After a long and grueling grind of a year, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is over. Its champion, for the third time in his career, is Joey Logano. And it's only fitting he came out on top this season in particular, as it was quite the curious ride.
Statistical prowess be damned, Logano made it all the way to Phoenix and ended up prevailing to earn the championship while the dominant drivers of the season, like Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, fell by the wayside. In Bell's case, he didn't make the Championship 4 after a wall ride at Martinsville and an extensive review as to whether his spot in the Championship 4 would stand. It came just months after a similar decision by NASCAR was made on a much larger scale, as Austin Dillon was not permitted to have his win at Richmond count toward playoff eligibility due to rough driving on the last lap.
Meanwhile, 18 different drivers visited Victory Lane, from Kyle Larson's six wins to Harrison Burton's stunning upset to make the playoffs at Daytona in July. Three of the eight closest finishes in Cup Series history took place in the season, including the closest ever (Kyle Larson over Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds) at Kansas in May and the closest three-wide finish ever (Daniel Suarez over Ryan Blaney by 0.003 and 0.007 over Kyle Busch) at Atlanta in February.
In all, these were some of the statistical top performers during the 2024 season:
- Most wins: Kyle Larson (6 -- Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Sonoma, Brickyard 400, Bristol Night Race, Charlotte Roval)
- Most top fives: Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell (15)
- Most top 10s: Christopher Bell (23)
- Best average finish: Chase Elliott (11.7)
- Most laps led: Kyle Larson (1699)
- Most laps completed:
- Most poles: Kyle Larson (5 -- Richmond I, Martinsville I, Texas, Iowa, Chicago)
- Rookie of the Year: Carson Hocevar
Here is a complete look at the full and final NASCAR Cup Series championship standings for 2024, including all drivers who declared for Cup points during the year:
| Rank | Driver | Change | Comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Logano | -- | 4 wins (Nashville, Atlanta II, Las Vegas II, Phoenix II) | 7 top 5s | 13 top 10s | 414 laps led | Avg. finish: 17.1 | |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | -- | 3 wins (Iowa, Pocono, Martinsville II) | 12 top 5s | 18 top 10s | 567 laps led | Avg. finish: 15.2 | |
| 3 | William Byron | -- | 3 wins (Daytona 500, Circuit of the Americas, Martinsville I) | 13 top 5s | 21 top 10s | 357 laps led | Avg. finish: 12.9 | |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick | -- | 3 wins (Talladega I, Michigan, Homestead) | 12 top 5s | 21 top 10s | 597 laps led | Avg. finish: 13.2 | |
| 5 | Christopher Bell | -- | 3 wins (Phoenix I, Coca-Cola 600, New Hampshire) | 15 top 5s | 23 top 10s | 1145 laps led | Avg. finish: 12.8 | |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | -- | 6 wins (Las Vegas I, Kansas I, Sonoma, Brickyard 400, Bristol Night Race, Charlotte Roval) | 15 top 5s | 18 top 10s | 1699 laps led | Avg. finish: 12.9 | |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | -- | 1 win (Texas) | 11 top 5s | 19 top 10s | 431 laps led | Avg. finish: 11.7 | |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | -- | 3 wins (Bristol I, Richmond I, Dover) | 12 top 5s | 18 top 10s | 943 laps led | Avg. finish: 13.9 | |
| 9 | Alex Bowman | -- | 1 win (Chicago) | 8 top 5s | 17 top 10s | 67 laps led | Avg. finish: 14.8 | |
| 10 | Martin Truex Jr. | -- | Best finish: 2nd (Bristol I) | 5 top 5s | 11 top 10s | 555 laps led | Avg. finish: 17.4 | |
