With 10 races now in the books, it is a great time to grade every NASCAR Cup Series driver’s 2023 season so far.
In the blink of an eye, the NASCAR Cup Series has already finished a quarter of its schedule. Although there is still plenty of racing left in 2023, it is a good time to reflect on how drivers have performed through the first couple months of the year.
Several drivers have laid the groundwork for breakout seasons, while others have found new life and resurrected their careers. Unfortunately, a few drivers have fallen way short of preseason expectations and will need to correct things in a hurry to salvage the season.
Along with their grade, the driver’s point total, point standing, and wins are included. The point standings are as of the Talladega race last Sunday.
Grades
Trackhouse Racing
#1- Ross Chastain
- Point Standing: 2nd (319 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: A-
#99- Daniel Suarez
- Point Standing: 17th (229 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: C
Chastain has mostly silenced the concerns over him being a one-season wonder. Building off his breakout 2022 campaign, he has been one of the most consistent drivers in the Cup Series. The only concern with him is winning. It has now been over a year since his last win (spring Talladega 2022). While he leads laps and contends for wins, finishing the job still seems to be an issue for the Melon Man.
Following a string of top-tens to start the year, Suarez has become mostly an afterthought. He also was penalized for going after Chastain and Alex Bowman on pit road following on-track contact at COTA. Suarez shows glimpses of his potential at times, but it seems that he is just simply a top-15 driver that sneaks into the back half of the top-10 on occasion. He will once again be on the Playoff bubble and likely miss it if he cannot find victory lane.
Team Penske
#2- Austin Cindric
- Point Standing: 18th (213 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: C
#12- Ryan Blaney
- Point Standing: 8th (276 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B
#22- Joey Logano
- Point Standing: 11th (268 points)
- Wins: 1
- Grade: B+
For Penske standards, 2023 has been an average-to-below average year. Cindric has been largely non-existent and has not taken any step forward in his sophomore campaign. He has not been awful, but his week-to-week ceiling appears to be the top-ten.
Blaney and Logano have had nearly identical seasons. Both are fairly consistent and show race-winning speed at times, but appear to be just slightly behind the other top teams and drivers in the sport. Each has also gotten caught up in several incidents or ran into pit road mishaps that force them out of contention. Logano earns a slightly higher grade because of his win at Atlanta. Meanwhile, Blaney has now gone a year and a half without a points-paying victory. As long as there are not 16 winners again like last year, however, Blaney’s spot in the Playoffs should not be in-doubt because of his consistency.
Stewart-Haas Racing
#4- Kevin Harvick
- Point Standing: 3rd (311 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: A
#10- Aric Almirola
- Point Standing: 24th (168 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: D
#14- Chase Briscoe
- Point Standing: 15th (243 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B-
#41- Ryan Preece
- Point Standing: 28th (149 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: D-
In his final season, Harvick has been one of the most consistent drivers in the Cup Series, the best Ford driver, and has done everything except win. If he can find his way to victory lane, Harvick will be a true title favorite.
Following a disastrous start to the year, Briscoe has come on a bit as of late. He currently has a streak of three straight top-five finishes. He was also a threat to win at Bristol Dirt and Martinsville. He may not be the title favorite Harvick is, but Briscoe is at least holding his own. It would not be surprising to see him win a race and make the Playoffs again this year.
Aside from their strong showings at Martinsville, Almirola and Preece have been disasters this season. Almirola, who postponed his retirement to return for 2023, is having one of his worst seasons ever. He has had some bad luck with accidents, but the #10 also lacks the speed to even sniff the Playoffs. Similarly, Preece has been largely non-existent. He was supposed to be an improvement from Cole Custer and came into the year with a lot of hype, but the #41 has been just as bad with Preece as it was with Custer. In addition to finding Harvick’s replacement, SHR may also want to look at finding new drivers for the #10 and #41 if this trend continues.
Hendrick Motorsports
#5- Kyle Larson
- Point Standing: 4th (295 points)
- Wins: 2
- Grade: A+
#9- Chase Elliott
- Point Standing: 31st (120 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: TBD
#24- William Byron
- Point Standing: 14th (245 points)
- Wins: 2
- Grade: A
#48- Alex Bowman
- Point Standing: 9th (270 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B
Despite penalties and a terrible string of injuries, Hendrick remains the best team in the sport. Larson has emerged as the title favorite through the first months of the season. Although he has two wins, he could have even more if luck had favored him. Byron joins Larson in also having two wins, but lacks consistency and is reeling from another points penalty. On the bright side, Byron has been one of the fastest cars in the garage and has laid the groundwork for a breakout 2023 season.
Due to him missing most of the season so far due to injury, Elliott’s season grade is still TBD. He has been competitive in the races he has run, but will need to find victory lane for a shot at the Playoffs.
