The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to action this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth with the seventh race of the 2018 season.
Here’s a quick look at some interesting statistics and tidbits heading into the weekend.
Statistics – Texas Motor Speedway
- This weekend’s race marks the 44th for the series in the state of Texas and the 35th at Texas Motor Speedway. Bobby Isaac won the inaugural race in Texas on December 7, 1969, at Texas World Speedway in College Station. Jeff Burton won the first Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in 1997.
- The winner of the most series races at Texas Motor Speedway is Jimmie Johnson, who owns seven of his 83 career victories (8 percent) at the track. Johnson’s seven victories at Texas are the fourth most of any track in his Cup Series career, behind Dover (11); Martinsville (9); and Charlotte (8).
- Johnson’s first win at Texas came in 2007. He’s won at least one race at the track in five of the last six seasons (2016 the exception), and swept the 2015 races at the track. Only two of his seven wins at Texas have come in the spring race (five in the fall).
- Terry Labonte is the only driver from Texas to win at Texas Motor Speedway, when he won the 1999 Primestar 500. That also marked Chevrolet’s first victory at the track.
- Overall, a total of 19 drivers have won a Cup Series race at TMS: Jimmie Johnson (7); Carl Edwards (4); Jeff Burton (2); Matt Kenseth (2); Greg Biffle (2); Kasey Kahne (2); Tony Stewart (2); Denny Hamlin (2); Kyle Busch (2); Mark Martin (1); Terry Labonte (1); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1); Dale Jarrett (1); Ryan Newman (1); Elliott Sadler (1); Jeff Gordon (1); Kurt Busch (1); Joey Logano (1); and Kevin Harvick (1).
- Jeff Burton (1997) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000) earned their first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at TMS. Carl Edwards (2016 fall) earned his final career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory at TMS.
- Kevin Harvick is the most recent winner of an MENCS race at Texas, last November. It marked his first career victory at the track, the 21st track at which he’s earned at least one win (has not won at only two tracks/three configurations: Pocono, Kentucky and Charlotte road course), and his 37th career victory (now has 40).
- Two drivers have won at least one race at Texas Motor Speedway and gone on to win the series championship in the same season: Jimmie Johnson (2007 fall and 2013 fall) and Tony Stewart (2011 fall). No driver has won the spring race at Texas and the championship in the same year.
- Eight drivers have won a Cup Series race and the Xfinity Series race at TMS: Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.
- The last driver to win consecutive races at Texas was Jimmie Johnson, who won three straight from the 2014 fall race to the 2015 fall race.
- Three drivers have swept the Texas races since the track began hosting two races a season (in 2005): Carl Edwards (2008); Denny Hamlin (2010); and Jimmie Johnson (2015).
- Jimmie Johnson holds the record for most consecutive victories at the track with three (2014 fall through 2015 fall). He led more than 100 laps in the first two victories but only six laps in the third triumph.
- No driver has ever won back-to-back spring races at Texas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson is the only driver this weekend with the opportunity to accomplish that feat.
- Martin Truex Jr. has led the last five races at Texas Motor Speedway to lead all drivers heading into the event; leading this weekend will tie him for third all-time in consecutive races led at Texas (six) with Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. . Joey Logano has led the last three races at TMS, while Kevin Harvick has led in each of the last two races at the track. Ten drivers that led in the 2017 fall race did not lead laps in the 2017 spring race.
- The 2017 fall race was the first at TMS to feature at least 10 or more leaders since the 2013 fall race. The last TMS spring race with at least 10 or more leaders came in 2011.
- Ford won the 2017 fall race at TMS and Chevrolet is the defending Texas spring race winner. Chevrolet and Ford are tied with 13 Texas Motor Speedway victories each, and both have won at least three consecutive races at the track (Chevrolet has two streaks of three straight, Ford one; no manufacturer has ever won more than three straight races at TMS). Toyota has five victories and Dodge has one.
