Eight NASCAR Drivers Under Immense Pressure to Perform in 2024

The sword to optimally perform on the asphalt is always hanging over the head of NASCAR drivers. Be it a Cup Series race, an Xfinity Series race, or even the Truck Series race, it doesn’t matter. The pressure to perform is immense, and the ones who endure the everlasting ask to ace are the ones who dominate the race.

Amid the plethora of drivers on the NASCAR roster, eight have stood out, but not for their superiority on the tracks, but rather, for their under-par performance. So, naturally, the burden to churn the expected output, if not more, is immense on these drivers. 2024 awaits their comeback to top form.

Who is in the needs-to-perform hot seat in NASCAR for 2024?

Chase Elliott

NASCAR has plenty of drivers, but the most popular among them is Chase Elliott. He has been declared the Most Popular Driver for the NASCAR Cup Series for a whopping six consecutive times. However, unlike his highly coveted award, his performance wasn’t up to the mark. After fracturing his tibia in a snowboarding incident, Elliott missed six races which slashed down his rank, and ended the 2023 season with 0 wins in the bag and at a dismaying P17 rank. So, naturally, the Hendrick Motorsports star will leave no stone unturned to reverse his recent NASCAR fortunes.

Denny Hamlin

Next up is Denny Hamlin, who debuted in the Cup Series way back in 2005. Since then, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has secured a whopping 51 wins, 221 top-5s, and 339 top-10s. Not only that, he once clinched the P2 spot in the 2010 NASCAR Cup Series standings. However, the 43-year-old is still shy of a Cup Series Championship, and having served JGR for almost two decades now, he has to show his mettle and give his best to clinch the 2024 Cup Series title.

Sheldon Creed

Sheldon Creed‘s exit from Richard Childress Racing wasn’t the kind that one would like to foresee upon them. His 2023 Xfinity Series season saw him finish seventh but he is yet to win a race in it despite 63 starts in five years. However, he got a place inside JGR’s stable and has to prove that the team’s decision to appoint him in the 2024 season was apt.

Josh Berry

Stewart-Haas Racing’s latest signing, Josh Berry, is one of the hot prospects in NASCAR whose odds of securing a championship are high. But how? Remember when Berry filled in for injured Elliott and later for Alex Bowman, driving for Hendrick Motorsports? Well, during his replacement stint, the 33-year-old driver secured a P2 finish at the Richmond Raceway and collectively put forth a consistent display with his 1 top-5 finish, and 3 top-10 finishes, from just 10 races in the 2023 Cup Series calendar. Adding to it, SHR’s winless 2023 season is a stain on the team’s persona that needs to be removed and Berry’s impressive stats have surely put him under an obligation to prove to Tony Stewart that he’s the one.

Daniel Suarez

Compared to his 1 win, 6 top-5s, 13 top-10s, and 280 laps led during his 2022 Cup Series season, where he finished P10 in the driver standings, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez‘s 2023 season has seen an acute downfall. Scoring 0 wins, 3 top-5s, 10 top-10s, and merely 48 laps led, his current season ended at a dismaying P19 rank. Adding to the misery, dominant teammates like Ross Chastain, who clinched the P9 spot in the 2023 rankings, and Shane Van Gisbergen, who nailed the 2023 Chicago Street Race title on his debut Cup Series stint, have resulted in increased expectations from Suarez to churn out some promising results.

Alex Bowman 

While trying to pursue his interests outside stock car racing, Alex Bowman raced at the High Limit Racing event at 34 Raceway in Iowa, where a massive wreck fractured Bowman’s vertebra, and he missed four races because of that. His o wins, 4 top-5s, and 10 top-10s could’ve been better, but due to the accident, his season ended with a saddening P20 place. On top of that, being the driver of the prestigious Hendrick Motorsports team, which has dominant drivers like Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott on their roster, the intensity to optimally perform has stretched to great lengths.

Martin Truex Jr.

More than a decade after debuting in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2004, Martin Truex Jr. went on to become the 2017 Cup Series champion. However, what’s more thought-provoking is that the legendary racer was left shy of the Cup Series championship a staggering 3 times, as he settled at P2 rank in the 2018, 2019, and 2021 seasons. Also, the 2024 Cup Series season could possibly be his last one as debates circling his upcoming season, although trashed by Truex Jr. himself, have already gained traction. So, Truex Jr. has two significant reasons to not let go of the highly-coveted 2024 Cup Series trophy this time.

Noah Gragson

Although Noah Gragson‘s 2022 Xfinity Series championship win secured a spot in Legacy Motor Club’s #42 Chevrolet for the 2023 Cup Series season, he was involved in a social media fiasco, wherein he, without paying much attention, liked a sensitive meme. Gragson’s ignorance of details proved disastrous for him as both LMC and NASCAR suspended him for liking the post, and his 2023 season ended on a displeasing note. However, when Gragson came back to the paddock, Tony Stewart was the one to sign him as an SHR driver. So, naturally, the onus to pay back Stewart’s gesture is clinging on the 25-year-old.

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Many drivers are under obligation due to their poor performance, while some had such a dominant year, that the expectation to perform in 2024 has reached new heights. Who do you think would ace the road to becoming the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion?