Grading Every NASCAR Team's First Quarter of the 2024 Season

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Let's asses how every NASCAR Cup Series team has performed to start the 2024 season.
Check out The Iceberg's video: • Grading the First Quar...
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Thumbnail Cred: Chris Graythen (Getty)
0:00 Peanut Patch
1:26 Chevy Grades
6:30 Ford Grades
12:04 Toyota Grades

[@gerroncassady7230]

Congrats on the recognition from Kenny Wallace recently man! Nice to see you two collaborate earlier this week🤙🏻

[@EricEstepp]

thank you!

[@jacksonrobison1901]

@@EricEsteppoh yea congrats

[@TactShooter]

Can We ALL admit that Wood Brothers not re-signing Dibby was stupid then, it was stupid a year later and it is certainly the dumbest decision an organization has made since Kyle Busch was allowed to leave Hendrick

[@DennyDeliversYT]

RCR is the type of team right now that would get a 0% on their participation grade… 💀

[@Itsgamingtime11-co5kp]

They need to do something about the performance

[@BrockCollins18]

Lmao

[@sirwhitecrayon2499]

They are straight garbage. I’m pretty confident that if Kyle was with any other club he was with any of the mid level teams he would be doing much better.

[@steveeazy18]

Participation grade is for the woke !! So who gives a F💯%😊

[@yexiangchia9321]

@@steveeazy18 wtf?

[@chasebriscoefan14]

I’m very happy with Briscoe’s results so far

[@EricEstepp]

He's stood out at SHR!

[@kylewagoner]

Me too. I picked him for my top 16 and thought I may be insane when I did so.

[@kadinsmith5182]

@@kylewagoner When I did my way to early picks I wanted to do an upset pick and O picked Briscoe and so far it's paying off.

[@areasevenpro]

Chase is on the case! 🏁🏆

[@JoeyWells-jr3pl]

Said it all along Briscoe got what it takes. I've even been a little upset with you eric on Briscoe, but I get it you call it like you see it. Go get it #14 SHR Chase Briscoe

[@DaronP.959]

you forgot beard motorsports, gonna be A+ after alfredos masterclass this weekend

[@smunger69]

Alfredo has been doing really well in an Our Motorsports ride, he’s been in the top 15 in points all season, on the cusp of a playoff spot. Honestly he might not be super fast at Talladega, but he might be one to watch out for at the end to make a run into the top 20 or so

[@DaronP.959]

@smunger69 i said that bc hes racing in the 62 for cup this weekend and that car is normally fast Also alfredo is goodish at superspeedways in general

[@smunger69]

@@DaronP.959 it’s not as fast of a car as you’d think, it’s been in the qualifying race for the 500 the last 2 years and missed it in 2023, but their race pace is about 25th which for a small team with 1-2 employees I would say is pretty good. They’ve had fast runs before just not really in the next Gen era yet, but I’d love to see them have a decent run this weekend. Small teams do seem to fit Alfredo better too so that may be a good pairing!

[@chaisediamond24]

prediction wasn't even that far off😭

[@DaronP.959]

@@chaisediamond24 the dreams gonna have to wait until late august (gilliland is winning Chicago tho)

[@jorgejoelhernandez]

Briscoe is my favorite driver & him having 4 top 10's already is huge. For reference, the leaders in top 10's are Byron & Reddick with 6. SHR as a whole have shown flashes, & anything could happen @ Talladega.

[@nexusducky5735]

ever since i went to the spring phoenix race this year i have been so much more invested into watching nascar more

[@Anime_Gamer_WeebWeeb-zs6lt]

I always thought of Penske the last few years as a two car team and Cindric doing caution duty.

[@johnhaas2523]

Penske is really a 4 car team just no paper is a 3 car team aka the 21

[@brandonmccain4031]

He’s just another Austin Dillion no fear of getting booted. At least Gibbs driving has improved but I think this is because of veteran leadership and actually leaning into the advice they give. Love Logano and Blaney but both have tempers and dramatics at times but proven guys same with KB at rcr but both Austin to me have same issues dads president of team no fear to get booted

[@davidreece5867]

I’m from Alabama and didn’t know boiled peanuts was a thing until I was stationed in Georgia. Tied them once, never again!

