As the checkered flag waved last Sunday at the Phoenix Raceway, it marked the end of yet another season on the NASCAR circuit. As most seasons do, the 40-week schedule gave fans a lot to cheer for, and even more to talk about.
Starting in the Cup Series, Joey Logano was crowned champion of the sport after winning his way into three different rounds of the playoffs where he would’ve otherwise been eliminated. Logano hoisted the championship trophy for the third time in his career, putting him with the likes of Tony Stewart, Darrell Waltrip, and Cale Yarbrough. Logano was able to beat out Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney, as well as William Byron and Tyler Reddick for the title. However, Logano’s championship was not well received by the sports fanbase. In a full-season format of crowning a championship, Logano would’ve been the 13th-best driver on the circuit and only finished inside of the top five seven times all season. Regardless, Logano took advantage of NASCAR’s ‘win and your in’ format to get to the championship race at Phoenix, and took home the victory in the desert.
Despite the late-season antics regarding the playoff structure, the 2024 season was a very successful one for the Cup Series. Fans were treated to some of the best races, and best finishes they’ve seen in years. The Daytona 500 was decided by mere inches, as a caution fell in the tri-oval on the white flag, putting Byron ahead of teammate Alex Bowman by the narrowest of margins for victory.
It wouldn’t take long for that finish to be outdone either, as the following week at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, and Ryan Blaney came across the finish line three abreast for one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history. Suarez was deemed the winner, giving fans an early upset, and one of the most exciting finishes in the history of the sport to date.
After a few run-of-the-mill weeks, the sport headed to Thunder Valley, Bristol Motor Speedway. An always anticipated date on the schedule, the spring race did not disappoint, as the field had to deal with some of the worst tire conditions the sport has ever seen. Although it was a 500-lap race, tiers did not last more than 50 laps, creating strategy all over the field, and unheralded chaos every half-century mark. The race was eventually won by Denny Hamlin, one of the sport’s best tire conservation managers.
The series rolled into Talladega a few weeks later and endured a stereotypical race at the beast of a track. After a Toyota-fueled incident racked up the field, a late restart gave Michael McDowell the lead. Coming to the checkered flag, McDowell threw a late block on Brad Keselowski, wrecking them both and most of the other competitors. Reddick was able to sneak by, giving him the win, and prompting a very emotional celebration with race team owner Michael Jordan.
Two weeks later, the series went to a wet and cold Kansas Speedway, and after a rain delay, the excitement kept up. After a race full of close-quarter passing, a late caution for a Busch spin set up for perhaps the most notable moment of the season. Kyle Larson beat out Chris Buescher in what was the closest finish in NASCAR history at the line to win. The margin of victory ended at .001 seconds, which equates to roughly an inch or two.
The following week, the series moved on to one of the most historic tracks in the sport, Darlington Raceway, for an equally as exciting race. A long battle between Reddick and Buescher led to race-ending contact for both, allowing Keselowski to win for the first time in over two years, and a post-race conversation between the two. A few weeks later, a rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 halted Kyle Larson’s attempt at history, ruining his ability to do The Double, running just the Indy 500 this year. Christopher Bell was deemed the winner, as the rain came just after the halfway point in the event.
As the Cup Series raged into its summer months, back-to-back races just before the Olympic Break created much excitement. Logano found victory lane at Nashville Superspeedway after five overtime restarts, throwing off fuel strategy and destroying a number of race cars. He was able to hold off a late charge from Reddick and Zane Smith, and conserve enough fuel to win. The following week, rain and darkness shortened the annual visit to the streets of Chicago, as Bowman held off Reddick and Joey Hand for his first win in two years in nail-biting fashion. Post-Olympic break, however, the rapidness of the excitement of the season picked up immensely.
In the series’ second trip to Richmond Raceway in August, Austin Dillon took out both Hamlin and Logano in the final turn to earn a very controversial win, prompting NASCAR to remove the driver’s playoff eligibility, a first-time move for the sanctioning body. Dillon’s spotter, Brandon Benesch, would also be suspended after radio communication revealed he prompted his driver to wreck Hamlin.
