Is NASCAR truly the most competitive motorsports league right now?

Austin Dillon's surprise victory at Richmond marked the 14th different winner of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. For the fifth consecutive year, at least 14 different drivers have won in the first 25 races. In a motorsport world where one or two names often dominate a championship, NASCAR continues to stand out as a place where the field is wide open.

The idea of NASCAR being the most competitive racing series on the planet comes from more than just its results. It lies in the variety of its venues, the unpredictable nature of its racing, and the constant shift in momentum among drivers and teams.

Why NASCAR stands apart

Track variety

NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400. Source: Getty

While most international series revolve around one style of circuit, NASCAR throws everything at its competitors. The 2025 Cup Series schedule is spread across 36 points-paying races: 30 ovals, five road courses, and a street race in downtown Chicago. Within those oval tracks alone, the diversity is striking - four short tracks, 14 intermediates, and four superspeedways. Add in the challenge of road courses and the new-age unpredictability of a street course, and no two weekends feel the same.

Few other major motorsports offer this blend of formats within a single championship. All 24 races in Formula 1 are run entirely on road and street circuits. While IndyCar mixes ovals (six) and roads (11), it is also mostly focused on street layouts. Even endurance racing, with its storied tracks, revolves around long-form strategies rather than the week-in, week-out fight for points across as many events.

Champions over the last decade

(L-R) 2023 Cup Series Championship 4 drivers at Phoenix Raceway. Source: Getty

The winners' list tells its own story. In recent years, victory has been spread widely, with veterans, newcomers, and underdogs all finding a way to the checkered flag. seven different drivers have been NASCAR champions in the past decade.

Compare that to Formula 1, where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have split the past eight titles. IndyCar has seen Alex Palou win four of the last five championships. Ferrari-AF Corse has won the three consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans. Even MotoGP was ruled by Marc Márquez for most of the 2010s (six titles), before Francesco Bagnaia's back-to-back wins in 2022 and 2023.

However, it's not unusual for playoff-bound drivers in NASCAR to enter September with only a single win. Nowhere is that clearer than in the 2025 season.

Driver competitiveness

With one race left in the Cup Series playoffs, two spots remain unclaimed. Tyler Reddick sits 15th with a +89 margin, while Alex Bowman holds the final transfer spot at +60. Just below the cut line sit Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece, within 100 points. And Daytona's final fixture has always thrown up surprise winners.

Alex Palou celebrates after the NTT IndyCar Series Farm to Finish 275. Source: Imagn

The IndyCar Series is already decided. Alex Palou alone has eight wins in 15 races, with Kyle Kirkwood and Pato O'Ward splitting most of the rest. In F1, McLaren has taken 11 of 14 races and is 299 points ahead of second-placed Ferrari. Marc Márquez is back to dominance in Moto GP, winning eight out of the 13 races so far, taking a 142-point lead.

NASCAR's ability to deliver variety on the track, depth in its winners' list, and drama right until the cutoff makes it unique among global motorsports. The numbers, the schedule, and the playoff pressure all point toward the same conclusion. At this moment, it may well be the most competitive racing league in the world.