Bob Pockrass
FOX NASCAR Insider
When Harrison Burton won Sunday at Daytona, it marked the first time a full-time series driver won his first career race since 2022. Four drivers — Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick — have earned their first Cup wins in 2022. It was Burton’s 98th career Cup start.
Last year, Shane van Gisbergen won his Cup debut on the Chicago street course in what was meant to be a one-off race for the three-time Supercars champion.
So I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the first wins for the drivers currently in the top 10 of our power rankings. The rankings are based primarily on performance over the past few weeks.
1. Tyler Reddick (Last week: 1)
Reddick’s first Cup victory came at Road America in July 2022. One of the most memorable moments was a photo of his son Beau asleep in victory lane. It was a big win for Richard Childress Racing and Reddick. For Reddick, this was his 92nd career start in Cup racing.
2. Christopher Bell (6th last week)
Bell’s first win came in the second race of the 2021 season (his 38th overall) on the Daytona Road Course, when he overtook Joey Logano to win the race after making the pass at the frontstretch chicane before the white flag waved.
3. Kyle Larson (last week: 3rd place)
Larson’s first victory came at Michigan in August 2016, when he took the lead from future teammate Chase Elliott (who was driving for Ganassi at the time) on a restart with nine laps to go and held off to win. Both drivers spun tires on the restart, but Elliott was also hit by Ryan Blaney. It was Larson’s 99th Cup start.
4. Denny Hamlin (Last week: 2nd place)
Hamlin’s first career victory came at Pocono in June 2006. He led the final 24 laps (83 total), which wasn’t easy. He had to hold the lead through two restarts in the final 10 laps and hold off Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart to cross the finish line and take the win. It was his 21st career Cup race.
5. Brad Keselowski (Last week: 7th place)
Keselowski’s first career win was one of the most memorable. He won at Talladega in April 2009 while driving a part-time Cup schedule for team owner James Finch. It was just his fifth career Cup start. In the race where he and Carl Edwards were battling for the win, Edwards was passed while trying to block Keselowski, then made contact with Ryan Newman and flew into the catch fence.
6. William Byron (LW: 4)
Byron’s first win came in August 2020 at Daytona in the regular season finale, a victory that earned him a spot in the playoffs. It was also notable as Chad Knaus’ final win as crew chief. It was Byron’s 98th Cup start.
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7. Chase Elliott (last week: 5th)
Elliott’s first victory came at Watkins Glen in August 2018, when he led 52 of the 90 laps in the race. He won by more than seven seconds, but it wasn’t a truly comfortable run to the finish line. He and Martin Truex Jr. battled while trying to conserve fuel. Elliott went wide in Turn 1, allowing Truex to make contact with his bumper, but Truex ran out of gas on the final lap. This was Elliott’s 99th career Cup start.
8. Ryan Blaney (Last week’s ranking: 8)
Blaney’s first victory came at Pocono in June 2017. What was notable about this win was that until Sunday, it was the latest for the iconic Wood Brothers Racing team, as he passed Kyle Busch with 10 laps remaining to win in his 68th Cup race start.
9. Ty Gibbs (Last week: 10th)
Gibbs is still searching for his first Cup victory, and he has finished in the top five in 11 of his 76 Cup starts.
10. Bubba Wallace (Last week: 9th)
Wallace’s first Cup win came at Talladega in October 2021, a Monday race after the race was rained out the day before. He fought his way to the lead as drivers knew rain was coming and was leading when a caution was issued for an accident on Lap 116. The rain then came back and he was declared the winner in his 143rd Cup start.
Withdrawals: None
Participants: Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has covered motorsports for decades, including more than 30 Daytona 500 races for ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter: @bobpockrass.
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