Two weeks later, Harrison Burton won his way into the playoffs after being the worst driver on the circuit, with Leigh Diffey and father Jeff Burton in the broadcast booth for a very emotional underdog finish, with an even better broadcasting call attached to it. Just as the playoff bracket seemed to be busted, it would get worse for drivers on the cutline, as Chase Briscoe would earn Stewart-Haas Racing’s last win as an organization one week later at Darlington, holding off Kyle Busch, and forcing Buescher out of the playoffs in the final race of the regular season.
In the second race of the playoffs, fans were treated to yet another thrilling finish at Watkins Glen International. Buescher made a pass on road course ace Shane Van Gisbergen after the New Zealander made a rare mistake in the chicane on the final lap, giving Buescher the win. When the series returned to Talladega a few weeks later, the largest crash in series history occurred after Austin Cindric was spun in front of the field from the lead, collecting 28 cars. Ricky Stenhouse Jr would ultimately win, defeating Keselowski in what was the 12th-closest finish in the history of the sport.
As the final five races of the season closed, the dramatics and controversy only stepped up. After advancing to the Round of 8 at the Charlotte ROVAL, Bowman was disqualified for not maintaining minimum weight in his car, taking him out of the playoffs in favor of Logano. The Team Penske driver would go on to win the following week in Las Vegas, advancing him to the final round. Reddick made two last lap passes the next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway, getting around Blaney and Hamlin to move on to the final round, prompting another emotional jubilation out of team owner Jordan. In the penultimate race of the season, Blaney was victorious, prompting late-race desperation out of Byron and Bell, both of whom were the most consistent drivers in the playoffs. Byron was struggling with race damage from contact with Van Gisbergen earlier in the race and was falling quickly, but could not lose a spot, as it would eliminate him. He had Chevrolet teammates Dillon and Ross Chastain behind him, and they seemingly lowered the ante, blocking for Byron, refusing to pass him. Bell’s Toyota camp saw this and prompted Bubba Wallace to slow on track to allow Bell by, advancing him at the time. However, NASCAR declared that Bell rode the wall to advance a position, a newly illegal move, disqualifying him. A few days later, the sport fined Dillon, Chastain and Wallace $100,000 each and suspended their spotters and crew chiefs for the season finale at Phoenix.
All of this set up for the Phoenix race in which Logano won. An emotional send-off to long-time competitor Martin Truex Jr also took place, who retired after 20 years in the sport. Carson Hocevar was named the series Rookie of the Year.
Moving on to the secondary series, the Xfinity Series, which was won by Justin Allgaier, who came back from two laps down and a pair of penalties in the championship race at Phoenix to win the title. The win was redemption of sorts, as Allgaier found himself wrecked from the lead at the same track in March, giving the win to Chandler Smith. It was Allgaier’s first career championship.
The following week after the sports first date in Phoenix, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Van Gisbergen, Larson, and Austin Hill combined to create the first notable finish in the series of 2024. Van Gisbergen and Hill made significant contact, paybacks of sorts after a run-in earlier in the race, allowing Larson to scoot by to victory on the final lap, leaving Hill frustrated post-race.
Another early season moment of note occurred the following week, as Joey Gase threw his destroyed bumper at Dawson Cram in turn one at Richmond after Cram wrecked Gase while racing for 35th.
A few weeks later, the sport saw yet another photo finish, after a late race caution between Hailie Deegan and Kyle Weatherman set up a 15-lap dash to the finish. Ultimately, Sam Mayer edged out Ryan Sieg at the start-finish line of Texas Motor Speedway to win his first race of the season. The margin of victory was 0.002 seconds. The following week at Talladega, Jesse Love spoiled a race that looked to be an underdog’s paradise, as Alpha Prime Racing’s Brennan Poole was leading off of turn four, but was left out to dry by Anthony Alfredo, allowing Love to ride a push from Leland Honeyman Jr and Riley Herbst to play spoiler and win.
