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| 2022 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse) | |||
| Previous: | 2021 | Next: | 2023 |
The 2022 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season started at the Dodge/Save Mart 350 on January 30 at Sonoma Raceway, followed by the Busch Clash at the Irwindale Event Center on February 6. That race was followed by the Gatorade 125 qualifying races on February 17 and the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20. The season ended with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway on December 11. This season marks the debut of the Strictly Stock Car II, which was originally supposed to debut in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This season brought the end of a 62-year streak without a disqualification of a race winner (which started in 1960). In the race at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin was stripped of the win after failing post-race inspection. (After that, the win was given to initial third-place finisher Chase Elliott due to the initial second-place finisher, Kyle Busch, also failing post-race inspection and being disqualified.) It is the first time it has happened in a Cup Series race since the rule disqualifying the winner if their car failed post-race inspection was added in 2019. Additionally, the race at Watkins Glen International featured drivers from seven different countries competing in the race, the most in series history. Justin Haley of Earnhardt-Childress Racing won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. This was also the final season for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards and Hendrick Motorsports driver Shane Hmiel.
As of the 2022 TBA at TBA, 19 different drivers won a race during the season, which tied the modern-era (1972–present) record set in 2001. Five drivers (Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suárez, and Tyler Reddick) won their first career races. Chastain, Reddick, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, and Chris Buescher won their second career races. (Wallace and Buescher also won their first non-rain shortened races.) William Byron, Reddick, Bell, and Erik Jones won their third career races while Byron and Austin Dillon won their fourth, making the 2022 season one of the most competitive in history.
Following Iowa, Kyle Busch of Stewart-Foyt Racing clinched his first championship.
Teams, drivers and manufacturers[]
Manufacturers[]
Complete schedule[]
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model | Primary Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Earnhardt-Childress Racing * | 01 | Justin Haley (R) | 2022 Impala | U.S. Army | |
| 3 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Wrangler | ||||
| 8 | Tyler Reddick | National Guard | ||||
| 38 | Josh Berry | Pennzoil | ||||
| 81 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops | ||||
| Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | William Byron | Alan Gustafson | 2022 Camaro | Farmers | |
| 24 | Kyle Larson | Steve Letarte | Axalta | |||
| 25 | Shane Hmiel | Lowe's | ||||
| 52 | Casey Atwood | Chad Knaus | M&M's | |||
| Dodge | AK Racing | 7 | James Kulwicki | 2022 Avenger | Zerex by Valvoline | |
| 11 | Tina Cooke | Microsoft | ||||
| Chip Ganassi Racing | 1 | Stephen Leicht | 2022 Challenger | UAW-Delphi | ||
| 41 | Crissy Hillsworth | Target | ||||
| 46 | Bryan Clauson | Tums | ||||
| Elliott-Evernham Motorsports | 9 | Chase Elliott | 2022 Dart | Coors Light | ||
| 13 | Matt DiBenedetto | Nickelodeon | ||||
| 94 | Alex Coletti | Flonase | ||||
| Furniture Row Racing | 77 | Corey LaJoie | 2022 Charger | Golden Corral | ||
| 78 | Emi Charendoff | Cole Pearn | 5-Hour Energy | |||
| Petty Enterprises | 43 | Adam Petty | Mike Shiplett | 2022 Challenger | STP | |
| 44 | Chad McCumbee | Kevin Buskirk | McDonald's | |||
| Team Penske | 02 | Joey Logano | 2022 Challenger | Verizon | ||
| 2 | James Buescher | Miller Lite | ||||
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Circuit City | ||||
| Trackhouse Racing | 40 | Jane Brewer | 2022 Charger | Kmart | ||
| 42 | Daniel Suárez | Juicy Fruit | ||||
| 45 | Alana Houston | UPS | ||||
| Ford | Allison-Yates Racing | 28 | Robbie Allison | Jimmy Fennig | 2022 Mustang | Texaco/Havoline |
| 88 | Chase Briscoe | Citi Financial | ||||
| Brett Favre Racing | 15 | Parker Kligerman | 2022 Mustang | Nike/Sony | ||
