Great for Fans, Agonizing for Bettors
The 2022 NASCAR season is in the books, and Joey Logano was able to navigate all the nuances of the first year of the Next Gen car to claim his second Cup Series championship. While it was great for Logano to get back to the podium for the first time since 2018, the real story of 2022 was just how difficult it was to predict winners every week in online sports betting. The 19 different drivers that claimed a checkered flag last season tied the record for most in a single season.
Let’s check the latest NASCAR picks, stats, injury reports, and NASCAR predictions. We’ve plenty of NASCAR expert picks for you to consider.
What Is the Next Gen Car?
Originally called the Gen-7 car, the Next Gen chassis has two main goals – safety and cost-effectiveness. Most NASCAR fans want to see the best drivers win each week, not the team with the most money. The Next Gen design not only encourages outside manufacturers to compete with the likes of Toyota, Chevy, and Ford, the lower costs ease the burden on sponsors, which is especially important in a harsh economic climate.
For increased safety, the Next Gen design moved the driver closer to the center of the car with the protective side door bars moved further outwards.
The Next-Gen car is also more aerodynamic and features components added on from single-source suppliers instead of having teams build much of the tube and its parts by themselves.
Scoop on Free Play from the Locker Room
How Much Parity Was There in 2022
The 19 drivers winning in 2022 tied the previous record set in 2001 and made a mess of the NASCAR odds today and every race weekend. It was the first career win for five of those drivers starting with Austin Cindric at the Daytona 500. These weren’t just fluke wins each race either because, in nearly every race, a surprise driver was in contention.
Thirty-two drivers competed for the Cup Series Championship this season, and each had at least one top-10 finish on the year. On top of that, 29 of those individuals had at least one top-five finish in 2022.
Not one driver led more than 1,000 laps in 2022, which was somewhat of a shocker after Kyle Larson was the front car for 2,581 trips around the track in his 2021 championship season. The 2022 leader was Chase Elliott (857), one of 11 drivers to lead at least 500 laps.
The competitive juices for many teams, not just individual drivers, were reinvigorated this past season. Trackhouse Racing picked up the first three wins in team history this season, while RFK Racing and Petty GMS both snapped 5+ year winless droughts in 2022.
Last Year With Longtime Partnerships
Besides a new car and many different drivers winning this season and making betting online difficult, one of the big storylines for 2022 in NASCAR is the realigning of teams and drivers. The most notable movement is Kyle Busch, who had been with Joe Gibbs Racing since 2008 but announced his switch to Richard Childress Racing late in 2022.
Busch had just one win in 37 starts last year but has admitted that squabbling over a contract was a distraction. The 37-year-old still has many prime racing seasons left, and a change of scenery may be what he needs to get back in top form.
Tyler Reddick got on Richard Childress’ bad side in 2022, but he still drove well with three wins and 10 top fives. With Busch coming over to RCR, Reddick decided to jump to 23XI a season early in 2023.