[@CantingWall3286]

You should do a grade for the open cars (Kaulig 13, RFK 60, Legacy 84, Live Fast 78, Beard 62, 23XI 50, NY 44, MBM 66, Front Row 36, and RCR 33)

[@tylerreddickfan1410]

I agree with what you said about Tyler Reddick. I bet if that caution didn’t come out, he probably would’ve won that race at Texas.

[@Aaron_The_Ace]

But it did that’s the thing there’s so many what ifs in sports. Just like if NASCAR didn’t have such a terrible points System Byron is the defending champion instead of Blaney who only won like 2 races

[@Imsorrywat]

At least be brought it home in Talladega

[@tylerreddickfan1410]

@@Imsorrywat that is true

[@bearmarsh6579]

Hendrick,A+ Trackhouse,A RCR,C- Spire,C- JTG,D- Kaulig,F Penske,C Roush,C SHR,C Front Row,C- Wood Brothers,F RWR,C Gibbs,A- 23XI,B Legacy,C-.

[@jasonmoore8518]

I can't believe the season Kyle Busch is having after the 3 wins he had last year I really hope he wins soon!!!!

[@CodyBennett-uv4vc]

It’s not been as bad as people think. Yes the short tracks have been terrible but they’ve been terrible since reddick was there. Vegas he was the only car that could rival Kyle Larson until his pit crew screwed him. He finished podium in the clash, led some laps at the 500, 3rd at Atlanta, top 10 last week. We still got a ways to go. The short tracks have just skewed the numbers

[@Transportationfan1421]

Here’s my take with Berry: he always has problems that aren’t his fault, running 12th: gets cut off, running 7th, pit crew is slow, running 2nd, cars just get faster. I may be wrong but this is in my eyes

[@gamez4420]

Bristol is the one place you could point to it being partially his fault, he seemed like he was one, if not the first of the competitive cars that would have to pit due to tire wear. Whether it was the car, or he just wasn't saving the tires well enough is up in the air, but until we know otherwise we have to assume it was both

[@smunger69]

That’s the usual case for most rookies, they’ll run decent in the race to back down the leaderboard at the finish, it’s not an uncommon phenomenon. Also it’s racing, you should expect things like being cutoff or the occasional slow stop, these things just happen sometimes, but honestly I think Berry isn’t quite getting what the cars worth yet. And again, I want to emphasize the fact he’s a rookie, so him not fully getting what the car is worth, that doesn’t surprise me, it takes some time and experience in them to figure out how much the car can get and how much more you can get with it. I’d expect them to run better in the 2nd half of the season, he did have some starts last season but having 5-6 starts before your rookie season while helps, isn’t as big of a learning lesson as the first half of a rookie season. I think we will see something similar to Ty Gibbs rookie season, decent in the first half, but improved in the 2nd half. I am not disappointed with his season just yet, he still has 27 races to turn it around!

[@kadinsmith5182]

Ford as a manufacture needs to get it going. I think they will this weekend, but, as a reference for how off they've been, Kyle Larson as a driver has more laps led than the entirety than Ford. Chevy's 2nd most laps led in Byron is only 28 laps behind Fords highest driver in laps led with Logano.

[@wolfehlol774]

No mention of Berry's pitcrew. He's had good runs at basically every short track so far but every time he goes down pit road he loses 2 or more spots.

[@EricEstepp]

Fair they've had a couple rough races

[@Untoastedbagel1271]

You know you made it in the NASCAR world when you get sponsored by smth as iconic as boiled peanuts

[@force3119]

Hi Eric, I’ve been a fan since you’ve made stop motion vids it’s crazy how far the channel has gone since then, keep it up 👍

[@StoopidRoofer555]

I got a gut feeling about Hocevar! I think that kid is going places! Lot of talent.

[@barrettnorris8796]

As far as Erik Jones goes I think it’s pretty good. They totally missed the set ups at Atlanta and Cota, but have been very consistent everywhere else, they were legit top 10 fast at phoenix and got unlucky with cautions at Texas. I think that 43 car has the real potential to start stealing top 10s away from other teams the longer the year goes on.

