LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 06: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 06: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Pennzoil Ford, and Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, lead the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 06, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty Images

25 Drivers Have a Top 10 in the First 3 Races This Season

The winning teams are familiar, but what’s happening behind the leaders is historic.

Twenty-five drivers have scored at least one top-10 finish in the first three Cup races of the season. The last time more drivers did so at this point was 1973, according to Racing Insights.

Only seven times in NASCAR history have 25 or more drivers scored a top 10 in the first three races of the season. Here’s that list:

1965 — 27 drivers

1971 — 27

1960 — 26

1970 — 26

1973 — 26

1950 — 25

2022 — 25

NBC Sports