NASCAR Talladega Sunday, October 8, 2017

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES TALLADEGA STATS HIGHLIGHTS

• Most Talladega Playoff race wins: 2 Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano & Jamie McMurray
• Most Talladega Playoff race 2nd-place finishes: 2 Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick & Kasey Kahne
• Most Talladega Playoff race top 5 finishes: 4 Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth & Joey Logano
• Most Talladega Playoff race top 10 finishes: 7 Kurt Busch
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 2 Wins 3 restrictor-plate races this season – Won last 2 restrictor-plate races
• Paul Menard: Only driver to finish top 10 all 3 restrictor-plate races this season
• Kevin Harvick: 72 Restrictor-plate laps led this season – Leads all drivers
• Joe Gibbs Racing drivers led 95 of 191 laps at Talladega May (50%) – Kyle Busch 48, Hamlin 43 & Kenseth 4
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Talladega May winner – First win in 158th career race
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Talladega May winner (2nd in Stage 1 & 30th in Stage 2) – 14 Laps led (Led first 13 laps & final lap)
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Talladega May winner (Started on pole & 14 Laps led) – Led first 13 laps & final lap
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: 2 Straight Talladega top 5 finishes – 1 Win (May)
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Talladega May winner – Involved in lap 161 crash with Ryan Blaney
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Talladega Playoff race average finish: 5.7 (Finished 9th or better all 3 races – 2 Top 5 finishes)
• Aric Almirola: 1 Top 5 finish 15 Talladega races – Finished 4th in May
• Ryan Blaney: Finished 39th at Talladega May (Crash) – Involved in lap 161 crash with winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Kurt Busch: Finished 12th or better last 6 Talladega races (Average finish: 7.8) – 4 Straight top 10 finishes
• Kurt Busch: Best Stewart-Haas Racing finisher 2 of 3 restrictor-plate races this season
• Kurt Busch: Finished 6th at Talladega May – Involved in lap 169 crash
• Kyle Busch: Led 39 of final 40 laps at Talladega May (Finished 3rd) – Passed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on final lap
• Kyle Busch: 2 Top 3 finishes last 3 Talladega races – Finished 30th in 2016 Playoff race
• Austin Dillon: Finished 36th at Talladega May (Crash) – Involved in lap 169 crash
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Finished 22nd at Talladega May – Free pass 7th caution
• Chase Elliott: Finished 30th at Talladega May (Crash) – Involved in lap 169 crash
• Denny Hamlin: Stage 2 winner Talladega May – Finished 11th
• Kevin Harvick: Finished 22nd at Talladega May – Involved in lap 169 crash, free pass 8th caution & last lead lap finisher
• Jimmie Johnson: 1 Top 15 finish last 4 Talladega races – Finished 8th in May
• Erik Jones: Finished 33rd at Talladega May (Crash) – Involved in lap 169 crash
• Kasey Kahne: Best Hendrick Motorsports finisher 2 of 3 restrictor-plate races this season
• Kasey Kahne: 1 Top 5 finish last 10 Talladega races – Finished 5th in May
• Matt Kenseth: Finished 24th at Talladega May – Free pass 3rd caution, involved in lap 169 crash & first driver 1 lap down
• Matt Kenseth: 4 Talladega Playoff race top 5 finishes – Leads Playoff drivers
• Brad Keselowski: 300th MENCS race – 6 Won in 300th race
• Brad Keselowski: Stage 1 winner Talladega May – Finished 7th (Involved in lap 169 crash)
• Brad Keselowski: 2 Wins last 6 Talladega races – 4 Top 10 finishes
• Kyle Larson: Finished 12th at Talladega May – Lap 17 crash & free pass 6th caution
• Joey Logano: 2 Wins last 4 Talladega races – Won last 2 Talladega Playoff races
• Joey Logano: 2015 Talladega Playoff race winner – 3rd straight win (Charlotte, Kansas & Talladega)
• Joey Logano: Finished 32nd at Talladega May (Crash) – Involved in lap 169 crash
• Jamie McMurray: Best finish last 7 Talladega races: 2nd (May)
• Jamie McMurray: 2 Talladega Playoff race wins – Leads Playoff drivers
• Paul Menard: Best Richard Childress Racing finisher all 3 restrictor-plate races this season
• Paul Menard: 6 Talladega top 10 finishes – 5 Top 10 finishes last 8 races
• Ryan Newman: Finished 25th at Talladega May (Crash) – Involved in lap 186 crash
• Martin Truex Jr.: Finished 35th at Talladega May (Crash) – Involved in lap 169 crash
• Top 7 finishers at Talladega May all from different teams – Roush, Ganassi, Gibbs, Petty, Hendrick, Stewart-Haas & Penske
• 46 Different winners in 96 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Talladega races
• 34 Finished on lead lap last Talladega playoff race – All-time record for a race 500 miles or longer
• 11 Won first career race at Talladega – Only win for 6 drivers
• 10 Different winners 13 Talladega Playoff races
• No driver won Talladega Playoff race & championship in same season
