Although the perennial powerhouse organizations of Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske have accounted for all three NASCAR Cup Series wins in 2022, the past two races in particular have featured more than one driver from a second- or third-tier organization up front for an extended period. Will the trend continue this weekend at Phoenix Raceway?
This past Sunday at Las Vegas, for example, Trackhouse Racing newcomer Ross Chastain led 83 laps — more than double the number of laps he’d led over the course of 117 previous starts in NASCAR’s premier series. “It’s great to see fresh faces and names up front,” Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon said. “We saw it with Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones at Auto Club Speedway. At Las Vegas, Ross Chastain was incredibly impressive. I hope we see more of that. I think that’s what the sport needs to continue to grow.”
The increase in parity throughout the field is thought to largely be a byproduct of the new Next Generation race car that made its official debut in last month’s Daytona 500. “It’s an opportunity, I feel like,” said Greg Ives, crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman. “If I was sitting there, maybe in the situation where you talk about some drivers sitting in the mid-pack, this is a new opportunity. It’s not surprising that some of these drivers are up front because of the talent they have to make it to the Cup Series. I think leveling the playing field with the car allows for those guys to maybe wheel it a little bit more. Guys who like it on the edge can balance that really well. I think Ross has always been that way, and some of these other guys.”