NASCAR Information Sunday, September 3, 2017

2017 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS

• Most wins this season: 4 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most 2nd-place finishes this season: 7 Kyle Larson (3 Wins)
• Most top 3 finishes this season: 10 Kyle Larson
• Most top 5 finishes this season: 11 Brad Keselowski
• Most top 10 finishes this season: 17 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most poles this season: 6 Kyle Busch
• Most front-row starts this season: 8 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most top 6 starts this season: 17 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most top 12 starts this season: 23 Jamie McMurray
• Best average start this season: 7.0 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most laps led this season: 1448 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most laps led by winless drivers this season: 310 Erik Jones
• Most races led this season: 20 Kyle Busch
• 14 Different winners in 25 races this season (13 Count toward Playoff)
• 4 Different winners in 4 short track races this season
• Team Penske: 2 Short track wins this season – Martinsville April (Keselowski) & Richmond April (Logano)
• Denny Hamlin: 2 Wins last 7 races – Winless previous 28 races
• Denny Hamlin: Back-to-back wins twice in career – Pocono 6/10 & Michigan 6/10 and Bristol 8/12 & Atlanta 9/12 (3 Richmond wins – All in Race to the Playoff races including last season)
• Denny Hamlin: 31 Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins – 7 Wins in September (Most of all months)
• Denny Hamlin: Last 9 wins came on 9 different tracks
• Denny Hamlin: 7th multiple-win season – 3rd straight
• Denny Hamlin: Won 4 of last 7 races for Joe Gibbs Racing
• Kyle Busch: 5 Straight top 10 finishes – 3 Top 2 finishes last 5 races
• Kyle Busch: 8 Straight races led (565 Laps led) – Career-longest streak: 10 Straight (2015)
• Kurt Busch: 4 Top 5 finishes this season – 2 Straight top 5 finishes
• Kurt Busch: Best finish since 2017 Daytona 500 win: 3rd – Darlington
• Kurt Busch: Finished 11th or better last 4 races – 3 Top 10 finishes
• Austin Dillon: 1 Top 5 finish last 13 races – Finished 4th at Darlington
• Erik Jones: 5 Straight top 10 finishes – Career-longest streak
• Erik Jones: 4 Career top 5 finishes – 3 Straight top 5 finishes
• Jimmie Johnson: No top 5 finishes last 12 races – Career-longest streak
• Ryan Newman: 3 Straight top 10 finishes – Longest streak since 2015
• Kevin Harvick: 300 Career top 10 finishes (600th race at Richmond this weekend)
• Kevin Harvick: Failed to win last 11 races after starting first
• 3 Won first career race this season – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Talladega, Austin Dillon Charlotte & Ryan Blaney Pocono
• Martin Truex Jr. only driver to sweep every Stage in MENCS race – 2017 Las Vegas & 2017 Kentucky
• Stage 1 winner went on to win race 5 times
• Stage 2 winner went on to win race twice – Martin Truex Jr. Las Vegas & Kentucky
• Jimmie Johnson: 3 Wins this season – 1 Stage win (Sonoma Stage 1)
• Kyle Busch: 10 Stage wins this season (2nd-most) – 2 Wins this season (Pocono July & Bristol Aug.)
