NASCAR: 5 bold predictions for the 2022 season

With the start of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season right around the corner, it’s time to make a few bold preseason predictions.

With new tracks, new drivers, new teams, and a new car, the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated seasons the sport has ever seen.

All of the changes also make this season a huge opportunity for teams to become more competitive — or possibly lose their edge over the field.

It’s also an opportunity for the sport to see some bold and unexpected occurrences. So here are five bold predictions of what we might see this year.

NASCAR bold predictions: No. 1 – No driver will win more than six races

When you think about it, winning six races in a 36-race season is a big accomplishment, and given the fact that roughly 40 drivers race each week, people who don’t closely follow NASCAR would likely think that having nobody win more than six races in a single season would be a regular occurrence.

In the last two seasons, however, three drivers have taken turns dominating the series, winning more than six races each in a season. Denny Hamlin won seven races in 2020, Kevin Harvick won nine races in 2020, and Kyle Larson won 10 races in 2021.

But when the sixth-generation car was introduced to the Cup Series in 2013, only one driver, Matt Kenseth, was able to win more than six races. The following year, no driver scored more than six wins.

With the introduction of a new car like the sixth generation car in 2013 or the Next Gen car that will be debuting in 2022, drivers and team have to learn the limits of the cars and how to get every last drop of performance out of them.

As teams learn what they can and can’t do to improve their on-track performance, this will likely allow for parity at the front of the field, very similar to how the 2021 season started. The parity at the front of the field will allow for more unique winners, ultimately leading to fewer wins per driver.