We are nine races into the 2019 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series season and all nine races have been won by Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing. Six races have been won by Joe Gibbs Racing (Daytona, ISM, Auto Club, Texas, Bristol, Richmond) and three races have been won by Team Penske (Atlanta, Las Vegas, Martinsville). No other team has been as fast as these teams and here is a break down of each driver for these two teams.
Team Penske
Brad Keselowski
- Points Position: 5th (-87)
- Wins: 2 (Atlanta and Martinsville)
- Stage Wins: 2
- Top 5’s: 4
- Top 10’s: 5
- Laps Led: 609
Let’s start with Keselowski, who has been up and down to start the season. The 2 car has 2 wins, including a dominating performance at Martinsville where he led 446 laps. Keselowski has an average finish of 11th and has started to take back the lead of Team Penske. He does have four finishes outside the top 10 (12th, 18th, 19th, 36th), but his team may be trying new things to find some more speed for the playoffs.
Joey Logano
- Points Position: 2nd (-20)
- Wins: 1 (Las Vegas)
- Stage Wins: 4
- Top 5’s: 5
- Top 10’s: 6
- Laps Led: 300
Now onto the other Penske winner, Joey Logano. The 22 has been fast in qualifying in every week as he has an average starting spot of 5.7. Logano has struggled getting the handle of the car during most of the races this season. He has the win at Vegas to get him into the playoffs so he could also be trying new things for the championship run starting in September.
Ryan Blaney
- Points Position: 9th (-123)
- Wins: 0
- Stage Wins: 2
- Top 5’s: 4
- Top 10’s: 4
- Laps Led: 354
At points this season, Blaney has been faster than both of his teammates. Blaney only has 3 top 5s and an average finish of 17th, but that does not represent the performance of the 12 team so far this year. He has 2 DNFs out of his control with a wreck in the Daytona 500 and a blown engine at Texas. He has the most laps led out of all drivers without a win so far this year. Don’t expect Blaney to be held winless for too much longer in 2019.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Kyle Busch
- Points Position: 1st (+20)
- Wins: 3 (ISM, Auto Club, Bristol)
- Stage Wins: 5
- Top 5’s: 6
- Top 10’s: 9
- Laps Led: 599
Kyle Busch has been the hottest driver to start the 2019 season. He currently has three wins this year and if his car doesn’t wash up the racetrack in turns 1 and 2 at Texas or he doesn’t get the speeding penalty at Richmond he might have five wins. Busch has an average finish of 3.9 which is the best in the Cup series. He has finished inside the top 10 in all nine races to start the season and everything seems to be going in Kyle Busch’s way.
Denny Hamlin
- Points Position: 3rd (-34)
- Wins: 2 (Daytona and Texas)
- Stage Wins: 1
- Top 5’s: 6
- Top 10’s: 8
- Laps Led: 97
Busch’s teammate, Hamlin, started the season off with an emotional 2nd Daytona 500 victory and has stayed right up top in the points with teammate Kyle Busch. Hamlin overcame two penalties on pit road to win at Texas. This team has stepped it up with new crew chief Chris Gabehart up top making the calls. Hamlin has an average finish of 5.5 and an average start of 7.4, so Hamlin is performing well in qualifying and the races. His has finished inside the top ten seven consecutive weeks and worst finish is 11th at Atlanta so Hamlin is right up top with his teammate in the 18.
Martin Truex Jr.
- Points Position: 6th (-89)
- Wins: 1 (Richmond)
- Stage Wins: 0
- Top 5’s: 3
- Top 10’s: 6
- Laps Led: 200
Next we have Truex, who is off to a slow start compared to the last two years. He finally got his first win with JGR and captured his first short track win at Richmond. He also has two second place finishes coming at Atlanta and ISM. Confidence is building for that 19 team and he has the potential to go on a hot streak. He has an average finish of 10.3 so he is doing well enough and it’ll be a matter of time before Truex is back to championship form.
Erik Jones
- Points Position: 17th (-188)
- Wins: 0
- Stage Wins: 0
- Top 5’s: 2
- Top 10’s: 3
- Laps Led: 40
Finally there is Jones, who has been very streaky to start the season. He started the season with a top 10 in each of the first two races. Then in the next four races he did not have a top 10. He showed some muscle at Texas after he spun out on lap 15. After the spin, he raced his way back up to the lead and if he didn’t need more fuel than Hamlin and Bowyer, he may have won the race. Jones is only in his third year in cup and he still has time to improve.
The Stronger Team
At the quarter mark of the season it appears that Joe Gibbs Racing has the slight edge over Team Penske. Gibbs has the trio of Busch, Hamlin, and Truex with a combined six wins and Penske has the duo of Logano and Keselowski with three wins in total. Busch and Hamlin hold the top two spots in average finish. Keselowski and Logano have not been as consistent as the Gibbs duo.
Jones has had flashes of speed along with Blaney. There is not much of an edge when it come to these drivers. All three of these drivers have the potential to break out and win multiple races and take their teams to the top where Busch, Hamlin, Logano, and Keselowski are. JGR has the edge over Penske after the first quarter of the season, but things can change real quick in NASCAR.