[@brandonmitchell4295]

Seeing you on herm's show was awesome bro. Ive been watching you from the start and im glad youve became what you have. Keep up the great work man.

[@itzfedora_yt4577]

Boiled peanuts are a delicacy. Fight me!!

[@jackflynn8494]

Justin and RWR have definitely had speed, listening to the radio and watching the in car every week the main thing they need to clean up on is pit road, there has been multiple times this year that the crew hasn’t got the car full and cost JH a good finish. For me it’s a B-, both cars seems to pop into the top 20 every race, for the 51 Chris Lawson and Chris Osborne work really well together and im definitely excited for the future!

[@drskull9]

I'd be a little more lenient with Front Row.. Todd has been putting in that extra credit work and his crew chief obviously has big cajones

[@bob8776]

They don’t call him Wrecky Spinhouse for no reason

[@user-zf1cd3wo1z]

cool chat with Kenny Wallace i don't really follow NASCAR but love your passion for the sport i really find it enjoyable to listen to thank you

[@user-zq4vf6bl4e]

I miss living in North Carolina and passing the boiled peanut stands along the road. I am going to make me some boiled peanuts this week after seeing this.

[@dannyalex7152]

While HMS and JGR are the top two teams, look for 23XI to be at the top as well (if only they can fix their pit road problems lol)… along with Trackhouse

[@bighand1530]

Tyler Reddick is underrated. Don’t sleep on Ross Chastain. And Daniel Suarez is the only driver to win this year that is not HMS or JGR.

[@xavierjuno4572]

​@@bighand1530I feel like Ross is doing better here than he was in 2023, mostly because he's a lot more consistent than last year

[@bighand1530]

@@xavierjuno4572 That’s fair. Tyler Reddick won yesterday.

[@timmyrohlfs7298]

8 seconds ago is crazy

[@EricEstepp]

Actually insane

[@brandonmccain4031]

Eric few things man congrats on the Kenny Wallace appearance hope this all leads to an appearance on a show over there at the dream media outlet of nascar DirtyMo love to see DJD, DBC or AD. Hell a stop in at the tear down with Gluck might be a nice jumping point but hope it happens for you. If so fly to NC tho. Next man im in the DFW area you should do something around here on race days for fans to watch the races with you. It would cool thing to do maybe a regular event who knows. Also when I heard your 6’7” on KW I said no way the photo with you is going to be hilarious

[@ChicagoStreetCourseFan]

💯

[@shadowlancerracing]

I won't argue with a B-. I think the speed is there, but qualifying results need to improve if Brad and Chris are to win races. I have faith though, once the team sort that out it's only a matter of time until the wins come!

[@gswizzy17]

Say what you will about Ty Gibbs, he actually CAN drive and it’s not just grandad’s money

[@hollygolden9673]

Good team analysis.

[@jacksonrobison1901]

I love this kind of video loving from nc

[@anthonymorelli3162]

Lol it’s so funny seeing your responses on comments!

[@TigerAnn2363]

Boiled pnuts . Ya! 🥜

[@Kenboslice3]

Eric, A+ on the wardrobe today, I have that same shirt! Obviously it looks better on me but it looks really good on you as well. Cheers!

[@naparacingfan9275]

Hendrick: A+ Kyle Larson: A (Should probably have more than 1 win) Chase Elliott: A (Slow ok start, 3 top 5s in a row and finally won) William Byron: A+ (3 wins) Alex Bowman: A- (4 top 10s recovering from back injury, he shouldn't be replaced).

[@mattcecil6692]

Jesus, I didn't realise Stenhouse is 27 this year until you spoke about him losing his temper and crashing

[@noahbacklund74]

Front Row Motorsports is having a slow start this season, but they have shown speed this year, its just taken time for Front Row to get used to the new alliance with Penske.

[@NoahGragsonFan629]

Really happy with the performance of Noah Gragson 😃😃

[@Jmisaprodriver]

Harrison Burton just proves time and time again the wood brothers made a bad decision letting go Matt Dibenedetto.

[@stephenullman4534]

This is the first time I've agreed with all of your scores. Well done Eric!

[@jareddiamond5133]

When talking about Rick Ware Racing, I want to say that they'll improve. However, with Cody Ware coming back to replace Kaz Grala, I think RWR will going backwards instead of forwards. It'll be up to Justin Haley to finish the next 27 races as a somewhat "legitimate" driver.

[@Crush1084]

Grala was never gonna race the full season. He's signed for like 25 of them

[@tannerwilburn9203]

If bubba does what he does normally and get better and better as the season goes , bubbas gonna be a champ 4 contender at this rate.

[@JackCallSports]

Hendrick:A+ Gibbs:A Penske:B Roush:B- 23XI:A- Trackhouse:A- RCR:D Legacy:C Front Row:C+ Spire:C- SHR:C Kaulig:F JTG:D- Wood Brothers:F- RWR:C

[@jbucktheman]

F- ? Not a thing

[@baileybrannan]

I think F- is too high of a grade for the Wood Brothers

[@baileybrannan]

@@jbuckthemanthat’s the joke. They’ve been so bad that they they’re not even good enough for a normal F

[@jbucktheman]

@@baileybrannan I know should have put them at Q-

[@JackCallSports]

@@baileybrannan you get it!

[@licorice5266]

Remember last year at New Hampshire when Lajoie filled in for Elliott in the #9 and Hocevar filled in the 7 and was running like 15 spots better than Lajoie?

[@Nick-cv5rm]

I forgot that Hemric was even racing full time

[@Lodifootball]

Cool interview with Kenny Wallace🤙

[@mikesowell7969]

Eric, I wonder why RCR can’t get their cars competitive on a consistent basis? Do you think one reason may be that they are located in Welcome,NC? 50 to 75 miles away from the cluster of the other Cup teams race shops and can’t get the quality people to commute that far every day?

[@johnhaas2523]

I would think that many of the employees are much closer to welcome than Charlotte

[@Ryans319]

Erik was running top 5 at Phoenix and Texas 😊.

[@JackerWarriors25]

Unrelated to this video, but I’d thought you’d be happy to know that I’m a Wisconsin resident and Matt Kenseth is going to be inducted into the Wisconsin athletic hall of fame

[@calebc.7818]

Hendrick A+ 23XL: B Joe Gibbs Racing A Penske: B- Spire/Rick Ware Racing C+ Trackhouse B Eric Estepp Videos A+

[@ChicagoStreetCourseFan]

💯

[@Keith18w]

I learned about you. That you are 6' 7" tall. DANG!

[@coopersweeney1336]

The 4 team has led the most laps of any SHR car this year but they don’t have the finishes to show for it; they need to work on finishing races and not making silly mistakes on pit road

[@JoeyWells-jr3pl]

Yea. But who is carrying SHR in points and stage points, starting positions. Best average finish. Berrys talented. All SHR drivers are .Cup series is hard. I don't think you can be a 1 - or 2 xfinty season winner and be big in cup anymore. You have to dominate. But first of all you have to have fast cars. To make the top 15. Berry will figure it out. But anymore if you have 2 bad seasons, there's young hungry xfinty and truck drivers coming up in a hurry. I hope #4 team comes together soon.

[@johnhaas2523]

There's a reason Josh is not signed to a multi-year deal and He was not Tony's pic he was Kevin and Rodney's pick

[@JayStephens8]

Drivers doing surprising well Hocevar, Gilliland, Grala, Hayley Drivers doing bad Busch, Austin Dillon just retire already, Harrison just go back to xfinity this is making the team look stupid for letting Dibenedetto go at least he was able to be in position for some wins and a playoff contender

[@bighand1530]

I wanna see Carson Hocevar win a race in his rookie year.

[@Eagleracer38x]

I think Berry's pit box and crew have been the big issue with his finishes

[@Jdfuller82]

I would give Kaulig racing an F.

[@nurabsal0x018c]

FRM seems very fast, hut haven’t had finishes to show for it. One or both of their cars always seems up in the mix at some point during the race.

[@MyDogFulton]

Eric for the Dale Jr Download!!!

[@jaggerglover2178]

as an Erik Jones fan i agree with a B- i said that in iceberg’s comments. Jones has shown some speed its just bad luck. Texas he was on pace for a 9th place finish but that caution kept him a lap down so he had to salvage a top 20.