The following week at Dover Motor Speedway saw an equally as exciting finish, as the sport waited out a rain shower and was rewarded. After Taylor Gray and Mayer tangled with 20 laps to go, the field was racked up for a late restart, prompting a large wreck involving seven cars with five laps to go. After two overtime restarts, Ryan Truex was able to hold off Carson Kvapil, who was making his second career start, Sam Mayer, and Sheldon Creed to win the race for the second straight season.
As the summer grudged on, Van Gisbergen picked up his dominance. The summer schedule saw a plethora of events on road courses, and the Kiwi driver didn’t miss his mark, winning at three straight road courses. Highlighted in that was his win at Sonoma Raceway, where he moved Hill on an overtime restart, further pushing around a driver who is known for doing just that to others. He also continued to be the king of the Chicago Street Course, winning for the second time at the track. Just before the series went to the Olympic break, they made a stop at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, creating one last memory for fans before the three-week break. Riley Herbst made a last-lap, three wide pass on Aric Almirola and teammate Cole Custer, nearly wrecking his way through turn four, to win his second career race. It was the first series event held on the oval since 2019, and it certainly did not disappoint.
After the return from the Olympics, the series went to the Michigan International Speedway for an interesting pseudo-drafting-style race. In what was a very unique styled event, Allgaier was victorious after a last lap wreck triggered by Caesar Bacarella caused Kyle Sieg to end up on his roof, rolling down the backstretch. A few weeks later, up-and-coming phenom Connor Zilisch won at Watkins Glen in his series debut, holding off Creed as a caution came out on the white flag after a large crash on the backstretch. It was only the second time a driver had won in his first Xfinity Series race in the last 20 years.
As the playoffs rolled in at Kansas, Custer and Chandler Smith battled each other for the win overly hard, allowing Almirola to pass for the win late in the going. Tensions between Custer and Smith were raised, as the series had just begun their playoff bracket. Two weeks later at the Charlotte ROVAL, Parker Kligerman was roughly five feet from the white flag, likely winning himself into the next round of the playoffs as his only method of advancement. However, Honeyman wrecked deep into the tire barriers, prompting the latest of last-minute cautions, and allowing Mayer to find victory lane after a pair of overtime restarts. Kligerman was eliminated from the playoffs thereafter, in his final season as a full-time driver, and would not find victory lane before the end of the year. The following week, for the start of the round of eight, AJ Allmendinger found victory lane at Las Vegas, his first win of the season, holding off Ryan Sieg on the white flag. The win advanced him to the championship four, and Allmendinger’s celebration was fitting of the moment, screaming into The CW’s cameras in elation.
Heading into Martinsville for the penultimate race of the season, tensions between Smith and Custer boiled over, racing for the final advancement position in the championship race. Custer was not shy about using his bumper on Smith, moving him on a restart from fifth place. Smith, who is not guaranteed a ride anywhere in the sport next season, slapped Custer on pit road following the race, as Almirola celebrated his win on the front stretch, holding off a late charge from the series’ other Smith, Sammy, for the win. The last race of the year was dominated by Herbst, allowing Stewart-Haas Racing’s team one last chance to celebrate, as Allgaier was crowned champion. Love was named Series Rookie of the Year.
The Craftsman Truck Series, typically home to some of the most exciting of racing each year, saw a bit of a down year of sorts in race quality. Ty Majeski was able to capture the championship after an oddly clean championship race at Phoenix, holding off Christian Eckes, who finished inside of the top 10 in all but one race this season. It was Majeski’s first championship of his career.
Nick Sanchez was able to find victory lane for the first time in his career at Daytona in the season opener. A large wreck that saw Taylor Gray upside down was triggered on the last lap, as Rajah Caruth tried to fill a hole between Jack Wood and Corey Heim, spinning Wood, and involving a number of trucks. Gray would land on his brother Tanner’s truck, and all drivers involved were uninjured. Two weeks later at Las Vegas, it would be Caruth in victory lane for the first time in his career, marking just the third time ever an African American driver found victory lane in the top three series of the sport.
A few weeks later at COTA, Zilisch was able to score the pole in his first career Truck Series race, and nearly overcame a loose wheel on the first lap to win, finishing fourth. It was Heim, though, who found victory lane for the first of five times this season, holding off the field on a late restart after Marco Andretti lost the rear-end housing of his No. 04 Roper Racing truck on track.
