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2020 Darlington May 20 Race All News Cup News

Statistical Advance: Analyzing the Toyota 500

May 19, 2020 at 7:37 PM

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Darlington
Erik Jones……………………………… 107.4
Denny Hamlin………………………… 106.6
Kyle Busch…………………………….. 103.7
Kevin Harvick…………………………. 103.6
Brad Keselowski…………………….. 100.4
Martin Truex Jr………………………… 98.5
Jimmie Johnson……………………….. 96.4
Tyler Reddick…………………………… 94.7
Matt Kenseth……………………………. 90.5
Kurt Busch………………………………. 89.7
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (16 total) among active drivers at Darlington Raceway.

At Darlington Raceway:

History

  • Darlington Raceway was built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-1950.
  • Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt on Sept. 4, 1950 – 75 cars competed in the event – Curtis Turner won the pole at 82.034 mph, and the race was won by Johnny Mantz (Plymouth, 75.250 mph, 6:38:40).
  • The track was re-measured to 1.375 miles in 1953.
  • The track was re-configured to 1.366 miles following the spring race in 1970.
  • The track was repaved in 1995.
  • The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at Darlington.
  • The track was repaved again prior to the 2008 season.
  • There have been 117 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Darlington Raceway.

Starts

  • A total of 740 different drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway; 453 drivers have competed in more than one race at Darlington.
  • NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Darlington with 65.
  • Matt Kenseth leads the all active drivers in starts at Darlington with 26; followed by Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch with 24 each.
  • A total of 124 different drivers have made their NASCAR Cup Series career debut at Darlington Raceway; the most recent was T.J. Bell (May 7, 2011). 
  • Fred Lorenzen (16 starts) leads the series in average starting position at Darlington with a 3.688. 
  • Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the series in average starting position at Darlington with a 8.867.

Top 10 in Average Starting Position at Darlington Raceway (All-Time and Active)

Rank

All-Time Drivers

Avg Start

Races

Rank

Active Drivers

Avg Start

Races

1

Fred Lorenzen

3.688

16

1

Denny Hamlin

8.867

15

2

David Pearson

6.277

47

2

William Byron

9.667

3

3

Frank Mundy

6.667

3

3

Brad Keselowski

10.083

12

4

Fonty Flock

7.000

8

4

Joey Logano

10.750

12

5

Jeff Gordon

7.000

36

5

Ryan Newman

11.091

22

6

Scott Pruett

7.000

2

6

Kurt Busch

11.333

24

7

Dick Hutcherson

7.200

5

7

Jimmie Johnson

12.864

22

8

Fireball Roberts

7.200

20

8

Erik Jones

13.000

4

9

Bob Burdick

7.500

2

9

Ryan Blaney

13.167

6

10

Pete Hamilton

7.600

5

10

Kyle Busch

13.813

16

Poles

NASCAR Cup Series

Active Pole Winners at Darlington

Rank

Active Pole Winners

Poles

1

Kevin Harvick

2

2

Kurt Busch

2

3

Brad Keselowski

1

4

Clint Bowyer

1

5

Denny Hamlin

1

6

Ryan Newman

1

7

William Byron

1

8

Matt Kenseth

1
  • A total of 51 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at least one Busch Pole Award at Darlington Raceway; seven are active this weekend.
  • NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in Busch poles at Darlington with 12 – (1967, ’70, ’72, ’73 sweep, ’75 sweep, ’76 sweep, ’77, ’78 and ’82)
  • Pearson’s 12 Darlington poles are tied with NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough (12 poles at Daytona) for the second-most poles all-time at a single track in the NASCAR Cup Series. Pearson also holds the series record with 14 poles at Charlotte.
  • Kurt Busch (2001, 2013) and Kevin Harvick (2014, 2017) lead all active drivers in Busch poles at Darlington with two each. 
  • Curtis Turner won the inaugural Busch Pole Award at Darlington Raceway in 1950 in an Oldsmobile with a speed of 82.034 mph.  
  • Nine drivers have won consecutive Busch poles at Darlington, but none are active this weekend.
  • David Pearson holds the record for most consecutive poles at Darlington with five (1975 – 1977).
  • Eight drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series pole at Darlington Raceway.

NASCAR Cup Series

First-Time Pole Winners At Darlington

First-Time Pole Winners

Season

Driver’s Age

Clint Bowyer

2007

27

Elliott Sadler

2003

27

Kurt Busch

2001

23

John Andretti

1995

32

Ken Schrader

1987

31

Bill Elliott

1981

25

Fred Lorenzen

1961

26

Cotton Owens

1957

33
  • Youngest Darlington pole winner: William Byron (09/01/2019 – 21 years, 9 months, 3 days).
  • Oldest Darlington pole winner: David Pearson (09/06/1982 – 47 years, 8 months, 15 days).
  • A total of 12 different manufacturers have won at least one Busch pole in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway.
  • Ford leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Darlington Raceway with 43 poles; followed by Chevrolet (22), Mercury (13), Pontiac (10), Dodge (8), Buick (3), Oldsmobile (3), Plymouth (3), Toyota (2), Chrysler (1), Hudson (1) and Studebaker (1).

