NASCAR 2017 Sunday, January 21, 2018

2017 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS

• Most wins last season: 8 Martin Truex Jr. (Most wins by a driver in a season since Denny Hamlin won 8 in 2010)
• Most 2nd-place finishes last season: 8 Kyle Larson (4 Wins)
• Most top 3 finishes last season: 16 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most top 5 finishes last season: 19 Martin Truex Jr. (Career-high)
• Most top 10 finishes last season: 26 Martin Truex Jr. (Career-high)
• Most poles last season: 8 Kyle Busch (Career-high)
• Most front-row starts last season: 12 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most top 6 starts last season: 25 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most top 12 starts last season: 30 Kyle Busch
• Best average start last season: 6.8 Martin Truex Jr.
• Most laps led last season: 2253 Martin Truex Jr. (Career-high – 35% of career laps led in 2017)
• Most laps led by winless driver last season: 560 Chase Elliott (918 Career laps led – Winless)
• Most races led last season: 30 Kyle Busch
• Daytona 500: Most competitive race last season – 37 Lead changes & 18 leaders
• Atlanta: Most laps led in a race last season – 292 (Kevin Harvick finished 9th)
• Las Vegas: Martin Truex Jr. first to sweep every Stage (Only 1 other race – Martin Truex Jr. at Kentucky)
• Phoenix March: First of 11 Overtime races last season
• Auto Club: First of 6 races won from pole last season – Kyle Larson
• Martinsville April: 95 Caution laps last season – Most in a race last season
• Texas April: 1 of 3 races won by driver starting rear of field last season – Jimmie Johnson
• Texas: 3rd of 3 poles last season at over 200 mph – 200.915 mph (Kevin Harvick – November)
• Bristol April: Only rescheduled race last season – Scheduled 4/23/17 & run 4/24/17
• Bristol April: Kyle Larson led first 202 laps – Most consecutive laps led in a race last season
• Richmond April: 2nd of 3 races won by driver starting rear of field last season – Joey Logano
• Talladega May: Closest margin-of-victory last season – .095 Seconds Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over Jamie McMurray
• Talladega Oct.: Season-high 26 failed to finish last season
• Kansas May: 15 Cautions last season – Tied for most (Dover June)
• Charlotte May: Longest race last season – 4:19:22
• Dover June: 15 Cautions last season – Tied for most (Kansas May)
• Pocono June: Ryan Blaney youngest winner last season – 23-Years-old
• Michigan: Fastest poles last season (Both Kyle Larson) – August (203.097 mph) & June (202.156 mph)
• Sonoma: First win of season for last 3 winners – All champions (Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart & Kevin Harvick)
• This season: 23 Tracks – 13 Tracks with 2 races – 10 Tracks with 1 race – 20 States
• 15 Different winners in 36 races last season
• 5 Different winners 10 Playoff races last season – Truex Jr. 4, Kyle Busch 3, Harvick 1, Kenseth 1 & Keselowski 1
• Martin Truex Jr. won 4 of 5 Playoff races on 1.5-mile tracks last season
• Martin Truex Jr. only driver to sweep every Stage in MENCS race – 2017 Las Vegas & 2017 Kentucky
• Kyle Busch raced into Round of 8 at Kansas – 9th (-7) pre-race & 7th (+13) post-race
• Kyle Busch: Winless in first 20 races last season – 5 Wins next 13 races
• Kyle Busch: Only 1 winless track remaining – Charlotte
• Jimmie Johnson: 3 Wins first 13 races last season – Winless final 23 races
• Brad Keselowski: 3 Wins last season – 1.5-mile track, short track & restrictor-plate track
• 13 Drivers won Stages last season – 3 Didn’t win a race (Bowyer, Elliott & Suarez)
• Martin Truex Jr. led all with 19 Stage wins – 8 Race wins
• Martin Truex Jr. won Stage 1 & 2 five times
• Stage 1 winner went on to win race 7 times
• Stage 2 winner went on to win race 3 times – Martin Truex Jr. (Las Vegas & Kentucky) and Kyle Busch (New Hampshire Sept.)
