NASCAR
Who Tied or Beat Their Best Cup Series Championship Result in 2024?
Several drivers across the NASCAR Cup Series saw breakout success in 2024. This season was highlighted by many different winners, photo finishes, and new faces performing on the biggest stages. Excluding rookies, seven contenders ended 2024 tying or exceeding their career-best Cup championship result. Here are these drivers and their chances at going even higher in 2025.
Joey Logano – 1st (tie)
Crowned Cup champion for the third time, Joey Logano and Team Penske have apparently mastered this Playoff format. Logano’s 2024 season was far from a dominant one for the duration of the year, but the 22 stole the spotlight late.
Logano was retroactively inserted into the Round of 8 as a product of Alex Bowman’s disqualification from the Charlotte Roval. Only having two wins on the year to that point, Logano went on to win the next week at Las Vegas, and came in clutch at Phoenix.
‘Even Year Logano’ was very much alive and well in 2024, capturing a third-straight title for Team Penske. 2023 saw a major championship hangover season for Logano, however. Only one regular season victory led to a Round of 16 exit, the first for a reigning champ. 2025 will see Logano try and shake off his apparent odd year curse and try to go back-to-back. No Cup champion has seen repeat success since Jimmie Johnson’s five-in-a-row. Whether Logano sinks or swims as the sport’s top dog will be a storyline to follow all season long.
William Byron – 3rd (tie)
For a second consecutive season, William Byron was in the Cup champ’s rearview mirror. Third in the title hunt for back-to-back seasons, Byron appears to be in his prime for yearly contention. While his three 2024 wins trail his six-victory 2023 campaign, he was the lone Hendrick car to make Phoenix. A Daytona 500 triumph and two more checkered flags across the opening eight weeks are nothing to overlook either.
Team 24 may have gone winless across the remainder of 2024, but their Playoff numbers are in elite territory. The final 10 weeks saw Byron record five top-fives and eight top-10s. The Byron/Rudy Fugle pairing show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Come 2025, this duo should be seen as championship favorites yet again.
Tyler Reddick – 4th
Making his first Championship 4 appearance, Tyler Reddick did set a few career highs. The No. 45 Toyota saw a pair of wins across the opening 26 weeks, taking Talladega and Michigan. Reddick would ultimately take the regular season championship by one sole point over Kyle Larson. The ensuing wealth of Playoff bonus points served Reddick well, propelling the 23XI Racing driver to the Round of 8.
Facing a win-or-go-home scenario at Homestead, Reddick put on a dazzling show for the win and the Phoenix berth. On slightly older tires Reddick rallied on the last lap, motoring around Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. In Phoenix, Reddick was fourth-best of the contenders, taking the checkers in sixth-place.
Since joining 23XI Racing last year, Reddick’s path has been largely defined by missed opportunities and throwing away wins. 2024 saw the California driver earn this team’s deepest Playoff run yet. Having experience dealing with the highs and lows of Championship Weekend, Reddick will only be more dangerous in the future. Should team 45 be able to make another Round of 8 showing, more Homestead heroics could deliver them back to Phoenix.
Austin Cindric – 11th
2024 was a season beyond the stat line for Austin Cindric. Making the Playoffs a perfect Penske representation after winning at Gateway, the 2 was a dark horse title contender. Back-to-back 10th-place runs across the opening two postseason races had Cindric on the fast track to the Round of 12.
A top-five run at the Roval was not enough for a Round of 8 transfer. This strong run came a week after leading late at Talladega, however, before being involved in the big one. Had Cindric not been wrecked out, he would have potentially pointed his way into the Round of 8. Another top-five day at Martinsville showed that Cindric can be among the Playoff elite in the right circumstance. Team 2 ended 2024 at 11th in points, one spot better than their banner rookie year from 2022.
Ty Gibbs – 15th
Making his maiden Playoff appearance, the sophomore season saw a few highlights for Ty Gibbs. While driver 54 went winless, he did manage to grab his first two poles, double his top-five total, and earn 12 top-10s.
The dreaded sophomore slump did seemingly strike Gibbs during his first Playoff outing. Eliminated after the opening round, the last five weeks of 2024 saw no finish better than 30th for the 54. Despite these struggles, Gibbs did have ample chances at that elusive first career win in 2024 as well. The top goal for this team in 2025 should be to break into victory lane. With a win should come a chance at a deeper Playoff run and even higher points finish too.
Harrison Burton – 16th
Making his first Playoff showing as well from his maiden Cup triumph, one could easily see how Harrison Burton’s season was defined by Daytona. Beyond just the historic upset though, Burton did see a few other breakout runs as well. Once he was in the 16-man fight, Burton showed promise across multiple track types in the final 10-week stretch.
If not for being in a wreck coming to the checkers in Atlanta and a Bristol power steering failure, the 21 would have been much closer to the first cut line battle. While Burton was in a lame duck situation for the 2024’s second half, this team still showed great resolve by winning. They slowly put all the small pieces together in execution.
Burton will try and reestablish his stock value in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 24-year-old takes over the AM Racing No. 15 Ford full-time. Admittedly not a top-flight team he’s joining on, Burton will once again attempt to turn an overlooked crew into race winners. Three years in the Cup Series is not experience that should be dismissed; Burton will trump most of his competition in past track time next year. Predicting a win for this team may be lofty expectations, but so was Burton taking the Wood Brothers back to victory lane.
Todd Gilliland – 22nd
The last man to record a career-best Cup championship result, Todd Gilliland quietly had an excellent season. Amidst Front Row Motorsports’ first year as a tier-one Ford team, the No. 38 showed flashes of brilliance. Four top-10s across Talladega, Sonoma, Chicago, and Indianapolis demonstrated incredible versatility from Gilliland. The 38 also turned many heads across the opening two weeks of the year, leading more laps than anyone between the Daytona 500 and Atlanta.
22nd in points puts Gilliland firmly on the cusp of a 2025 Playoff dark horse. He was best in class from FRM cars, and now inherits veteran status with Michael McDowell’s departure. Like many FRM drivers before him, expect Gilliland to be a thorn in regular contender’s sides all season long. It is not unfeasible to see the newly-branded 34 team lift a trophy high in victory lane.
Who had a career best season and final points tally is always a telling stat to track every season. It will only be a matter of time before all drivers begin gunning to join this exclusive list for 2025. Until then, these seven men have earned recognition for each having their best seasons so far.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Logan Riely/Getty Images