Wins

NASCAR Cup Series

Active Darlington Race Winners

Rank

Active Race Winners

Wins

1

Jimmie Johnson

3

2

Denny Hamlin

2

3

Kevin Harvick

2

4

Erik Jones

1

5

Brad Keselowski

1

6

Kyle Busch

1

7

Martin Truex Jr

1

8

Matt Kenseth

1
  • A total of 51 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have won at Darlington Raceway, eight are active this weekend.
  • NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leads the series in victories at Darlington with 10 wins (1968, ’70, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’76 sweep, ’77, ’79, 80); followed by Dale Earnhardt with nine and Jeff Gordon with seven.
  • Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with three wins (2004 sweep, 2012).  
  • 13 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Darlington; Dale Earnhardt (1989-1990) and Jeff Gordon (1995-1996) are tied for the series-most consecutive wins at Darlington with three each. 
  • Jimmie Johnson (three), Denny Hamlin (two) and Kevin Harvick (two) are the only active multiple race winners at Darlington Raceway.
  • A total of 11 different drivers have won from the pole at Darlington; led by NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson with four wins (1971, 1972, 1976 sweep). Kevin Harvick is the only active driver to win from the pole (2014) at Darlington. 
  • 20 of the 117 (17.1%) NASCAR Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway have been won from the Busch pole; the most recent was Kevin Harvick in 2014.
  • The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Darlington. The outside front row (second-place) has produced the second-most wins (17).   

NASCAR Cup Series Wins by Starting Positions at Darlington Raceway

Starting Position

Wins

Winning %

Starting Position

Wins

Winning %

1

20

17.09%

11

3

2.56%

2

17

14.53%

12

1

0.85%

3

13

11.11%

13

3

2.56%

4

8

6.84%

14

2

1.71%

5

12

10.26%

15

3

2.56%

6

5

4.27%

23

2

1.71%

7

4

3.42%

31

1

0.85%

8

6

5.13%

37

2

1.71%

9

8

6.84%

43

1

0.85%

10

6

5.13%

 

 

 

Additional Statistics

Winning %

Wins

Winning from the first Starting Position:

17.24%

20

Winning from the Front Row:

31.90%

37

Winning from a top-five Starting Position:

60.34%

70

Winning from a top-10 Starting Position:

84.62%

99

Winning after Starting Outside the top 20:

5.17%

6
  • The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Darlington is 43rd by Johnny Mantz in 1950 – the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event held at the historic raceway.
  • Six drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Darlington Raceway: Johnny Mantz (1950), Nelson Stacy (1961), Larry Frank (1962), Terry Labonte (1980), Lake Speed (1988) and Regan Smith (2011).
  • Youngest series Darlington winner: Erik Jones (9/1/2019 – 22 years, 11 months, 2 days).
  • Oldest series Darlington winner: Harry Gant (09/01/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 22 days).
  • Kurt Busch leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington without visiting Victory Lane at 24; followed by Ryan Newman with 22.
  • Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins by an organization at Darlington in the NASCAR Cup Series with 14 victories – Tim Richmond (1986), Ricky Rudd (1991), Jeff Gordon (1995, ’96 sweep, ’97, ’98, ’02, ’07), Terry Labonte (2003), Jimmie Johnson (2004 sweep and 2012) and Mark Martin (2009).
  • A total of 11 different manufacturers have won in the series at Darlington; led by Chevrolet with 41 victories; followed by Ford (30), Mercury (10), Oldsmobile (six), Toyota (seven), Dodge (five), Pontiac (five), Buick (four), Plymouth (four), Hudson (three) and American Motor Company (two).

Additional Finishing Position Stats

Runner-Up Finishes:

  • A total of 61 different NASCAR Cup Series drivers have finished runner-up at Darlington Raceway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famers Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty with eight second-place finishes each.
  • Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in second-place finishes at Darlington with three; followed by Kevin Harvick with two.

Top Five In Runner-Up Finishes at Darlington Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Rank

All-Time Drivers

Runner-Ups

Rank

Active Drivers

Runner-Ups

1

Darrell Waltrip

8

1

Denny Hamlin

3

 

Richard Petty

8

2

Kevin Harvick

2

3

David Pearson

7

3

Brad Keselowski

1

4

Mark Martin

6

 

Jimmie Johnson

1

5

Fireball Roberts

4

Joey Logano

1

 

Jeff Gordon

4

 

Kurt Busch

1

Kyle Busch

1

 

Ryan Newman

1

Alex Bowman

1

Top-Five Finishes:

  • A total of 140 different drivers have finished in the top-five at Darlington Raceway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty with 25 top-five finishes.
  • Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick lead all active drivers in top fives at Darlington with nine each.

