After a long offseason, auto racing for the major national series are starting to return. IMSA kicked off the season with the Rolex 24 at Daytona. NASCAR will get their Cup season preview in LA with The Clash. Once that (and the Super Bowl) wraps up, all three of their series will begin in Daytona. For the IndyCar fans, March will see the beginning of the open-wheel season. Excitement is in the air. Here at Pit Pass Network, each member of the crew has made their 2024 predictions for NASCAR and IndyCar. Based on how last year went, some predictions will be eerily accurate while others will miss the mark completely. Here are the 2024 Pit Pass Network Preseason Predictions.
Andy Coffey
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Kyle Larson
Remainder of Championship 4: Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, & Joey Logano
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Erik Jones
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Bubba Wallace
Rookie of the Year: Josh Berry
Unexpected Driver to Win: John Hunter Nemechek
Daytona 500 Winner: Kyle Larson
Driver with Most Wins: Kyle Larson
One Bold Prediction: Shane van Gisbergen’s transition to NASCAR is not successful in 2024
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: AJ Allmendinger
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Brandon Jones, & Sheldon Creed
Rookie of the Year: Jesse Love
Unexpected Driver to Win: Jesse Love
Driver with Most Wins: Sammy Smith
One Bold Prediction: Brandon Jones is the best driver at JR Motorsports
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Ty Dillon
Remainder of Championship 4: Tanner Gray, Christian Eckes, & Ty Majeski
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Jake Garcia
Driver with Most Wins: Taylor Gray
One Bold Prediction: Ty Dillon will have more Top-5s than Matt Crafton
IndyCar
Champion: Josef Newgarden
Indy 500 Winner: Josef Newgarden
Rookie of the Year: Linus Lundqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Josef Newgarden
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 4th
One Bold Prediction: Kyle Larson will lead during the Indy 500.
Robert Cwick
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Kyle Larson
Remainder of Championship 4: Ross Chastain, Ryan Blaney, & Chris Buescher
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Chase Elliott
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Christopher Bell
Rookie of the Year: Josh Berry
Unexpected Driver to Win: Justin Haley
Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Driver with Most Wins: Kyle Larson
One Bold Prediction: Shane van Gisbergen wins again, this time at Sonoma
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: AJ Allmendinger
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, & Austin Hill
Rookie of the Year: Shane van Gisbergen
Unexpected Driver to Win: Brandon Jones
Driver with Most Wins: Cole Custer
One Bold Prediction: Only 1 JR Motorsports driver/team makes the Championship 4
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Christian Eckes
Remainder of Championship 4: Corey Heim, Bayley Currey, & Ty Majeski
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Bayley Currey
Driver with Most Wins: Corey Heim
One Bold Prediction: Matt Crafton retires after not making the playoffs
IndyCar
Champion: Scott McLaughlin
Indy 500 Winner: Helio Castroneves
Rookie of the Year: Linus Lundqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Alex Palou
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 5th
One Bold Prediction: Kyle Larson runs an additional race besides the Indy 500
Tiffany Faw
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: William Byron
Remainder of Championship 4: Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, & Ryan Blaney
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Chase Elliott
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Michael McDowell
Rookie of the Year: Zane Smith
Unexpected Driver to Win: Erik Jones
Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Driver with Most Wins: William Byron
One Bold Prediction: The regular season champion will not make the Championship 4
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Justin Allgaier
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Austin Hill, & Riley Herbst
Rookie of the Year: Jesse Love
Unexpected Driver to Win: Jesse Love
Driver with Most Wins: Justin Allgaier
One Bold Prediction: Parker Kligerman finally wins his first Xfinity race
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Ty Majeski
Remainder of Championship 4: Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, & Matt Crafton
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Layne Riggs
Driver with Most Wins: Ty Majeski
One Bold Prediction: Matt Crafton announces his retirement
