Who’s Been Impressive So Far In NASCAR This Season?

As NASCAR takes its first weekend off for the Easter holiday, here are five of the drivers I thought were impressive on the track in the first five weeks of the season. I didn’t pick these just because they won races or got close to the checkered flag, but it was how they did it that impressed me the most. I mostly looked at Cup regulars but I couldn’t overlook one XFINITY contender as well. Taking a look back at the last five weeks, we saw some amazing finishes. Some were too close to call and some we thought were decided at 40 laps to go, only to be fooled when the flag dropped. Here is who is on my list of impressive NASCAR drivers so far. These are not in order of first to worst, but just who, in my mind, have shown success:

Denny Hamlin

The first of two photo finishes we saw was during the Daytona 500 where Denny Hamlin edged out the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota driven by Martin Truex Jr. by only .010 seconds. History was made as this was the closest finish in the Great American Race since the inception of electronic timing and scoring in 1993. While the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led a total of 95 laps to capture the victory at Daytona, he also led 10 at Las Vegas and two at Fontana for a total so far this season of 107 laps led. He went on to earn two top-­five finishes at Phoenix and Fontana and is currently ranked fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings.

Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson has already won a couple of races and looks to be in contention for his seventh Cup title but it’s early. Johnson and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet visited Gatorade Victory Lane at both Atlanta and Fontana. He’s led laps all five weeks except at Phoenix for a total of 171 total laps led. So far this season, Johnson has finished in the top 20 at all five tracks and has earned two top-­three finishes; these include his two victories and a third place run at Las Vegas. He’s currently second in the Chase standings behind Phoenix winner Kevin Harvick.

Kevin Harvick

The second photo finish we saw was during race no. 4, the Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz. Like the Daytona 500, only .010 seconds separated Stewart­-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Carl Edwards. Even the FOX booth announcers couldn’t call this one right away. Going back to the videotape, Harvick edged Edwards by inches after the two drivers bumped before the start/finish line. The driver of the No. 4 Chevrolet went on to earn a second-­place finish in Fontana the next weekend. The Bakersfield, Calif. native also earned sixth-­place finshes in Atlanta and Las Vegas, and has already led a total of 413 laps in just five races. Currently the man to beat in the standings, Harvick is looking strong for a second Cup championship come November.

Chase Elliott

It’s only a matter of time before Chase Elliott gets his first Sprint Cup Series win. The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver has already showed promise with three top-­ten finishes at Atlanta, Phoenix and Fontana. The Sunoco Rookie contender hit snags at Daytona and Las Vegas where he crashed, but he’s already led four laps in his first full-­time year in Sprint Cup competition. Don’t forget that he also started on the pole at Daytona. As the season moves on, look for him to only get better with more and more experience.

Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez cut his teeth in the NASCAR Mexico Series. Like Elliott, he is oh so close to getting a victory in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. He was on the doorstep of victory lane in Fontana when he ran out of gas on the last lap of the TreatMyClot.com 300 and went on to finish fourth on the two-­mile California track. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver is also currently leading the series standings so don’t count him out for a championship. So far this season, Suarez has led four laps and earned three top-­five and five top-­ten finishes.

Next week the Sprint Cup Series campaign resumes at Martinsville Speedway while the NASCAR XFINITY Series has another weekend off before heading to Texas Motor Speedway on April 8th.

Katie Williams
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