NASCAR may very much be a veteran sport still. As the youth movement tries to make its mark, the veterans of the sport are saying not so fast. 18 of the 21 races have been won by drivers that have been in the sport 10+ years. 

But, last week three drivers aged 26 or younger finished in the top-five at Pocono Raceway last weekend. Erik Jones, 23, finished runner-up for this third consecutive top-three effort. William Byron, 21, finished fourth – his third top-10 in the last five races. And Kyle Larson, then 26 – he turned 27 on Wednesday, July 31 –  was fifth, his fourth top-five on the year.

This week 23-year old Chase Elliott returns to Watkins Glen as defending race winner. It was the first Monster Energy Series victory of Elliott’s promising career and he answered it with two more wins in 2018 and another at Talladega, Ala. this year. Not only is Elliott the defending race winner of this week’s event, Jones was fifth at The Glen last summer, Larson was sixth and Byron was eighth.

Six racers aged 27 or younger are currently ranked among the Cup Series’ top-16 and eligible to transfer into the playoffs in September – eighth place Chase Elliott, 10^thplace Ryan Blaney, 25, and Alex Bowman, 26.

Byron, Jones and Larson are currently 11-14^thin the championship with five regular seasons races remaining. Larson has a 25-point edge on Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer who are tied in 15^thand 16^thposition. He holds a 37-point advantage over 17^thplace Jimmie Johnson, the first driver ranked outside the playoff cutoff. 

As you can see, the sport is trending younger. You can thank the new aero package for that. A look at the competition highlights for the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season shows a well-balanced, highly competitive statistical analysis. 

11 drivers representing five different teams have won pole positions through the opening 21 races of the season. Stewart-Haas Racing and Hendrick Motorsports lead all teams with six pole positions each.  SHR driver Kevin Harvick is tops with four. Hendrick driver William Byron and Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon each have won three pole positions.

Denny Hamlin’s victory Sunday at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway extends a streak of different winners. Eight different drivers have won the last eight Cup races, including four first-time victors – Alex Bowman (Chicago), Justin Haley (Daytona), Kurt Busch (Kentucky) and Harvick (New Hampshire).

The average number of lead changes per race is 18.29 through the opening 21 races. It’s the most since 2015 (18.57). The average number of race leaders (9.24) is the most since 2014 (10.90).

The green flag passes for the lead are up 40.8 percent over last year with increases in 13 of the 21 races to date – including six of the seven 1.5-mile tracks. Green flag passing, in general, is up 30.5 percent compared to 2018.