NASCAR off-week superlatives: Awarding the 2025 standouts so far

With nine races down and the NASCAR Cup Series season a quarter of the way through the books, NASCAR.com hands out superlatives as the series takes a quick break before picking back up at Talladega Superspeedway.

MORE: 2025 schedule | Full standings

Best restarter*

William Byron

The No. 24 Chevrolet driver has been electric in 2025, and he's been the one to watch any time the cars take the green flag as the season's best restarter. Nobody has gained or maintained their position better than Byron on all starts and restarts this year, and with so much speed in his car (more on that later), it's hard to see this one slipping from his grip.

*Per NASCAR Insights

Best passer*

Ryan Blaney

Blaney's No. 12 Team Penske Ford boasts the second-best speed in the series, which, combined with the Cup champion's poise and talent, has allowed him to be the sport's most efficient overtaker so far this season. It's unfortunately been necessary for Blaney, too, as he's had to work his way back through the field for various reasons in 2025. Eventually, however, one of those passes will be for the win.

*Per NASCAR Insights

Best defender*

William Byron

Byron's demeanor both inside and outside of the race car tends to be on the more even-keeled side, and it clearly pays off on the track as thus far in 2025, no other driver has held their position better when under pressure. No. 24 has been the most effective in fending off faster cars -- on the somewhat seldom occasion anybody is faster than him, that is.

*Per NASCAR Insights

Best pit crew*

No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota crew for Bubba Wallace

It's not just about how fast your pit crew can perform a stop, but how methodically they can do it and whether or not that changes with pressure. And no team has demonstrated better pit-stop speed, consistency and ability to gain position on pit road better than Wallace's bunch.

*Per NASCAR Insights

Best speed*

William Byron

As alluded to earlier, the No. 24 Chevrolet has plenty of zip this year and carries the best overall pace throughout the field, with better average lap times than any other car. It's led to three stage wins, 354 laps led and two poles and has its pilot Byron looking like a Championship 4 lock.

*Per NASCAR Insights

Surpise contender

Josh Berry

Eight of the nine Cup Series race wins this year have gone to drivers with multiple Championship 4 appearances. The ninth? Well, it went to a driver with a hair over 50 Cup starts for his first premier series win in his fifth start with a new team. Berry's driver talent is no surprise, but him becoming a playoff lock halfway through March certainly was.

Honorable mentions: AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Preece

Surprise slow-starter

Brad Keselowski

Equally surprising is seeing the 2012 Cup Series champion and perennial playoff contender sitting 31st in points. Almost nothing has gone right so far for Keselowski, who has yet to secure a top 10 and is pacing a career-worst 25.0 average finish. There have been a few glimmers of hope and still some strong tracks ahead for him, but at some point, the hole becomes too deep to dig out of, and a win is the only path forward.

Honorable mentions: Joey Logano, Daniel Suárez

Best rivalry

Kyle Larson vs. Denny Hamlin

These two frenemies seem determined to continue to one-up each other, with Larson winning the latest battle in a Bristol beat-down but Hamlin holding the overall edge. There are clearly more chapters to be written here, and it would not shock anybody out there if the final entry in the 2025 volume comes on the final lap at Phoenix.

Honorable mention: Larson vs. Bell

Biggest story line

Bell three-peats, Hamlin nearly matches

No team has ever had two drivers win three races in a row in one season -- and Joe Gibbs Racing nearly did it in the first nine of 2025. Larson's Bristol brilliance is the only thing that stood in the way of that happening, with Hamlin pulling in runner-up in his shot at three straight. The crazy thing? It doesn't feel impossible that we could see one of them (or Larson himself) do it again this year.

Best moment

JR Motorsports makes the Daytona 500

For years and years NASCAR Nation wondered -- often loudly -- when JRM would enter the Cup Series, even for a one-off attempt. It got its answer with this year's Daytona 500, seeing Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s operation make the cut in thrilling and emotional fashion, with No. 40 driver and reigning Xfinity Series champ Justin Allgaier later taking it home for a top 10 in the "Great American Race."

Best race

Circuit of The Americas

Not only was this race exciting from start to finish and full of action, it came down to a battle between a past master and protegé in Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell, with the young grasshopper getting the better of Busch and taking home the trophy this time around instead of getting a talking to on pit-road after the race. The finish was an edge-of-your-seat nailbiter, with Bell also holding off a speedy Byron in the closing seconds and all of this happening cleanly, without wrecking each other. Thing of beauty.

Honorable mentions: Busch Light Clash, Las Vegas

Best driver

William Byron

Arguably the hardest superlative to hand out here as there are four drivers for whom you could realistically make a case. While the other three may each have more wins, only one is the two-time defending Daytona 500 winner, whose underlying analytics are in an elite class of his own. Byron also holds a healthy points lead over all three and, as the previously mentioned best restarter and defender with the best speed, it's obvious (a lot) more trophies are coming down the pike.

Onto Talladega!

Honorable mentions: Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson