That time of the year: Multiple drivers hit up Victory Lane

It’s the silly summer stretch, when not only the tracks vary but so do the winners. Victory Lane has seen a different driver in each of the past nine races, starting with Kyle Busch at Pocono Raceway on June 2 and most recently with Chase Elliott at Watkins Glen International last weekend. Four of those nine -- Alex Bowman, Justin Haley, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick -- nabbed their first win of the season during that span. One of those four isn’t even a full-time Cup driver (looking at you, Haley). Repeat winners from earlier in the season included Busch, Elliott, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

Date	Track	Length	Winner
June 2, 2019	Pocono Raceway	2.5 miles (triangular)	Kyle Busch
June 10, 2019	Michigan International Speedway	2 miles	Joey Logano
June 23, 2019	Sonoma Raceway	2.52 miles (road course)	Martin Truex Jr.
June 30, 2019	Chicagoland Speedway	1.5 miles	Alex Bowman*
July 7, 2019	Daytona International Speedway	2.5 miles	Justin Haley*
July 13, 2019	Kentucky Speedway	1.5 miles	Kurt Busch*
July 21, 2019	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	1.058 miles	Kevin Harvick*
July 28, 2019	Pocono Raceway	2.5 miles (triangular)	Denny Hamlin
Aug. 4, 2019	Watkins Glen International	2.45 miles (road course)	Chase Elliott
Aug. 11, 2019	Michigan International Speedway	2 miles	Sunday at 3 p.m. ET

*Notes first-time season winners | Italics for non-Cup regular RELATED: Complete Michigan schedule | NASCAR on TV A little perspective: The first 13 races of the season had just six winners. The longest such streak last season was just five different drivers in a row, and it was near the tail-end of the season, which was capped off by Logano’s championship. This year's run of unique winners marks the longest streak of its kind since the 2017 season, when 10 different drivers in a row won. 

Date	Track	Winner
May 28, 2017	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Austin Dillon
June 4, 2017	Dover International Speedway	Jimmie Johnson
June 11, 2017	Pocono Raceway	Ryan Blaney
June 18, 2017	Michigan International Speedway	Kyle Larson
June 25, 2017	Sonoma Raceway	Kevin Harvick
July 1, 2017	Daytona International Speedway	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
July 8, 2017	Kentucky Speedway	Martin Truex Jr.
July 16, 2017	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Denny Hamlin
July 23, 2017	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Kasey Kahne
July 30, 2017	Pocono Raceway	Kyle Busch

The lengthiest strand ever dates all the way back to 1961. There were two chunks of 13 different victors, and they actually overlapped. The first began with Junior Johnson's win at Martinsville Speedway on April 30, 1961 and ended with Buck Baker's victory June 23, 1961 at Hartsville Speedway. The second started with Fred Lorenzen on May 6, 1961 in Darlington, South Carolina, and ended with Johnson in Roanoke, Virginia, on June 24, 1961.  RELATED: The complete Driver by Number series Back in the present, there are 23 drivers out of 32 who have started every race who have not won yet. With nine full-time drivers logging a win this season, by the process of elimination, seven currently are banking on points to make the 16-driver cutline for the NASCAR Playoffs, which begin in four races. The Cup Series takes on Michigan International Speedway this Sunday (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the second time in 2019. Logano won the June showdown, and Harvick took this second edition last year. Both Logano and Harvick already are locked into the postseason – Logano has two wins; Harvick has one. Someone who isn’t guaranteed a spot and might have good luck at Michigan is Kyle Larson, sitting 14th in the standings with a 46-point buffer. Larson has won three of the last six Michigan races (the second race of 2016 and both in 2017) . He finished 14th there in June and is coming off an eighth-place showing at Watkins Glen. A victory for Larson would snap a 68-race drought. Let the silliness continue to add some rain on the parade.