[Chase] Elliott, [Ryan] Blaney or [Ross] Chastain, who wins the regular season championship? Shirley S., Hartford, Conn.
There’s a bit of a three-car breakaway at the top of the points standings. After Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Quaker State 400, Chase Elliott leads his old friend Ryan Blaney by 47 points, with 2022’s breakout star and Food Lion pugilist Ross Chastain just three points further back. Those three are the only drivers within one race’s worth of the lead (60 points, including stages) with seven races remaining in the regular season.
Who will be crowned the regular-season champion? 👑
The race is on! pic.twitter.com/70UXwEJpOs
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 7, 2022
It’s the boring choice for sure, but my money is on Elliott to maintain his current points lead and take the regular season title back home to Dawsonville, Ga.
Over the last several weeks, Elliott has gone from the guy quietly leading the points to the guy leading the points very loudly and obviously, culminating in the win at his home track in Atlanta that made him the only three-time race winner so far in 2022. The narrative was “how has nobody noticed Chase Elliott running so consistently,” but after two wins and a runner-up finish in the last three races, plus a streak of four consecutive stage wins, the story has suddenly become: “Can anybody stop Chase Elliott?” And I just don’t think so.
Blaney might have the best chance. After all, he really heated up at this time last year and is the defending winner of the upcoming races at Michigan and Daytona. Blaney is the only driver to match Elliott’s total of five stage wins, but has not won a points-paying race yet in 2020. In fact, Blaney is feeling additional pressure. If he fails to take the regular season title from Elliott, and there are three new winners, (say, Martin Truex Jr., Christopher Bell and Kevin Harvick), the No. 12 team could miss the playoffs.
Pressure’s on for those in the red 👀 pic.twitter.com/rGj5Vk1iCQ
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 11, 2022
But the biggest demerit in Blaney’s column is the little horse on the front of his race car. Of the top nine lap leaders in 2022, Blaney in fourth is the only Ford driver. While his Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Austin Cindric both have wins, as does Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, the Next Gen Mustang has not shown the same speed, particularly on aero-heavy intermediate tracks and road courses, as the Chevys and Toyotas….
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