BACK TO GALLERIES
Interesting stats from 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season
By Chase Wilhelm | Published: December 20, 2019 19
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
1 of 19
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
The 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season was packed with plenty of action and dramatic finishes, all capped off with Kyle Busch earning his second career championship. With records broken and new heights reached, let’s take a look back at some of the most eye-catching stats to recap the year, courtesy of our friends at Racing Insights.
2 of 19
Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images
2019 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch took 40 trips to Victory Lane in the 2010s, the most of all drivers in that span.
3 of 19
Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Martin Truex Jr. led all drivers with seven victories on the season, while Kevin Harvick earned the most Busch Pole Awards at six.
4 of 19
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Hendrick Motorsports led all organizations with 10 Busch Pole Awards. Five of those top starts came from William Byron (Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, Pocono-1, Southern 500, Charlotte Roval). The Chevrolet-powered squad also swept the front row on seven occasions.
5 of 19
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. earned a record-breaking 19 wins in 2019, most by a team in the modern era by breaking Hendrick Motorsports' 18-win mark from the 2007 season. JGR also didn't go more than four races without a victory.
6 of 19
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
The margin of victory between race winner Ryan Blaney and runner-up Ryan Newman at Talladega Superspeedway was .007 seconds, the smallest of 2019 and the sixth closest in NASCAR history.
7 of 19
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Chase Elliott won the Busch Pole Award, both stages, led the most laps and won the race at Watkins Glen International, the only driver to sweep every aspect of a race in 2019. Also, Chevrolet swept both stages and won the race at Talladega Superspeedway, Watkins Glen International and the Charlotte Roval, the only times they have done so in the stage era. Elliott won all three races.
8 of 19
Chris Trotman | Getty Images
Five drivers ended winless streaks of 30 or more races in 2019: Denny Hamlin (47 races), Kurt Busch (30 races), Erik Jones (42 races), Kyle Larson (75 races) and Ryan Blaney (37 races).
9 of 19
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Three races were won from a starting position outside of the top 20: Denny Hamlin (23rd at Kansas-2), Martin Truex Jr. (24th at Las Vegas-2) and Justin Haley (34th at Daytona-2).
10 of 19
Jonathan Daniel | Getty Images
Alex Bowman and Justin Haley got their first wins in back-to-back races at Chicagoland Speedway and Daytona International Speedway, respectively, the first instance of first-time winners in consecutive races since 2007.
11 of 19
Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Five races were won from the Busch Pole position in 2019, including Joey Logano at Michigan-1, Chase Elliott at Watkins Glen, Denny Hamlin at Bristol-2 and Kevin Harvick at Indianapolis and Texas-2.
12 of 19
Chris Trotman | Getty Images
Six races had overtime finishes this year -- the Daytona 500, Kansas-1, Michigan-1, Kentucky, Pocono-2 and Kansas-2. Denny Hamlin won three of those six overtime races.
13 of 19
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Martin Truex Jr led 464 laps at Martinsville Speedway in October, the most laps led in a race by a single driver since 1992 when Kyle Petty led 484 at Rockingham Speedway.
14 of 19
Daniel Shirey | Getty Images
Chip Ganassi Racing ended a 64-race team winless streak at Kentucky. The win by Kurt Busch also broke the veteran driver's personal 30-race winless streak.
15 of 19
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
All 10 drivers who qualified in the top 10 at Kansas Speedway in October finished the race outside the top 10. It was the first time no top-10 qualifiers finished in the top 10 since Daytona in July 2014.
16 of 19
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Team Penske drivers were passed for the win in 10 races during the season, twice by a teammate. Brad Keselowski passed Joey Logano for the win at Atlanta Motor Speedway, while Logano passed Keselowski for the win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway the next week.
17 of 19
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
There were four instances of a driver winning both stages and the race in 2019: Kyle Busch (Auto Club Speedway), Brad Keselowski (Martinsville-1), Chase Elliott (Watkins Glen International) and Martin Truex Jr. (Martinsville-2).
18 of 19
Matt Sullivan | Getty Images
Clint Bowyer won the Busch Pole Award at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, ending a 431-race streak between poles.
19 of 19
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Three drivers who won in 2018 failed to earn a victory in 2019 – Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon.