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Tyler Reddick's victory in the Daytona 500 and Daniel Suarez's win in the Coca-Cola 600 marked the first crown jewel wins for both drivers.
But the streak of first-time crown jewel winners is likely to end this weekend at Indianapolis with Sunday's running of the Brickyard 400, just as it did in 2024.
After William Byron and Christopher Bell scored their first respective crown jewel victories in the 2024 Daytona 500 and Coke 600, respectively, Kyle Larson won the 2024 Brickyard 400 to notch his third crown jewel victory.
Larson, who finished runner-up to Bubba Wallace in the 2025 running of the Brickyard 400, is among the favorites to win this weekend, alongside Wallace, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney, all of whom have crown jewel victories to their credit.
Little hope for new crown jewel winner at Indy
There are three drivers in the top 10 in the Cup Series standings who have never won a crown jewel race: Ty Gibbs, Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher. Based on the seasons they've had, they seem like the most likely drivers to keep the streak of first-time crown jewel winners going this weekend.
The problem is that none of them have ever finished better than 10th at Indianapolis, nor have they ever led a lap at the fabled 2.5-mile track.
A look further down the standings doesn't necessarily offer more hope. Shane van Gisbergen, while improving on ovals, would need a miracle to win on Sunday. Ryan Preece is still looking for his first Cup win, and while AJ Allmendinger has won on the road course at Indy, he's yet to win on an oval in the Cup Series.
The only other viable option in the field for a first-time crown jewel winner is Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman, though he's 29th in the standings amid the worst season of his HMS tenure and has only one top-20 in seven Indianapolis starts.
All that to say, don't expect a first-time crown jewel winner on Sunday. But look out for one on Sept. 6 at Darlington, as in 2024, Chase Briscoe broke through for his first crown jewel victory in the Southern 500 to make it three of NASCAR's four crown jewel races that had first-time crown jewel winners in 2024.
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