Who Were the Best Drivers in NASCAR in 2024? Check Out the Top 10 drivers of the year.
The NASCAR Cup Series saw plenty of highlight-worthy performances by drivers during the 2024 season, with 18 different race winners. It’s clear that the sport is as competitive as ever, and this year’s Top 10 NASCAR drivers weren’t an easy choice. Eight of the 10 were pretty easy choices given those who reached the round of 8 in the playoffs. Those final spots were tough but here goes.
Top 10 NASCAR Cup Drivers of 2024
1. Kyle Larson
Sure, I will catch flack for not putting the 2024 Cup Champion at the top of the list. Then again what Kyle Larson accomplished in 2024 was nothing short of outstanding. Not only did he win a series-best six times, he also had the most top-five finishes with 15. Not to mention he led the most laps in the series.
Kyle Larson led the most laps for the second year in a row. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/r40Jntea5j
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) December 10, 2024
Did I forget to mention he missed the Coca-Cola 600 to run the Indianapolis 500, further showcasing his versatility, and still led the Cup Series in multiple categories? Larson will be a threat for years to come, and in my book, he was the best driver in NASCAR in 2024, no question.
2. Christopher Bell
If this was the year 2003, or at least by that season’s points, Christopher Bell would have been celebrating a championship. Should he have been in the Championship Four in Phoenix? Yeah, probably, but NASCAR made a difficult choice during the penultimate race in Martinsville, knocking him out one race shy. Despite the unfortunate events, Bell proved one of the series’ best drivers in 2024.
He led the series in top-10 finishes with 23. He also won three times, including the Coca-Cola 600, the first Crown Jewel victory of his career. Bell was also the only other driver to lead over 1,000 laps in 2024. By far, it was the best season of his Cup career. No offense to Denny Hamlin, but Bell looks like Joe Gibbs Racing’s best driver for the foreseeable future.
#cocacola600 rings came in and celebrated with the best team out there 🏁 pic.twitter.com/I8SdnmTHNh
— Christopher Bell (@CBellRacing) October 29, 2024
3. Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick had a breakout season in 2024, and he has put himself amongst the top 10 NASCAR drivers in the Cup Series to date. Despite plenty of off-track drama with his race team 23XI and NASCAR itself, Reddick thrived en route to the 2024 Regular Season Championship.
Just wasn’t in the cards for us this year, but I am so proud of this team. They fought til the very end. Thank you to all of the men and women that are a part of this organization, the fans, and our partners that make this all possible. Very grateful for all of you. We will be… pic.twitter.com/jw5EAWmhi2
— Tyler Reddick (@TylerReddick) November 11, 2024
For the second time in his Cup career, Reddick won three races in a season. His wins came at Talladega, Michigan, and Homestead-Miami. That last of which punched his ticket to his first-ever Championship Four. Sure it wasn’t the result he was hoping for at Phoenix as he finished 4th in the standings. 2024 was an outstanding campaign for Reddick, and he’s certainly going to be in the hunt for years to come.
4. Chase Elliott
Sure the wins weren’t there for the now seven-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver. He did end an over year-long winless drought at Texas during the 2024 campaign. He also nearly won his way into the Championship Four at Martinsville coming up one place short. One thing was for sure in 2024 for Elliott, his consistency was something else.
Wow! Most popular driver 7 years in a row. Cannot say thank you enough! You guys rock 👊🏼 #di9 pic.twitter.com/QHao5PJN15
— Chase Elliott (@chaseelliott) November 23, 2024
Chase finished the 2024 campaign with an average finish of 11.7. That’s quite the feat. Sure his consistency doesn’t matter in this rules package for a championship, but in my opinion, he proved he’s still a contender. 2024 was a much better year for Elliott than 2023. I might have him too high, but you can’t argue with the stats, and they back it up. Chase more than deserves his spot in the top 10 NASCAR drivers for 2024.
READ MORE: Why Who Wins the Most Popular Driver Award Shouldn’t Make People Mad
5. Ryan Blaney
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Champion came all so close to winning back-to-back crowns. Ryan Blaney was right there behind his teammate in the season finale race. He ultimately fell short, but it was certainly one of the better title defenses in recent memory. He’s the closest to win back-to-back since Jimmie Johnson last did it during hun of straight from 2006-2010.
Blaney won three races for the second straight year. Once again winning the penultimate race at Martinsville. Blaney and Team Penske have been the best of the bunch since the next-gen car was implemented in 2022. Team Penske has now won three straight titles.
The 12-Team was amazing and fought all year. It was close. We were there but just came up short. Proud and thankful to @Team_Penske and all of our partners. Congratulations to RP on 3 in a row and to the 22 Team on their 3rd Championship. We will be ready to chase another in 2025 pic.twitter.com/3wkB0jKpS2
— Ryan Blaney (@Blaney) November 12, 2024
Better luck next season. Regardless you had a better season than most.
