YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2004: Finished 45th in series points. … Competed in 10 events for John McNelly, Michael Holigan and James Finch. … Posted season-best starting position of 19th and once again tied his previous top finish of 15th at Pikes Peak.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Finished fourth in the points while pulling double duty for the final 20 races of the season. Announced he will run full time again in the Nationwide series in 2013 with a part-time Cup schedule. 2011: Ran a partial schedule in the Nationwide series, finishing 23rd in points. 2010-2008: Was a full-time Cup driver, finishing a best 28th in points.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Finished sixth in points, with one win, six top fives and 19 top 10s. This is the fourth year he has been sixth or better in points. 2011: Debuted with Turner Motorsports after leaving Penske Racing and finished third in points. Won at Chicagoland, his home track. 2009: Nationwide series Rookie of the Year.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Was let go from Brad Keselowski Racing mid-season and found a home at Red Horse Racing. Finished fifth in points. Ran three Nationwide races for Penske Racing, earning two top 10s. His two Truck wins and one pole all came with RHR. Announced he would be moving up to the Nationwide series full time with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013. 2011: Finished 11th in points while running a full season for BKR.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Came in second in points to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Announced his departure from Richard Childress Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing, taking his sponsor OneMain Financial with him. Had four wins, 15 top fives, 24 top 10s and four poles. 2011: Was second in points to Stenhouse in his first full-time season back in the Nationwide series. 2010-1999: Ran full-time in the Sprint Cup series, winning three races and running for the championship twice for three different teams.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Finished third in points for the Nationwide series title and took the Rookie of the Year honors. Announced he would again run full time in the Nationwide series in 2013 while attempting seven Cup races, including the Daytona 500. 2011: Won the Truck championship by six points over Johnny Sauter.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Finished ninth in points and announced his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing. Won in the Truck series driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, marking his first win in any of the national series since May 2009 at Dover (Trucks). 2010-2009: Raced for Braun Racing until it folded into Turner Motorsports. With lack of seats, he went to JGR beginning in 2011.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 11th in series points. … Raised Loop Data Driver Rating nine points from 2010. … Missed five consecutive spring races due to illness. … Scored first career win, in 77th career start, at Texas-2. … Career-best average finish of 13.7. … Best start, second at Nashville-1 and Iowa-2. … Career-best average start of 8.4. … Posted 23 top-10 starts in 29 races. … Completed 97.2 percent of laps attempted. … Led career-best 114 laps. … Top 10 in every Loop Data statistical category. … Career-best Average Driver Rating of 97.1. 2010: Finished career-best seventh in series points. … Split season, running first 28 races for Diamond-Waltrip Racing, then finishing with Roush Fenway Racing. … Won three consecutive poles (Gateway-1, Lucas Oil Raceway, Iowa), tying a mark held by four drivers – Sam Ard (1983), Mark Martin (1987), Michael Waltrip (1989) and Jeff Gordon (1992). … Best finish, third, at Gateway-1 and Richmond-2. … Eight of 11 top-10 finishes came in second half of season, including top 15s in five of his seven starts for RFR. … Added six top fives. … Led 99 laps. … Raised Driver Rating by more than seven points over 2009 to 88.29.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Start & Parked in the Cup series for Humphrey Smith Racing while racing in the Nationwide series for TriStar Motorsports, finishing eighth in points. 2009-2008, 2004: Finished fifth in the Nationwide series points. 2002 Truck champion.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Won twice in his second full season in the Truck series, along with four poles, nine top fives and 15 top 10s, ending the season seventh in points. 2011: Finished the season 10th in points for Kevin Harvick Inc., which shut its doors at the end of the season.