NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) leads the pack on his way to winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race and series championship Nov. 6, 2022, at Phoenix Raceway. Can Logano repeat as 2023 champion?
NASCAR Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) leads the pack on his way to winning the NASCAR Cup Series auto race and series championship Nov. 6, 2022, at Phoenix Raceway. Can Logano repeat as 2023 champion?
The Next Gen car proved to be a challenge to many of the NASCAR Cup Series teams as well as making predictions for the 2022 season.
Chase Elliott was the only driver we picked to make the Championship 4 that actually made it. Joey Logano ultimately won the series title, while few if any would have predicted Christopher Bell or Ross Chastain to be part of the Championship 4.
Before the season, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. were our other choices for the Championship 4. Larson and Hamlin were in the final eight, close to being in the championship hunt. On the other hand, Truex had a miserable year as he was winless and missed the playoffs.
A big reason for picking Truex last season was his road-course prowess. Instead, Tyler Reddick ended up being the strongest driver on the road courses in 2022. With that in mind, could this be Reddick’s year to challenge for a championship?
But, there’s the major change with Reddick going to 23XI Racing and Kyle Busch leaving his longtime ride at Joe Gibbs Racing to take over the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
In the second year of the Next Gen car, one expects that Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing have stronger seasons in 2023.
CHAMPIONSHIP 4
Hendrick teammates Elliott and Larson are favorites to return to the Championship 4. Elliott led the series with five wins and was the strongest driver for much of the season. However, Logano had more speed at Phoenix as his team had more time to prepare for the final race by virtue of him being the first driver to qualify for the Championship 4.
Larson is a year removed from his 10-win season in 2021. He remains a major threat to win on all kinds of tracks. William Byron gives Hendrick another good chance to make the Championship 4, although he didn’t perform as well at the end of the season. The same could be said for Alex Bowman, who won just one race in 2022 after four victories the previous year.
An obvious contender is Logano, whose 2022 title was his second NASCAR Cup Series championship in five years. A four-race winner last season, Logano is still Ford’s best bet to challenge for the championship. Despite a winless 2022 season, Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney, is also a major threat.
As for the fourth championship contender, it will likely come from the Gibbs camp. While Bell came through in the big moments with walk-off wins at the Charlotte Roval and Martinsville, the feeling is Hamlin has another good run in him.
It was an interesting 2022 season for Hamlin, whose No. 11 Toyota ran terrible at times, but crossed the finish line first on three different occasions. Now 42, time is running out for Hamlin, but the same can be said for Kevin Harvick, who recently announced the 2023 season will be his last.
Harvick is more than a sentimental favorite, someone who has shown he’s still capable of winning races. Then there is Busch, who is motivated to prove himself in his new role with Richard Childress Racing. However, RCR’s last Championship 4 appearance was 2014 with Ryan Newman — and one has to go back 20 years earlier for the organization’s last championship, which came with Dale Earnhardt.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
It’s potentially a great rookie of the year battle with Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 JGR Toyota and Noah Gragson in the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet.
Gibbs has the slight edge with a team that has been a frequent winner over the past decade. However, Gragson should benefit greatly with the addition of seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson to the ownership group and a teammate closer to his age in Erik Jones.
Jeff Birchfield is a sports writer for the Johnson City Press with a lifelong passion for motorsports. The father of two attended ETSU and served in the Tennessee Army National Guard.
