NASCAR
Long NASCAR Cup Series Winless Streaks That Ended in 2023
Several drivers are thankful for earning long-awaited NASCAR wins in 2023. A total of 15 different drivers won a NASCAR Cup Series race this season. Six of these drivers ended a year-plus long losing drought. Let’s take a look back at these six streaks and each of these driver’s chances at winning again in 2024.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr – 199 Races
The season-opening Daytona 500 was a career-defining victory for Ricky Stenhouse Jr and the JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 team. For Stenhouse though, it had been five-and-a-half years since his last victory. This timespan of 199 races between victories is the fourth-longest dry streak in Cup Series history. Ideally Stenhouse’s next trip to victory lane is nowhere near as far away.
This Chevrolet was the first car locked into the 2023 Playoffs, eventually finishing 16th in points. Win aside though, Stenhouse remained inside the top-16 in points for most of the regular season. Performance certainly increased within this single-car team for 2023, only building a solid foundation for more highs in 2024. Stenhouse will surely be a factor in all four regular season drafting races next season.
Martin Truex Jr – 54 Races
Perennial Cup Series championship threat Martin Truex Jr. shockingly went 0-36 in year one of the Next Gen car. Due to so many different winners a season ago, this left Truex out of the 2022 Playoff field. After taking the non-points paying Busch Clash in February, Truex returned to victory lane at Dover. This marked 54 races since his last triumph in the fall of 2021. That day also capped off a Truex brothers sweep of the Monster Mile race weekend. Younger brother Ryan earned his maiden Xfinity Series win on Saturday. Martin and the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 team were able to convert newfound speed and performance into two more victories and the regular season championship.
Truex will return for 2024, coming off a largely disappointing Playoffs that only yielded two top-10s. MTJ categorized his season as an incomplete effort, with their luck seemingly flipping like a switch once the postseason began. Truex took a trio of wins from 2023, and should be favored for multiple victories again in 2024.
Ryan Blaney – 59 Races
Now immortalized as the champion, many would be quick to forget that Ryan Blaney also began 2023 on a long winless spell. Driver 12 ended this losing streak with his first crown jewel win in May’s Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte. Two more victories in the Playoffs put Blaney’s Penske team into their first Championship 4, appearance, culminating with the Bill France Cup.
Blaney may not have won the season finale, but Martinsville a week prior was checkered flag number 10 for the third-generation star. Now on the sport’s ultimate stage as defending champion, expect Blaney to add onto that win total a few times in the coming season.
Ross Chastain – 43 Races
As shocking as it may be, a full calendar year passed between Ross Chastain wins in 2022 and 2023. The Trackhouse Racing No. 1 took its first two victories five weeks apart in March and April last year. Chastain did not capture a Cup Series checkered flag again until this past June at Nashville Superspeedway. The gap between his wins encapsulates a streak most drivers would accept though. This stretch included the Hail Melon, a Championship 4 berth, and a title runner-up.
Chastain has a pair of victories across each of the last two seasons, ending 2023 on a high note by winning Phoenix. After a regression to the mean throughout the middle of the year, 2024 is looking up for Trackhouse Racing. Taking a trophy into the offseason never hurts. Chastain could be battling for another Championship 4 berth in a matter of months.
Michael McDowell – 95 Races
The timeliest of wins put Michael McDowell into his second career Playoff appearance in 2023. At the Indianapolis Road Course in August, the No. 34 Ford was not to be denied their best-in-class status. McDowell called his second career triumph a more enjoyable performance, putting together a very dominant run on the most hallowed racetrack. It had been nearly 100 starts since Front Row Motorsports’ last win, the 2021 Daytona 500. This second Playoff showing in the last three years led to a 15th-place points finish for team 34.
No longer just a superspeedway sleeper, McDowell has shown the ability to deliver clutch wins on road courses as well. Drafting tracks and road courses make up seven regular season races for 2024. As a result, the 34 team has ample opportunity ahead to repeat and extend their 2023 endeavors.
AJ Allmendinger – 50 Races*
From one Indy Road Course winner to another, AJ Allmendinger made 50 starts after winning the inaugural event in 2021. On the Charlotte Roval in October, the Kaulig Racing No. 16 found victory lane again as a Playoff spoiler. The four-time defending Xfinity winner edged out the best competition on Sunday, taking career win number three for Allmendinger.
AJ’s status as road course king remained very much intact for 2023, besting 12 championship contenders in a pivotal cut race. At the time of this writing Allmendinger’s 2024 plans are still unknown. He will likely be contending for many wins in some fashion though with Kaulig Racing.
Many drivers enter 2024 in a similar position, riding their own year-plus long losing streaks. Starting with February’s Daytona 500, it will be fun to follow along and see who can break into victory lane again in the new year.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Jared C. Tilton and Logan Riely/Getty Images