- Greg Biffle holds the race record for average speed, winning the 2012 spring race at 160.577 mph in a Ford. Only four of 34 races have averaged more than 150 mph, most recently in the 2013 fall race, won by Jimmie Johnson (151.754 mph).
- The driver to lead the most laps of a race at Texas Motor Speedway has gone on to win the race 16 times in 34 races, most recently in the 2015 spring race (last five times the driver with the most laps led has not won the race at TMS). Jimmie Johnson is the most recent winner to lead the most laps of the race he won, leading 128 laps in the 2015 spring race.
- Jeff Burton led a single lap of the 2007 spring race at TMS, the only time the winner led only the final lap at the track. The winner has led 10 laps or less in three of 34 races, the most recent time in the 2015 fall race.
- Brad Keselowski holds the record for most laps led in a race at Texas by a driver who did not win the race, leading 312 laps in the 2015 fall race before finishing second. That also represents the most laps led by a driver in any Cup Series race at Texas, winner or not.
- Tony Stewart holds the record for most laps led by a race winner, with 278 in the 2006 fall race.
- The last time a Cup Series race at Texas went into overtime was the 2014 fall race (race record 341 laps/512 miles), with the 2014 spring race the last time a spring race at Texas went past the scheduled distance. Each of the last three spring races has gone the scheduled 334 laps.
- The only race at Texas that did not go the scheduled distance or more was the 2016 fall race, which was shortened to 293 laps due to rain. Carl Edwards won the race.
- The last Cup Series race at Texas that was contested on a Monday was the 2014 spring race, won by Joey Logano.
- Only three of the previous 34 races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from the pole position. Kyle Busch is the last driver to win from the pole, in the 2013 spring race. A total of six races have been won by a front-row starter. The third-place starter has won a track-record seven times, and the second starting row has produced the race winner 10 times (thus the race winner has come from the front two rows in half of the 34 races).
- Jeff Gordon holds the track record for most pole positions with three. A total of 24 drivers have started from the pole in an MENCS race at Texas coming into the weekend, with only eight drivers earning two or more poles.
- Matt Kenseth started the furthest back of any race winner at Texas, when he won from the 31st starting position in the 2002 spring race.
- Overall, five of 34 races at Texas have been from outside the top 20. Jimmie Johnson was the last to win a race at Texas after starting worse than 20th, when he won the 2017 spring race from the 24th position.
- A total of 74 drivers have led laps in a Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson holds the record for most laps led with 1,052; he’s the only driver with more than 1,000 laps led. Matt Kenseth holds the record for races led with 19, and is tied with Dale Jarrett for consecutive races led at Texas with seven.
- Martin Truex Jr. has finished on the lead lap in 13 consecutive races at Texas, dating back to the 2011 fall race. He crashed in the 2011 spring race, completing 213 laps. Kevin Harvick has finished every lap in each of the last seven TMS races, while Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have finished every lap in the last four TMS races.
- A.J. Allmendinger has been the last driver to finish on the lead lap in each of the last three Texas races.
Statistics – 2018 Season and Series Overall
- Four drivers have won races this season: Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer. Harvick has won a season-high three races, all in succession.
- Harvick has 101 career NASCAR national series victories.
- Harvick leads all drivers in victories (3), laps led (433) and stage victories (3) this season.
- Kyle Busch leads all drivers in top threes with four.
- Martin Truex Jr. leads all drivers in top fives with five, and is tied with Joey Logano and Kyle Busch with most top 10s with five each.
- Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver to lead laps in each of the past seven races – the 2017 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the first six races of the 2018 season. The last driver to lead at least five races to start the season was Brad Keselowski in 2014.
- Chris Buescher (Prosper) is the only driver competing in the race from the state of Texas.
- Jimmie Johnson is making his 586th consecutive series start this weekend to lead all drivers.
- Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney lead all drivers in laps completed this season, with 1,810 laps completed out of 1,811.
- Kevin Harvick is the last driver to win back-to-back races, when he won three consecutive races earlier this season.
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