Grading Cup Series Seasons: Part 1 #s 1-10

Following the 14th event in the Cup Series schedule at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis we've seen the highs and lows of each driver, here's where we grade their seasons so far. 

Score Card = A: Flawless    B: Fantastic   C: Good    D: Not Good    F: Failure

No. 1 Ross Chastain               B+

NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 20: Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, and Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, race during qualifying heat #2 for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 20, 2023 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Ross's season has seen great consistency throughout the first half of 2023. He has even led the points standings for several weeks and the regular season championship standings up until now. That consistency has however been plagued by being a bit, overaggressive. No wins on the season, but 5 top-5s, 6 top-10s & 5 Stage wins keep him toward the top. He's led 347 laps on the season so far.

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No. 2 Austin Cindric               D+

Austin Cindric's No. 2 Freightliner Mustang at WWTR. Image: Team Penske Fb

Austin currently sits 19th, 3 places below the cut line going into Sonoma this weekend. Austin is a fantastic road racer, so we could definitely see a points jump for the 2022 Daytona 500 champ in wine country, but to date, nothing to write home about for the sophomore driver. 2 top-10s and a Stage win with 7 laps led

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No. 3 Austin Dillon                   F

BRISTOL, TENNESSEE - APRIL 08: Austin Dillon, driver of the #3 BREZTRI Chevrolet, and Tyler Reddick, driver of the #45 SiriusXM Radio Toyota, race during qualifying heat # for the NASCAR Cup Series Food City Dirt Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 08, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

The original Austin has had an abysmal season so far, he sits 30th in the points with a single top-5 and 4 top-10s. The elder Dillon brother sits only 68 points above his brother while his teammate holds 3 wins on the season. He sits tied for the most DNFs with 5. Kyle Busch may not be helping RCR as a whole as much as Austin would have liked. 

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No. 4 Kevin Harvick                B-

NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 19: Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 Busch Light Ford, exits the track during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 19, 2023 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

In his farewell tour after a spectacular career, Kevin Harvick is currently the highest-seeded driver in the standings without a win. Harvick was so close at Phoenix earlier in the year without the final caution. 4 Top-5s and 7 Top-10s with a single Stage win are the stats for Harvick so far with 98 laps led. He's been fast all season, a win is coming. 

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No. 5 Kyle Larson                     B

MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA - APRIL 16: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway on April 16, 2023 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

With few inconsistencies, Kyle Larson has been bad fast all season long. Leading 588 laps, 2 wins (plus the All-Star ass-whooping), he has 6 Top-5s, 6 Top-10s, and 2 Stage wins. 2 weeks in a row the 5 team has taken crap cars and put them up front. I think we could see another 5+ win season. Easily for young money and the 5 crew over at Hendrick Motorsports. His downfall? 5 DNFs so far. 

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No. 6 Brad Keselowski           B+

AVONDALE, ARIZONA - MARCH 10: Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Castrol Edge Ford, prepares to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 10, 2023 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Driver and Co-Owner of the No. 6 team for RFK Racing has had a MUCH better season than we can see on the surface. I truly don't think he gets as much credit as he deserves for reviving RFK to being as competitive as they have been. Brad was 1 less caution away from winning at Atlanta earlier this season and has shown a bit more speed than even last year. Brad sits 11th in the points with 3 Top-5s, 6 Top-10s a Stage win, and  115 laps led. 

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No. 7 Corey LaJoie                   C

Corey LaJoie at WWTR Gateway filling in for suspended Chase Elliott in the HMS #9. Image: HMS

Putting aside the abysmal showing in the No. 9 for HMS this past weekend, the 7 team and LaJoie have had a hell of a season so far. Though he currently sits 21st, Corey has sat in the Top-16 in points at times with 1 Top-5, 1 Top-10, and led 7 laps. More importantly, he has 0 DNFs as of WWTR Gateway. it may not seem like much to the average fan, but he has had 8 Top-20 finishes this season,a slight improvement over last year. Plus, there are rumors he may have a new ride for 2024.

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No. 8 Kyle Busch                   B+

MADISON, ILLINOIS - JUNE 04: Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 3CHI Chevrolet, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Enjoy Illinois 300 at WWT Raceway on June 04, 2023 in Madison, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Lots of haters and skeptics said Busch was washed up going into his first season with RCR, but Rowdy is back! Second seed in the Playoff standings by 1 Playoff Point he has 3 wins, 4 Top-5s, 8 Top-10s, a Stage win, a Pole award and 197 laps led Rowdy seems poised for redemption. On the low end of his season, he has 3 DNFs and 4 finishes of 20th or worse. 

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No. 9 Chase Elliott                   F

MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA - APRIL 16: Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, (L) and Chase Elliott, driver of the #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, talk backstage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the NASCAR Cup Series NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway on April 16, 2023 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Chase Elliott is having the worst season of his career in 2023, but it's not entirely his fault. He missed 6 races due to a broken tibia and 1 due to suspension meaning he's missed exactly half of the season so far. Currently 28th in points with 30 laps led in 6 races. Elliott has 2 Top-5s, 4 Top-10s, and a stage win... So he's earning points when he's at the track. But, he just needs to be on the track. At this point, he may miss the Playoffs in 2023. The reason for his suspension lands him an automatic F although it can be redeemed. 

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No. 10 Aric Almirola                 D

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 16: Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Almirola is not having a great season, 25th in points with only a single Top-10 to his credit so far this season. In what could be his final season, Almirola just isn't performing. Not a lot of speed seen so far, he just has been a no-show this season. Though he has led 44 laps. On the positive side, Aric has only a single DNF and shown some speed on short tracks. 

By: Tom Luttermoser