| 11 | Austin Cindric | -- | 1 win (Gateway) | 4 top 5s | 7 top 10s | 256 laps led | Avg. finish: 19.9 | |
| 12 | Daniel Suarez | -- | 1 win (Atlanta I) | 4 top 5s | 9 top 10s | 209 laps led | Avg. finish: 17.9 | |
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | -- | 1 win (Darlington I) | 9 top 5s | 13 top 10s | 318 laps led | Avg. finish: 15.6 | |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe | -- | 1 win (Southern 500) | 3 top 5s | 9 top 10s | 43 laps led | Avg. finish: 18.8 | |
| 15 | Ty Gibbs | -- | Best finish: 2nd (Darlington I) | 8 top 5s | 12 top 10s | 417 laps led | Avg. finish: 17.4 | |
| 16 | Harrison Burton | -- | 1 win (Daytona II) | 1 top 5 | 2 top 10s | 13 laps led | Avg. finish: 25.7 | |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | -- | 1 win (Watkins Glen) | 6 top 5s | 15 top 10s | 208 laps led | Avg. finish: 14.3 | |
| 18 | Bubba Wallace | -- | Best finish: 3rd (Bristol Night Race) | 6 top 5s | 14 top 10s | 139 laps led | Avg. finish: 15.3 | |
| 19 | Ross Chastain | -- | 1 win (Kansas II) | 6 top 5s | 14 top 10s | 311 laps led | Avg. finish: 14.9 | |
| 20 | Kyle Busch | -- | Best finish: 2nd (twice) | 5 top 5s | 10 top 10s | 230 laps led | Avg. finish: 18.3 | |
| 21 | Carson Hocevar | -- | Best finish: 3rd (Watkins Glen) | 1 top 5 | 6 top 10s | 16 laps led | Avg. finish: 18.3 | 2024 Cup Rookie of the Year | |
| 22 | Todd Gilliland | -- | Best finish: 6th (Brickyard 400) | 4 top 10s | 130 laps led | Avg. finish: 20.9 | |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | -- | Best finish: 2nd (Sonoma) | 2 top 5s | 7 top 10s | 256 laps led | Avg. finish: 21.3 | |
| 24 | Noah Gragson | -- | Best finish: 3rd (Talladega I) | 1 top 5 | 7 top 10s | 13 laps led | Avg. finish: 19.6 | |
| 25 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | -- | 1 win (Talladega II) | 3 top 5s | 6 top 10s | 28 laps led | Avg. finish: 22.1 | |
| 26 | Ryan Preece | -- | Best finish: 4th (Nashville) | 1 top 5 | 5 top 10s | 2 laps led | Avg. finish: 20.9 | |
| 27 | Josh Berry | -- | Best finish: 3rd (twice) | 2 top 5s | 4 top 10s | 96 laps led | Avg. finish: 22.7 | |
| 28 | Erik Jones | -- | Best finish: 5th (Talladega II) | 1 top 5 | 2 top 10s | Avg. finish: 22.9 | Missed two races (Injury) | |
| 29 | Daniel Hemric | -- | Best finish: 9th (four times) | 4 top 10s | 15 laps led | Avg. finish: 23.0 | |
| 30 | Zane Smith | -- | Best finish: 2nd (Nashville) | 2 top 5s | 4 top 10s | 6 laps led | Avg. finish: 23.2 | |
| 31 | Justin Haley | -- | Best finish: 7th (Talladega II) | 3 top 10s | 30 laps led | Avg. finish: 23.4 | |
| 32 | Corey LaJoie | -- | Best finish: 4th (Daytona 500) | 1 top 5 | 3 top 10s | 45 laps led | Avg. finish: 23.7 | |
| 33 | Austin Dillon | -- | 1 win (Richmond II) | 1 top 5 | 5 top 10s | 36 laps led | Avg. finish: 22.6 | |
| 34 | John Hunter Nemechek | -- | Best finish: 6th (Bristol I) | 4 top 10s | 36 laps led | Avg. finish: 25.4 | |
| 35 | Kaz Grala | -- | Best finish: 14th (Atlanta I) | Avg. finish: 28.5 (24 starts) | |
| 36 | Cody Ware | -- | Best finish: 4th (Daytona II) | 1 top 5 | 1 top 10 | 1 lap led | Avg. finish: 21.0 (9 starts) | |
| 37 | Jimmie Johnson | -- | Best finish: 26th (Phoenix II) | Avg. finish: 30.6 | |
| 38 | Joey Hand | -- | 1 start | Finished 4th at Chicago | 7 laps led | |
| 39 | Derek Kraus | -- | Best finish: 25th (Phoenix II) | 8 laps led | Avg. finish: 29.7 (6 starts) | |
| 40 | David Ragan | -- | 1 start | Finished 20th in the Daytona 500 | 2 laps led | |
| 41 | Kamui Kobayashi | -- | 1 start | Finished 29th at Circuit of the Americas | |
| 42 | Will Brown | -- | 1 start | Finished 31st at Sonoma | |
| 43 | Juan Pablo Montoya | -- | 1 start | Finished 32nd at Watkins Glen | |
| 44 | Cam Waters | -- | 1 start | Finished 35th at Sonoma |
