Welcome to The Speed Rankings on The Athletic. This column highlights Central Speed for the NASCAR Cup Series, a statistic exclusive to subscribers of The Athletic that compiles and ranks speed-per-quarter averages while omitting crash damage and other aberrations. Drafting track speed is not included.



Across the first three races on non-drafting tracks, Chase Elliott has the fastest machine in the NASCAR Cup Series. This is an interesting development, to say the least.



Last we left the two-time reigning popularity contest winner, he was slumming it in a car ranked ninth in Central Speed outside of Daytona and Talladega and 12th when omitting the three road course races – yes, that’s how fast his Hendrick Motorsports team was at Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Roval – a significant disappointment considering his quantifiable development into a well-rounded star.



Elliott’s results belie his speed. While he won the pole for last...