If you want proof that the current Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format is working, all you need to do is look at who’s winning races.
They’re the same people who contend for the championship year in and year out.
The current Chase format is simple: Win at least one race and finish in the top 30 in driver points during NASCAR’s 26-race regular season and you make the Chase.
Well, guess what?
Since the start of the 2010 season, nine different drivers have posted double-digit Sprint Cup race victory totals.
Not coincidentally, every Cup championship since 2005 has been won by one of those nine drivers. Also not coincidentally, all nine of these drivers have won at least one race already this year and are on track to make the Chase.
Collectively, NASCAR’s top nine winners since the start of 2010 have combined to win 15 of the 17 races run so far this season.
Here are the nine drivers who have posted double-digit victory totals since 2010:
9. CARL EDWARDS, 11 wins — If nothing else, Edwards has been a model of consistency, posting two wins per season five times since 2010.
8. TONY STEWART, 13 — Considering he went more than three years without a victory, Stewart’s presence on this list is indeed impressive.
7. JOEY LOGANO, 14 — Last year, Logano had a series high six victories and should add a lot more in the years ahead. He’s just coming into his prime.
6. DENNY HAMLIN, 19 — Since 2010, Hamlin has the most race victories of any driver who hasn’t won a championship. Not sure if that’s good or bad.
5. MATT KENSETH, 19 — One of four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers on this list, Kenseth has won 13 races since joining JGR in 2013.
4. BRAD KESELOWSKI, 19 — The winner Saturday night at Daytona, Keselowski has developed into a first-class restrictor-plate racer. He’s pretty good everywhere else, too.
3. KYLE BUSCH, 21 — Winning the 2015 Cup championship after missing the first 11 races due to injury was truly a remarkable achievement.
2. KEVIN HARVICK, 21 — Let’s see … since joining Stewart-Haas Racing Harvick won the 2014 Cup championship, finished second last year and leads the points again this year. He truly is one of the sport’s elite talents.
1. JIMMIE JOHNSON, 30 — When you look at the numbers Johnson puts up year after year, he truly is an underappreciated superstar. Think about it: Since 2010, Johnson has won 43 percent more races than his two closet competitors, Harvick and Kyle Busch.
