NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season is officially in the books, and in just a few days, the world will jump ahead to 2024.
But before we focus on the New Year and the upcoming 2024 season, let’s hand out some Frontstretch awards and look back at the greatest moments of the NASCAR Cup Series season as we enjoy the closing hours of 2023.
Dale Earnhardt Best Driver Award
Plenty of drivers fit the bill, but the one that stood out the most in 2023 was William Byron.
Byron, who entered the 2023 season with four Cup wins, left the year with 10. His six wins mark the most by one driver in the Next Gen era, and he scored the most points of any driver through all 36 races despite a 60-point penalty assessed in April.
Byron also led 1,016 laps this year, the second most behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson (1,127). Unfortunately for Byron, his career year — which also included HMS’ 300th Cup win at Texas Motor Speedway — was unable to be sealed with a title, as he finished fourth in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway after starting on the pole.
But after a seven-win NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season in 2016 and a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2017 at the age of 19, Byron has finally arrived as one of the Cup Series’ premier drivers. Look for him to contend for years to come.
Martin Truex Jr. Most Improved Driver Award
Byron made quite the leap in 2023, but no one made more of a jump to prominence this year than Chris Buescher. After breaking a 222-race winless streak at Bristol Motor Speedway for his second career win in 2022, Buescher scored three victories in a five-race span during the summer of 2023.
The wins, which came at Richmond Raceway, Michigan International Speedway and Daytona International Speedway, clinched Buescher’s first playoff appearance since 2016.
He was ultimately eliminated in the Round of 8, and a seventh-place points finish marked the best of his career. Through the effort, Buescher recorded career highs in wins (three), top fives (nine), top 10s (17), laps led (255) and average finish (12.1), all of which beat his previous highs of one, three, 10, 194 and 17.3, respectively.
RFK Racing has undergone a renaissance since bringing Brad Keselowski on board in 2022, and Buescher, now 31, is enjoying the greatest stretch of his Cup career.
Tim Richmond Comeback of the Year Award
Instead of gifting the award to a driver, the honor will instead go to a…
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