Top Five in Top-Five Finishes at Darlington Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Rank

All-Time Drivers

Top Fives

Rank

Active Drivers

Top Fives

1

Richard Petty

25

1

Jimmie Johnson

9

2

David Pearson

24

Kevin Harvick

9

3

Bill Elliott

22

3

Denny Hamlin

8

4

Dale Earnhardt

19

 

Ryan Newman

7

5

Jeff Gordon

19

5

Brad Keselowski

4

 

Kyle Busch

4

Top-10 Finishes:

  • A total of 229 different series drivers have posted top-10 finishes at Darlington Raceway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott with 35.
  • Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick lead all active series drivers with 13 top 10s each.

Top Five in Top-10 Finishes at Darlington Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Rank

All-Time Drivers

Top 10s

Rank

Active Drivers

Top 10s

1

Bill Elliott

35

1

Ryan Newman

13

2

Richard Petty

34

Matt Kenseth

13

3

David Pearson

30

Kevin Harvick

13

4

Bobby Allison

26

4

Jimmie Johnson

12

5

Mark Martin

26

5

Denny Hamlin

12

Average Finishing Position:

  • Bob Burdick leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Darlington Raceway with a 3.0 in two starts.
  • Erik Jones leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Darlington with a 5.500 in four starts.

Top 10 in Average Finishing Position at Darlington Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Rank

All-Time Drivers

Avg Finish

Races

Rank

Active Drivers

Avg Finish

Races

1

Bob Burdick

3.000

2

1

Erik Jones

5.500

4

2

Erik Jones

5.500

4

2

Denny Hamlin

7.600

15

3

Kyle Larson

6.667

6

3

Brad Keselowski

10.917

12

4

Denny Hamlin

7.600

15

4

Martin Truex Jr

11.200

15

5

Marty Robbins

8.000

2

5

Kyle Busch

12.000

16

6

Shorty Rollins

9.000

2

6

Austin Dillon

12.286

7

7

Bill Elliott

9.365

52

7

Ryan Newman

12.682

22

8

Herb Thomas

10.429

7

8

Jimmie Johnson

13.273

22

9

Nelson Stacy

10.500

6

9

Kevin Harvick

13.792

24

10

Brad Keselowski

10.917

12

10

Chase Elliott

15.000

6

Track/Event Specific Stats

  • Since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993, the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway is the March 16, 2003 race won by Ricky Craven with a margin of victory of 0.002 second over Kurt Busch.
  • Darlington’s 0.002 sec. margin of victory is tied with the 2011 Spring Talladega race as the closest finishes in the series using electronic scoring.

Top Five Closest Margins of Victory at Darlington Raceway

Margin Of Victory

Date

Race Winner

Runner-Up

0.002

3/16/2003

Ricky Craven

Kurt Busch

0.132

3/21/2004

Jimmie Johnson

Bobby Labonte

0.144

8/31/1997

Jeff Gordon

Jeff Burton

0.169

3/23/1997

Dale Jarrett

Ted Musgrave
  • Four NASCAR Cup Series races have resulted in a NASCAR Overtime finish at Darlington Raceway:

Race Winner

Date

Scheduled No. Of Laps

Actual No. Of Laps

NASCAR Overtime Laps

Kevin Harvick

4/12/2014

367

374

7

Jimmie Johnson

5/12/2012

367

368

1

Regan Smith

5/7/2011

367

370

3

Greg Biffle

5/7/2005

367

370

3
  • Eight of the 117 races at Darlington Raceway have been shortened from their scheduled number of laps; the most recent was the fall race of 2000.

Date

Scheduled No. Of Laps

Actual No. Of Laps

Number Of Fewer Laps

Race Winner

9/3/2000

367

328

39

Bobby Labonte

9/5/1999

367

270

97

Jeff Burton

3/21/1999

293

164

129

Jeff Burton

9/5/1993

367

351

16

Mark Martin

9/6/1992

367

298

69

Darrell Waltrip

9/6/1987

367

202

165

Dale Earnhardt

4/13/1980

367

189

178

David Pearson

9/1/1969

367

230

137

LeeRoy Yarbrough

9/1/1958

367

364

3

Fireball Roberts
  • Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway six times: 1952, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2016.  The most recent qualifying (2020) was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and instead was determined by a random draw.