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 14th in series points. … Third consecutive season as full-time owner/driver, competed in 30 races and fielded other drivers in four additional series races. … Best start, 12th at Phoenix-1. … Best finish, third at Talladega. … Average finish of 18.9. … Completed 93 percent of laps attempted. … Ranked in the top 10 in driver points the first three weeks of the season and again in Week 7 following Talladega, the first time he’d been in the top 10 since 2005. 2010: Finished 20th in series points. … Made 33 starts while fielding team as full-time owner/driver. … Best start, 11th at Bristol-1. … Best finish, 14th at Auto Club-2. … Completed 89.3 percent of laps attempted.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 19th in series points. … Raised Loop Data Driver Rating 6.3 points from 2010 in first season with TriStar Motorsports. … Best finish, 18th at Chicagoland-1; also finished 19th at Phoenix-2. … Completed 90.4 percent of laps attempted. … Posted series track-best finishes at three speedways – Auto Club (21st), Chicagoland-1 (18th) and New Hampshire (20th). 2010: Finished 24th in series points. … Competed in 29 of 35 races in second season for Team Rensi Motorsports. … Best finish was 17th in season-opener at Daytona where he also led a lap. … Led two laps at Talladega, where he finished 22nd. … Best start was 19th at Dover-2. … Completed career-best 95 percent of laps attempted.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 13th in series points. … Raised Loop Data Driver Rating eight points from 2010 in second full season with J-D Motorsports. … Best start, 17th at Kentucky; the start marked the 400th of his career, making him the fourth driver in series history to hit the milestone. … Best finish, fifth at Road America, was best since third at Kentucky in 2008. … Completed 91.7 percent of laps attempted. … Led 12 laps. 2010: Finished 18th in series points. … Challenged for top-10 position in the standings in first full season with J-D Motorsports, but seven DNFs (did not finish) hampered his efforts. … Best finish, 11th, at Las Vegas. … Was ranked in the top 10 in the driver standings during the 2010 season, a first for a J-DM driver.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 18th in series standings. ... Skipped two of the first three races then completed the season for owner Randy MacDonald. ... Brought rookie of the year race down to Homestead-Miami finale before finishing second. ... Best start, 13th at Texas-2 and Phoenix-2. ... Career-best 14th-place finish, at Road America and Phoenix-2. ... Average finish of 24.9. ... Completed 91.1 percent of laps attempted. 2010: Finished 115th in series standings. ... Made one start for owner Wayne Day, started 32nd and finished 22nd at Iowa.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 15th in series points. … Career year in first full-time series season, for independent family-run race team. … Best start, 18th at Chicagoland. … Best finish, 14th at Iowa-1, Atlanta, Richmond-2. … Average finish of 23.6. … Running at finish of 28 of 34 races, completed 94.3 percent of laps attempted. … Led career-high 12 laps. 2010: Finished 34th in series points. … Ran 16 races for owner Johnny Davis, attempted to qualify in seven others. … Best start, 13th at Richmond-2, Texas-2. … Career-best finish, 10th at Gateway-2. … Completed 85.7 percent of laps attempted.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2010: Finished 129th in series points. … Made lone series start for Braun Racing, starting ninth, finishing 31st after an accident at midpoint of Gateway-2.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 43rd in series standings. ... Made first five career starts with Go Green Racing. ... Best start, 32nd at Chicagoland-2. ... Best finish, 20th at Iowa-2 in series debut at his home track. ... Average finish of 25.4. ... Completed 98.2 percent of laps attempted.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Finished fifth in points, thanks to six top fives and 17 top 10s. Improved his average finish by five positions. 2011: Announced he would be going to Richard Petty Motorsports after Rusty Wallace Racing closed at the end of the season.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 21st in series points. … Attempted full schedule for fourth consecutive season in his own Faith Motorsports equipment and successfully made all 34 races, with best points position since 1983. … Best start, 21st at Phoenix-2. … Best finish, 18th at Las Vegas. … Completed 76.7 percent of laps attempted. … Became 12th driver in series history to reach 300 career starts. 