William Byron made the biggest leap during the 2023 season as he led the Cup Series with six wins.
Byron tops a list of five drivers that set career numbers in multiple statistical categories while moving to at least the Round of 12 of the playoffs. One driver made the playoffs for the first time in his career.
NASCAR Drivers That Made Biggest Leap in 2023
1. William Byron — He tripled his career-best number of wins in a single season by parking the No. 24 in Victory Lane six times. Byron reached the Championship 4 for the first time in his career, improved his career-best average finish from 13.6 to 11.0 and led more than 1,000 laps for the first time.
A fitting example of this breakthrough season is the spring race at Phoenix. Byron started second and swept the first two stages. Kyle Larson was in the lead during the final stage but Byron took it back on the race’s final pit stop. He won in overtime while Larson and Alex Bowman rounded out the top three.
2. Ryan Blaney — He won three races and reached 10 career Cup wins. Blaney fell short of his career-best numbers in top-10 finishes, top fives and laps led but raced his way into the Championship 4 for the first time. He then went out and captured the Cup title in his first attempt.
Blaney saved his biggest performances for the final four races of the playoffs. He finished sixth, second, first and second while leading 200 laps. This was the opposite of the Round of 8 in 2022 when he hit the wall at Las Vegas after a mistake and spun on the pit access road at Homestead.
3. Chris Buescher — He entered this season with 38 career top-10 finishes, 10 top fives and two wins. His best average finish was 17.3 in 2021. Buescher broke through this season by winning three races and posting 17 top-10 finishes and nine top fives. He improved his average finish to 12.1 and moved beyond the Round of 16 for the first time.
Buescher’s first win of the season was at Richmond. This was the 22nd race in the regular season. Ford drivers had accounted for only two wins at that point. Buescher added two more wins before the playoffs began.
4. Tyler Reddick — Reddick only won two races in his first season with 23XI Racing, falling short of his three-win season in 2022 with Richard Childress Racing. He improved in a category that matters more — he moved past the Round of 16 for the first time. Reddick reached the Round of 8 and ended the season sixth in points. His previous best was 13th in 2021.
Reddick enjoyed a big moment early in the season. He led 41 of the 75 laps at Circuit of the Americas and became the third driver to win in the No. 45 Toyota.
5. Bubba Wallace — Wallace went winless for the first time since 2020, his final season with Richard Petty Motorsports but made the playoffs for the first time in his career. He then made it through to the Round of 12. Wallace tied his career-best marks of 10 top-10 finishes and five top fives with an average finish of 15.9. He ended the season 10th in points.
A significant moment in Wallace’s season was the race at Watkins Glen. He entered the road course race having fallen to 28 points above the cutline after Indianapolis. Wallace responded by running inside the top 10 much of the afternoon at Watkins Glen, scoring points in the first two stages and finishing 12th. That put Wallace 32 points above the playoff cutline heading into the regular-season finale at Daytona.