Top 10 biggest story lines from the 2023 NASCAR season

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series has had a lot of interesting twists and turns (see what I did there?), and we haven't even made it to the playoff portion of the season. Here are the top 10 biggest storylines so far in the 2023 season.

10.) Stenhouse Jr. wins Daytona 500

If you look at Ricky Stenhouse’s track record on Superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega), you would say that it wouldn’t be shocking that he won the sports greatest race. But the fact that he did it in his No. 47 Chevy Camaro that is owned by JTG Daugherty Racing, a team that had only visited victory lane once before since it started back in 2006. But during the off season this past winter, Stenhouse was partnered back up with Crew Chief Mike Kelley, who was with Stenhouse at his time in the Xfinity Series back in the early 2010’s and won two championships, to start off the 2023 season.

“I think it was really big for myself,” Stenhouse Jr. said after his Daytona 500 win. “Not winning since 2017, having struggles, ups and downs, to have somebody like Mike (Kelley), who when he took over the reins as soon as the season was over, it was, ‘Hey, I know you can still get this done. We’ve just got to give you the right opportunities. We know if we give you cars capable of running up front, you can do that.’ We’ve proven that.

9.) Kyle Busch arrested in Mexico

Speaking of the off season, that's where No. 9 takes us on the top storylines of the 2023 season. During a trip to Mexico this past January, two time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was arrested at the Cancun International Airport on January 27 after it was discovered that he had a handgun and ammunition in his luggage. Busch was sentenced to 3 ½ years in a Mexican prison, but Busch “considers the issue closed.”

Busch released a statement saying, "In late January, Samantha (Busch’s wife) and I enjoyed a several day vacation in Mexico. When departing the country, my handgun was flagged during routine screening at the airport. I have a valid concealed carry permit from my local authority and adhere to all handgun laws, but I made a mistake by forgetting it was in my bag.

"Discovery of the handgun led to my detainment while the situation was resolved. I was not aware of Mexican law and had no intention of bringing a handgun into Mexico. When it was discovered, I fully cooperated with the authorities, accepted the penalties, and returned to North Carolina."

8.) Berry snags Harvick’s ride for ‘24

Josh Berry, who currently drives the No. 8 Chevy Camaro for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will be joining Stewart Haas Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series and will pilot the No. 4 Ford Mustang starting in 2024. Berry, who started racing Late Models in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series for JRM, got his break in 2021 when Dale Jr was able to give him a part time ride in one of his cars in the Xfinity Series, where Berry was able to pick up two wins. Now, he will have a chance to show his talents in the Cup Series.

Tony Stewart, who is the co-owner of Stewart Haas Racing with Gene Haas, had nothing but excellent things to say about Berry joining SHR. "You don’t get many opportunities where you can get a Josh Berry. We’re kind of in an era of motorsports where all these young kids are crammed down your throat and it’s not necessarily what our DNA is built out of. Our DNA is built out of people that have been hands-on in racing for years. You want guys that get in that fully understand it."

7.) NASCAR returns to North Wilkesboro

If there was one thing that 10 year old Kaleb would have never believed back when I first fell in love with NASCAR back in 2012, it would be the fact that NASCAR would once again return to Wilkes County and race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. But stranger things have happened, and NASCAR hosted its annual All Star race at NASCAR’s oldest venue, where Kyle Larson won the 200 lap feature on a Sunday night in front of a pack of people who've been waiting since 1996.

Marcus Smith, who is the CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc., a company that owns North Wilkesboro Speedway and several different NASCAR tracks across the country, stated ,“The community of western North Carolina of Wilkes County, Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro, the NASCAR community with the way everybody has pulled together, the amazing people that have been here working to revive this speedway for the last seven months straight,. Our contractors, and many people that have worked tirelessly over particularly the last seven months but then so many that never gave up for years leading into this to get us to the point where we can make this happen.”

6.) NASCAR hands big penalties to cheating teams

While the sport of NASCAR changes everyday from its past, the more NASCAR stays the same. This can be proven by the fact that numerous teams have been handed down big penalties for messing with the car, or in other words, “cheating”, to get an advantage on the field. One team this year that has crossed the line many times has been Hendrick Motorsports, who have been caught adjusting parts and pieces to the NextGen car that they shouldn't have.

But the crazy fact is that they haven’t been penalized that much, and that's not by NASCAR’s choice. When a race team is penalized, those teams have the right to appeal the penalty until it is solved by the National Motorsports Appeals Pane, or in other terms, NASCAR’s version of Judge Judy, where a panel of people will hear both cases and decide on a verdict. HMS was found to be messing with the hood vents on the cars, or in NASCAR terms ‘Louvers’ at Phoenix Raceway this past March. When NASCAR handed down the L2 penalty, which consisted of the teams Crew Chiefs to be suspended for four weeks, HMS appealed, and would later not have to serve those penalties and pay the fines to the NMAP’s decision. The NMAP didn’t go through with the penalty, and HMS didn’t have to serve the four week Crew Chief suspension.

Tune into Wednesday’s edition of the Nevada Daily Mail to find out part two.