Where he lacks in wins, Bowman has made up for in consistency. Perhaps the most consistent of the Hendrick camp, the driver of the #48 takes care of his car and gets solid finishes week-to-week. Prior to his penalties, Bowman was leading the points standings. Wins have always held Bowman back from being an elite driver, however, and he may now be in a must-win situation. On Wednesday, it was announced that Bowman suffered a fractured vertebra in a sprint car crash and will miss the next 3-4 weeks. His playoff chances are now in serious jeopardy if he cannot find victory lane, which is a shame considering how well Bowman had started the season.
Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
#6- Brad Keselowski
- Point Standing: 12th (267 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: A-
#17- Chris Buescher
- Point Standing: 16th (240 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B
Keselowski’s mission to return Roush to its prior glory appears to be trending in the right direction. Following an abysmal first half of 2022, the team began to find its stride down the stretch and has carried that momentum into 2023. Keselowski nearly won the Daytona 500 and then was one lap away from winning at Atlanta. He seems destined to soon return to victory lane and is a fixture in the top-ten, something no driver has achieved for Roush in quite some time.
Buescher has been solid, but is mostly in the same position on the Playoff bubble as he was last season. He consistently finds his way into the top-15 and occasionally sneaks into the top-10. As long as there are not 16 winners like last year, it is reasonable to expect Buescher to be able to have enough points to make the Playoffs for the second time in his career.
Spire Motorsports
#7- Corey LaJoie
- Point Standing: 23rd (185 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B-
#77- Ty Dillon
- Point Standing: 33rd (81 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: F
With several drivers like Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola, and even Denny Hamlin retiring in the not-too-distant future, LaJoie has made a serious case to replace any one of them. Despite driving for a low-level team, LaJoie gets everything he possibly can out of the car. A 23rd standing in points may not seem remarkable, but it is a vast improvement from where the #7 usually sits. Of the first 10 races, LaJoie has finished inside the top-20 in five of them and has finished outside the top-25 only three times. He is also in front of drivers in the standings who are in better equipment, including Almirola, Erik Jones, A.J. Allmendinger, Ryan Preece, and Harrison Burton. With a team like Spire, the small victories mean the most and LaJoie is proving himself worthy of a better ride.
While LaJoie has been outperforming his equipment, Dillon has been a huge disappointment. Following a terrible 2022 with Legacy Motor Club, he has somehow been even worse in 2023. Dillon is the only full-time driver without 100 points in the Cup Series. Dillon is quickly running out of options in the Cup Series, leaving his future in NASCAR’s top division seriously in doubt.
Richard Childress Racing
#3 – Austin Dillon
- Point Standing: 29th (123 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: D+
#8 – Kyle Busch
- Point Standing: 5th (290 points)
- Wins: 2
- Grade: A+
For the RCR cars, it has been a tale of two seasons. On one hand, Dillon has been very disappointing. Following the acquisition of Busch in the offseason, many thought it would give Dillon a boost in performance. This started to come to fruition after Dillon’s impressive performances at the Busch Light Clash and the Daytona 500 to open the season. Since then, however, it has been a forgettable season for the driver of the #3. Although he did receive a points penalty a couple weeks ago, Dillon was a clear step behind Busch even before that. The lone bright spot for Dillon is he has at-times shown race-winning speed, namely at Bristol Dirt. With his recent success on the superspeedways mixed with RCR’s uptick in performance, not all is lost for Dillon in 2023 despite now clearly being in a must-win situation to make the Playoffs.
While Dillon has struggled, Busch has fully resurrected his career in his first year with RCR. He already has two wins, including last week at Talladega, to surpass his total in 2022. Busch has had a few bad finishes, but he has still been one of the fastest cars in the garage and he has vastly improved from his last year with JGR. Through the early part of the schedule, Busch has emerged once again as a title contender.
Joe Gibbs Racing
#11- Denny Hamlin
- Point Standing: 10th (270 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B
#19- Martin Truex Jr.
- Point Standing: 7th (281 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B
#20- Christopher Bell
- Point Standing: 1st (331 points)
- Wins: 1
- Grade: A+
#54- Ty Gibbs
- Point Standing: 20th (199 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B-
Aside from Hamlin’s podcast controversies, Hamlin and Truex Jr. have had nearly identical seasons. While they occasionally contend for wins, they usually hang around the top-ten and are firmly inside the Playoffs on points. They are a far-cry from their dominant, winning ways of the past, but both are off to respectable starts to the year and are dark horse title contenders.
If not for Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell may currently be the title favorite. He won at Bristol Dirt and has been competitive at nearly every track so far this year. 2022 was Bell’s breakout season, but 2023 may be his first legitimate shot at a championship.
Considering the struggles rookies in recent years have had, Gibbs is off to a great start. While 20th in points is nothing to celebrate, the driver of the #54 already has four top tens. He has not shown race-winning speed as of yet, but is right around the Playoff bubble and that is all that can reasonably be expected of a rookie driver.
