The NASCAR standings might be as bizarre as they’ll ever be

Not a single driver inside the top three in the NASCAR Cup Series standings has finished any of the first seven races of the 2022 season in the top three.

The start of the Gen 7 era has produced a level of parity that not many could have anticipated. Seven races of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season are in the books, and seven different drivers have found victory lane, including three who had zero career victories entering the year.

Those seven drivers represent five different teams, and all three first-time winners compete for separate organizations.

But that statistic is not even the most indicative statistic of the level of parity that the Cup Series has seen over the course of the season’s first seven races.

The three drivers in the top three in the point standings are Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. Blaney and Elliott are tied, but Blaney owns the tiebreaker.

However, not a single one of those drivers has found victory lane yet in 2022. The highest race winner in the standings is Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, who won at Atlanta Motor Speedway and sits in fourth place.

In fact, none of the top three drivers have even finished a single race inside the top three.

Blaney’s top finishes are fourth place efforts at Daytona International Speedway and Phoenix Raceway. Elliott’s top finish is a fourth place effort at Circuit of the Americas. Truex’s top finish is a fourth place effort at Richmond Raceway.

Considering the fact that a total of 21 top three finishes have been scored through seven races, the fact that all of the top three drivers are 0 for 7 is quite bizarre to say the least.

While many will point to stage points as the reason for this, that isn’t 100% true. In fact, it really isn’t true at all.

Blaney does lead the series in stage points, but Elliott only ranks fourth with Truex in sixth.  Even without stage points, these three drivers would all still be in the top four in points, with Elliott leading, Blaney in third place, and Truex in fourth.

It really comes down to consistency and, quite simply, avoiding disastrous results. These three drivers have combined for just three finishes lower than 18th place. Every other driver in the field has at least two of such results individually.

Without stage points, the driver in second place would be Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and sits in seventh in points.

And it stands to reason; Bowman’s worst finish of the year is a 25th place finish at Auto Club Speedway, giving him the second best worst finish among full-time drivers. His average finish of 12.0 is also the second best in the series.

When will Blaney, Elliott, or Truex find victory lane for the first time in 2022? They combined for nine wins last year, and yet all are still seeking a top three finish this season.