2022 NASCAR Cup Series Season: The Next Gen Debut and Logano's Second Title

Joey Logano won his second NASCAR Cup Series championship at Phoenix in 2022, after a season that brought the Next Gen car into full competition. Nineteen different drivers won races, matching the modern-era high first set in 2001, and Austin Cindric took Rookie of the Year honours after winning the Daytona 500 in only his eighth Cup start.

Who won the 2022 Cup Series championship?

Joey Logano won the 2022 title for Team Penske, his second Cup championship, after a season in which he won four races. He took the lead from Chase Briscoe at Phoenix and held off Ryan Blaney to win the final race.

The championship came after a close finish, with Chase Elliott spinning after contact with Ross Chastain and Brad Keselowski suffering a flat tire and a fire. Chevrolet had already clinched its 41st manufacturers' championship before the Martinsville race.

Nineteen winners, a new car and a Phoenix finish gave 2022 one of the most unpredictable seasons the Cup Series has known.

What was the Next Gen car, and when did it debut?

The Next Gen car made its points debut at the 2022 Daytona 500, after its introduction had been postponed from 2021 by the pandemic. Its arrival was the biggest change of the season, and it came with a new practice and qualifying format across all three national series.

The Next Gen car used single-source vendor parts, and the three-tier penalty system was built partly to deal with tampering with them. Matt McCall, crew chief of Keselowski's No. 6 team, was suspended for four races and fined US$100,000 after repairs to the rear fascia were found not to meet specification.

The schedule was unusual as well. The Cup race on Easter Sunday was the first on that date since 1989, and the season had only one off-week, at Father's Day, to accommodate NBC's coverage of the U.S. Open.

Car numbers moved forward on the Cup cars, and teams were allowed to use chrome numbers. NASCAR also introduced a more stringent three-tier penalty system in January, with the top level reserved for tampering with the Next Gen single-source parts.

Why did so many new drivers win in 2022?

The season ended with 19 different winners, matching the 2001 mark and making 2022 one of the most competitive seasons in the sport's history. Five drivers won their first career race: Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick.

Chastain, Reddick, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher won their second career races, and Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Erik Jones won their third races, while Byron, Bell and Austin Dillon won their fourth.

How did the Daytona 500 open the season?

Austin Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500 in his eighth Cup start, becoming the ninth driver to win his first Cup race in the Daytona 500. At 23 he was the second-youngest winner of the race after Trevor Bayne, who won the 2011 race the day after his 20th birthday.

It was Penske's third Daytona 500 win and the first for the team's flagship No. 2 car. Bubba Wallace finished second for the second time in the race, and it was the first Daytona 500 since 2019 that was not affected by rain.

Kyle Larson had won the Daytona 500 pole, with Alex Bowman second, and Martin Truex Jr. won Stages 1 and 2. Brad Keselowski led the most laps in his first points race with the RFK Racing team.

Who won the early races at Fontana, Las Vegas and Phoenix?

Kyle Larson won at Fontana for his second Cup win there, after a race in which Chase Elliott slid into the wall. At Las Vegas Alex Bowman won in overtime, side by side with Larson, while Ross Chastain led the most laps and finished third.

Chase Briscoe won the Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix for his first career Cup win. The win was the 200th different winner in Cup history.

Which early races produced new winners?

At Atlanta, William Byron won his third career race in a race with 46 lead changes among 20 drivers, both track records. Ross Chastain won the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix road course race for Trackhouse Racing, the team's first NASCAR win.

Denny Hamlin won the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond, his first win and first top 10 of the season.

Several crew chiefs were suspended over the season. Bootie Barker was out for four races after a tire and wheel loss at COTA, Rodney Childers was suspended and fined for an L2 penalty at Talladega, and Mike Shiplett was suspended indefinitely and fined after Cole Custer slowed on the final lap of the Roval.

What happened at Martinsville, Bristol and Talladega?

At Martinsville, William Byron held off Joey Logano, and Hendrick Motorsports surpassed leading 10,000 laps at the track, the first Cup team to lead that many laps at a single track.

Kyle Busch won the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol, his first win of the season and his 60th career win. He became the 9th driver to reach 60 Cup victories, and the win extended his run of victories to 18 straight seasons.

Ross Chastain won the GEICO 500 at Talladega, his second win of the year, after Trackhouse had earned its first win on the road course.

What were the summer highlights?

Kurt Busch won the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas, and Ryan Blaney won the NASCAR All-Star Race for the $1 million prize. The All-Star finish was controversial because NASCAR called a caution just as Blaney crossed the line, and Blaney had removed a window net to prepare for his celebration.

Denny Hamlin won the Coca-Cola 600, holding off Kyle Busch. The race ran 619.5 miles in 5 hours and 13 minutes, the longest race in NASCAR history by distance.

Joey Logano won the Enjoy Illinois 300 in overtime at the World Wide Technology Raceway, which had hosted its first Cup race. Daniel Suarez won at Sonoma, Trackhouse's third win in its second season and the first Cup win for a Mexican-born driver.

How did the Pocono and Brickyard races end?

At Pocono, Denny Hamlin was stripped of his win after failing post-race inspection. Chase Elliott was awarded the victory, and it was the first time since 1960 that a race winner had been disqualified in the Cup Series.

Tyler Reddick won the Kwik Trip 250 at Road America for his first career win, and he returned to win the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard for his second. Kevin Harvick won the FireKeepers Casino 400, ending a 65-race winless streak.

How did the sponsorship and team changes reshape the field?

Mars, Incorporated announced it would leave NASCAR after the 2022 season, which made it the final year for the company as a sponsor. Kyle Busch's last season with Joe Gibbs Racing also ended with the team unable to agree a deal for the M&M's sponsorship, and he moved to Richard Childress Racing for 2023.

Kurt Busch suffered a concussion in qualifying at Pocono and later announced he would not compete full time again. Trackhouse Racing bought Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR operation, and GMS Racing bought a majority interest in Richard Petty Motorsports for US$19 million, forming Petty GMS Motorsports.

Roush Fenway Racing rebranded as RFK Racing after Brad Keselowski joined as a co-owner, and 23XI Racing bought StarCom Racing's charter for US$13.5 million. Austin Cindric replaced Keselowski in the No. 2 Penske Ford.

Who won the playoff races?

The playoffs began with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington on September 4. Erik Jones won the race for his third career win and his second Southern 500, and it was the first win for Petty GMS Motorsports and the 200th for the No. 43 car.

Austin Dillon won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona for his fourth career win, and Chris Buescher won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol. Buescher's win was his first in 222 races, and it made him the 19th different winner of the season.

Christopher Bell won the Bank of America Roval 400 for his third career win, and later the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. Joey Logano won the South Point 400 and advanced to the Championship 4, before winning the title at Phoenix.

Selected 2022 race winners