NASCAR Talladega Sunday, April 22, 2018

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA STATS HIGHLIGHTS

• Most Talladega wins (Active): 5 Brad Keselowski
• Most Talladega top 5 finishes (Active): 8 Jamie McMurray
• Most Talladega top 10 finishes (Active): 18 Kurt Busch
• Most Talladega laps led (Active): 490 Jimmie Johnson
• Most Talladega DNFs (Active): 12 Martin Truex Jr.
• Dale Earnhardt birthday Sunday – Would have been 67-years-old (4/29/51)
• 10 Talladega wins – Most all-time
• Michael Waltrip birthday Monday (4/30/63) – Talladega 9/03 winner
• 4 Career wins – All in restrictor-plate races
• Jeff Gordon: 6 Talladega wins including the only Talladega race run on April 29th (2007)
• Notorious for certain fans raining beer cans, seat cushions & toilet paper on track
• Regan Smith: 2013 Talladega Xfinity Series winner after running 7th into turn 3 – Took championship lead
• Crossed line first in Talladega MENCS race 10/5/08 – Dropping below line violation dropped him to 18th
• Darrell Waltrip: 4 Talladega wins – First career race: Talladega 5/7/72 (25-Years-old) Finished 38th
• Won in Buick, Chevrolet & Oldsmobile
• Larry McReynolds crew chief for Davey Allison Talladega win 5/3/92
• Brandon won 2012 Talladega ARCA race
• Brad Keselowski: First career win came at Talladega (4/09) & most recent win came at Talladega (10/17)
• Brad Keselowski: 3-0 Record in Talladega races settled by last lap pass
• Brad Keselowski: 5 Talladega wins – 3 Wins by last lap pass (Most all-time)
• Brad Keselowski passed Ryan Newman on final lap last 2 Talladega wins – 2014 Playoff race & 2017 Playoff race
• Talladega 4/17: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. first career win
• Talladega 10/17: Brad Keselowski 3rd win in last 7 Talladega races
• 46 Different winners in 97 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Talladega races
• Aric Almirola: Only driver to finish top 5 both Talladega races last season
• 4 Finished top 10 both Talladega races last season – Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski & David Ragan
• Aric Almirola: Finished 8th or better last 3 Talladega races – 2 Straight top 5 finishes
• Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. led 14 laps last Talladega spring race – Led first 13 laps & final lap
• Martin Truex Jr. only driver failing to finish both Talladega races & winning championship in same year (2017)
• Martin Truex Jr. failed to finish last 3 Talladega races – 10/16 Engine, 5/17 Crash & 10/17 Crash
• Kyle Busch passed for final lead change at Talladega 2 of last 3 races
• Martin Truex Jr.: 2 Talladega top 5 finishes – 12 DNFs
• Ryan Newman: 6 Talladega top 5 finishes – 9 DNFs
• Jimmie Johnson: 7 Talladega top 5 finishes – 9 DNFs
• Kurt Busch: 7 Talladega top 5 finishes – 8 DNFs
• 3 Speeding penalties at Talladega last season – 1 in spring & 2 in fall
• 25 Talladega races settled by last lap pass (26%)
• 9 of last 16 Talladega races settled by last lap pass (56%)
• Driver starting 1st led first Talladega lap in only 39 of 97 races (40%)
• Pole failed to lead 1st lap in 58 of 97 Talladega races (60%)
• Kyle Busch led 39 of final 40 laps last Talladega spring race – Finished 3rd
• Leader of most laps failed to win 14 of last 16 Talladega races
• Drivers won first race of season at Talladega 42 times
• First win of season for 8 of last 9 Talladega spring winners
• 11 Won first career race at Talladega – Only win for 6 drivers
• 8 Talladega crashes involved 20 or more
• Last to win consecutive Talladega races: Jeff Gordon 4/07 & 10/07 (Brad Keselowski won last Talladega race)
• Only 1 of last 21 Talladega races won from first starting position – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 5/17
• 14 of 97 Talladega races won from pole (14%)
• Driver starting first failed to finish 26 of 97 Talladega races (27%)
• 1 Won Daytona 500 & both Talladega races in same year – Pete Hamilton 1970
• Failed to finish both Talladega races last season due to crashes – 8 Drivers:
• AJ Allmendinger, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, Danica Patrick & Martin Truex Jr.
• None of 4 Stewart-Haas Racing teams running at finish last Talladega race – All due to crashes
• Team Penske won 7 of last 14 restrictor-plate races including 4 of last 8 – Brad Keselowski 4 & Joey Logano 3
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won 2 of last 4 restrictor-plate races
• Brad Keselowski won 4 of last 14 restrictor-plate races (3 Wins last 8 restrictor-plate races)
• Ford won 7 of last 8 restrictor-plate races – Austin Dillon won 2018 Daytona 500 in Chevrolet
• Roush Fenway Racing won 2 of last 4 restrictor-plate races – Winless previous 17 races
• Most consecutive laps led from start at Talladega: 50 – Ricky Rudd (7/26/92)
• Most consecutive laps led to end of Talladega: 71 – Davey Allison (5/3/92)
• Most laps led by Talladega non-winner: 142 – Matt Kenseth (5/5/13)
• Most consecutive Talladega laps led: 82 – Pete Hamilton (8/23/70)
• Pole failed to lead first lap 10 of last 17 Talladega races
• Pole failed to lead any laps in 14 of 97 Talladega races
• 13 Talladega Overtime finishes – 7 in last 12 races
• Leader at scheduled distance failed to win 6 of last 8 Talladega Overtime races
• 5 of last 11 Talladega races ended under caution
• Most laps led by Talladega winner: 153 – Pete Hamilton 8/70
• Fewest laps led by Talladega winner: 1 – Jeff Gordon 10/07 & Brad Keselowski 4/09
• 10 Talladega wins streaks – Drivers winning consecutive races
• 7 Talladega season sweeps – Last: 2007 Jeff Gordon
• Last back-to-back spring wins – Jeff Gordon 2004 & ’05 (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won last spring race)
• 2 Swept both Talladega races & championship in same season – Darrell Waltrip 1982 & Dale Earnhardt 1990
• 4 Won Talladega in first try – Donnie Allison, Richard Brickhouse, Pete Hamilton & Brad Keselowski
• Michael Waltrip won Talladega for first time in 36th try – Most of all drivers
• 7 Won Talladega for first time in 10th try
• 6 Won pole in first try at Talladega including Chase Elliott 5/16
• 6 Won first career pole at Talladega
• #24 won 3 of last 6 Talladega poles – Jeff Gordon (Both 2015) & Chase Elliott (5/16)
• Worst official starting position to win: 36th – Jeff Gordon 4/00
• *4/03 Dale Earnhardt Jr. won after taking green from 43rd starting position after starting from the rear of field
• *4/09 Brad Keselowski won after starting from the rear of the field
• *10/14 Brad Keselowski won after starting from the rear of the field
• 3 Won from 34th starting position including Denny Hamlin 5/14
• Dale Earnhardt last career win: Talladega 10/15/00
• Michael Waltrip last career win: Talladega 9/28/03
• Dale Jarrett last career win: Talladega 10/2/05
• 12 Talladega wins by Richard Childress Racing – Most of all tracks (Tied for most all-time with Hendrick)
• Richard Childress Racing: 100th win – Talladega 10/23/11 (Clint Bowyer)
• 12 Talladega wins by Hendrick Motorsports – Tied for most (Richard Childress Racing)
• 6 Talladega wins by Team Penske – Brad Keselowski (5/12, 10/14, 5/16 & 10/17) & Joey Logano (10/15 & 10/16)
• 5 Talladega wins by Roush
• 4 Talladega wins by Joe Gibbs Racing by 4 different drivers (Kyle Busch, Hamlin, B. Labonte & Stewart)
• No Stewart-Haas Racing Talladega wins – 1 of 2 tracks (Kentucky)
• No Furniture Row Racing Talladega wins