• 8 Won Stage 1 & Stage 2 – Twice went on to win race (Martin Truex Jr. Las Vegas & Kentucky)
• 13 Drivers won Stages this season – 4 Have yet to win a race (Bowyer, Elliott, Kenseth & Suarez)
• Martin Truex Jr. leads all with 17 Stage wins (37 Playoff points – Leader) – 4 Race wins
• Last to win consecutive races: Jimmie Johnson (Texas 4/17 & Bristol 4/17)
• 4 Wins from pole this season – 3 By drivers named Kyle (Kyle Larson 2 & Kyle Busch 1)
• Jimmie Johnson: Last 5 top 5 finishes were all wins
• Jimmie Johnson: 5 Wins starting rear of field – 3 of last 4 wins came starting rear of field
• Jimmie Johnson started rear of field 6 races this season – Most of all drivers
• Best finisher dropping to rear of field this season:
• Winner – Jimmie Johnson (Texas April & Dover June) & Joey Logano (Richmond April)
• Last winner in backup car: Denny Hamlin – New Hampshire 7/17
• Last previous winner in backup car: Kurt Busch – Michigan 6/15
• Last winner after free-pass: Martin Truex Jr. – 2016 Chicagoland
• 2 Won after pit road speeding penalty this season: Kurt Busch Daytona 500 & Brad Keselowski Martinsville April
• No pit road speeding penalties at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen & Darlington
• Denny Hamlin: Most laps led in a race this season – 124 (Darlington)
• Martin Truex Jr. passed for final lead change 2 of last 3 races – 2 To go at Michigan & 3 to go at Darlington
• Kyle Busch passed for final lead change 5 races this season
• Kyle Larson passed for final lead change 4 races this season
• Brad Keselowski passed for final lead change 3 races this season
• Kyle Busch led most laps 6 races this season – 1 Win in those races (Pocono July)
• Kyle Busch failed to win 6 of last 7 races after leading most laps
• Kurt Busch: 13 Laps led this season – 7 Laps led at Darlington
• Jimmie Johnson led 18 or fewer laps 3 of last 4 wins
• Final lead change with 10 or fewer laps to go 14 of 25 races this season
• Leader of most laps won only 8 of 25 races this season – Truex Jr. 4, Larson 2, Kyle Busch 1 & Hamlin 1
• 4 Winners this season have led a total of 143 laps – Stenhouse Jr. 50, Newman 38, Kahne 31, Kurt Busch 13 & A. Dillon 11
• 10 To go leader failed to win 12 races this season
• Martin Truex Jr. failed to win 2 of last 3 races after leading with 10 laps to go
• Austin Dillon best Chevrolet finisher at Darlington (4th) – 2nd time best Chevrolet finisher this season
• Kurt Busch best Ford finisher 4 times this season – Best Ford finisher last 2 races
• Denny Hamlin best Toyota finisher 4 of last 11 races
• Ford: 8 Wins in 25 races this season (Winless last 8 races) – 8 Wins all of last season
• Toyota: 6 Wins last 8 races – Only 2 wins previous 17 races this season
• Joe Gibbs Racing: 4 Wins last 7 races – Winless previous 20 races
• Erik Jones best Rookie finisher last 3 races – All top 5 finishes
• Joe Gibbs Racing swept NXS & MENCS races at Bristol (Kyle Busch) & Darlington (Denny Hamlin)
• 9 Different teams won this season
• 4 Crew chiefs won first race this season: Justin Alexander, Jeremy Bullins, Luke Lambert & Keith Rodden
• 5 Winning crew chiefs were suspended this season – Paul Wolfe, Rodney Childers, Todd Gordon, Adam Stevens & Chad Johnston
• Joe Gibbs Racing: 4 Wins this season – 12 Wins all of last season (Led all teams)
• No Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished top 10 in 3 of last 4 races including last 2
• Austin Dillon best Richard Childress Racing finisher at Darlington (4th) – First time best RCR finisher last 6 races
• Denny Hamlin best Joe Gibbs Racing finisher at Darlington (Winner) – First time best JGR finisher last 6 races
• Chase Elliott best Hendrick Motorsports finisher 4 of last 5 races
• Kurt Busch best Stewart-Haas Racing finisher last 3 races
• Closest margin-of-victory this season: .095 Seconds – Talladega May (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over Jamie McMurray)
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won 2 of the 3 closest races this season – Talladega May & Daytona July
• 8 Overtime races this season – Leader at scheduled distance won 4
• Kyle Larson won 2 Overtime races this season – Auto Club & Michigan Aug.