IndyCar
Champion: Josef Newgarden
Indy 500 Winner: Alex Palou
Rookie of the Year: Tom Blomqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Josef Newgarden
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 18th
One Bold Prediction: Team Penske dominates the 2024 season
Griffin Fuller
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Kyle Larson
Remainder of Championship 4: Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, & Denny Hamlin
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Ty Gibbs
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Carson Hocevar
Unexpected Driver to Win: Erik Jones
Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Driver with Most Wins: Kyle Larson
One Bold Prediction: William Byron goes winless
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: AJ Allmendinger
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, & Austin Hill
Rookie of the Year: Jesse Love
Unexpected Driver to Win: Parker Kligerman
Driver with Most Wins: AJ Allmendinger
One Bold Prediction: One of the fulltime JGR drivers will miss the playoffs
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Corey Heim
Remainder of Championship 4: Nick Sanchez, Christian Eckes, & Layne Riggs
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Ty Dillon
Driver with Most Wins: Nick Sanchez
One Bold Prediction: Ty Dillon will win multiple races
IndyCar
Champion: Scott McLaughlin
Indy 500 Winner: Alexander Rossi
Rookie of the Year: Kyffin Simpson
Driver with Most Wins: Alex Palou
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 7th
One Bold Prediction: Sting Ray Robb will win a race
Robert Hill Jr
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Chris Buescher
Remainder of Championship 4: Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, & Denny Hamlin
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Chase Elliott
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Carson Hocevar
Unexpected Driver to Win: Corey LaJoie
Daytona 500 Winner: Corey LaJoie
Driver with Most Wins: Chris Buescher
One Bold Prediction: Justin Haley will contend for the final playoff spot
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: AJ Allmendinger
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, & Josh Williams
Rookie of the Year: Jesse Love
Unexpected Driver to Win: Josh Williams
Driver with Most Wins: AJ Allmendinger
One Bold Prediction: Hailie Deegan will make the playoffs
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Layne Riggs
Remainder of Championship 4: Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, & Stewart Friesen
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Bayley Currey
Driver with Most Wins: Christian Eckes
One Bold Prediction: Timmy Hill will win the season opener at Daytona
IndyCar
Champion: Pato O’Ward
Indy 500 Winner: Kyle Kirkwood
Rookie of the Year: Tom Blomqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Josef Newgarden
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 3rd
One Bold Prediction: RC Enerson will Top-10 the Indy 500 with Able Motorsports
Cash James
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Brad Keselowski
Remainder of Championship 4: Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, & Joey Logano
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Chase Elliott
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Carson Hocevar
Unexpected Driver to Win: Carson Hocevar
Daytona 500 Winner: John Hunter Nemechek
Driver with Most Wins: Brad Keselowski
One Bold Prediction: Denny Hamlin goes winless
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Sheldon Creed
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, & Sammy Smith
Rookie of the Year: Shane van Gisbergen
Unexpected Driver to Win: Jesse Love
Driver with Most Wins: Aric Almirola
One Bold Prediction: Hailie Deegan’s best finish will be outside the Top-10
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Corey Heim
Remainder of Championship 4: Nick Sanchez, Grant Enfinger, & Christian Eckes
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Bayley Currey
Driver with Most Wins: Corey Heim
One Bold Prediction: Dean Thompson wins a race
IndyCar
Champion: Ed Carpenter
Indy 500 Winner: Kyle Larson
Rookie of the Year: Christian Rasmussen
Driver with Most Wins: Scott Dixon
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 1st
One Bold Prediction: Kyle Larson wins the Indy 500
Terra Jones
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Joey Logano
Remainder of Championship 4: Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson, & Chris Buescher
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Chase Briscoe
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Josh Berry
Unexpected Driver to Win: Josh Berry
Daytona 500 Winner: Chris Buescher
