36xRacing

My 2023/24 NASCAR offseason project was to log every podium in NASCAR history. I wanted to see how often podium number combinations repeated and if there was a way to create a scorigami sibling that worked in NASCAR.

The research seemed to suggest that the competitive NextGen era combined with the 18 car leaving the grid meant that podium repeats were going to be more rare than ever before… but… In the first race after releasing my video on the topic, William Byron wins the Daytona 500 in the iconic number 24. Who finished behind him? None other than Alex Bowman in the number 48 and Christopher Bell driving in the number 20… I mean, come on…

In the fall of ’03, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Tony Stewart were piloting their career-defining cars while attempting to catch Matt Kenseth in NASCAR’s final year with a ‘full-season’ championship system.

The 20-year gap between 24-48-20 podiums is a reminder of NASCAR now existing firmly in the NextGen era. The stars of NASCAR’s heyday like Gordon, Johnson, Stewart, and Kenseth are still important people in the garage, now in different roles.

As we start the 2024 season with the 20 and 24 cars driven by championship contending drivers once again, it’s a demonstration of NASCAR settling in with a new generation of stars and style of competition.

William Byron’s Daytona win backs up a remarkable series-leading six-win 2023 campaign. The now seventh-year driver left last season having more than justified his place at Hendrick Motorsports. With a slightly different playoff schedule, Byron could easily be the defending champion. Following the two-year Chase Elliott #24 intermission and William’s first few seasons, Byron has settled in and brought the 24 car back to championship contention for NASCAR’s premier organization.

Byron doesn’t have flashy wins, but he has demonstrated an ability to collect wins anywhere… Byron takes trophies drafting at Daytona (2 wins) or Atlanta (2 wins), road racing at Watkins Glen, on the short tracks of Phoenix and Martinsville, puts together some dominating days at the standard intermediates like Miami, Vegas, or Texas, and a redemption win of sorts at Darlington in 2023 after a 2022 run-in with Joey Logano.

Alex Bowman’s injury-impacted 2023 made him easy to forget behind Hendrick teammates. Naysayers need to remember that he was firmly in the playoff picture before getting injured, even with a massive points penalty… Granted Hendrick was another level of insane in 2021, Bowman still hasn’t had a full season since his four-win 2021 campaign. Let’s see what he does this year. If the playoffs started today (quite the thing to say after one race, I know,,,) he’s the number two seed. The 48 team starts this year about as well as they could hope.

Christopher Bell, Mr. ‘never in the plan’ of the 2023 playoffs, has also emerged from behind the shadows of veteran teammates at a top team. His 2022 championship 4 appearance was written off because of some well-timed clutch wins (like the narrative following Ryan Blaney’s 2023 title… hmm…). But Bell did it again in 2023 with 10+ top fives and 19+ top tens in back-to-back seasons… Two years in a row with the second-most top tens in the Cup Series and two championship 4 appearances. Bell is possibly the most consistent driver in the NextGen car. 

Remember that we are firmly in the playoff/NextGen era. The way we talk about seasons and championships and drivers should reflect the goals of the playoffs and maybe not the same markers we looked for two decades ago with Gordon, Johnson, and Stewart behind the wheel.