NASCAR Cup Series veterans are leading the way so far in the 2023 racing season. Sixteen races into the season, a lot of familiar faces sit atop the leaderboard. The crop of young talent is arriving year after year, but some of these veteran drivers still have a little left in the tank.
Martin Truex Jr was contemplating retirement toward the end of last season. Now he sits at number one in the regular season points standings. Snapping his 54-race winless streak at the monster mile. Truex Jr is currently 2nd in the playoff points standings.
Kyle Busch made the move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing. With that came a lot of questions about whether it was the right move. Busch having his own winless streak broken this year also. His last win was on April 17, 2022 at the Bristol Dirt race. In 2023, it only took four races for the 3CHI #8 to find themselves in victory lane. Busch would take the checkered flag two other times so far this season. He is sitting in sixth in regular season points. Busch is 3rd in the playoff points standings.
Denny Hamlin handling the driving duties of his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. As well as his ownership duties of the 23XI team. Hamlin finds himself in good shape after 16 races. Especially after the race on May 7th, at Kansas Speedway, Hamlin was able to secure his first victory of the season. Currently #11 Toyota finds himself 8th in the regular season points and 7th in the playoff points standings.
Kevin Harvick might as well be called Mr. Consistency. In his last hurrah before hanging it up at the end of the season. Harvick is 5th in points and finds himself only 25 points behind Martin Truex Jr. Harvick’s top finish was a 2nd place finish at Darlington. So far this season, Harvick has finished 13th or better in 13 out of 16 races. Harvick finds himself in the middle of the push for the playoffs. The big question for Harvick is whether a post season berth can be obtained without a visit to the winner’s circle.
After 16 races the Cup Series has seen 10 different winners. With a plethora of talented racers out there without a win. Including former NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. After suffering a broken tibia in a snowboarding accident resulting in Elliott missing five races. Elliott has returned and finished no worse than 12 in all the races. Minus Charlotte where he intentionally wrecked Denny Hamlin which subsequently resulted in a one-race suspension for Elliott. He returned to Sonoma to a fifth-place finish. It would be safe to say he may be a shoe-in to get at least one victory this year.
Also, a case could be made for drivers like Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Ty Gibbs and the list goes on. If those five drivers and Elliott all win, Harvick could see his chances for the playoffs disappear. With 10 races left in the regular season schedule. The #4 Stewart-Haas racing team should be a team to watch. Kevin Harvick could be in a must-win situation as the season goes on. The young guys are showing up for sure. The veteran Cup Series drivers are the ones dominating the standings at the moment.
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