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NASCAR: Who has the most wins in the Next Gen car?

By Asher Fair

NASCAR, Next Gen car (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
NASCAR, Next Gen car (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images) /
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We are nearing the halfway point of the second NASCAR Cup Series season with the Next Gen car. Who has won the most races since the car debuted in February 2022?

This Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the new Chicago Street Course is another “first” on the schedule. In 2,714 previous Cup Series races over 75 years, never has a race been run on city streets.

This 100-lap Grant Park 220 around the 12-turn, 2.2-mile (3.541-kilometer) temporary street circuit in Chicago, Illinois also marks the halfway point of the 36-race 2023 season, which is the second season since the introduction of the Next Gen car.

Here’s a crazy statistic. In the last 72 Cup Series seasons (excluding 2023) going back to 1951, there hasn’t been a single season in which at least one driver hasn’t won at least five races since 150.

Yet through nearly a season and a half of Next Gen competition, no driver has won more than five total races, illustrating just how leveled the playing field has become, compared to previous years. Nobody won more than five races in 2022.

It is currently a four-way tie atop the wins list through 53 official Cup Series points races of Next Gen action. A whopping 22 drivers have found victory lane in one of those 53 races since the start of the 2022 season, with half of that group having won more than once.

NASCAR Next Gen wins list

NOTE: Drivers tied for a position are listed based on most recent victory.

  1. William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports – 5 wins
  2. Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports – 5 wins
  3. Joey Logano, Team Penske – 5 wins
  4. Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports – 5 wins
  5. Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing / Richard Childress Racing – 4 wins
  6. Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing – 4 wins
  7. Tyler Reddick, Richard Childress Racing / 23XI Racing – 4 wins
  8. Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Team – 3 wins
  9. Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing – 3 wins
  10. Martin Truex Jr., Joe Gibbs Racing – 2 wins
  11. Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing – 2 wins
  12. Ryan Blaney, Team Penske – 1 win
  13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., JTG Daugherty Racing – 1 win
  14. Chris Buescher, RFK Racing – 1 win
  15. Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing – 1 win
  16. Erik Jones, Petty GMS Motorsports / Legacy Motor Club – 1 win
  17. Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing – 1 win
  18. Daniel Suarez, Trackhouse Racing Team – 1 win
  19. Kurt Busch, 23XI Racing – 1 win
  20. Chase Briscoe, Stewart-Haas Racing – 1 win
  21. Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports – 1 win
  22. Austin Cindric, Team Penske – 1 win

Nobody has won even 10% of the races during the Next Gen era, though Chase Elliott, who has not won a race since last October, has won 10.87% of his starts. He missed seven races earlier this year, six with a broken leg and one due to a suspension.

All-time NASCAR Cup Series wins list. dark. Next

Tune in to NBC at 5:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, July 2 for the live broadcast of the Grant Park 220 from the Chicago Street Course.

DraftKings Sportsbook, which is offering all NASCAR fans an instant $150 just for signing up and betting $5, lists Elliott as the favorite to win the race at +500.

If you have yet to begin a free trial of FuboTV, do so now!

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