Didn't See That Coming: 10 Biggest Surprises of 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season

The phrase "we didn't see that coming" was uttered more than once during a wild 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season that featured a first-time champion, a first-time Cup starter winning his first race, and a perennial championship contender failing to even make the Playoffs.

Before we turn the page to 2024, here's a look back on the biggest surprises of the 2023 season:

Legacy Motor Club Says It's Leaving Chevy

It’s not unusual for a team to switch OEMs, but to announce a manufacturer change for the next season before the halfway point in the current season is a jaw dropping move. Legacy Motor Club had been a Chevrolet team since it was founded as Petty GMS Motorsports in 2022. GMS Racing also had fielded Chevrolets in NASCAR’s Xfinity and Craftsman Truck series. When LMC announced in early May it was switching to Toyota in 2024, the team immediately found itself cutoff from some of Chevrolet’s assistance. That included its drivers no longer having access to Chevrolet’s simulator.

Michael McDowell Wins at the Brickyard

Michael McDowell’s expertise in road course racing is no secret, but he still was considered an underdog entering the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With one lap remaining in the race on the track’s road course, McDowell led Chase Elliott by 1.394 seconds. He held off the hard-charging Elliott to claim a 0.937-second victory over the Georgia native.

RFK Racing Roars Back to the Playoffs

In just the second season of RFK Racing, both of its drivers made the playoffs and finished in the top10 in the standings. It was the first time the organization founded by Jack Roush had been in the playoffs since 2019 and the first time it qualified two cars for the postseason since 2014. Team co-owner Brad Keselowski had hoped RFK Racing would make the playoffs the first year he was involved with the operation, but he had to wait until his second. Keselowski described the 2023 achievement as a “high watermark” for the team.

Regular Season Champ Truex Jr. Stumbles in the Playoffs

After Martin Truex Jr. collected his third victory of the season in July at New Hampshire, he said everything felt like it did in 2017 when he won the series championship. Even though Truex won the regular season championship, he never contended for the title. He advanced through the playoffs due to the points he earned as the regular season champion. Truex produced only two top-10 finishes in the playoffs, a ninth at Las Vegas and a sixth in the season finale. He wasn’t in the Championship Four.

A Single-Car Team Wins the Daytona 500

In an era of multi-car teams, JTG-Daugherty Racing showed there’s still a place in the sport for the one-car operation. With Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as its driver, the team owned by Tad and Jodi Geschickter and former NBA star Brad Daugherty shocked the motorsports community by winning the Daytona 500.

Stewart-Haas Racing Goes Winless in Cup Series

Ford struggled throughout the season, but Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cup effort was even more dismal, failing to win a race for the first time in the organization’s history. Tony Stewart joined Gene Haas to form Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009 and they kicked off their first year with four victories. Ever since, the team has recorded at least one victory every season with two double-digit win seasons – 2018 and 2020. However, this year none of SHR’s four drivers visited victory lane. The team’s success came in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series where Cole Custer won three races and the championship and Riley Herbst recorded his first-ever victory in the series.

Kevin Harvick’s Failure to Win a Race in His Final Season

Coming off a two-race victory season, Kevin Harvick was expected to record at least one win in his final year as a full-time NASCAR Cup driver. He led 157 laps during the season, the most since 2021, but couldn’t close the deal on a victory even though he came close at Darlington in May, finishing second to William Byron by less than a second. In 23 years, Harvick had only five winless seasons.

Ryan Blaney Earns His First NASCAR Cup Championship

Entering the 10-race playoffs Ryan Blaney wasn’t expected to make it beyond the first round. After his victory in the Memorial Day weekend Coca-Cola 600, Blaney failed to produce a top-five finish in the next 12 regular-season races. He had only four top-10 finishes during that three-month period in the summer. William Byron, with a season-leading five victories entering the playoffs, was the title favorite. However, Blaney recorded two victories in the playoffs, while Byron secured only one. In the championship round, Blaney outperformed the other three title contenders with a second-place finish in the season finale at Phoenix. Byron, who won at Phoenix in the spring, finished fourth.

Chase Elliott Winless for the First Time in Seven Years

Even though Chase Elliott missed six races early in the season after breaking a leg snowboarding and then one race in June when NASCAR suspended him for intentionally wrecking Denny Hamlin, no one expected him to go winless in 2023. The last time Elliott experienced a winless season was 2017. That was his second full-time season in NASCAR’s Cup Series. Ever since then Elliott has won at least two races annually and has produced two five-race win seasons.

Shane Van Gisbergen Wins in Chicago in First Cup Start

Shane Van Gisbergen wasn’t included in anyone’s pre-race picks to win the Grant Park 220. However, the driver of Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 Chevrolet left everyone in shock when the three-time Supercars champion won NASCAR’s inaugural street course race. Van Gisbergen’s victory made him the first driver to win in his first NASCAR Cup Series start since Johnny Rutherford accomplished the feat 60 years ago in the Daytona 500’s second qualifying race.