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES TALLADEGA STATS HIGHLIGHTS

• 21 Different winners in 26 Talladega Xfinity Series races
• Only 4 won Talladega more than once – Martin Truex, Jr. 3, Joey Logano 2, Joe Nemechek 2 & Elliott Sadler 2
• First Talladega win for 9 of last 11 winners
• 2 Talladega winners from pole – Joe Nemechek 1998 & Tony Stewart 2008
• Pole failed to finish 9 of last 23 Talladega races – 8 Due to crashes
• 10 Talladega races settled by last lap pass including 7 of last 9
• Elliott Sadler won last 2 Talladega races settled by last lap pass (2014 & ’16)
• Last 3 Talladega races settled by last lap pass were won by a JR Motorsports driver
• Leader of most laps failed to win 7 of last 9 Talladega races
• 3 of last 5 Talladega winners eligible for championship points – Regan Smith (2013) & Elliott Sadler (2014 & ‘16)
• Elliott Sadler best finisher eligible for championship points last 2 Talladega races – Winner 2016 & 2nd 2017
• 8 Talladega races had margin of victory of one tenth of a second or smaller
• Leader at scheduled distance failed to win 7 of 8 Overtime Talladega races
• Worst starting position of Talladega winner: 35th – Joe Nemechek 2000
• 2 Won first career race at Talladega – Greg Sacks (1996) & David Ragan (2009)
• Chevrolet leads with 14 Talladega wins
• 2 Won Talladega in first try – Greg Sacks & Martin Truex, Jr.
• Jason Keller won Talladega for first time in 10th try – Most of all drivers
• 6 Won Talladega in 3rd try
• Leader of most laps won 10 of 26 Talladega races
• Fewest laps led by winner – 1 David Ragan 2009 & Elliott Sadler 2016
• Latest point winner took lead for first time – Final lap David Ragan 2009 & Elliott Sadler 2016
• 1 Led most laps, but failed to finish – Michael Waltrip 1995 Crash
• Keselowski 2010 & Truex, Jr. 2004 & ’05 only drivers to win Talladega & championship in same season
• Leader of most laps failed to win 16 of 26 Talladega races
• Justin Allgaier led most laps last Talladega race – Finished 8th
• 8 Won first career pole at Talladega – 5 Won pole in first try
• 8 Talladega Overtime finishes
• Leader at scheduled distance failed to win last 7 Overtime Talladega races
• Aric Almirola only repeat winner last 9 restrictor-plate races at Daytona & Talladega (2 Wins) – 7 Others 1 win each
• Aric Almirola won 2 of last 5 Daytona-Talladega restrictor-plate races
• Ford won 3 of last 5 Daytona-Talladega restrictor-plate races
• JR Motorsports won 7 of last 15 Daytona-Talladega restrictor-plate races – 5 Different crew chiefs
• Dave Elenz winning crew chief last 2 Daytona-Talladega restrictor-plate races
• 6 of last 13 Daytona-Talladega restrictor-plate races settled by last-lap pass