By the Numbers: Daytona

Summer-streaking Stewart ready to stop stumbling

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
July 3, 2008
10:18 AM EDT

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A year ago, Tony Stewart crashed, completed just 125 of the scheduled 160 laps and limped out of Daytona with a 38th-place finish. It dropped him to seventh in the standings.

He then went on to win consecutive races at Chicagoland and Indianapolis, finished sixth at Pocono, and then won for the third time in four races when the series went to Watkins Glen.

Stewart hasn't won since.

It's been 31 consecutive races since he celebrated in Victory Lane as the series heads to Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 (6:30 p.m. ET, TNT). Last week's rain-shortened event that caught Stewart on the wrong pit cycle was the latest in a series of unfortunate events that has kept him not only winless during that span, but also has ruined top-five runs; he has just one of those in the last seven races.

On the positive, Stewart was able to run out front at New Hampshire. And at Daytona, no other active driver has done that as much as Stewart.

7Laps led by Tony Stewart in his first 10 races at Daytona. He led one lap in the 2000 summer race, and six laps in the 2003 season opener.

524Laps led by Tony Stewart in his last nine races at Daytona. He has led laps in each race except one (2007 summer race), and has twice led more than 100 laps in an event (2005 opener: 107; 2005 summer: 151).

Daytona Double

Drivers since 1982 who came close to winning both Daytona races

Year	Driver	500-mile race	400-mile race

1984	Cale Yarborough	1st	3rd
1985	Bill Elliott	1st	2nd
1990	Dale Earnhardt	5th	1st
1993	Dale Earnhardt	2nd	1st
1995	Sterling Marlin	1st	2nd
2000	Dale Jarrett	1st	2nd
2000	Jeff Burton	2nd	1st
2001	Michael Waltrip	1st	2nd
2001	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2nd	1st
2002	Michael Waltrip	5th	1st
2004	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1st	3rd
2006	Tony Stewart	5th	1st

Back in Time

July 4, 1982Bobby Allison becomes the fourth driver to sweep both Daytona races in a single season by winning the Firecracker 400. Allison led 112 laps in the No. 88 Buick to beat Bill Elliott by two car-lengths. Elliott's No. 9 was the lone Ford among a top 10 of Buicks and Pontiacs. No Chevrolets were entered in the race. Buicks, however, accounted for 25 victories in the 30-race schedule that season.

10 Key Facts

1Time that Penske Racing drivers have finished 1-2 in a Cup Series race, this year's Daytona 500 won by Ryan Newman. Last week's winner Kurt Busch finished second in the race.

2Consecutive Daytona races that have not been won by a Chevrolet. Prior to that, Chevys won seven in a row and 11 of 13.

3Finishes outside the top 10 in the last four Daytona races for Dale Earnhardt Jr. His lone top-10 during that span: this year's Daytona 500 (ninth), his debut at Hendrick Motorsports.

3Races in the last four at Daytona that brothers Kyle and Kurt Busch finished in the top-five together. The other race (2007 Daytona 500) saw Kyle finish 22nd and Kurt finish 41st.

4Races at Daytona since the driver who led the most laps also won the race: Tony Stewart, 2006 summer race. Stewart led 86 laps and beat Kyle Busch under caution.

7Finishes of seventh or better for Tony Stewart in the last nine Daytona races. In the other two events, he finished 43rd and 38th, both in 2007.

27.0Average finish for Denny Hamlin in five Daytona starts, the worst among drivers ranked in the top 12 in points. Hamlin's best finish at the track is 17th (twice).

710Points scored by Kyle Busch in the last five Daytona races, more than any other driver. Busch has scored the most points in the last two races, last three races and last four races at Daytona.

1,394Points scored by Tony Stewart in the last 10 Daytona races, more than any other driver. Stewart has scored the most points in the last six races, last seven races, last eight races and last nine races at Daytona.

10,123Laps led by Tony Stewart during his Cup Series career, making him the 13th driver in history to surpass the 10,000 laps led mark. At Daytona, Stewart has led 531 laps, the most among full-time drivers.

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Active drivers, based on victories

Driver	Starts	Wins	Top-5	Top-10

Jeff Gordon	31	6	11	17
Sterling Marlin	51	3	12	21
Michael Waltrip	43	3	6	12
Tony Stewart	19	2	6	10
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	17	2	6	10
Kevin Harvick	14	1	3	5
Jimmie Johnson	13	1	5	8
Ryan Newman	13	1	2	3
Jamie McMurray	11	1	2	3
Jeff Burton	29	1	6	8
Greg Biffle	11	1	1	3