Four winners, three of whom sit atop our leader board. As important as victories are this season in determining the Chase contenders, it would be hard to include Kevin Harvick among the best under normal circumstances.
With four races in the books at four different race tracks, the contenders for this year's Nationwide Series Championship are beginning to get clearer with each week that passes by. With that said, it's time to take a closer look at five of the drivers who have risen to the top of the crop so far this year.
Bristol Motor Speedway is known for being one of the toughest tracks on the circuit - rookie or not. Some of the rookies had a rough go at it - even a discussion of toilet paper broke out - while others, managed to survive. Larson and Dillon are showing early that they're leading the rookie class this year, as expected.
When the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action next weekend at Martinsville Speedway, there will be 36 drivers set on picking up a victory in the second race of the season. One of those will be Jeb Burton, who will be driving the No. 13 for ThorSport Racing.
With finishes of 38th, 20th, 19th and 10th, some would say that Kyle Larson's rookie season isn't off to a good start. Some may even argue that the young driver needs more experience in NASCAR's lower-tier divisions.
Brad Keselowski: Keselowski was in shape for a top-5 finish before Kevin Harvick’s blown engine littered the track with oil. Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Lite Ford rammed Jamie McMurray’s No. 1 car, which had checked up. Keselowski still managed a 14th and took over the Sprint Cup points lead from Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
On Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, it was a show that revolved around Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Larson. However, lost in that was the impressive run by a young up-and-coming star in NASCAR.
Using the words of Tony the Tiger, Jimmy Fennig’s pit strategy was “Grrrreat” as it led Carl Edwards and the No. 99 Kellogg’s / Frosted Flakes Ford to victory lane in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Rain. That was the theme of the cool, overcast, and often wet event at Bristol last Sunday. Rain delayed things, then stopped it all together for two hours as we sat on lap 125 of 500 for a spell. Often in the past, we have seen the guys who are leading near the start of the race just happen to be the same dudes there at the end.
Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in wins (10), top fives (39), stage wins (16) and laps led (2,770) at the 1.5-mile tri-oval and its 67 top 10s are tied for the most.
The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) for the South Point 400, the fifth race of the 10-race Chase, on Sunday, October 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA.
The 2026 ARCA Menards Series East champion from Kannapolis, North Carolina, will compete in an expanded Truck Series schedule with Spire Motorsports in 2027.
