Ever since the Next-Gen car came into action in 2022, several drivers have struggled to get the most out of its radical departure from the older generations of stock car racing’s premier machinery. However, there are a few who have mastered the art of driving it better than the rest. What’s interesting is that none of the top three point-scorers in the Next-gen era have won the Cup Series title in the same car.
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Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and William Byron respectively lead with the most points to their names since 2022. It is no surprise to see Larson at the top with 2964 points so far since 2022. He might not have won the championship with the Next-gen car yet but is considered by many to be the best driver in the Cup Series today.
Yung Money has won four races so far this year, more than any other competitor. With the playoffs right around the corner, the 2021 Cup Series champion is one of the favorites to win his second title in four years. He is at the top of the regular season points table as of now.
William Byron perhaps is the most underrated out of the three. He sits in second place with 2935 points. The driver of the #24 car started this season by winning the Daytona 500 for the first time in his young career. He picked up two more race wins since then and sits sixth in the regular season championship at the moment. Last year, Hendrick Motorsports’ youngest driver picked up an impressive haul of six wins. He will hope for something similar come the 2024 playoffs as well.
Total points scored with the NextGen car pic.twitter.com/5i8vQjQvWi
— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) August 5, 2024
Denny Hamlin occupies third place with 2884 points earned since 2022. At 43, he seems to be having the best run of his career at the moment. However, the Joe Gibbs Racing star has yet to win the Cup Series championship. Hamlin has won three races already this year and is comfortably through to the playoffs. The #11 driver is fourth in the 2024 regular season championship so far.
After these three, reigning Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney is the highest points scorer in the Next-Gen era with 2863 points. He is followed by Christopher Bell who has amassed 2808 points since 2022. The Team Penske star has won two races so far this season and the JGR driver has won three. Both were in the championship race last year and will be hoping for the same this November.
