Where Will 2022 End with First-Time Cup Winners?

Photo Credit to Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR

How Many First-Time Cup Series Winners Will 2022 Have?

Through the first six weeks of 2022, the NASCAR Cup Series has seen three new winners. This record of new Cup victors has not occurred since 2001, and may only grow. While Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, and Ross Chastain have all earned career win number one, others may soon follow. Just how many drivers will pull into victory lane for the first time this year? 2022 has the potential to see the most first-time winners in over a decade.

Two other winless drivers have been super close to victory lane multiple times this season: Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suarez. Both drivers have found incredible speed and consistency that has them up front leading laps. It may only be a matter of time until they both earn their maiden Cup Series victories. This pair of past Xfinity champions have been stout already this season. That would put 2022 at five new winners in the Cup Series, tying the modern-era record seen in 2001, 2002, and 2011. This burst of new winners this season only continues a trend seen in each season dating back to 2016. However, the chance of so many new drivers getting their first win could put 2022 in rare air alongside some of the all-time parity-heavy seasons.

Tyler Reddick

The Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet has been close to winning almost every race this season. If not for a few circumstances out of his control, Tyler Reddick would already be a NASCAR Cup winner. Reddick led a race-high 90 laps in California. After being wrecked out of that race early, Reddick has had three top-10s. The only other dark spot on Reddick’s season to-date was an Atlanta crash, where he lost a tire while leading. Reddick could have easily won each race since week two in California, so expect him to put everything together sometime soon.

“This one hurts because we were so close to a win,” Reddick said after finishing fifth in COTA. “But I know that we will find Victory Lane in the No. 8 3CHI Chevrolet soon. We were strong today, and spent most of the race contending in the top five. We were leading the race on the final restart, but I just didn’t get a good launch off Turn 1. I almost had the No. 1 car cleared, but didn’t quite. We were really on the loose side all day long and that made us pretty susceptible to getting aggressive at the end. It was just easy to get moved around there and ultimately that was a problem.

“With just a little bit of pressure from anybody behind us, the back of the car was out of the track. Our Chevy could get through the esses pretty well and could do a lot of things really well, but if we had to battle with other cars in traffic, it was hard to get the good launch off the corner and complete a pass or battle hard. It’s tough to settle for fifth after being so close to a win, but we will learn from today, go back to the simulator and go back to work. Proud of everyone on this team and really thankful to have 3CHI on board the No. 8.”

The 8 has shown incredible speed and performance on a number of different racetracks this season. With that in mind, Tyler Reddick putting an entire race together seems to be a very near-future occurrence. The two-time Xfinity Series Champion should be in position to win multiple times throughout the rest of this year.

Daniel Suarez

The banner year so far for Daniel Suarez also kicked off at California. The Trackhouse 99 took the lead late from Kyle Larson, only to be passed again by the 5, fading to fourth. Since then, Suarez has had perhaps the best four-race stretch of his Cup career. Aside from getting crashed out early in Las Vegas, Suarez has also had chances to win just about each race. This was only exemplified in COTA, as Suarez led wire-to-wire in Stage 1, only to be spun at the start of Stage 2.

“I think it’s a combination of things,” Suarez said on Trackhouse’s consistency this year. “Definitely having a direct teammate helps. That’s part of the success. Having that information and sharing that information; knowing exactly what they’re going to do and what we’re going to do. But I think that probably the biggest improvement from last year was the people. Having our own people working towards the speed and having a lot of support from Chevrolet. I think that’s the combination. I feel very, very fortunate to be in this position. We have everything that is required to go out there and be successful. Now, it’s up to us to do the job.”

With the elusive first win for Trackhouse Racing out of the way, the floodgates may now open. Daniel Suarez’s 99 team had a few growing pains last year, but have been firing on all cylinders this year.

Other Surprise Winners?

If anything has proven true over NASCAR’s history, it’s to expect the unexpected. Plenty of surprise winners have happened in recent memory, and can happen again this year. Drivers including Ty Dillon, Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, and Corey Lajoie can all pull off an upset victory this season. Rain delays, weather-impacted races, or other outside circumstances can land one of these unexpected drivers in victory lane. The coming weeks will see several disparate racetracks with the Next Gen car, which has shown increased parity at all levels. The modern era record for new winners in a Cup season stands at five, can that be broken in 2022?

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images for NASCAR