2010: Finished 28th in series points. … Attempted full schedule in his own cars for third straight year, deferring in one race (Homestead-Miami) to Johnny Chapman. … Made 27 races. … Best finish, 18th, at Gateway-2. … Completed 57.3 percent of laps attempted, one lap led. … Formed partnership with fellow owner Richard Childress midway through the season, running 13 races in Childress’ No. 21 Chevrolet.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished seventh in series points. … Noticeably in tremendous shape to start the year, joined RAB Racing for major comeback, raising Loop Data Driver Rating 30 points from 2010. … Standings finish was his best as a full-time series driver since 2005 (also seventh). … His 11 top-10 results were most since 2005. Finished as best Toyota driver in standings. … Best start, fourth at Bristol-2. … Average start of 16.1. … Best finish, fifth at Richmond-2. … Best average finish (15.8) since 2003. … Completed 97 percent of laps attempted. … Eclipsed Jason Keller (519) for series record for most career starts at Texas-2; ended season with 522 starts. 2010: Finished 19th in series points. … Raced full season for Jay Robinson Racing. … Ranked second in Loop Data category for Closers by gaining 31 positions over the final 10 percent of each race. … Best finish, 11th, at Talladega. … Completed 95.4 percent of laps attempted.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Busch called this the worst year of his career, despite one win, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s and two poles. Brother Kurt took KBM’s Nationwide team to Victory Lane for the first time while Kyle didn’t see Victory Lane in any other series. 2011: Surpassed Mark Martin as the winningest Nationwide driver (51) and won over 100 races across the three national series. 2010: Became the first driver to sweep all three national series in one weekend at Bristol.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship in only his third full season while also taking home three Nationwide wins. 2011: Finished fifth in points and had three wins, which all came after breaking his ankle at a test at Road Atlanta. 2010: Won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Made the Chase for the eighth time and came in eighth place. Shut down Kevin Harvick Inc., folding it into Richard Childress Racing. Has won the Nationwide Series championship twice (2006 as an owner/driver and 2001) and the Truck championship as an owner twice with Ron Hornaday Jr. (2007, 2009).

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 24th in series points. ... Won career-best two poles, at Sonoma and Pocono-2. ... Average start of 17.9. ... Best finish, third at Charlotte-1 and Daytona-2. ... Average finish of 19.1. ... Only two top-10 finishes, fourth at New Hampshire-2 and fifth at Watkins Glen, in second half of season. ... Completed 96.7 percent of laps attempt- ed. ... Led career-best 58 laps. 2010: Finished career-best 16th in series points. ... Became youngest pole winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup history with his first career pole at Bristol-1. ... Fell out of top 10 in standings after three races, but never fell lower than 22nd. ... Best finish of second at Martinsville-1. ... Ended season with five top-10s in last six races. ... Doubled previous totals of career top-fives and top-10s with seven and 16 respectively. ... Average start 16.2. ... Average finish 16.8. ... Finished third in NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Finally settled at Hendrick Motorsports, Kahne had two wins and was fourth in points, earning 12 top fives, 19 top 10s and two poles. 2011: Considered a filler year at Red Bull Racing, Kahne earned one win and two poles. 2010: After announcing he would leave Richard Petty Motorsports, he was released five weeks early from his contract and started at Red Bull Racing. 2008: Became the first driver to win the Fan Vote and then win the NASCAR Sprint All Star Race.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Made it back to Victory Lane at Michigan in June. Led the points for a good portion of the season leading to the Chase until he had to sit out due to a concussion (Regan Smith replaced him), erasing his Chase hopes. 2011: First season with Steve Letarte as crew chief and the duo finished seventh in points. Was on pole for the Daytona 500. 2010: Ran the infamous No. 3 Wrangler paint scheme in the Nationwide series at Daytona and won.