So, here we are. Just four races and 24 days remain in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series. 234 days have passed since the Daytona 500 when the Team Penske’s rookie, Austin Cindric, was the unlikely winner of the 64th running of the Great American Race. Eight drivers remain alive in the quest for a championship and only two of those wheelmen have won it all before – Joey Logano in 2018 and Chase Elliott in 2020. Statistically speaking, then, there’s a 75% chance we’ll be crowning a new champion when all is said and done at Phoenix Raceway on the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 6.
On paper, however, you can make a very strong argument for a second title for just about everyone’s favorite driver Chase Elliott. He leads the series in wins (five), top fives (12), top 10s (19), laps led (803) and average finish (11.8). But he’s also opened each round of the playoffs so far with a subpar effort, recording a 36th-place run at Darlington Raceway and a fiery 32nd-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway. Sure, he’s got a nice points cushion but another sluggish start to the final round could quickly put him in jeopardy.
This time last season, there was something of an inevitability to Kyle Larson’s first Cup title. He had just won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, his seventh victory of the year, and would go on to win three of the next four including the all-important final race at Phoenix. But given the way this season has gone, what price would you give on a Ryan Blaney maiden title (with zero wins) or Chase Briscoe making it to the final four and doubling up in the desert. Heck, how about a Ross Chastain title after all the trouble he’s caused and all the talk of retaliation.
Truth is, it could very easily be any of the eight drivers remaining in contention. Parity has very much been the word of choice in 2022 as perhaps best evidenced by the fact that we’ve had 19 race winners and we still have a goose egg in the wins column in for the aforementioned Blaney, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski – three drivers you would almost bet would have a victory at the 90% complete marker.
Perhaps the bigger question is whether or not parity is actually a good thing. On some levels, of course, it is — a more equitable playing field creates opportunities for drivers and teams without the benefit of massive budgets or the favorable ear of the powers that be when it comes to perfectly legitimate penalties. But what it also does is bring an already…
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