[@JackCallSports]

The Rodney Childers take isn’t a hot take at all I thought he should’ve retired with Kevin or be made a competition director

[@johnhaas2523]

If you listen to anything he has said and I'm talking about Rodney you would know he doesn't want the competition director job Just because he doesn't want the duties that come with it but I'm assuming he would be a whole lot better than zippodelli. Rodney is Way too young to retire he got about 20 years to go. He could maybe go to KHI full time and work on the late models or work with Keelan

[@JackCallSports]

@@johnhaas2523 How would I know dude? When I was at shr as an intern I only saw him once and can’t read his head 20 years to go as a crew chief? Rodney is 47 bro Knaus retired when he was 48 And Chad could still win races Rodney can’t from what we have seen

[@aaronleesgbclieutenant]

I disagree about Childers and Berry. Theyve shown speed at a bunch of tracks but havent gotten the finishes. Preece meanwhile hasnt even sniffed the lead, let alone the top 5

[@christopherkasebier7416]

Everyone doubting Elliot I feel championship number 2 coming his way this year

[@bighand1530]

I could see Chase Elliott being the 2024 version of 2023 Ryan Blaney.

[@Rick-ip3cm]

Nascar needs to hire you

[@wesselweasel4838]

I have heard no one doubt Elliot this year 💀

[@timkis64]

harrison burton isnt a bad person, but wouldnt be where he is without jeff burtons big wallet.its a fact.congrats on being on kenny wallace show.your making a nice career for yourself eric.good job bud.

[@johnhaas2523]

His dad has nothing to do with any of it dex imaging does and of course kHI management. I don't think penske's giving the best of the best stuff to the 21 and is only concerned about keeping the Wood Brothers name on the track and place for development crew

[@Jmisaprodriver]

@@johnhaas2523Matt Dibenedetto wheeled that 21 car to 3 top 5s 7 top 10s with outdated Penske equipment. Also made the playoffs.

[@evdallas123]

Bush won't hang around long in 2nd rate ride

[@RonnieSprangerJr]

Where else then?

[@evdallas123]

@@RonnieSprangerJr good question

[@johnhaas2523]

​@@RonnieSprangerJrRoger Penske has 2 cars he could put him in one of them the 2 or 21, he could potentially return to HMS even spire

[@Blaneybest]

Hendrick is the nerd of the class.

[@Sithlord224]

I called it with RCR! Bench Keith from the top of the box and things will improve😂😂

[@joelboeve8493]

Gibbs has 3 wins and over 1k laps led. 95% of that was from Denny Hamlin alone

[@iornlazer04]

Front row Motorsports is looking great compared to past years. Todd gilliland is consistently racing in the top 10 and McDowell has been up front in many races! They just can’t seem to finish. Pace I’d give them a b+, results a c-

[@justingriffith735]

When has it not been Hendrick vs Gibbs? 30yrs ago LOL!

[@BraydenBunch58]

It’s A Darn "Peanut Patch" Commercial (I Don’t Even Know Who They Are)

[@quinnlay2150]

As i kyle busch fan i wish we were still in 2023 (the fact that kyle has somehow managed to drag those cars to 3 top 10s is wild)

[@majic4492]

Why should we be surprised that Austin Dillon would miss the playoffs?? We should be surprised if he actually MADE the playoffs.

[@Lodifootball]

RCR also suffers from nepotism Austin Dillon had his shot and that number three car time for someone new

[@johnhaas2523]

There's going to be nobody else unless there's another grandchild besides ty or an Earnhardt as far as the number three goes Austin gets out of the car The number three car gets off the track and 33 most likely replace the 3

[@WizardKingNick]

Don't care if him or his fans get mad at me but Cindric is the perfect driver to show you the skill difference between Cup and the other series. He was fine in Trucks and Xfinity but should honestly should probably not be in Cup. I know why he's in the seat but he doesn't deserve it anymore.

