2022 Nascar Playoff Predictions

 


As we are on the back half of January the Nascar offseason is starting to wind down. For this article we will be talking about my way to early Nascar playoff predictions. Starting off my playoff list is Kyle Larson, Larson shouldn’t have any issues making the playoffs once again. He is the defending champion and racked up 10 wins across the 2021 season. Following Larson will be Denny Hamlin, the number 11 team has had no issues making the playoffs over the last several years. To confirm it, the last time Hamlin missed the playoffs was 2013. 


( Martin Truex Jr's 2022 Daytona 500 Scheme)


To continue my locks for the postseason this year will be Martin Truex jr. making the playoffs. Truex has struggled on some occasions but has always found a way to grab a win. Truex won four races total in 2021 and should hover right around that number this season. Staying in the Joe Gibbs Racing camp, I have Kyle Busch as another driver for my 2022 playoff field. Busch, the same as Truex, has struggled at points but once again finds a way to make the playoff dance. 


Shifting back into the Hendrick camp I have Chase Elliott making the 2022 playoffs with no issues. Elliott has risen as one of the faces of Nascar currently and is obviously a fan favorite. His average finish was 11.4 in 2021 with four straight multiple race win seasons. Look for Elliott and the rest of Hendrick Motorsports to have a very successful 2022 season. Continuing my playoff locks will be Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick, both are the oldest drivers oin their respective organizations. Both have made the playoffs consistently and are normal household names when it comes to the postseason. 

( Ryan Blaney's 2022 Daytona 500 Paint Scheme)


My safe bets for the 2022 playoffs are Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman and William Byron. Each of these drivers have shown promise as they have 8 wins combined across 2021. Blaney with three, Bowman with four and lastly Byron with one.  These three drivers now fill out 10 of my spots for the playoffs.  



For the next three spots in my playoff list, I have Christopher Bell, Kurt Busch and Tyler Reddick. Bell, whose one win came early in the season at the Daytona Road Course, should have another strong showing this year. Bell has racked up above average stats in 2021 with one win, 7 top fives and 16 top tens. The second driver in these three is Kurt Busch, with Busch joining 23xi Racing in August, he should give 23xi the much needed veteran presents ahead of this season. Busch gained one win last year at the second Atlanta race, him and Wallace should be a good pair this season as teammates. Lastly, Tyler Reddick will get his first win and make the playoffs. I believe Reddick will win this year and establish himself as an early lock in the playoffs. In his 2nd year Reddick has shown quite a bit of flashes that he can have success. Reddick should have a strong 3rd year at Richard Childress Racing. 


( Brad Keslowski and Chris Buescher's 2022 Fastenal Paint Schemes)


Moving on to the final three I have Brad Keslowski, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastian making the playoffs. First off, Keslowski has some uncertainty with moving to a new team in Roush Fenway Keslowski. Keslowski will be moving into an ownership and driver role with Chris Buescher as his teammate. Obviously Team Penske is more flashy and better in competition overall, besides that I believe Brad still makes it. In slot number 15 I have Austin Dillon, normally Dillon hovers around the 12 through 16 area in the standings. With a pretty solid year I believe Dillon will make it in the bottom tier of the playoffs. Finally to my biggest bold prediction I have Ross Chastian making the dance, Chastian just like other upcoming drivers has shown promise and flashes during certain points of the season. I think Chastian will see a win come his way during this year and bring home the first win for the Trackhouse Racing organization. 

( Ross Chastian's 2022 Advent Health Paint Scheme)

Now onto my maybe’s and wildcards to make the postseason, I have Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, Aric Amirola, Daniel Saurez and Chris Buescher. Longshots to make the playoffs I have Erik Jones, Micheal McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse jr., Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton, Cole Custer and Ty Dillion. To cover a few drivers in my group of maybes and wildcards first I’ll start with Bubba Wallace. I have Wallace just missing the playoffs this year. Wallace is now set up to have a strong year with 23xi Racing. This is now year two in this system along with now having a teammate on track for the first time in his Cup Series career. Kurt Busch should be helpful and look for Wallace to run top five at superspeedways and 10-20th at other tracks. The biggest thing for Wallace is there are six road courses this year, he must improve at road courses to have a shot in the postseason. Following Wallace is Austin Cindric, I believe Cindric will have a great first year full time at Penske. Taking over for Keslowski should jump start the already successful Austin Cindric. He will be great on the road courses and will be around average at other races. 19th in my standings this year will be Aric Amirola, I think he will have a decent final season. He either runs above average or has another 2021 season minus his race at New Hampshire. I think he will be another driver around the cutline throughout the year. Coming in 20th will be Daniel Suarez, the 99 team should have a decent year, they will improve but I believe they are also one of those teams around the cutline throughout this season. 


My Final 2022 Standings:

                                                                



  1. Larson

  2. Hamlin

  3. Truex jr.

  4. Ky. Busch

  5. Elliott 

  6. Logano

  7. Harvick

  8. Blaney


  9. Byron

  10. Bowman

  11. Bell

  12. Ku. Busch

  13. Reddick

  14. Keslowski

  15. Dillion 

  16. Chastian


Just missing the playoffs:


  1. Wallace

  2. Cindric 

  3. Almirola

  4. Suarez


Here on January 23rd, the Busch Clash at the L.A. Coliseum and the 2022 Daytona 500 are now two and four weeks away. Tickets for the 500 are reportedly sold out as Clash tickets seem to be selling fast. Nascar will be back soon! What are your 2022 predictions?



( All images creditied to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)

For the Busch Clash and Daytona 500 race information please view the links down below. 

The 2022 Busch Clash Link:


https://www.nascar.com/2022/busch-light-clash-at-the-coliseum/


The Daytona 500 Link:

https://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/





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