DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 18: Zane Smith, driver of the #38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Zane Smith Wins Wild Truck Series Season Opener at Daytona International Speedway in the NextEra Energy 250 on Friday night.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A 19-car incident as the field approached the white flag signaling one lap to go instead sent Friday night’s NextEra Energy 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season-opener into overtime where 22-year-old Californian Zane Smith won under caution over defending series champion Ben Rhodes.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 17: Chris Buescher, driver of the #17 Fastenal Ford, celebrates with team owners Jack Roush (L) and Brad Keselowski, driver of the #6 Kohler Generators Ford, in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher Make it a Sweep in Daytona Duels for RFK Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series on Thursday night.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Roush Fenway Keselowski teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher swept Thursday night for the Bluegreen Vacation Duels, but a last-lap collision in the second race wiped out then-frontrunner Joey Logano and spoiled a perfect night for the Ford Performance entries.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 16: Kyle Larson, driver of the #5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, pose in Ruoff Victory Lane after qualifying on the front row for the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman take the front row for the Daytona 500 during NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Wednesday night.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has started 2022 off the way he ended 2021 – out front. The 29-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver won the pole position for Sunday’s Daytona 500 season-opener with a lap of 181.159 mph in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Wednesday night at Daytona International Speedway.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 15: A general view of the grandstands as the sun sets during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series 64th Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2022, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
2022 NASCAR Cup Series power ranking comes before the first points-paying race of the year, the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
The 2022 NASCAR season is just a few days away, which means the excitement and anticipation are building. With the Next-Gen car making its debut, drivers like Harrison Burton, Austin Cindric, and Justin Haley moving up to Cup full-time, and teams such as 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing, and Kaulig Racing expanding their operations, there is plenty to look forward to heading into 2022. While there have been some shake-ups in terms of expectations coming into the season, some parts of NASCAR remain the same from last year, and the first edition of this season’s power rankings showcase that.