| 90 | Katrina Goode | FujiFilm | ||||
| Roush-Keselowski Racing | 6 | Carla Alvarez | Drew Blickensderfer | 2022 Roush Mustang | Best Buy | |
| 16 | Chris Buescher | Donnie Wingo | 3M | |||
| 99 | Brad Keselowski | Bob Osborne | Office Depot | |||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Austin Cindric (R) | Donnie Wingo | 2022 Shelby Mustang | Motorcraft | |
| Honda | Andretti Autosport | 27 | Kurt Busch | 2022 Accord | DHL | |
| JTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Todd Berrier | 2022 Accord | Kroger | |
| Michael Waltrip Racing * | 00 | Brian Vickers | Rodney Childers | 2022 Civic | Aaron's Dream Machine | |
| 17 | Macy Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts | ||||
| Spire Motorsports | 30 | Aric Almirola | Bootie Barker | 2022 Civic | GEICO | |
| Nissan | Front Row Motorsports | 33 | Jane Ritter | 2022 Maxima | Speedco | |
| 34 | Steff Crawford | Jay Guy | Love's Travel Stops | |||
| 35 | Hunter Nemechek | Long John Silver's | ||||
| Moroso-Rudd Racing | 82 | Denzel Lane | 2022 Maxima | Mountain Dew | ||
| 83 | Michelle Basone | Tide | ||||
| 84 | Boston Reid | RCA | ||||
| Pontiac | Combos Racing | 73 | Alana Burleson | 2022 G8 | ||
| GMS Racing | 51 | Alex Bowman | Nick Harrison
Jimmy Elledge |
2022 G8 | Marvel Comics | |
| Stewart-Foyt Racing | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 2022 Trans-Am | Budweiser | ||
| 10 | Kyle Busch | Tony Gibson | Valvoline | |||
| 14 | Ross Chastain | Greg Zipadelli | Home Depot | |||
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing * | 18 | Christopher Bell | 2022 Camry | Yahoo! | |
| 19 | Erik Jones | GameStop | ||||
| 20 | Denny Hamlin | Steve Addington | FedEx | |||
| 80 | Carl Edwards | Darian Grubb | Rheem | |||
| Jordan-Davis Racing | 22 | Kasey Kahne | 2022 Camry | Caterpillar | ||
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | Dr Pepper | ||||
| Swan Racing | 37 | Johanna Long | Steve Lane | 2022 Avalon | Petco | |
| Team Red Bull | 85 | Ryan Truex | Jimmy Elledge | 2022 Avalon | Red Bull | |
| 86 | Michael McDowell | Ryan Pemberton | Red Bull |
Limited schedule[]
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Model | Tire | Sponsor(s) | Rounds |
|---|
Lend-Lease entries[]
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Model | Tire | Sponsor(s) | Rounds |
|---|
Changes[]
Teams[]
Drivers[]
Crew chiefs[]
Interim crew chiefs[]
Manufacturers[]
Sponsorship[]
Changes[]
New Car[]
A new car, titled the Strictly Stock Car II, made its debut for the 2022 season. The goal of the car is to make it even more accurate to showroom models than its predecessor, with new, single-lugnut wheels and the mirrors being replaced by monitors, although traditional mirrors are kept as a backup in case the monitors don't function.
In addition, teams are given more leeway in the number placement, with requirements being that the number's minimum size being the same as it was on the previous car, in order to still make it visible from a distance for spotters, pit crews and fans, as well as being placed somewhere between the wheels.
Manufacturer changes[]
Schedule[]
| No. | Race title | Track | Date | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodge/Save Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma | January 30 | WBC |
| Busch Light Clash | Irwindale Event Center, Irwindale | February 6 | WBC | |
| Gatorade 125's | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | February 17 | WBC | |
| 2 | Daytona 500 by STP | February 20 | WBC | |
| 3 | Subway 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham | February 26 | WBC |
| 4 | WBC | |||
| 5 | WBC |
Changes[]
- A race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park was added.
Season summary[]
Race reports[]
Round 1: Dodge/Save Mart 350
This was the first points race for the Strictly Stock Car II.
Busch Light Clash
The second race of 2022 was an exhibition race at the Irwindale Event Center.
Results[]
| No. | Race | Pole Position | Most Laps Led | Winning Driver | Manufacturer/Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodge/Save Mart 350 | Kyle Larson | Chase Elliott | Brad Keselowski | Ford Mustang |
| Busch Light Clash | Kevin Harvick | Noah Howe | Macy Waltrip | Chevrolet Camaro | |
| Gatorade 125 1 | |||||
| Gatorade 125 2 | |||||
| 2 | Daytona 500 by STP | Kyle Larson | Austin Cindric | Dodge Challenger | |
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 |
Event logos[]
