three-wide fashion for the second win of his career. He won by 0.003 seconds in a finish that seemed as if Blaney won by the naked eye.
But two and a half months later, Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher bested that at Kansas Speedway. In NASCAR Overtime, Larson prevailed for the win by just 0.001 seconds in what was deemed the closest finish of all time.
Originally, Buescher was scored the winner by a margin of 0.000 seconds. But after a quick review by NASCAR, Larson’s splitter touched the finish line a hair before Buescher’s did.
Before Kansas, two races had a winning margin of 0.002 seconds: the iconic duel between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in 2003 and the 2011 spring Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway race, where Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer.
Larson Races Indy 500, Misses Coca-Cola 600
For more than a year, Larson planned on attempting the historic Indianapolis 500/Coca-Cola 600 Double.
All the logistics were ironed out. With support of HMS, Larson would drive the No. 17 car for Arrow McLaren before flying to Concord, N.C. afterward in time to pilot his No. 5 Cup Series car at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
But a lengthy rain delay on race day foiled those plans.
Larson and HMS had to decide: stay in Indianapolis and race the Indy 500, or leave to make it in time for the Coca-Cola 600.
Ultimately, they decided to stay. Larson ran in contention for most of the afternoon before a pit road speeding penalty relegated him to 18th.
As soon as the race ended, he flew to CMS to replace Justin Allgaier in his Cup car. But by the time he landed and arrived at the track, it began raining and the race ultimately got called after 249 of 400 laps. Larson never turned a lap.
To keep Larson eligible for the playoffs, HMS needed to submit a waiver to NASCAR for approval from the sanctioning body. After more than a week, NASCAR elected to approve the waiver and allow Larson to race for a championship.
Despite missing a race, Larson holds a 10-point series lead over teammate Chase Elliott and paces Cup with four victories. His Double attempt came full circle as he won the Brickyard 400 at IMS two weeks ago – the final race before the Olympic break.
Breaking Winless Droughts
Three Cup Series stars have broken long winless streaks this year.
At Texas Motor Speedway in April, Chase Elliott snapped a 42-race streak dating back to 2022. The former Cup Series champion missed six races due to a snowboarding injury and another race under suspension, as he intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin at Charlotte. Before Texas, his last win came at Talladega in fall 2022.
Elliott’s teammate, Alex Bowman, broke an 80-race winless streak with his victory at the Chicago Street Course. Winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in spring 2022, a concussion derailed his playoff run that fall before breaking his back in a sprint car crash in spring 2023. His 12 top 10s in 2024 already tie his total from 2022 and are the third most of his career.
In May, Brad Keselowski snapped a 110-race winless streak with a victory at Darlington. It was his first win since taking part ownership of RFK Racing in 2022. He previously hadn’t won since the April 2021 Talladega race.
Iowa, Chicago & IMS
The middle of the 2024 Cup Series schedule looked a bit different compared to last year.
In June, the Cup Series made its first-ever stop at the seven-eighths-of-a-mile Iowa Speedway. Ryan Blaney dominated, leading 201 of 350 laps en route to his first victory of the season.
A little less than a month later, NASCAR made its highly anticipated return to the Chicago Street Course. While the forecast looked significantly more promising compared to last year, heavy rain again showed up on Sunday and sent the race into a delay. The 75-lapper ultimately got cut down to 58 laps, where Bowman scored the win.
Leading up to the Olympic break, the Cup Series made its annual trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But instead of running the road course, it was a return to the oval for the first time since 2020. Larson took home his fourth win of the year – and a historical one as it was the 30-year celebration of the first Brickyard 400.