[@bryanjones262]

Harrison B. Totally surprised he is still driving in cup. Sponsorship must work wonders

[@johnhaas2523]

His teammate Austin isn't doing any better but Roger Penske doesn't have anybody to replace either one of them with though I did see somebody say maybe Penske is looking at a driver in the truck series and would be someone who brings some sponsorship

[@GreaseMonkey-dq2dk]

I heard about the return of IROC! Came to your channel to get the story. It wasn't there. So much for all things Nacsar I guess

[@johnhaas2523]

I sure Eric will have the news in an upcoming video but he thought needed a video about handling out grades for some stupid reason

[@cjfastfoot]

You should do a Talladega rain delay stream if you can

[@EricEstepp]

I might consider it

[@N9IBZED]

Your grades seem spot on to me

[@tswm3578]

Kesloloski is going to break through for ford this weekend.

[@kevinwiechmann787]

sadly for kyle and his fans we are still waiting for the team to show up ? it’s unbelievable we are here !

[@ming454]

HMS: A+ JGR: A+ Penske: B (They're not great, but so they were last year before the playoffs) RFK: B- 23XI: A- (They much stronger, than last year. It would be an A if they had a normal pit crews) Trackhouse: B+ RCR: D (Dillon is not much worse than last year and Busch at least still top 20) Legacy: B (Totally as expected) Front Row: B (McDowell got worse, Gilliland got better) Spire: B- (Smith as expected, Lajoie worse than last year, but not much, Hocevar as expected) SHR: B+ (Berry as expected, Preece got better, Briscoe is top 3 Ford drivers currently and Gragson is not even an absolute trash) Kaulig: D JTG: C (Yeah, they were good last year, but it's still f-ing Stenhouse in a f-ing JTG and he is 27-th out of 35 drivers, I think it's not an F at all) Wood Brothers: F

[@MFastnaught0947]

I love Ricky and JTG but boy this year has been ROUGH

[@ChicagoStreetCourseFan]

True,Taken A Step Back From Last Year And 2022

[@midwesttrainchasers8587]

Burton definitely dosent fit with wood brothers

[@americanwalmarts3565]

Erik Jones always rides around the 13th spot

[@maverick024gaming3]

I love peanut pads been eating them since I was a kid I love peanuts I want some peanuts why did you have to say that

[@grandy5124]

I literally need to remind myself weekly hemeric is in cup

[@ChicagoStreetCourseFan]

True

[@clintburns7470]

Some of these grades would be higher and some lower if it wasn't for the pit crews failure or success. Drivers trying to fight back from lost spots on pit lane and some drivers not needing to drive at all with the crews getting them up there

[@kylebuschfanroadto]

Eric i want your Opinion with Brad Logano and busch battling for the last spot in the playoffs

[@imr991]

3:48 I wonder what zane smith will do next year...

[@elliot20]

My guess is the will be the next Harrison burton

[@Itsgamingtime11-co5kp]

This seems accurate

[@gavinmcguffey]

Eric it doesn’t matter if they’ve led the most laps of they’re not leading the last one

[@jimmy_olds]

Good job with Kenny Wallace!

[@Dirtracing141]

I think shr will have 14 car 4 car 41 car They will sell charter of the 10 car but Noah gregson will be there in the 41 car. Unfortunately Ryan will not be. And potentially shr could field a 3rd xfinity car for Ryan or he could be just gone

[@cjfastfoot]

Phoenix was pretty good for Erik Jones till he had issues I don't actually remember what ended up happening

[@outfield1988]

Rodney needs to move into the office 8:18

[@johnhaas2523]

You're never going to get him to move into an office position as not something he wants to do. I could see him full time at KHI with the late models or working with Keelan

[@matman1396]

This might be really harsh, but honestly, I feel like Hendrick should be a flat A instead of an A+ just because of Bowman. Bowman’s not terrible but I do think he drags them down enough to not justify a perfect score like JGR has

[@JackerWarriors25]

Over/under 25 combined wins from Gibbs and hendrick this year? Lol

[@USSCoop]

Michael McDowell kinda sounds like Tom Brady lol

[@chuckthebrindlepittie6820]

Goodbye Eric. And good luck to you! I am done here. (Okay, John Haas -- rip me to shreds.)

[@johnhaas2523]

You want to stop watching Eric's videos I don't give a s*** because I couldn't give a s*** less if you watch or not the videos. If you're done about NASCAR then I guess you're nothing but a f****** fake fan But I don't know why your butt hurt about NASCAR if that's the case