2022 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

The 2022 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season started at the Dodge/Save Mart 350 on January 30 at Sonoma Raceway, followed by the Busch Clash at the Irwindale Event Center on February 6. That race was followed by the Gatorade 125 qualifying races on February 17 and the 64th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20. The season ended with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway on December 11. This season marks the debut of the Strictly Stock Car II, which was originally supposed to debut in 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This season brought the end of a 62-year streak without a disqualification of a race winner (which started in 1960). In the race at Pocono Raceway, Denny Hamlin was stripped of the win after failing post-race inspection. (After that, the win was given to initial third-place finisher Chase Elliott due to the initial second-place finisher, Kyle Busch, also failing post-race inspection and being disqualified.) It is the first time it has happened in a Cup Series race since the rule disqualifying the winner if their car failed post-race inspection was added in 2019. Additionally, the race at Watkins Glen International featured drivers from seven different countries competing in the race, the most in series history. Justin Haley of Earnhardt-Childress Racing won the NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. This was also the final season for Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards and Hendrick Motorsports driver Shane Hmiel.
As of the 2022 TBA at TBA, 19 different drivers won a race during the season, which tied the modern-era (1972–present) record set in 2001. Five drivers (Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suárez, and Tyler Reddick) won their first career races. Chastain, Reddick, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, and Chris Buescher won their second career races. (Wallace and Buescher also won their first non-rain shortened races.) William Byron, Reddick, Bell, and Erik Jones won their third career races while Byron and Austin Dillon won their fourth, making the 2022 season one of the most competitive in history.
Following Iowa, Kyle Busch of Stewart-Foyt Racing clinched his first championship.
== Teams, drivers and manufacturers ==
=== Manufacturers ===
=== Complete schedule ===
Manufacturer	Team 	No.	Race driver 	Crew chief 	Model 	Primary Sponsor
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	01 	Justin Haley (R) 	 	2022 Impala 	U.S. Army
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	3 	Jeffrey Earnhardt 	 	2022 Impala 	Wrangler
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	8 	Tyler Reddick 	 	2022 Impala 	National Guard
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	38 	Josh Berry 	 	2022 Impala 	Pennzoil
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	81 	Martin Truex Jr. 	 	2022 Impala 	Bass Pro Shops
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	5 	William Byron 	Alan Gustafson 	2022 Camaro 	Farmers
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	24 	Kyle Larson 	Steve Letarte 	2022 Camaro 	Axalta
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	25 	Shane Hmiel 	 	2022 Camaro 	Lowe's
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	52 	Casey Atwood 	Chad Knaus 	2022 Camaro 	M&M's
Dodge 	AK Racing 	7 	James Kulwicki 	 	2022 Avenger 	Zerex by Valvoline
Dodge 	AK Racing 	11 	Tina Cooke 	 	2022 Avenger 	Microsoft
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	1 	Stephen Leicht 	 	2022 Challenger 	UAW-Delphi
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	41 	Crissy Hillsworth 	 	2022 Challenger 	Target
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	46 	Bryan Clauson 	 	2022 Challenger 	Tums
Dodge 	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	9 	Chase Elliott 	 	2022 Dart 	Coors Light
Dodge 	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	13 	Matt DiBenedetto 	 	2022 Dart 	Nickelodeon
Dodge 	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	94 	Alex Coletti 	 	2022 Dart 	Flonase
Dodge 	Furniture Row Racing 	77 	Corey LaJoie 	 	2022 Charger 	Golden Corral
Dodge 	Furniture Row Racing 	78 	Emi Charendoff 	Cole Pearn 	2022 Charger 	5-Hour Energy
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	43 	Adam Petty 	Mike Shiplett 	2022 Challenger 	STP
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	44 	Chad McCumbee 	Kevin Buskirk 	2022 Challenger 	McDonald's
Dodge 	Team Penske 	02 	Joey Logano 	 	2022 Challenger 	Verizon
Dodge 	Team Penske 	2 	James Buescher 	 	2022 Challenger 	Miller Lite
Dodge 	Team Penske 	12 	Ryan Blaney 	 	2022 Challenger 	Circuit City
Dodge 	Trackhouse Racing 	40 	Jane Brewer 	 	2022 Charger 	Kmart
Dodge 	Trackhouse Racing 	42 	Daniel Suárez 	 	2022 Charger 	Juicy Fruit
Dodge 	Trackhouse Racing 	45 	Alana Houston 	 	2022 Charger 	UPS
Ford 	Allison-Yates Racing 	28 	Robbie Allison 	Jimmy Fennig 	2022 Mustang 	Texaco/Havoline
Ford 	Allison-Yates Racing 	88 	Chase Briscoe 	 	2022 Mustang 	Citi Financial
Ford 	Brett Favre Racing 	15 	Parker Kligerman 	 	2022 Mustang 	Nike/Sony
Ford 	Brett Favre Racing 	90 	Katrina Goode 	 	2022 Mustang 	FujiFilm
