Following Kyle Larson’s win in Sunday’s Meals Metropolis 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Sequence season is formally 1 / 4 of the way in which performed. With 9 of 36 races on the calendar full, listed here are drivers who’ve surprisingly impressed and upset to date.
Impressed: Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota, 23XI Racing
Wallace has arguably by no means had extra velocity to begin a season in his Cup Sequence profession. By means of the primary 9 races of 2025, Wallace sits eighth within the Cup Sequence standings, thanks largely to the 78 stage factors he is collected. Finishes of third at Homestead and Martinsville show that the No. 23 crew is able to profitable sooner relatively than later. For the primary time in his profession, Wallace is comfortably above the playoff lower line after a big pattern dimension of races, and the upcoming race at Talladega Superspeedway (April 27) may very well be the location of his third profession win.
Disillusioned: Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford, RFK Racing
Opposite to Wallace, Keselowski is off to arguably the worst begin of his Cup Sequence profession. The 2012 champion presently sits thirty first within the standings and is but to gather a top-10 end to date this season. Talladega may very well be a beacon of sunshine – Keselowski is a six-time victor on the 2.66-mile superspeedway – however the No. 6 crew wants to search out velocity shortly, or threat being in a must-win scenario when the common season winds down.
Impressed: Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford, Wooden Brothers Racing
Setting expectations for Berry and the No. 21 crew going into the 12 months was tough. Berry was coming off a tumultuous rookie season that noticed his former crew, Stewart-Haas Racing, shut down on the conclusion of 2024. Except for Harrison Burton’s Daytona win, the No. 21 crew hadn’t sniffed success with the Subsequent-Gen automobile. Nevertheless, a win at Las Vegas – the primary of Berry’s Cup Sequence profession – and powerful runs at Phoenix, Darlington and Bristol are proof that Berry and the Wooden Brothers have the potential to make a stunning postseason run.
Disillusioned: Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing
Whereas his teammate in Ross Chastain sits above the playoff lower line, Suarez and the No. 99 crew have struggled out of the gate in 2025, sitting twenty seventh in factors by 9 races. Suarez’s solely top-10 end to date this season was a runner-up end to Berry at Las Vegas, and solely an abysmal begin to the season for rookie Shane van Gisbergen has stored Suarez from being worst at school at Trackhouse. With 18-year-old prospect Connor Zilisch ready within the wings for a possible Cup Sequence experience, the time is now for Suarez to provide outcomes, or he could also be pressured into free company and in search of the fifth experience of his Cup Sequence profession.