• Jimmie Johnson: 3 Wins last season – 1 Stage win (Sonoma Stage 1)
• 11 Won Stage 1 & Stage 2 – Twice went on to win race (Martin Truex Jr. Las Vegas & Kentucky)
• Last to win consecutive races: Kyle Busch (New Hampshire 9/17 & Dover 10/17)
• Last to win 3 straight races: Joey Logano (Charlotte 10/15, Kansas 10/15 & Talladega 10/15)
• Last to win 4 straight races: Jimmie Johnson (2007)
• Martin Truex Jr. started 3rd or better 7 of 8 wins last season – Started 17th in Charlotte Playoff race
• Martin Truex Jr. led with 10 to go 10 races last season – 6 Wins
• Chase Elliott: 7 Career 2nd-place finishes (Winless) – 5 Last season (Bill Elliott finished 2nd in 8 races before first win)
• Kyle Larson: 4 of 5 career wins came on 2-mile tracks (3 Michigan & 1 Auto Club)
• 2 Sweeps last season – Martin Truex Jr. (Kansas) & Kyle Larson (Michigan)
• 6 Wins from pole last season – 4 By drivers named Kyle (Kyle Busch 2 & Kyle Larson 2)
• 10 Winners started front-row last season
• Ryan Newman (Richard Childress Racing) & Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing) won races from 22nd starting position
• 3 Won first career race last season – Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon & Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ended 157-race winless streak last season (Talladega May)
• Austin Dillon ended 132-race winless streak last season (Charlotte May)
• Ryan Newman ended 127-race winless streak last season (Phoenix March)
• Kasey Kahne ended 102-race winless streak last season (Indianapolis July)
• Matt Kenseth ended 51-race winless streak (Phoenix Nov.)
• Kyle Busch ended 36-race winless streak last season (Pocono July)
• Jimmie Johnson: 5 Wins starting rear of field – 3 of last 4 wins came starting rear of field
• Jimmie Johnson started rear of field 7 races last season – Most of all drivers
• Best finisher dropping to rear of field last season:
• Winner – Jimmie Johnson (Texas April & Dover June) & Joey Logano (Richmond April)
• Last winner in backup car: Denny Hamlin – New Hampshire 7/17
• Last winner after free-pass: Martin Truex Jr. – 2016 Chicagoland
• 3 Won after pit road speeding penalty last season:
• Kurt Busch Daytona 500, Brad Keselowski Martinsville April & Martin Truex Jr. Chicagoland
• 13 Speeding penalties by 11 drivers at Atlanta – Matt Kenseth best finisher in 3rd (2 Penalties)
• No pit road speeding penalties at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen & Darlington
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. pit road speeding penalties in 8 races last season – Most
• Kyle Larson led most laps in season-finale at Homestead-Miami (145) – Finished 3rd
• Martin Truex Jr. passed for final lead change 5 of last 14 races
• Martin Truex Jr. led most laps 9 races last season – 4 Wins
• Kyle Busch passed for final lead change 7 races last season
• Kyle Busch led most laps 10 races last season – 3 Wins in those races (Pocono July, New Hampshire Sept. & Martinsville Oct.)
• Kyle Larson passed Martin Truex Jr. for final lead change last 2 wins – Michigan Aug. & Richmond Sept.
• Kyle Larson took lead for final time with 6 or fewer laps to go in 3 of 4 wins last season – 5 of fewer last 2 wins
• Jimmie Johnson led 18 or fewer laps 3 of last 4 wins
• Final lead change with 10 or fewer laps to go 20 of 36 races last season
• Leader of most laps won only 10 of 36 races last season – Truex Jr. 4, Kyle Busch 3, Larson 2 & Hamlin 1
• 10 To go leader failed to win 18 races last season including 5 of last 8 races
• Chase Elliott failed to win 3 races last season after leading with 10 to go
• Martin Truex Jr. failed to win 4 races last season after leading with 10 to go
• 4 Races settled by last lap pass last season – Daytona 500, Talladega May, Talladega Oct. & Martinsville Oct.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took lead for last time on final lap at Talladega May & with 2 laps to go at Daytona July
• Chase Elliott best Chevrolet finisher 6 of 10 Playoff races last season
• Kevin Harvick best Ford finisher 9 races last season – 5 Times in Playoff races including final 3
• Martin Truex Jr. best Toyota finisher 13 of 36 races last season
• 3 of last 4 Chevrolet wins by Kyle Larson
• Chevrolet winless in Playoff races last season – No Championship 4 driver raced a Chevrolet
• Ford: 10 Wins in 36 races last season – 2 Wins in last 6 races
• Toyota: 14 Wins last 19 races – Only 2 wins previous 17 races last season
• Toyota won 8 of 10 Playoff races last season (Hamlin 6th at Talladega & Truex Jr. 2nd at Texas)
• Joe Gibbs Racing: 8 Wins last 18 races – Winless previous 20 races
• Erik Jones best Rookie finisher last 3 races
• Last Rookie of the Year contender to win: Chris Buescher – Pocono 8/16
• Last previous Rookie of the Year contender to win: Joey Logano – New Hampshire 6/09
• 11 Overtime races last season – Leader at scheduled distance won 6
• Kyle Larson: 4 Wins last season – 3 Overtime wins (Auto Club, Michigan Aug. & Richmond Sept.)
