Top 10 NASCAR youngest drivers 2022

Top 10 NASCAR youngest drivers 2022. There are still seven races to go before the 16 NASCAR Cup Series drivers can clinch playoff positions for the postseason’s 10 events.

Since the Cup Series went to its current playoff-styled format, the postseason spots have traditionally gone to the race winners and the regular-season points champion. This could be an important factor in this season’s outcome if Ryan Blaney is successful in passing Chase Elliott for the regular-season points title after the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on August 27.

Blaney has not yet won a race this year, despite the fact that he is in second place in the points standings heading into the event that will take place on Sunday in New Hampshire. If Blaney were to win any of the remaining seven races and maintain his current position in the points standings, he would be guaranteed a spot in the playoffs.

Even if Blaney were to pass Elliott for the points lead during the regular season, he still might not be able to go to the postseason if he does not secure a victory before the series decides on three new champions in the last seven races.

There have been 13 different winners in the first 19 races of the 2018 Cup Series season.

The last races of the regular season for the series will take place on three intermediate tracks (one mile, one and a half miles, and 2.5 miles), two road courses, a short track, and a superspeedway.

As the regular season draws closer to its conclusion, there are still several drivers that are within striking distance of Elliott. Points are available for stage wins, race wins, and place slots, so drivers may earn points no matter where they finish in the race. The following is a list of the top 10 teams that are considered to be the favorites to win the regular-season points title.

1. Chase Elliott

This year, Chase Elliott has collected three victories, including a pair of victories in his most recent trio of races. Since the champion of the 2020 Cup Series has already demonstrated that he can win on any track, the next two road courses (Indianapolis and Watkins Glen) are likely to go in his favor.

He had an average finish of 7.7 in his 11 races in Michigan, in addition to his two victories at Watkins Glen. Elliott will most likely maintain his lead at the top of the standings at the conclusion of the regular season, barring any unfortunate events.

2. Ryan Blaney

With New Hampshire right around the corner, Ryan Blaney is currently 47 points behind Elliott. He needs a victory to essentially lock up his position in the postseason, but passing Elliott in the standings within the next seven weeks might also guarantee him a spot in the tournament. The remaining portion of Blaney’s schedule features favorable matchups for him. Pocono, Daytona, and Michigan are all places where he has won races.

3. Ross Chastain

Ross Chastain is a two-time winner, having taken home the checkered flag at Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas; as a result, he is not fazed by the fact that Watkins Glen and Indianapolis are still to come, and he has the potential to win at any of the remaining courses. As they head into New Hampshire, he is currently 50 points behind Elliott and only three points behind Blaney.

4. Kyle Busch

The fact that Kyle Busch is currently 115 points behind Elliott and has already won a race this season ensures that he will make the playoffs; nevertheless, if anyone can string together a series of high finishes, it is Busch. Even though he has six victories at Richmond, he needs to turn things around if he wants to be at the top of the points standings. In the four most recent races, Busch and the No. 18 Toyota have not finished higher than 20th in any of them.

5. Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson, the reigning Cup Series champion, is currently fourth in the points standings and 105 points behind Elliott. The remaining regular-season schedule sets up wonderfully for Larson, and it also sets up nicely for Elliott. In his 11 races in New Hampshire, Larson has finished in the top 10 six times, in addition to his three victories at Michigan, one victory at Watkins Glen, and one victory at Pocono.

6. Joey Logano

Joey Logano, who is currently eighth in the points standings and has two victories (Darlington and St. Louis), is currently 122 points behind Elliott, but the remaining calendar shapes up nicely for the Team Penske driver. He has a total of five victories, with three coming from Michigan and two from New Hampshire. Even though Logano has already won at Daytona, it is still the regular-season circuit on which he has the poorest average finish, 18.7, and it is one of the seven tracks left on the calendar where he will make more than one appearance.

7. Kevin Harvick

New Hampshire is next on the schedule for Kevin Harvick, who is presently ranked 11th in the points standings. Although he is 180 points behind Elliott in the Cup Series standings, the champion of the series in 2014 has won four times at New Hampshire, five times at Michigan, three times at Richmond, twice at Daytona, and once each at Pocono and Watkins Glen. Even though he is familiar with Victory Lane and knows how to get there when it matters most, he has not yet won a race this season and is trailing the leader in points by a significant margin.

8. William Byron

To mount a serious push for the number one slot in the standings during the regular season, William Byron needs to get back to the form he showed earlier in the year. Byron is currently in 10th place and is 179 points behind Elliott after winning two races in a row over the course of four weeks in the months of March and April (Atlanta and Martinsville). During that span, Byron notched two victories, a third-place finish, and a 12th-place finish.

9. Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr., an experienced driver who is currently sixth in the points standings and 118 points behind Elliott, has not yet won a race so far in this year’s NASCAR season. His performance at Richmond earlier this year, where he finished in fourth place, was his best of the season. There has been some success at the seven remaining tracks, with an average finish of tenth and a victory at Pocono. He has three career triumphs at Richmond and two victories at Pocono, so there has been some success overall.

10. Christopher Bell

Throughout the course of this season, it has felt as though the talented Christopher Bell might finally make his mark at any moment, and once he did, the floodgates would open.

This season, Bell has finished in the top ten 10 times, including four times in the top five. If he wanted to win the regular-season points lead and help Joe Gibbs Racing get over its recent dysfunction, he would need a late-season surge that was nearly as impressive as the one he had earlier in the season.

Top 10 NASCAR youngest drivers 2022