2024 NASCAR superlatives at regular-season mid-point

The first 13 points-paying races of the NASCAR Cup Series season are in the books. From photo finishes to fiery feuds and more, scroll through to see NASCAR.com's editorial staff superlatives at the midway point of the regular season with a quick look at the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series as well.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Coming off a frustrating -- and abbreviated -- rookie season, not much was expected out of Noah Gragson in his first season with a new manufacturer and an organization in flux, but, boy is he turning heads this year. Viewed as a top national series prospect until roughly early last year, the ceiling has always been high for the Las Vegas native, who compiled 15 wins and three Championship 4 appearances in the other two series from 2017-22. The fact that he's running so well this year -- he has more top 10s in 2024 than drivers such as Ross Chastain and two-time champ Joey Logano -- has done plenty to reestablish his prospect status and he's even flirting with a playoff spot, to boot. -- Pat DeCola

Others receiving votes: Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano's slow start, Brad Keselowski snapping winless streak

MOST IMPRESSIVE ROOKIE

Carson Hocevar is the youngest of the three rookies and has the least experience across all three of NASCAR's national series before making the jump to a full-time Cup ride. Despite all of that, he ranks a respectable 25th in the points standings and has kept it consistent with nine finishes within the top 25 through 13 races. -- Alex Cadavid

Others receiving votes: Josh Berry

MOST EXCITING MOMENT

Imagine that: Two photo finishes tied at the deadline in voting. Kyle Larson’s win over Chris Buescher at Kansas was the closest in Cup history at 0.001 seconds -- but let’s not forget the dramatic thriller at Atlanta back in February, where Daniel Suárez nipped Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch for the victory in a three-wide photo finish of their own. Suárez got the edge by just 0.003 seconds over Blaney -- and by just 0.007 seconds over Busch -- in what was then the third-closest finish in Cup Series history until Kansas took the cake. -- Zach Sturniolo

BEST PAINT SCHEME

Throwbacks rarely get more perfect than this. The iconic colors of Terry Labonte’s No. 5 Chevrolet from the late 1990s popped to life again in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, where the bright yellow, red and white donned Kyle Larson’s throwback scheme. From Hendrick Motorsports’ detailing of nailing the hues to HendrickCars.com altering its font to match the traditional Kellogg’s logo, this was a 10 out of 10 across the board. -- Zach Sturniolo

Others receiving votes: Tyler Reddick's No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota at Talladega

BIGGEST RIVALRY

Denny Hamlin vs. The World. NASCAR always has a little extra oomph when there's a driver both 1. at the top of his game and 2. willing to make sure everybody knows it. We're there right now with Denny, the ultimate heel of the Next Gen era. No active driver in the sport has a stronger voice than Hamlin at the moment, and he continues to -- somehow, in his 19th season -- elevate his performance. No. 11 will continue to needle anybody and everybody along the way as he's, once again, beating your favorite driver. -- Pat DeCola

Others receiving votes:  Chris Buescher vs. Tyler Reddick

TRUCK SERIES STANDOUT

Christian Eckes is a force to be reckoned with in the Truck Series. As the current points leader, he has already celebrated victory twice and has led an impressive 425 laps in just 10 races, the highest in the series. His consistency is equally remarkable, with top-10 finishes in all but one race so far this year. -- Alex Cadavid

Others receiving votes: Corey Heim, Rajah Caruth

XFINITY SERIES STANDOUT

Through 11 races, Jesse Love has looked like a legitimate title contender throughout his rookie campaign in the Xfinity Series. He turned heads from the jump by winning back-to-back poles and leading 191 laps after the season's first two races. Since then, Love has earned his first career win, three top-five finishes, seven top 10s and continues to impress on a race-by-race basis. It will be interesting to see how deep of a playoff run he could make in his first season. -- Alex Cadavid 

Others receiving votes: Austin Hill, Chandler Smith

TOP CONTENDER BELOW ELIMINATION LINE

Joey Logano’s stat sheet for 2024 paints a very different picture than how the two-time champ has performed this year. With a top-five day at Darlington turned sour due to a speeding penalty, the 22 crew has had myriad issues closing out on big performances. After cashing a $1 million check from Sunday’s All-Star Race, look for the 2022 champion to return to that winning form soon. -- Chris Murdock

Others receiving votes: Bubba Wallace, Noah Gragson

BEST PIT CREW

Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports crew has almost been lights out on pit road throughout the 2024 Cup Series season. With the best average four-tire pit stop of anyone in the field at 10.643 seconds -- almost two-tenths faster than second-place Ryan Blaney with 10.837 -- the data shows why No. 9 is No. 1 on pit road. -- Chris Murdock

Others receiving votes: No. 5, No. 11, No. 24

BEST RACE

From green flag to checkered flag, no race has dazzled more in 2024 than the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. The finish alone was historic -- a mere fraction of Kyle Larson’s splitter was ahead of Chris Buescher’s at the stripe by 0.001 seconds, the closest margin of victory in NASCAR Cup Series history. But the action lasted all night long. Race leaders never stormed from the field while drivers used every inch of race track from the white line to the SAFER barrier. This season has produced its fair share of exciting races, but none quite like Kansas. -- Zach Sturniolo

Others receiving votes: Atlanta, Bristol

MOST VALUABLE CREW CHIEF

Chris Gabehart continually puts his driver Denny Hamlin and his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team up front on any given Sunday. Whether with raw speed off of the hauler or the adjustments and strategy on pit road, Gabehart’s calm and analytical mindset, combined with Hamlin's knowledge and driving ability, make them the perfect pair. With three wins through 13 races, stats show that Chris Gabehart is the man you want on top of the box in crucial situations. -- Chris Murdock

Others receiving votes: Rudy Fugle, Cliff Daniels

MOST VALUABLE DRIVER

There were certainly times so far this season when this distinction could've gone to either of the two other drivers that received votes, but there's no question that right now the MVD of the 2024 season (and arguably the best driver on the planet) is Kyle Larson. The current points leader has found his more-than-fair share of misfortune this year, and yet he still owns two wins, the series lead in top fives (6) and laps led (648) and has a solid 30-point lead in the standings. We didn't even see him start pouring things on until about June during his 10-win 2021 championship season, so it's extremely possible he takes things to another level the second half of the regular season and cruises to title No. 2 come playoff time. He (and the 5 team) are that good. -- Pat DeCola

Others receiving votes: Denny Hamlin, William Byron