Lap Leader Stats

  • In total 165 different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series have led at least one lap at Darlington Raceway.
  • Dale Earnhardt leads the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Darlington Raceway with 2,648 laps led in 44 series starts.
  • Kevin Harvick leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with 740 laps led in 24 starts.
  • The most laps led in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway by the race winner was 351 laps of the scheduled 400 laps (87%) by Johnny Mantz on September 4, 1950. He started the race from the 43rd position.
  • The most laps led in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway by a driver that did not win the race was 284 laps of the scheduled 367 laps (77%) by Kyle Larson on September 2, 2018. He started the race from the second position.
  • The fewest laps led in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway by the race winner was just the final lap by Ricky Craven on March 16, 2003. He started the race from the 31st position.

Top 10 Lap Leaders at Darlington Raceway (All-Time & Active)

Rank

All-Time Drivers

Led

Completed

% Led

Rank

Active Drivers

Led

Completed

% Led

1

Dale Earnhardt

2,648

14,011

18.90%

1

Kevin Harvick

740

8,135

9.10%

2

Richard Petty

2,391

17,120

14.00%

2

Kyle Busch

716

5,717

12.52%

3

David Pearson

2,116

12,536

16.90%

3

Jimmie Johnson

563

7,217

7.80%

4

Jeff Gordon

1,744

11,458

15.20%

4

Denny Hamlin

562

5,431

10.35%

5

Darrell Waltrip

1,723

16,395

10.50%

5

Brad Keselowski

373

4,331

8.61%

6

Cale Yarborough

1,647

12,959

12.70%

6

Kurt Busch

360

8,263

4.36%

7

Bobby Allison

1,601

12,630

12.70%

7

Ryan Newman

334

7,670

4.35%

8

Harry Gant

1,088

9,144

11.90%

8

Martin Truex Jr

232

5,437

4.27%

9

Bill Elliott

980

17,477

5.60%

9

Matt Kenseth

193

8,748

2.21%

10

Fireball Roberts

916

4,572

20.00%

10

Joey Logano

103

4,266

2.41%

Female Competitor Stats

  • Three female drivers have competed at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series – Danica Patrick, Janet Guthrie and Shawna Robinson.

Active Drivers

Starting Position

Finishing Position

Date

Danica Patrick

33

26

9/3/2017

Danica Patrick

25

24

9/4/2016

Danica Patrick

30

42

9/6/2015

Danica Patrick

33

22

4/12/2014

Danica Patrick

40

28

5/11/2013

Danica Patrick

38

31

5/12/2012

Averages

33.2

28.8

 

Inactive Drivers

Starting Position

Finishing Position

Date

Janet Guthrie

26

16

9/5/1977

Shawna Robinson

42

42

3/17/2002

NASCAR in South Carolina

  • South Carolina has hosted a total of 307 NASCAR national series races among 10 different tracks.

Track Name

City

Cup

Xfinity

Gander Trucks

Total Races

First Year

Darlington Raceway

Darlington

117

59

6

182

1950

Columbia Speedway

Columbia

43

0

0

43

1951

Greenville-Pickens Speedway

Greenville

29

2

0

31

1951

Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds

Spartanburg

22

0

0

22

1953

Rambi Race Track

Myrtle Beach

9

13

0

22

1958

Coastal Speedway

Myrtle Beach

2

0

0

2

1956

Lancaster Speedway

Lancaster

2

0

0

2

1957

Gamecock Speedway

Sumter

1

0

0

1

1960

Hartsville Speedway

Hartsville

1

0

0

1

1961

Newberry Speedway

Newberry

1

0

0

1

1957

Totals

227

74

6

307
  • The first NASCAR Cup Series race held in the state of South Carolina was at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 4, 1950 – the event was won by Johnny Mantz in a Plymouth.  

 South Carolina In NASCAR

  • A total of 139 different drivers have made at least one NASCAR national series start with their home state recorded as South Carolina.
  • James Hylton leads all NASCAR drivers from South Carolina with the most NASCAR national series starts with 607.

Top Five in NASCAR National Series Starts from South Carolina Drivers

South Carolina Drivers

National Series Starts

Hometown

James Hylton

607

Inman

David Pearson

580

Spartanburg

Cale Yarborough

562

Timmonsville

Jason Keller

522

Greenville

Jeremy Clements

336

Spartanburg
  • Three drivers from South Carolina have been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame – David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Cotton Owens.
  • 11 drivers from South Carolina have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; seven have won in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Driver

Cup

Xfinity

Gander Outdoors

Combined

David Pearson

105

1

0

106

Cale Yarborough

83

0

0

83

Cotton Owens

9

0

0

9

Tiny Lund

5

0

0

5

James Hylton

2

0

0

2

Johnny Allen

1

0

0

1

Joe Eubanks

1

0

0

1

Larry Pearson

0

15

0

15

Jason Keller

0

10

0

10

Butch Lindley

0

6

0

6

Jeremy Clements

0

1

0

1

Totals

206

33

0

239

— NASCAR —