Driver with Most Wins: Joey Logano
One Bold Prediction: Jimmie Johnson wins a race
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Chandler Smith
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, & Austin Hill
Rookie of the Year: Jesse Love
Unexpected Driver to Win: Parker Retzlaff
Driver with Most Wins: Cole Custer
One Bold Prediction: Shane van Gisbergen goes winless
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Layne Riggs
Remainder of Championship 4: Grant Enfinger, Bayley Currey, & Ben Rhodes
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Timmy Hill
Driver with Most Wins: Layne Riggs
One Bold Prediction: No team has more than one driver in the playoffs
IndyCar
Champion: Will Power
Indy 500 Winner: Scott Dixon
Rookie of the Year: Tom Blomqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Helio Castroneves
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 3rd
One Bold Prediction: A former champion does not win a race
Gregory Latham
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Chris Buescher
Remainder of Championship 4: Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, & William Byron
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Josh Berry
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Josh Berry
Unexpected Driver to Win: Josh Berry
Daytona 500 Winner: Ross Chastain
Driver with Most Wins: Chris Buescher
One Bold Prediction: Stewart-Haas Racing has more than one driver win a race
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Cole Custer
Remainder of Championship 4: AJ Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, & Riley Herbst
Rookie of the Year: Hailie Deegan
Unexpected Driver to Win: Josh Williams
Driver with Most Wins: Cole Custer
One Bold Prediction: Austin Hill will be eliminated in the Round of 12
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Ty Majeski
Remainder of Championship 4: Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, & Ben Rhodes
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Layne Riggs
Driver with Most Wins: Corey Heim
One Bold Prediction: Nick Sanchez goes winless
IndyCar
Champion: Romain Grosjean
Indy 500 Winner: Kyle Larson
Rookie of the Year: Christian Rasmussen
Driver with Most Wins: Sting Ray Robb
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 1st
One Bold Prediction: Kyle Larson wins the Indy 500
Mark Matthews
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Christopher Bell
Remainder of Championship 4: Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, & Tyler Reddick
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Ty Gibbs
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Zane Smith
Unexpected Driver to Win: Erik Jones
Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Driver with Most Wins: Kyle Larson
One Bold Prediction: Ty Gibbs will win at least 3 races and advance to the Round of 8
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Chandler Smith
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Sheldon Creed, & Riley Herbst
Rookie of the Year: Jesse Love
Unexpected Driver to Win: Jesse Love
Driver with Most Wins: Cole Custer
One Bold Prediction: Ryan Sieg will win on a superspeedway
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Ty Majeski
Remainder of Championship 4: Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, & Stewart Friesen
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Taylor Gray
Driver with Most Wins: Ty Majeski
One Bold Prediction: Both Gray brothers will win their first career race
IndyCar
Champion: Scott McLaughlin
Indy 500 Winner: Scott McLaughlin
Rookie of the Year: Linus Lundqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Alex Palou
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 9th
One Bold Prediction: Linus Lundqvist will win a race as a rookie
Casey Melvin
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Chase Briscoe
Remainder of Championship 4: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, & Tyler Reddick
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Erik Jones
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: William Byron
Rookie of the Year: Zane Smith
Unexpected Driver to Win: Cody Ware
Daytona 500 Winner: David Ragan
Driver with Most Wins: Brad Keselowski
One Bold Prediction: Kyle Busch wins all non-Daytona 500 Crown Jewels
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Anthony Alfredo
Remainder of Championship 4: Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, & Riley Herbst
Rookie of the Year: Hailie Deegan
Unexpected Driver to Win: Kyle Sieg
Driver with Most Wins: Parker Kligerman
One Bold Prediction: Hailie Deegan wins at Daytona
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Corey Heim
Remainder of Championship 4: Layne Riggs, Thad Moffitt, & Ben Rhodes
