Just three races into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season and the performances by the drivers and teams are a testament to the sustained close competition the fans have come to know and love about NASCAR. The Next Gen car is proving to bring the closest, most thrilling side-by-side racing in the world, and the numbers back it up.
v The 2024 season has produced an average Margin of Victory of 0.222-second through the first three races of the season; the fourth-closest average Margin of Victory through the first three Cup races of a season since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993; just behind the series record of 0.136-second set in 2022.
v At Atlanta Motor Speedway, fans witnessed the third-closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history when Daniel Suárez captured his second NASCAR Cup Series victory, narrowly beating reigning champion Ryan Blaney to the finish line by .003 seconds. The historic three-wide photo finish included Suárez, Blaney and two-time series champion Kyle Busch, who finished .007 seconds behind Suárez – marking the closest final margin between first and third in NASCAR Cup Series history.
v The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 407 Green Flag Passes for the Lead – the most through the first three races of the year since the inception of the stat in 2005, surpassing the previous record of 302 Green Flag Passes for the Lead through the first three races set in 2022.
v This season the NASCAR Cup Series has produced 28 different lap leaders in the first three races of the year – the second-largest number of lap leaders through the first three races of a season in the Modern Era (1972-2024); behind only the 2011 season with 32 leaders.
v The NASCAR Cup Series is averaging 37.7 lead changes per race through the first three races of the 2024 season, the second-most in the Modern Era (1972-2024); behind only the 2011 season with 41.0 lead changes.
v The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season has produced 23,027 Total Green Flag Passes – the most through the first three races of the year since the inception of the stat in 2005, surpassing the previous record of 21,245 Green Flag Passes through the first three races set last season.
v The NASCAR Cup Series has produced three different point standings leaders in the first three races of the season for the first time since 2017.
v This is the 37th time in the Modern Era (1972-2024) the NASCAR Cup Series has opened the season with three different winners at the first three tracks on the schedule.
NASCAR PR
