The last time and really the only other time two teammates won four races apiece at this point in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season -- 17 races down, 19 to go -- one of them went on to hoist the championship trophy at the end of it all.
In 2007, Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon each made a trip to Victory Lane four times before July. Johnson took the checkered flag first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, then repeated at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway. Gordon got his streak going at ISM Raceway (then known as Phoenix International Raceway) and kept it alive at Talladega Superspeedway, Darlington Raceway and Pocono Raceway.
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Johnson, thanks to his final points standing after four consecutive playoff victories, was ultimately crowned that season’s champion. Gordon just so happened to finish right behind him in second.
Fast forward 12 years, Joe Gibbs Racing has its own set of drivers following suit -- so far. Kyle Busch has wins at ISM Raceway, Auto Club Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Pocono, while Martin Truex Jr.’s triumphs have happened at Richmond, Dover International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Sonoma Raceway. Busch and Truex are currently second (659 points) and fifth (581 points), respectively, in the standings and locked into the playoffs.
What really takes this comparison to a new level is that both teams had 10 victories overall after 68 starts on the dot. Casey Mears (Charlotte) and Busch (Bristol) -- his last season before switching from HMS to JGR -- notched the other two for Hendrick Motorsports in 2007. Denny Hamlin (Daytona International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway) is responsible for bringing Joe Gibbs Racing into double digits this year already.
The only team to ever top that win count so quickly was Carl Kiekhaefer Racing in 1956 with 13 out of 17 total.
All Hendrick Motorsports drivers combined for 18 wins in 2007. That number still stands as the single-season record by a team in NASCAR’s modern era.
Busch and Truex, along with the rest of their team and other competitors, take on Daytona this Sunday for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (1 p.m. ET; NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Erik Jones, who’s also a part of Joe Gibbs Racing, won this race last year.
| Team |
Hendrick Motorsports |
Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Season |
2007 |
2019 |
| Races |
17 |
17 |
| Starts |
68 |
68 |
| Wins |
10 |
10 |
| Top 5 |
26 |
28 |
| Top 10 |
38 |
44 |
| Laps Led |
1,585 |
1,458 |
| Average Finish |
14.7 |
10.8 |
Stats courtesy of Racing Insights