When NASCAR tweaked its Sprint Cup Series points system again for the 2014 season, the hope was that the winner-take-all format in the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway would virtually guarantee an exciting finish to the season. And by changing the criteria for making the Chase for the Sprint Cup, it was thought that the racing might be a little more intense during the 26-race Sprint Cup regular season. But the results so far in 2014 ‘ six different winners in six races, along with a host of great finishes ‘ surely have exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. How rare is it to start a season with six different winners in the first six races? Going back to 1985, it’s only happened five times and the most recent occurrence was in 2003, more than a decade ago and the last year before the Chase format began. There’s ample reason to believe the streak of new winners might go on a while longer: Last year’s top two drivers, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are winless so far in 2014, as are six more of 2014’s top 12 finishers in points. Over the last three decades, the longest stretch of unique winners came in 2000, when the first repeat winner of that season was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 11th race. Since NASCAR went to a 36-race schedule in 2001, there has never been a season with more than 16 different winners in the first 26 races. In fact, in the 13 seasons that NASCAR has had a 36-race schedule, only five times have there been more than 16 winners during the entire year.(FoxSports)