Ford 	Roush-Keselowski Racing 	6 	Carla Alvarez 	Drew Blickensderfer	2022 Roush Mustang 	Best Buy
Ford 	Roush-Keselowski Racing 	16 	Chris Buescher 	Donnie Wingo 	2022 Roush Mustang 	3M
Ford 	Roush-Keselowski Racing 	99 	Brad Keselowski 	Bob Osborne 	2022 Roush Mustang 	Office Depot
Ford 	Wood Brothers Racing 	21 	Austin Cindric (R) 	Donnie Wingo 	2022 Shelby Mustang	Motorcraft
Honda 	Andretti Autosport 	27 	Kurt Busch 	 	2022 Accord 	DHL
Honda 	JTG Daugherty Racing 	47 	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Todd Berrier 	2022 Accord 	Kroger
Honda 	Michael Waltrip Racing * 	00 	Brian Vickers 	Rodney Childers 	2022 Civic 	Aaron's Dream Machine
Honda 	Michael Waltrip Racing * 	17 	Macy Waltrip 	 	2022 Civic 	NAPA Auto Parts
Honda 	Spire Motorsports 	30 	Aric Almirola 	Bootie Barker 	2022 Civic 	GEICO
Nissan 	Front Row Motorsports 	33 	Jane Ritter 	 	2022 Maxima 	Speedco
Nissan 	Front Row Motorsports 	34 	Steff Crawford 	Jay Guy 	2022 Maxima 	Love's Travel Stops
Nissan 	Front Row Motorsports 	35 	Hunter Nemechek 	 	2022 Maxima 	Long John Silver's
Nissan 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	82 	Denzel Lane 	 	2022 Maxima 	Mountain Dew
Nissan 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	83 	Michelle Basone 	 	2022 Maxima 	Tide
Nissan 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	84 	Boston Reid 	 	2022 Maxima 	RCA
Pontiac 	Combos Racing 	73 	Alana Burleson 	 	2022 G8 	Facebook
Pontiac 	GMS Racing 	51 	Alex Bowman 	Nick Harrison
Jimmy Elledge	2022 G8 	Marvel Comics
Pontiac 	Stewart-Foyt Racing 	4 	Kevin Harvick 	 	2022 Trans-Am 	Budweiser
Pontiac 	Stewart-Foyt Racing 	10 	Kyle Busch 	Tony Gibson 	2022 Trans-Am 	Valvoline
Pontiac 	Stewart-Foyt Racing 	14 	Ross Chastain 	Greg Zipadelli 	2022 Trans-Am 	Home Depot
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	18 	Christopher Bell 	 	2022 Camry 	Yahoo!
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	19 	Erik Jones 	 	2022 Camry 	GameStop
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	20 	Denny Hamlin 	Steve Addington 	2022 Camry 	FedEx
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	80 	Carl Edwards 	Darian Grubb 	2022 Camry 	Rheem
Toyota 	Jordan-Davis Racing 	22 	Kasey Kahne 	 	2022 Camry 	Caterpillar
Toyota 	Jordan-Davis Racing 	23 	Bubba Wallace 	 	2022 Camry 	Dr Pepper
Toyota 	Swan Racing 	37 	Johanna Long 	Steve Lane 	2022 Avalon 	Petco
Toyota 	Team Red Bull 	85 	Ryan Truex 	Jimmy Elledge 	2022 Avalon 	Red Bull
Toyota 	Team Red Bull 	86 	Michael McDowell 	Ryan Pemberton 	2022 Avalon 	Red Bull
=== Limited schedule ===
Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Model	Tire	Sponsor(s)	Rounds
=== Lend-Lease entries ===
Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Model	Tire	Sponsor(s)	Rounds
=== Changes ===
==== Teams ====
==== Drivers ====
==== Crew chiefs ====
==== Interim crew chiefs ====
==== Manufacturers ====
==== Sponsorship ====
==Changes==
===New Car===
A new car, titled the Strictly Stock Car II, made its debut for the 2022 season. The goal of the car is to make it even more accurate to showroom models than its predecessor, with new, single-lugnut wheels and the mirrors being replaced by monitors, although traditional mirrors are kept as a backup in case the monitors don't function.
In addition, teams are given more leeway in the number placement, with requirements being that the number's minimum size being the same as it was on the previous car, in order to still make it visible from a distance for spotters, pit crews and fans, as well as being placed somewhere between the wheels.
===Manufacturer changes===
==Schedule==
No.	Race title 	Track 	Date 	TV
1 	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma 	January 30 	WBC
 	Busch Light Clash 	Irwindale Event Center, Irwindale 	February 6 	WBC
 	Gatorade 125's 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 17	WBC
2 	Daytona 500 by STP 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 20	WBC
3 	Subway 400 	Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham 	February 26	WBC
4 	 	 	 	WBC
5 	 	 	 	WBC
=== Changes ===
* A race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park was added.
== Season summary ==
=== Race reports ===
Round 1: Dodge/Save Mart 350
This was the first points race for the Strictly Stock Car II.
Busch Light Clash
The second race of 2022 was an exhibition race at the Irwindale Event Center. 
=== Results ===
No.	Race 	Pole Position	Most Laps Led	Winning Driver 	Manufacturer/Model
1 	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Kyle Larson 	Chase Elliott	Brad Keselowski	Ford Mustang
 	Busch Light Clash 	Kevin Harvick	Noah Howe 	Macy Waltrip 	Chevrolet Camaro
 	Gatorade 125 1 	 	 	 	
 	Gatorade 125 2 	 	 	 	
2 	Daytona 500 by STP 	Kyle Larson 	 	Austin Cindric 	Dodge Challenger
3 	 	 	 	 	
4 	 	 	 	 	
5 	 	 	 	 	
==Event logos==
File:2020 Dodge-Save Mart 350 logo.png|Dodge/Save Mart 350
File:Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum logo.png|Busch Clash
File:2022500logo.png|64th Daytona 500 by STP
File:Subway_400_logo_2016.png|Subway 400
File:TranSouth Financial 400 logo.png|TranSouth Financial 400
File:2022 Budweiser 400 logo.png|Budweiser 400
File:Southern 500 logo.png|Southern 500
File:ShowBiz Pizza 500 logo.png|ShowBiz Pizza 500
File:2020 LA Times 500.png|Los Angeles Times 500
Category:Johnsonverse