Kaulig Racing
#16- AJ Allmendinger
- Point Standing: 27th (152 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: D-
#31- Justin Haley
- Point Standing: 26th (163 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: D-
There was some buzz surrounding Kaulig entering 2023. Haley steadily improved across his first full-time season in 2022, while Allmendinger was making his long-awaited return to full-time Cup Series competition. In select starts with Kaulig in 2021 and 2022, Allmendinger won a race and nearly won on several other occasions. The past success was supposed to lead Kaulig to get one, or both, of their cars in the Playoffs.
Unfortunately, Kaulig has fallen well short of any expectations so far this season. Both of their cars have been mostly irrelevant, only catching headlines for crashes or penalties. They just have not had the speed they had shown in years past. Fortunately, there is still plenty of time for them to turn their seasons around. Allmendinger is one of the best in the sport at road courses, and Haley is always a threat at the superspeedways. Both can easily find victory lane and make the Playoffs in spite of this slow start to the year.
Wood Brothers Racing
#21- Harrison Burton
- Point Standing: 30th (121 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: F
Sophomore slumps are common for young drivers. Unfortunately for Burton, his rookie season in 2022 was so bad that his sophomore slump in 2023 is somehow even worse. The only time Burton makes headlines is when he wrecks by himself or gets involved in an incident. To further worsen things for Burton, he is easy to blame for all the issues plaguing the #21. Matt DiBenedetto had the same car competing for wins and fighting for the Playoffs in 2021 and 2022, but Burton cannot even sniff the top-25. Several felt Burton was rushed too quickly to the Cup Series. If things don’t change, Burton may be sent back down the Xfinity Series in a hurry.
23XI Racing
#23- Bubba Wallace
- Point Standing: 21st (191 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: C-
#45- Tyler Reddick
- Point Standing: 6th (286 points)
- Wins: 1
- Grade: A
Shockingly, this is Wallace’s best start to a season in his career. The first half of the season has never been kind to Bubba and this year he is at least not as bad as in previous years. He has flashed speed at times and nearly won Talladega last week. However, Bubba is still prone to making mistakes and his pit crew occasionally messes up on pit road. This was supposed to be Bubba’s breakout season where he was a clear Playoff contender, but he still appears to be just a tick below that. Fortunately, there is still plenty of time and the Playoffs remain a very real possibility for Bubba.
To further complicate things for Wallace, his new teammate has outshined him in nearly every facet. After a pitiful start to the season, Reddick found victory lane at COTA and has quietly risen to sixth in points. Nobody is talking about Reddick as a title contender, but he definitely has a shot at bringing 23XI its first championship. Especially with all the road courses left on the schedule, Reddick could easily rattle off 4-5 more wins.
Front Row Motorsports
#34- Michael McDowell
- Point Standing: 19th (202 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B
#38- Todd Gilliland
- Point Standing: 22nd (189 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: B
Front Row Motorsports has quietly been one of the more consistent teams in the garage. He may lack the top-tens, but McDowell is routinely in the top-20 week in and week out. For a team that used to be near the back of the pack, McDowell has helped make the #34 a respectable entry and is surprisingly right around the Playoff bubble. Gilliland has been even more impressive. Although FRM announced before the season that Gilliland would not race the full schedule in the #38 to make room for Zane Smith, Gilliland has found a way to overcome the adversity and has put together a solid season. He already has more top-tens (3) than he did all of last year and has taken a serious step forward in his second season.
While both teams are still a longshot to make the Playoffs or find victory lane, Front Row has become a well-run team and continues to outperform their expectations year-over-year.
Legacy Motor Club
#42- Noah Gragson
- Point Standing: 32nd (108 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: F
#43- Erik Jones
- Point Standing: 25th (165 points)
- Wins: 0
- Grade: D-
Following a 2022 season that saw Jones return the #43 to victory lane and an off-season that saw 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson take part-ownership of the team, there was serious excitement surrounding the newly-branded Legacy Motor Club. Unfortunately, they have not delivered on the excitement in the slightest bit.
Jones, who nearly made the Playoffs last year before winning at Darlington in the Fall, has taken a huge step back. The #43 just does not have the speed it had in 2022 and it will take a miracle for them to make the Playoffs. This is a major disappointment as several saw Jones as a dark horse contender entering the season.
Aside from his impressive performance last week at Talladega, Gragson has been one of the worst drivers in the Cup Series. Of full-time drivers, Gragson ranks ahead of only Ty Dillon in points at 32nd. He is routinely one of the slowest cars on the track. While there is still time to right the ship, it has been a disastrous inaugural season for Legacy Motor Club.
JTG Daugherty Racing
#47- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Point Standing: 13th (247 points)
- Wins: 1
- Grade: A
The most surprising story so far this year, Stenhouse Jr. and JTG have really impressed to open this season. In addition to their Daytona 500 triumph, the #47 has shown speed each week and is consistently competing for top-10 finishes. Stenhouse Jr. has two top-fives and four top-tens to start the year, compared to only one top-five and five top-tens across the entirety of the 2022 season. For a team that was lucky enough to crack the top-20 last season, 2023 has been a huge step forward and Stenhouse Jr. has the potential to make some noise in the Playoffs.