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Ty Dillon
Driver with Most Wins: Corey Heim
One Bold Prediction: Daniel Dye will advance to the Round of 8
IndyCar
Champion: Pato O’Ward
Indy 500 Winner: Kyle Kirkwood
Rookie of the Year: Linus Lundqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Scott Dixon
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 29th
One Bold Prediction: Romain Grosjean misses the Indy 500 field
Daniel Smith
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Chase Elliott
Remainder of Championship 4: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, & William Byron
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Ty Gibbs
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Josh Berry
Unexpected Driver to Win: Ty Gibbs
Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Driver with Most Wins: Kyle Larson
One Bold Prediction: Joey Logano goes winless in the regular season
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Justin Allgaier
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, AJ Allmendinger, & Austin Hill
Rookie of the Year: Shane van Gisbergen
Unexpected Driver to Win: Parker Kligerman
Driver with Most Wins: Justin Allgaier
One Bold Prediction: Ryan Sieg will point his way into the playoffs
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Christian Eckes
Remainder of Championship 4: Nick Sanchez, Corey Heim, & Ben Rhodes
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Taylor Gray
Driver with Most Wins: Christian Eckes
One Bold Prediction: Christian Eckes wins over half the playoff races
IndyCar
Champion: Alex Palou
Indy 500 Winner: Kyle Larson
Rookie of the Year: Linus Lundqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Alex Palou
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 1st
One Bold Prediction: The championship comes down to the last race with it being a nail biter finish
Jane Waldrop
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Kyle Busch
Remainder of Championship 4: Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe, & Martin Truex Jr
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Chase Briscoe
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ryan Blaney
Rookie of the Year: Zane Smith
Unexpected Driver to Win: Austin Cindric
Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Driver with Most Wins: Kyle Busch
One Bold Prediction: Carson Hocevar will become the most hated Cup Series driver
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: Cole Custer
Remainder of Championship 4: AJ Allmendinger, Sheldon Creed, & Riley Herbst
Rookie of the Year: Hailie Deegan
Unexpected Driver to Win: Josh Williams
Driver with Most Wins: Cole Custer
One Bold Prediction: Hailie Deegan finishes better than Shane van Gisbergen for the season
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Grant Enfinger
Remainder of Championship 4: Corey Heim, Tyler Ankrum, & Ty Dillon
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Stewart Friesen
Driver with Most Wins: Grant Enfinger
One Bold Prediction: Chase Purdy wins 2 races
IndyCar
Champion: Helio Castroneves
Indy 500 Winner: Josef Newgarden
Rookie of the Year: Kyffin Simpson
Driver with Most Wins: Scott Dixon
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 27th
One Bold Prediction: Josef Newgarden retires at the end of the season
In addition to seeing each individual selection of the crew, below is the Pit Pass Network consensus for all these preseason predictions (except for the bold predictions):
PPN Preseason Predictions Consensus
NASCAR Cup Series
Champion: Kyle Larson
Remainder of Championship 4: Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, & Joey Logano
Driver to Make Playoffs Who Missed in 2023: Chase Elliott
Driver to Miss Playoffs Who Made It in 2023: Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Rookie of the Year: Josh Berry
Unexpected Driver to Win: Erik Jones
Daytona 500 Winner: Brad Keselowski
Driver with Most Wins: Kyle Larson
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Champion: AJ Allmendinger
Remainder of Championship 4: Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, & Sheldon Creed
Rookie of the Year: Jesse Love
Unexpected Driver to Win: Jesse Love
Driver with Most Wins: Cole Custer
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Champion: Corey Heim
Remainder of Championship 4: Christian Eckes, Layne Riggs, & Ty Majeski
Unexpected Driver to Make the Playoffs: Bayley Currey
Driver with Most Wins: Corey Heim
IndyCar
Champion: Scott McLaughlin
Indy 500 Winner: Kyle Larson
Rookie of the Year: Linus Lundqvist
Driver with Most Wins: Alex Palou
Kyle Larson’s Indy 500 Finish: 1st Kyle
Now that you have seen the PPN crew’s picks, leave yours down below (especially those bold predictions).
