Who really owns the Next Gen era? NASCAR laps-led data tells the story

NASCAR incorporated the Next Gen car in 2022 in its regular running of the Cup Series campaigns. The seventh generation of the Cup Series car has earned a lot of praise and criticism over the years for its peculiar characteristics, but a few teams have been able to nail down the key aspects that have helped them boast a crucial advantage every race weekend.

The Next Gen era began in 2022, and teams had to adapt to the new formula quickly to not lose ground to their rivals. However, this task was not easy; only a few teams were able to keep up with the new trends, which can be observed from the laps-led percentage tally:

1. Joe Gibbs Racing - 27.9%
2. Hendrick Motorsports - 27.6 %
3. Team Penske - 14.3%
4. Trackhouse Racing - 6.9%
5. 23XI Racing - 6.3%
6. RFK Racing - 5.2%
7. Stewart Haas Racing - 3.5%
8. Richard Childress Racing - 3.3%
9. Front Row Motorsports - 1.7%
10. Spire Motorsports - 1.1%
11. Kaulig Racing - 0.9%
12. Wood Brothers Racing - 0.7%
13. Legacy Motor Club - 0.7%
14. HYAK Motorsports - 0.4%
15. Rick Ware Racing - 0.2%

From the above list, Joe Gibbs Racing emerges as the squad that has a strong hold over its execution of race weekends. But Hendrick Motorsports is not far away with 27.6% of laps led.

These two teams account for more than half of the laps led between 2022 and 2025. While this showcases that these teams are ready for raceday more often than not, the championship tale has been quite different.

JGR has not won a solitary NASCAR Cup Series title in this time frame, while HM was only able to win the 2025 championship, as Team Penske had won the title in the previous three seasons. So, having solid drivers and a strong pace helps in leading the laps, but claiming championships is a different story entirely.

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Which NASCAR driver has dominated the top order running in the Next Gen era?

Team Penske's Joey Logano congratulating Hendrick Motorsports' Cliff Daniels and Kyle Larson on the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series victory - Source: Imagn

JGR and HM have dominated the laps led tally, but this is all down to having a strong lineup of drivers. This brings up the question about which driver has often been at the front end of the field in the Next Gen era.

Here, Kyle Larson emerges as the leader, as he has 16 race wins and a dozen second-place finishes. Then, Denny Hamlin is the next best driver, who has won 14 races and claimed 13 second-place finishes, while William Byron has won 14 races and nine second-place finishes.

This again implies that HM and JGR have a strong hold over the NASCAR Cup Series field, with their drivers often dominating various statistics.