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 11th in series points. ... Qualified for sixth Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, as the seventh seed. ... Tied for league lead with three poles, in consecutive events at Kansas-1,Pocono-1 and Michigan-1. ... Average start of 12. ... Won at Sonoma, Dover-2, extending streak with at least one win to 10 consecutive seasons. ... Average fin- ish of 14.6. ... Completed 98.8 percent of laps attempted. ... Led 770 laps. ... Won first start in Penske Racing’s No. 22 (non-points Budweiser Shootout). ... Also won his Gatorade Duel qualifying race for Daytona 500. ... Third in Loop Data categories for Fastest Drivers On Restarts and Quality Passes. ... In early December, struck mutual agreement with Penske Racing to part ways, did one-year deal to drive for Phoenix Racing four days before Christmas. 2010: Finished 11th in series points. ... Qualified for fifth Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. ... Won two races, extending his streak to nine consecutive seasons with at least one victory. ... Won two poles (Las Vegas, Michigan-1) to break two-year streak without a pole. ... Reached as high as fourth in the championship, four different times includ- ing with seven races remaining. ... Average start of 11.1. ... Average finish of 15.3. ... Led 252 of 400 laps and won Coca-Cola 600 the weekend after winning NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

Finished career-best 20th in series points. … More than doubled previous career total starts in first full-time season. … Ran season’s first nine races with crew chief Greg Erwin, next 17 with Mike Ford before finishing season with Todd Parrott, with whom he had three top-10 starts, two top-10 finishes (including his season-best) and a worst finish of 16th in their last four starts of the season. … Won pole at Charlotte-1. … Average start, 16.2. … Best finish, fourth at Martinsville-2 tied career best. … Average finish, 20 while running at finish of 33 races. … Completed 96.2 percent of laps attempted. … Led career-best 78 laps. … On Nov. 17 RPM announced it had renewed Almirola's contract for 2013. 2010: Finished 48th in series points. … Ran nine races; four for James Finch, five for Richard Petty Motorsports in No. 9 Ford, replacing Kasey Kahne. … Career-best finish, fourth, came in Homestead season finale, his last start before 2012 Daytona 500. …

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: Finished third in points after his rear gear broke at Homestead battling for the championship. Had five wins and four poles. 2011: Finished sixth in points, the first time in his career he finished outside of the top five. 2010-2006: Won five consecutive Sprint Cup championships. Driver of the year 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2008: Finished 39th in series points. … Drove seven races for Roush Fenway Racing. … Best start, second at Talladega. … Average start of 17.3. … Best finish, 18th at Milwaukee, Talladega. … Average finish of 24.7. … Completed 79 percent of laps attempted.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2012: First full-time season in the Nationwide series for JR Motorsports, finishing 10th, while competing in 10 races in the Sprint Cup series for Stewart-Haas Racing (highest finish was 17th). 2011: Running a partial schedule, earned highest finish for a woman in any national series, placing fourth at Las Vegas. 2010: Debuted in stock car racing, competing in the ARCA, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Nationwide series.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Finished 17th in series points. … Debut season with Rick Ware Racing began as soon as he turned 18, at Phoenix-1. … Best start, 22nd three times, at Nashville-2, Lucas Oil Raceway, Atlanta. … Best finish, 11th at Road America. … Average finish of 24.2. … Completed 92.1 percent of laps attempted. … Engaged in season-long rookie of the year battle with Blake Koch and clinched award with better finish at Homestead-Miami finale.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2010: Finished 41st in series points. ... Made 11 starts for owner Todd Braun. … Best start, 19th at Michigan. … Best finish, 11th in series debut at Nashville-2. … Average finish of 21.9. … Completed 87.5 percent of laps attempted.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

2011: Not eligible for series points, competed for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points. ... Made 10 attempts, seven starts including one for Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing, six for MAKE Motorsports’ new team. ... Best start, 29th at Watkins Glen, Atlanta and Kansas. ... Best finish, 23rd at Charlotte-2. 2005: Finished 69th in series points. ... Competed in eight races for owner John McGill. ... Best start, 31st at Richmond-2. ... Best finish, 22nd at Dover-2. ... Completed 72.5 percent of laps attempted. ... Made series debut at Auto Club-2.

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP

YEAR-BY-YEAR CUP SERIES RECAP