• 2 Races settled by last lap pass this season – Daytona 500 & Talladega May
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took lead for last time on final lap at Talladega May & with 2 laps to go at Daytona July
• Roush Fenway Racing ended 101-race winless streak at Talladega May
• Richard Childress Racing ended 112-race winless streak at Phoenix March
• Youngest winner: Ryan Blaney – 23
• 17 Wins this season by drivers 32-years-old or older
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ended 157-race winless streak this season (Talladega May)
• Austin Dillon ended 132-race winless streak this season (Charlotte May)
• Ryan Newman ended 127-race winless streak this season (Phoenix March)
• Kasey Kahne ended 102-race winless streak this season (Indianapolis July)
• Kyle Busch ended 36-race winless streak this season (Pocono July)

2017 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS

• Most wins this season: 5 Kyle Busch
• Most 2nd-place finishes this season: 5 Ryan Blaney (1 Win)
• Most top 3 finishes this season: 6 Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson & Joey Logano
• Most top 5 finishes this season: 9 Elliott Sadler (Winless)
• Most top 10 finishes this season: 17 Elliott Sadler
• Best average finish this season (Drivers competing every race): 10.0 Elliott Sadler
• Most laps led this season: 549 Kyle Busch
• Most races led this season: 11 Justin Allgaier
• Most poles this season: 6 Kyle Busch
• Most top 6 starts this season: 12 William Byron & Daniel Hemric
• Most top 12 starts this season: 20 Daniel Hemric
• Most lead lap finishes this season: 20 William Byron
• 9 Races remaining / 2 Regular season races remaining / 7 Playoff races
• 14 Different winners in 24 races this season
• 5 Different winners from 3 different teams in 5 short track races this season
• #20 won 2 of 5 short track races this season – Erik Jones (Bristol April) & Ryan Preece (Iowa July)
• Joe Gibbs Racing won 3 of 5 short track races this season with 3 different drivers – Kyle Busch, E. Jones & Preece
• 8 Won first pole this season – Bell, Benjamin, Byron, Hemric, B. Jones, Koch, Poole & Preece
• 20 Won Stages this season – 10 Winless in races
• Brad Keselowski leads all with 7 Stage wins – 1 Win (Pocono)
• Elliott Sadler leads NXS regulars with 5 Stage wins (3 at Daytona) – Winless
• 7 Won Stage 1 & went on to win race this season
• 4 Won Stage 2 & went on to win race
• Brad Keselowski (Pocono June) & Kyle Busch (Bristol Aug.) only drivers to win both Stages & race
• 2 NXS & MENCS weekend sweeps this season – Kyle Larson (Auto Club) & Kyle Busch (Bristol Aug.)
• William Byron best NXS regular at Darlington (Finished 5th) – Best NXS regular 6 of last 12 races
• 8 Winners from pole this season – Kyle Busch 4, Denny Hamlin 1, Sam Hornish Jr. 1, Kyle Larson 1 & Ryan Preece 1
• 6 of last 9 races won from pole – Kentucky, New Hampshire, Iowa, Mid-Ohio, Bristol Aug. & Darlington
• 2 Winners from rear of field this season: Ryan Blaney (Charlotte May) & William Byron (Daytona June)
• #22 passed for final lead change 5 races this season – Daytona Feb., Auto Club, Bristol April, Daytona June & Darlington
• Final lead change with 10 or fewer laps to go 10 races this season
• 2 Races settled by last lap pass this season – Pocono & Michigan
• #22 Best Ford finisher 15 of 24 races this season – 2 Wins (Pocono & Mid-Ohio)
• #18 Best Toyota finisher 10 of 24 races this season – 6 Wins
• Team Penske #12 won 4 of last 6 races competed
• Chevrolet won only 4 of last 13 races – 3 Won by William Byron
• 5 Overtime races this season – Daytona Feb., Richmond April, Daytona June, Iowa July & Darlington
• William Byron best Rookie of the Year contender at Darlington (Finished 5th) – 8th time best Rookie finisher in last 12 races
• 1 Rookie of the Year contender won this season – William Byron at Iowa June, Daytona June & Indianapolis
• Youngest winner: William Byron – 19
• Oldest winner: Sam Hornish Jr. – 38
• #18 won 6 races this season – Kyle Busch (5) & Denny Hamlin (1)
• #20 won 4 races this season – Erik Jones (2), Denny Hamlin 1 & Ryan Preece (1)
• Joe Gibbs Racing won 6 of last 9 races
• Joe Gibbs Racing: 3 1-2 finishes in last 8 races – New Hampshire, Iowa July & Bristol Aug.
• William Byron best JR Motorsports finisher at Darlington (Finished 5th) – First time best JRM finisher in last 5 races
• Closest margin-of-victory this season: Michigan .012 seconds (Denny Hamlin over William Byron)