The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is now officially in the rearview mirror and here’s our look at the top 10 teams and their performance this year.
HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
The organization celebrated its second straight Cup Series title with Kyle Larson following Chase Elliott’s championship last season. In all, Rick Hendrick’s team has now won 14 Cup crowns, the latest coming on Larson’s stellar season of 10 points-paying wins. In addition to Larson, Alex Bowman had four wins, Elliott two and William Byron one for a total of 17.
JOE GIBBS RACING
Came up short in the title fight to Hendrick Motorsports but the four JGR drivers combined to win nine times in 2021. Martin Truex Jr. led the way with four in a season that also saw Christopher Bell get his first career Cup triumph.
TEAM PENSKE
Roger Penske’s team put all three of its drivers into the playoffs and Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski were able to advance to the Round of 8. Although there was no Team Penske Championship 4 presence, the trio combined to score five wins in 2021.
STEWART-HAAS RACING
A very down year for SHR by its own standards with just one victory coming from Aric Almirola. Kevin Harvick went winless after scoring nine wins a year ago. Chase Briscoe had an up-and-down year but was still able to claim Rookie of the Year honors. Cole Custer had a year best described as frustrating, a word that quite honestly can sum up the organization’s whole season.
CHIP GANASSI RACING
Kurt Busch had a steady final year at CGR before moving on to 23XI Racing in 2022 with a July Atlanta win. Ross Chastain came on during the middle portion of the season with a steady string of solid performances. The organization will no longer exist as it merges with Trackhouse Racing next year.
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
The story of RCR in 2021 is the emergence of Tyler Reddick, who appeared to be on the brink of winning his first career Cup race several times this season. He made the playoffs and wound up 13th in the final standings. Teammate Austin Dillon had a disappointing overall campaign with just one top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
WOOD BROTHERS
Matt DiBenedetto received a great deal of attention this year if not all for the right reasons but put up decent numbers finishing 18th in the final standings with three top-five and eight top-10 finishes. A new era starts in 2022 for the team with rookie Harrison Burton taking the No. 21 ride.
FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS
When you win the sport’s biggest race it’s going to be remembered as a good year. That’s exactly the case for Front Row, which began the season with Michael McDowell winning the Daytona 500 and locking in a playoff spot. However, things didn’t go quite as well the rest of the season for McDowell or teammate Anthony Alfredo, who will not return in 2022.
23XI RACING
The team didn’t live up to its lofty pre-season ambitions, but the fact is Bubba Wallace did win his first career Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway and ended the year 21st in the Cup Series standings. The organization now looks to expand to a two-car team next season with Kurt Busch joining the stable.
TRACKHOUSE RACING
The future looks bright for this team after a surprising debut season that saw Daniel Suarez run competitively at times. The final numbers were one top-five and four top-10 finishes for the upstart organization that will grow to a two-car operation next year after the purchase of Chip Ganassi Racing.