• Youngest winner: Ryan Blaney – 23
• Oldest winner: Matt Kenseth – 45
• 27 Wins last season by drivers 32-years-old or older
• 5 Different winners from 5 different teams & 3 different manufacturers in 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks last season
• Martin Truex Jr. won 7 of 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks last season – Finished 8th or better every race
• Martin Truex Jr.: 7 Wins on 1.5-mile tracks last season – Most all-time
• Martin Truex Jr.: 5 Wins last 6 races on 1.5-mile tracks – Finished 2nd at Texas Nov.
• 5 Different winners in 6 short track races last season – 4 Different teams (Ganassi, Gibbs, Hendrick & Penske)
• 3 Different winners in 4 restrictor-plate races last season – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won twice
• Ford won last 7 restrictor-plate races – 3 Different teams (Penske 4, Roush 2 & Stewart-Haas 1)
• Closest margin-of-victory last season: .095 Seconds – Talladega May (Ricky Stenhouse Jr. over Jamie McMurray)
• Largest margin-of-victory last season: 7.179 Seconds – Chicagoland (Martin Truex Jr. over Chase Elliott)
• Furniture Row Racing: 14 Wins – 8 Last season
• 9 Different teams won last season
• 4 Crew chiefs won first race last season: Justin Alexander, Jeremy Bullins, Luke Lambert & Keith Rodden
• 6 Winning crew chiefs were suspended last season –
• Paul Wolfe, Rodney Childers, Todd Gordon, Adam Stevens, Chad Johnston & Mike Wheeler
• Roush Fenway Racing ended 101-race winless streak at Talladega May
• Richard Childress Racing ended 112-race winless streak at Phoenix March
• Chase Elliott best Hendrick Motorsports finisher 8 of 10 Playoff races last season
• Jimmie Johnson wasn’t best Hendrick Motorsports finisher in a Playoff race last season
• Kevin Harvick best Stewart-Haas Racing finisher 6 of 10 Playoff races last season including final 3
• Top 6 Homestead-Miami finishers from different teams – Furniture Row, Gibbs, Ganassi, Stewart-Haas, Hendrick & Penske
• 15 First-time winners since 2009 – 6 Crew chiefs also won their first race
• Last to win first career race: Ryan Blaney – Pocono 6/11/17
• Kyle Busch & Martin Truex Jr. finished 1-2 four times

2017 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS

• Most wins last season: 5 Kyle Busch
• Most 2nd-place finishes last season: 7 Ryan Blaney (2 Wins)
• Most top 3 finishes last season: 11 Ryan Blaney
• Most top 5 finishes last season: 12 Ryan Blaney, William Byron & Elliott Sadler
• Most top 10 finishes last season: 25 Elliott Sadler
• Best average finish last season (Drivers competing every race): 9.4 Elliott Sadler
• Most laps led last season: 751 Erik Jones
• Most races led last season: 12 Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney & Elliott Sadler
• Most poles last season: 7 Kyle Busch
• Most top 6 starts last season: 18 William Byron
• Most top 12 starts last season: 29 Daniel Hemric
• 18 Different winners in 33 races last season – Tied all-time record for different winners in a season (1988)
• 13 Different winners in last 13 races – Tied all-time record for consecutive different winners (1988)
• Hornish Jr., Kyle Busch, Clements, Hamlin, Keselowski, Allgaier, Reddick, Blaney, Bowman, Bell, E. Jones, Byron, Custer
• 3 Racing #22: Hornish Jr., Keselowski & Blaney; 3 Racing #18: Kyle Busch, Hamlin & Bell; 2 Racing #42: Reddick & Bowman
• 7 Different winners in 7 Playoff races last season
• 9 Won first pole last season – Bell, Benjamin, Byron, Hemric, B. Jones, Koch, Poole, Preece & Reddick
• 23 Won Stages last season – 11 Winless in races
• 9 Won Stage 1 & went on to win race last season
• 8 Won Stage 2 & went on to win race last season
• Keselowski (Pocono June), Kyle Busch (Bristol Aug.), E. Jones (Texas Nov.) & Custer (Homestead-Miami) only drivers to win both Stages & race
• Dash 4 Cash winners last season:
• Justin Allgaier (Phoenix March), Daniel Hemric (Bristol April), Justin Allgaier (Richmond April) & William Byron (Dover June)
• 2 NXS & MENCS weekend sweeps last season – Kyle Larson (Auto Club) & Kyle Busch (Bristol Aug.)
