Consistency is one of the most valued traits that a race car driver can have in the NASCAR Cup Series. Chase Elliott is shining bright as one of the best examples of that in recent times. He has won just a single race in 2024 and yet sits ahead of multiple-time winners on the points table. Here’s a glimpse at the drivers who’ve had similarly consistent seasons in the modern era and where it got them.
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Denny Hamlin sits atop the list of drivers with the most number of top 15 finishes in a single season (32). He set the record in his incredible 2021 campaign and finished third in the standings after failing to impress in the season finale. Jeff Gordon shares the pedestal with him in this category. He brought in 32 top-15 finishes in 2007 — a year in which his teammate Jimmie Johnson was champion.
Gordon had to settle for second place despite the heightened level of performance. Stewart-Haas Racing icon Kevin Harvick has a 32-race top-15 record as well. He posted the number when he was still a racer for Richard Childress Racing in 2010. Piloting the No. 29 Chevrolet, he finished his season in third place. Interestingly, none of these top streaks led to a championship.
Most top 15 finishes ever recorded in a single season (Modern Era)
Denny Hamlin – 32 (2021)
Jeff Gordon – 32 (2007
Kevin Harvick – 32 (2010)
Matt Kenseth – 31 (2003)
Bobby Labonte – 31 (2000) pic.twitter.com/DpccizjMP5— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) August 4, 2024
The stories of Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth are, however, different. Labonte earned 31 top-15 finishes in 2000. He ended up as the Cup Series champion driving the No. 18 Pontiac for Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth posted 31 top-15 finishes in 2003 when he was under the Roush Racing banner. He rode those results to the championship despite having just a single victory all season.
Of all these drivers, Hamlin is the only one still racing. He is a prime contender for the 2024 championship and has secured three victories so far. He is far away from being as consistent as he was in 2021 but his chances to win the title remain nevertheless. That said, the top-15 record that he shares with Gordon and Harvick will take some time to be broken.
Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Christopher Bell have been some of the best-performing drivers in the ongoing season. Even if the lot finishes every race ahead inside the top 15, it’d still fall short of Hamlin’s 2021 number. But as time and the playoff format have proven, the drivers don’t have to reach that mark to be a champion, being consistent is all that matters at the end of the day.