After numerous weeks of Heim and Eckes dominating, the series headed to the famed North Wilkesboro Speedway for the second consecutive season. The race was halted by rain early but ended up being one of the most competitive races of the season, with Heim being victorious, holding off Grant Enfinger, Layne Riggs, and Butterbean Queen over the course of a late 30-lap run to the finish.
The summer stretch saw further domination from Eckes, Majeski, and Heim, as the trio combined to win 13 of the 23 races run this season. A storyline for many of these races, however, was how uncharacteristically clean they were. Many had only a handful of cautions, and not many trucks failed to finish, which is rare for the usually-excruciatingly aggressive truck series.
With the shorter schedule, the series starts its playoff schedule early, right before the Olympic break. However, coming out of that break, a new driver entered the fray, Riggs. The series Rookie of the Year won two straight races at The Milwaukee Mile and Bristol Motor Speedway, and finished inside of the top 10 in seven of the last nine races. The following week, Heim returned to victory lane at Kansas, passing Majeski on the last lap on a fuel strategy gone wrong, and holding off Riggs in the process. Again, a major theme of these races was just how cleanly they were run, with very few cautions, and many trucks still running at the end of each event.
The series then headed to Talladega, where a more traditional outlook on the Truck Series returned. It also marked the re-emergence of Enfinger, who had two consecutive races and broke out as a late-season favorite for the title. Enfinger found victory lane first at Talladega, giving his team CR7 Motorsports their first win as an organization, as the field split Lawless Alan and wrecked behind him, including a fiery result for both Ryan Reed and Stewart Friesen. Enfinger broke through the next week as well, using a perfect pit strategy at Homestead called by crew chief Jeff Stankiewicz to win, holding off Majeski. Also of note in this race, Conner Jones was suspended for intentionally wrecking Matt Mills, who spent two nights in the hospital due to smoke inhalation after his No. 42 truck ignited as a result of the crash. Jones would not learn from this, as he ran into teammate Jake Garcia on pit road after the race due to another crash at Phoenix, the race after his suspension ended.
At the second to last race of the season at Martinsville, tempers flared, really for the first time all season. Dean Thompson drove through TriCon Garage teammate Tanner Gray, wrecking both of them, as well as Brett Moffitt. A post-race altercation ensued between Gray and Thompson, likely resulting in some personnel change in the team for 2025. The other Gray brother, Taylor, confronted race winner Eckes in victory lane later in the event as well. Gray needed to win to advance to the championship race and had all of the means in the world to do so with fresher tires on a late restart. However, Eckes drove through him, moving him up the track, and allowing reigning champion Ben Rhodes to take the lead. Eckes would drive through him as well, winning a race he really didn’t need to win in an overly aggressive fashion. Majeski would win at Phoenix the following week in largely uninteresting fashion, with no dramatics occurring during the race other than a large crash on the backstretch halfway through the event, taking out multiple drivers, including former Malcolm in the Middle actor Frankie Muniz, who started his 2025 full-time journey one race early.
Lastly, the ARCA Menards Series tackled its 2024 season with a 20-race schedule. The season was dominated by both William Sawalich and Zilisch, who won 14 combined races. Sawalich was victorious nine times in 14 starts, and Zilisch five times in eight starts. The season opener at Daytona saw a record 50 cars enter for 40 spots, and a rainy weekend moved the race up a night, following the truck race. A wreck-filled event that saw 15 of the 40 cars finish, and only 10 of which were on the lead lap, led to a win by Gus Dean, a part-time driver. Dean had teammate Toni Breidinger upset with him after the race, stating that he is a bad teammate, with no regard for others because his dad pays for his races. Dean had made an aggressive move early that collected Breidinger and roughly 10 others cars on lap four of the race.
Connor Mosack and Tanner Gray combined for a very racey end to the first race at Kansas in May, with Mosack getting around a dominant Gray on a late restart following a wreck involving Ryan Roulette. Gray would get his revenge the following race at Charlotte, however, winning dominantly. Following this race, though, Sawalich and Zilisch would combine to win each of the next nine races. The two had a run-in at Iowa Speedway while racing for the win, with Sawalich being very vocal about how Zilisch raced him.
