It’s fun to see who’s right and who’s wrong.
In what’s now become a NASCAR-Twitter tradition reaching its fifth season, we’ve again prompted you, the fans, to boldly and blindly tweet your Championship 4 picks before the season begins — only for us to file them away and unearth them during November’s Championship Weekend.
#NASCAR.com time capsule, to be unearthed before Championship Weekend in November:
Which four drivers will make up the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4?
— Steve Luvender (@steveluvender) February 14, 2022
Last year, out of the whole darn internet, only one person, @RadiKyleOpinion, correctly guessed the 2021 Championship 4: Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott.
Hundreds of you have already tweeted your predictions for what the 2022 championship picture will look like — even before the green flag drops in the season-opening Daytona 500. Never mind the fact that this year the Cup Series races with the brand-new Next Gen car, there’s been no shortage of driver and team changes over the winter, and the 2022 schedule received a bit of a shakeup.
The NASCAR Cup Series in 2022 is, in a word, unpredictable. Yet, here you are, posting your predictions with nothing to gain and everything to lose.
Blaney
Larson
Kyle Busch
Joe Log— JULES❄️ (@jul13_48) February 14, 2022
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
Kyle Busch
Joey Logano— Avery Hage (@AveryHage) February 14, 2022
Larson
Kyle Busch
Hamlin
Logano— Felipe (@feliperacing81) February 14, 2022
Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Larson, Logano
— Lady Jaye Aubernon 🏁🏳️⚧️✈ENVtuber (@ladyjayaubernon) February 14, 2022
Larson, Bowman, KyBu, Logano
— Brian (@realbrianmullin) February 14, 2022
https://twitter.com/ClutchandCoast/status/1493283297664905222
The theme from this year’s picks? A whole lot of defending champ Kyle Larson, and plenty of Kyle Busch, too. Fan faves Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney were among your most popular picks as well, but several people seem to think Tyler Reddick might have something to say. And who knows?
And, as is tradition on Twitter, some of you wisecrackers and smart alecks chimed in and made a mockery of our totally serious game. Sigh.
Ive been wrong before but i swear i will nail it this time
David Stremme
Reed Sorenson
Scott Wimmer
Tony Raines— dwest (@dwest___) February 14, 2022
Logano
Bowman
Reddick
Blaney
AND
Lewis Hamilton (the season finale gets Wild)— Brayden Austin (@BraydenAustin) February 14, 2022
Cody Ware, Ty Dillion, Todd Gilliland, Michael McDowell.
Crazy year . . .
— Bob NASCAR (@BobNASCAR2) February 15, 2022
Speed Racer
Yoshi
Herbie
Lightning McQueen— Andrew David Cox (@andrewcox92) February 15, 2022
The four drivers in the championship 4 are the ones that make it into the final round via the NASCAR Playoff system. Shouldn’t you know this steve?
— eRacr.gg (@eRacr_gg) February 14, 2022
Oh, and we’ve got some NASCAR.com team members participating. You’re encouraged to taunt them if they blow it; they’re the experts, after all. They’re supposed to know everything, including what happens in the future.
Larson
Blaney
Harvick
Kyle Busch— nascarcasm (@nascarcasm) February 14, 2022
Blaney, Larson, Ky. Busch, Byron
— Chase Wilhelm (@Chase_Wilhelm) February 14, 2022
Blaney, Bowman, Busch, Byron
You better b-lieve it
— Pat DeCola (@Pat_DeCola) February 14, 2022
Larson, Elliott, Kyle Busch, Logano
— RJ Kraft (@kraftdaddy85) February 14, 2022
Fair warning: we’re not afraid to shame you if you’re wrong. Each year, we do a whole Hall of Shame and everything. It’s fun (for us, at least).
For those who put their necks — and egos — on the line by making public guesses with no points-paying races for the Next Gen race car yet in the books, we applaud you.
And if you don’t participate in our little game, well … you’re probably pretty smart. It’s going to be a season unlike any other. Making predictions nine months in advance is a dangerous game.
We’ll check in with everybody in November. Feel free to join in and hit that reply button with your 2022 Championship 4 picks before the Daytona 500, too.