NASCAR: The newest points leader will surprise you

No top five finishes? No problem. Chase Elliott leads the NASCAR Cup Series point standings with a top finish of sixth place in five races.

The start of the Gen 7 era in the NASCAR Cup Series has presented a level of competitiveness that not many fans could have anticipated. The first five races of the 2022 season have produced five different winners, and at least a dozen other drivers could easily be on that list of winners based on how they’ve run and how many laps they’ve led.

Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at the newly repaved and reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway provided the latest example of that parity.

Of the 37 drivers who competed in this 325-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) high-banked oval in Hampton, Georgia, 20 led at least one lap. The lead changed hands 46 times throughout the race, and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron took the checkered flag to secure his first win in over a year.

And yet the Cup Series points leader is a driver who has yet to finish a single race inside the top five.

Chase Elliott, the lone Hendrick Motorsports driver who has not found victory lane yet in 2022, secured a season-high sixth place finish in his home race on Sunday afternoon, and he now leads the point standings.

A total of 17 drivers have recorded at least one top five finish this year. Seven have recorded at least two, and one, Trackhouse Racing Team’s Ross Chastain, has recorded three — all top three results.

Yet it is Elliott who has scored more points than anybody else in the first five races of the Gen 7 era.

The keys for Elliott have been solid stage points and consistency. No driver has more than three top 10 finishes, and Elliott is one of the seven tied for the lead in that category. But he is the only driver with just one finish lower than 11th place.

Running toward the front hasn’t been an issue for the 26-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia native. His lone poor result is a 26th place effort at Auto Club Speedway which came as a result of contact when battling for the lead late.

Only Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola has completed more laps than Elliott, and had it not been for that issue, that would not be the case.

It’s not just Elliott whose position in the standings may come as somewhat of a surprise, however. Team Penske’s Joey Logano sits in second place, and he is in that position despite having just one top five finish — a fifth place finish at Auto Club Speedway. Like Elliott, he has been quiet but super productive as he continues to gain experience behind the wheel of the new car.

Elliott has scored 171 points through five races while Logano has scored 164. Sitting in third place is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, who won the race at Phoenix Raceway and also has another top five finish, a third place effort in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, to his name. He has scored 156 points.

Aside from Briscoe, the other race winners this season are Byron, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson, and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric. They sit in fourth, ninth, 12th, and 17th place in the point standings, respectively.

Who will lead the NASCAR Cup Series point standings following the sixth race on the 36-race 2022 schedule, this Sunday’s EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas? The first of six road course races on this year’s calendar is set to be broadcast live on Fox beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 27. Begin your free trial of FuboTV today!