A very competitive event at Indianapolis Raceway Park saw three drivers lead 40 laps or more, Sawalich, Zilisch, and Lavar Scott. A late wreck by Jackson McLerran set up for a large restart wreck involving Breidinger, Alan, Christian Rose, and McLerran, which led to a single-car spin by Amber Balcaen to set up an overtime finish. Zilisch was victorious, holding off Andres Perez to win.
Two weeks later, the series was set up for perhaps its most exciting race all year at Elko Speedway, in Minnesota. Sawalich was dominant at his home track, until Michael Maples made contact with him while being lapped, spinning him around and awarding the lead to Scott.
Scott was able to lead 100 laps, as Sawalich worked his way back through the field methodically. A late race spin by Roulette, and a few sprinkles as a precursor to a lightning show and heavy downpour set up for a seven-lap dash to the finish. Sawalich and Scott battled side by side, wrecking across the line with third place Kris Wright, crossing the line three wide. Sawalich was victorious by a matter of inches of Scott.
The next four races saw continued dominance from Sawalich, though Brent Crews did crack victory lane at the DuQuoin State Fair Grounds, leading every lap. A few weeks earlier, the series tackled the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, a race won by Sawalich. However, the real notable occurrence is that four women finished inside of the top 10, all driving for the same team, Venturini Motorsports, a first-time occurrence. Isabella Robusto finished second, Taylor Reimer in third, Breidinger in sixth, and Balcaen eighth. The latter had a last-lap run-in with Rose, which sparked a post-race discussion.
A wreck-filled race at Bristol crowned Sawalich the champion of the ARCA East division, taking it away from Zilisch after he was involved in an early crash with Logan Misuraca in turn three. After numerous more incidents, including Greg Van Alst giving Rose the one-finger salute and a late race wreck by Andrew Patterson set up for a five-lap dash to the checkered flag. Sawalich held off Landen Lewis to win the race.
Robusto was able to grab a pole at Kansas the following week, despite wrecking out on lap two. She was the first woman to do so in the series since Natalie Decker did it in 2018. Gray won the race convincingly, leading 88 of 100 laps. At the end of the season, at Toledo Speedway, Sawalich won again, but it was Perez who was crowned champion, with teammate Scott being named Rookie of the Year. A full-time driver did not find victory lane at all throughout the season, a first for the series. Sawalich and Zilisch not competing for the full year took them out of consideration for the title.
Looking ahead to 2025, the sport is in a unique position. It faces a lot of fan scrutiny about the playoff format, has a race manipulation issue on its hand, and the largest issue of them all, charters. The sport awards charters to each full-time Cup Series team, basically as a collective bargaining agreement. The sport gave teams six hours to sign the new charter agreement, which was well over 200 pages. Two teams, Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports did not sign, citing revenue sharing as being unfair. The sport revoked their charters, thus taking away their right to compete for full race purses going forward. The teams and the sport are now locked in a heated legal battle that is still ongoing and has yet to be ruled one way or the other.
Elsewhere on track in 2025, the sport will run in Mexico for the first time in 2007, with the Cup Series heading to Mexico City on Father’s Day. The sport will also hold an exhibition race, The Clash, at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in early February. It’ll be the Cup first race at the track since 1971. The Xfinity Series adds a date at the track as well, and also returns to Rockingham Speedway for the first time since 2004, and World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis for the first time since 2010. The Truck Series joins them at Rockingham, and goes to Lime Rock Park in Virginia for the first time ever, alongside ARCA. The trucks also see two additional races on the schedule, and new dates at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Watkins Glen, and the Charlotte ROVAL. ARCA’s lone new date is at the Madison International Speedway in Wisconsin.
The 2025 Clash will be held on Feb. 2, television on FOX, and the rest of the season will kick off at Daytona two weeks later, on Feb. 13, and will run through the championship weekend at Phoenix on Nov. 2. All video rights belong to NASCAR.
