NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Season In Review - Week 14
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Jun 04, 2008
Laps Led
• Kyle Busch has led 786 laps this season, more than any other driver.
• 43 drivers have led at least one lap this season. No one has led in every race.
• Kyle Busch (three); Jimmie Johnson (two), Carl Edwards (two), Tony Stewart (two), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Denny Hamlin (one) and Greg Biffle (one) have led the most laps at least once
this season.
Points
• Jeff Burton became the fourth different driver to lead the points when he took the lead following Martinsville. It is his first time to lead the points since Oct. 14, 2006 (Lowe’s Motor Speedway).
• Kyle Busch re-assumed the lead in the point standings following his second-place finish at Richmond and has held it since.
Notebook
• Kasey Kahne was the only driver with three top-10 finishes in the first three races this season. In 2007, Kahne did not get his third top 10 until race No. 24 (Bristol).
• Jeff Gordon finished 43rd after his accident at Texas, just the second time in his career that he finished 43rd. The other also came at Texas (March 1999).
• The pole winner has finished last in a race twice in 2008: Ryan Newman (Phoenix) and Greg Biffle
(Darlington).
• Denny Hamlin led 381 laps, setting the record for the number of laps led in a 400-lap race at Richmond. He eclipsed the mark of 369 set by Bobby Allison in September 1979. The record for laps led all-time at Richmond is 488 of 500 on the half-mile configuration by David Pearson in September 1970.
Rookie Performance
• Five different drivers have been the highest-finishing rookie in 2008: Regan Smith (five), Sam Hornish Jr. (five), Dario Franchitti (one), Patrick Carpentier (one) and Michael McDowell (one).
• Sam Hornish Jr. has posted the best finish by a rookie candidate in 2008: 13th at Charlotte.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Season In Review
Owner Highlights
• Ryan Newman won the season-opening Daytona 500, his first career restrictor plate victory. Teammate Kurt Busch finished second, giving car owner Roger Penske his first restrictor plate victory and first 1-2 finish in 25 years of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.
• Joe Nemechek won the pole at Talladega, giving car owner Barney Visser his first-ever NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole. It came in Visser’s 49th race as a car owner.
Penalties
• There have been 232 on-track penalties issued this season.
• Every team that has competed in two or more races this season has received at least one on-track penalty.
• Penalty Recap:
Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 126
Too Fast Entering Pit Road 17
Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 24
Others 65
Manufacturer
• Toyota leads the manufacturer point standings with 82 points. Chevrolet has 75, Ford 73 and Dodge has 56.
• Ryan Newman posted the first Daytona 500 victory for Dodge since Ward Burton won in 2002. That victory was the only other restrictor-plate victory for Dodge.