• 9 of 13 Playoff champions finished 9th or better in Talladega Playoff race
• Non-Playoff driver won 5 of 13 Talladega Playoff races
• Best non-Playoff driver finished 6th or better all 13 Talladega Playoff races
• Jamie McMurray won twice as non-Playoff driver
• Team Penske won 6 of last 12 restrictor-plate races including 3 of last 6 – Brad Keselowski 3 & Joey Logano 3
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won last 2 restrictor-plate races – Dale Earnhardt won 3 straight restrictor-plate races in 1990
• Brad Keselowski won 3 of last 12 restrictor-plate races (2 Wins last 6 restrictor-plate races)
• Joey Logano won 3 of last 11 restrictor-plate races
• Ford won last 6 restrictor-plate races
• Roush Fenway Racing won last 2 restrictor-plate races – Winless previous 17 races
• David Pearson (1969) & Kyle Busch (5/13) – Only drivers to miss Talladega race & win championship in same year
• 7 of 13 Talladega Playoff races settled by last lap pass including 4 of last 7
• Clint Bowyer won 2 Talladega Playoff races – Both by last lap pass
• Kevin Harvick passed for final lead change 2 Talladega Playoff races
• Kyle Busch passed for final lead change 2 of last 4 Talladega Playoff races
• 18 or more finished on lead lap all 13 Talladega Playoff races – 34 Finished on lead lap last race
• 7 Talladega Playoff races ended under caution including 3 of last 5
• 5 of last 10 Talladega races ended under caution
• Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. led 14 laps last Talladega race – Led first 13 laps & final lap
• Kyle Busch passed for final lead change at Talladega 3 of last 8 races including last 2
• Driver starting 1st led first Talladega lap in only 39 of 96 races (41%)
• 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)
• Joey Logano led final 45 laps winning last Talladega Playoff race
• Kyle Busch led 39 of final 40 laps last Talladega race – Finished 3rd
• Leader of most laps failed to win 13 of last 15 Talladega races
• Brad Keselowski led most laps both Talladega races last season – May winner & 38th in Oct. (Engine)
• Pole failed to lead first lap 9 of last 16 Talladega races
• Pole failed to lead 1st lap in 56 of 96 Talladega races
• Pole failed to lead any laps in 14 of 96 Talladega races
• Richard Childress Racing: 100th win – Talladega 10/23/11 (Clint Bowyer)
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. tied record for consecutive superspeedway wins at 1 track with 4 (10/01, 4/02, 10/02 & 4/03)
• Last to win consecutive Talladega races: Jeff Gordon 4/07 & 10/07 (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won last Talladega race)
• 10 Talladega wins streaks – Drivers winning consecutive races
• 7 Talladega season sweeps – Last: 2007 Jeff Gordon (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won spring race)
• Last back-to-back fall wins – Joey Logano 2015 & ’16 (No driver won 3 straight fall races)
• 2 Swept both Talladega races & championship in same season – Darrell Waltrip 1982 & Dale Earnhardt 1990
• 24 Talladega races settled by last lap pass
• 8 of last 15 Talladega races settled by last lap pass
• Drivers won first race of season at Talladega 42 times
• Only win of season for 6 of 13 Talladega Playoff race winners – Jamie McMurray twice (2009 & ’13)
• 13 Talladega overtime finishes – 7 in last 11 races
• Leader at scheduled distance failed to win 6 of last 8 Talladega overtime races
• Matt Kenseth lost 3 Talladega races after leading at scheduled distance
• 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
• 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
• 8 Talladega crashes involved 20 or more
• #24 won 3 of last 5 Talladega poles – Jeff Gordon (Both 2015) & Chase Elliott (5/16)
• Only 1 of last 20 Talladega races won from first starting position (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 5/17)
• 14 of 96 Talladega races won from pole (15%)
• Driver starting first failed to finish 26 of 96 Talladega races (27%)
• 6 Won pole in first try at Talladega including Chase Elliott 5/16
• 6 Won first career pole at Talladega
• Worst official starting position to win: 36th – Jeff Gordon 4/00
• 3 Won from 34th starting position including Denny Hamlin 5/14
• *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
• 12 Talladega wins by Richard Childress Racing – Most of all tracks (Tied for most all-time with Hendrick)
• 12 Talladega wins by Hendrick Motorsports – Tied for most (Richard Childress Racing)
• 5 Talladega wins by Team Penske – Brad Keselowski (5/12, 10/14 & 5/16) & 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)
• Most Talladega races: 61 Terry Labonte & Dave Marcis
• Most Talladega wins: 10 Dale Earnhardt
• Most Talladega 2nd-place finishes: 6 Buddy Baker & Tony Stewart
• Most Talladega top 3 finishes: 21 Dale Earnhardt
• Most Talladega top 5 finishes: 23 Dale Earnhardt
• Most Talladega top 10 finishes: 27 Dale Earnhardt
• Most Talladega laps led: 1377 Dale Earnhardt