• 3 Won back-to-back races last season – Erik Jones, William Byron & Kyle Busch
• 7 Won first career NXS race last season – Bell, Bowman, Byron, Clements, Custer, Preece & Reddick
• Kyle Busch won 3 straight races 7 times – Best finish in 4th race: 2nd (2016 Auto Club)
• Joey Logano: Last 4 wins came racing Team Penske #12
• 9 Winners from pole last season – Kyle Busch 4, Denny Hamlin 1, Sam Hornish Jr. 1, Erik Jones 1, Kyle Larson 1 & Ryan Preece 1
• 14 Winners from front row last season (42%)
• Pole failed to finish 3 races last season – B. Jones (Daytona Feb.), Logano (Texas April) & Koch (Talladega)
• 2 Winners from rear of field last season: Ryan Blaney (Charlotte May) & William Byron (Daytona June)
• Last 2 wins after free-pass: Kyle Busch (2014 & ‘16 Kansas)
• Last winner after speeding penalty: Kyle Busch (Bristol 8/17)
• First career win for 4 of last 7 winners –Reddick (Kentucky), Bowman (Charlotte), Bell (Kansas) & Custer (Homestead-Miami)
• First career win for 4 of last 5 winners on 1.5-mile tracks
• Last to win 3 consecutive NXS races: Kyle Busch Kentucky 7/16, 2016 New Hampshire & 2016 Indianapolis
• Only driver to win 4 consecutive NXS races:
• Sam Ard – South Boston 9/83, Martinsville 9/83, Orange County 10/83 & Charlotte 10/83
• #22 passed for final lead change 6 races last season – Daytona Feb., Auto Club, Bristol April, Daytona June, Darlington & Phoenix Nov.
• Erik Jones led most laps 5 races last season – Failed to win 3
• Final lead change with 10 or fewer laps to go 12 races last season
• 10 To go leader failed to win 8 races last season
• 2 Races settled by last lap pass last season – Pocono & Michigan
• #22 Best Ford finisher 20 races last season – 4 Wins
• #18 Best Toyota finisher 14 races last season – 7 Wins
• #42 Best Chevrolet finisher 9 races last season – 5 Wins
• 5 Overtime races last season – Daytona Feb., Richmond April, Daytona June, Iowa July & Darlington
• 2 Rookie of the Year contenders won last season – William Byron (4 Wins) & Cole Custer (1 Win)
• Last to win in first NASCAR Xfinity Series race – Kurt Busch (Texas 4/06)
• Youngest winner: William Byron – 19Y, 6M, 26D (Cole Custer 19Y, 9M, 26D)
• Oldest winner: Sam Hornish Jr. – 38
• Elliott Sadler only driver to win NXS race on birthday (41) – Talladega 4/30/16
• #18 won 7 races last season – Kyle Busch (5), Christopher Bell (1) & Denny Hamlin (1)
• #20 won 5 races last season – Erik Jones (3), Denny Hamlin (1) & Ryan Preece (1)
• #22 won 4 races last season – Brad Keselowski (2), Ryan Blaney (1) & Sam Hornish Jr. (1)
• #42 won 5 races last season – Kyle Larson (3), Alex Bowman (1) & Tyler Reddick (1)
• Stewart-Haas Racing: 1 Win – 2017 Homestead-Miami (Cole Custer)
• 9 Different winners in 11 races on 1.5-mile tracks last season
• 6 Different winners from 4 different teams in 6 short track races last season
• Joe Gibbs Racing won 3 of 6 short track races last season with 3 different drivers – Kyle Busch, E. Jones & Preece
• 3 Different winners from 3 different teams & 3 different manufacturers in 3 road course races last season
• Closest margin-of-victory last season: Michigan .012 seconds (Denny Hamlin over William Byron)
• Largest margin-of-victory last season: Homestead-Miami 15.405 (Cole Custer over Sam Hornish Jr.)