6. William Byron
The other side of the Martinsville incident was William Byron. He was rewarded the final spot in the Championship Four. It was his second straight appearance, and he once again fell short. Another year another third-place points finish. It was still a huge year for the driver of the No. 24 car. He had three wins, and all were significant.
This one is special. This one is for @TeamHendrick 🕰️ pic.twitter.com/cVd0KkWmz0
— William Byron (@WilliamByron) April 8, 2024
The first came in the Daytona 500, as he became the first Hendrick driver to win the race since Dale Earnhardt Jr did in 2014. He followed it up with a win at Circuit of the Americas. Before winning the Hendrick Motorsports 40th Anniversary race at Martinsville in a 1-2-3 HMS finish. Byron had some summer struggles but ended up being among one of the most consistent drivers in the final 10 races. It’s too bad he couldn’t get the job done for HMS. Regardless, Byron proved he was one of the top 10 NASCAR drivers of 2024.
7. Denny Hamlin
Going into the 2024 season, things felt like this was going to be Denny Hamlin’s best shot at a championship. Once again he ended the year empty-handed. It wasn’t for a lack of trying as Hamlin won three races. Moving him into a tie with Lee Petty for 12th on the NASCAR Cup all-time wins list.
With Martin Truex Jr now retired from full-time racing, is Hamlin next? He has more at stake in the sport now than ever, but trying to win a Cup championship still has to be on his mind. Is he going to hit a fall-off? I’m sure he’s going to stay competitive, but with FedEx now gone from NASCAR it’s hard to see him sticking around with JGR for much longer in my opinion.
Thank you, @FedEx pic.twitter.com/9VaeOB2YQ8
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) November 10, 2024
Regardless as long as he’s behind the wheel of a NASCAR he’s going to be amongst the top 10 NASCAR drivers.
8. Joey Logano
I know I have the 2024 Cup Champion 8th out of the top 10 NASCAR drivers of 2024. But despite Joey Logano winning his third championship, his overall body of work in 2024 was sub-par at best. He only won races where some fluke strategy played out. From somehow saving fuel for 100-plus laps at Nashville, to a bunch of overtimes giving him the opportunity to steal a win at Atlanta.
Make it 3X NASCAR Champion@Team_Penske @shellracingus @Pennzoil @FordPerformance @CocaColaRacing #CokePartner pic.twitter.com/oW4to6l3a7
— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) November 11, 2024
Who can forget when NASCAR handed him a spot in the round of 8 on a technicality that disqualified Alex Bowman’s No. 48 car from advancing? NASCAR all but handed the driver of the No. 22 the biggest golden ticket of all time. Sorry if I don’t truly believe Logano was among the best drivers in 2024. He’s only here because he was the lucky son of a gun, in Phoenix.
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9. Alex Bowman
I’m sure plenty of drivers were upset with how the championship played out. I can think of one driver who might be the maddest. That’s Alex Bowman. Had he not gotten disqualified following the Charlotte Roval race, Logano wouldn’t have been the 2024 Champ. After much talk around the garage and media about his future, Bowman proved he belongs at HMS.
It’s been a hell of a year but we never stopped grinding. Couldn’t do it without this 48 team @allyracing and @TeamHendrick… Let’s go get a few more! pic.twitter.com/SaAMrHUjox
— Alex Bowman (@Alex_Bowman) July 8, 2024
He snapped a long winless streak, by winning the Chicago Street Race, during the summer. He also ended the 2024 campaign with 17 Top 10 finishes. Add in he finished with an average finish of 14.8. He also finished 9th in the overall standings, for just his second-ever top 10 points finish of his career. Plenty of things to build on for the No. 48 team heading into 2025. I for one was glad to see all four drivers at Hendrick Motorsports get to victory lane in 2024.
10. Brad Keselowski
This final spot could have gone to several different drivers. I mean NASCAR did have 18 different winners in 2024. Brad Keselowski had probably the best year he could have hoped for as an owner-driver. Not only was he competitive, but he snapped a long dry spell. You had to go back to his Team Penske days to remember the last time Brad won a race.
Who remembers the last time we were at @TooToughToTame? 😎🇺🇸#TBT pic.twitter.com/08lomvIJtH
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) August 29, 2024
That drought was snapped in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington this past May. It helped Keselowski get his No. 6 RFK Ford to the playoffs for the second year in a row. For once he got to celebrate winning himself, not just his teammate Chris Buescher who had been the only driver to win up until that point for the team since Keselowski became a co-owner.
Buescher didn’t make the playoffs in 2024, but he was successful in his own right in the playoffs. It’s good to see Brad back among the Top 10 NASCAR drivers. He should have some confidence going into 2025, with RFK now being a three-car team.
