Numbers Game: Texas

Numbers Game: NRA 500
by Tom Bowles

0
Laps led by Roush Fenway Racing, the defending champion of the race (with driver Greg Biffle). Since Carl Edwards’ win at Phoenix, the three teams have combined to lead a grand total of one lap – and that was from Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (Las Vegas).

1
Lap led by Kevin Harvick all season. At this time last year, he had totaled up 113. Harvick, who has yet to finish higher than ninth this season was an all-but-invisible 13th Saturday night.

2
Straight races Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has finished behind his girlfriend Danica Patrick in the rookie race. That, combined with Patrick’s top-10 finish at Daytona makes that battle closer than one may have thought seven races in. (Patrick actually leads, 76-73).

3
Top-11 finishes by Brian Vickers in three Sprint Cup races so far in 2013 – with two different teams. By comparison, Joey Logano, who is inside the top 10 in points this season only has two.

4
Cautions, out of seven that were not for actual on-track incidents. That includes the last yellow, on Lap 315 for “debris” from what looked like to be a Mark Martin scrape of the Turn 4 wall, well outside the groove.

5.4
Kyle Busch’s average start this season; it’s a stat that leads all drivers and includes two pole positions. That first pit stall at Texas, earned by a first-place starting spot was crucial in earning him the victory Saturday night.

6
Runner-up finishes for Martin Truex, Jr. since his last Sprint Cup Series victory in 2007. One of those was Kansas, in the Spring of 2012 which is next up on the schedule.

25
Races since a podium finish in the Sprint Cup Series for Tony Stewart. He won the Daytona 400-miler back in July.

37
Finish of Kurt Busch, in the last two races following back-to-back top-5 results. The mechanical failures, leading to time behind the wall in both cases have dropped him 11 spots in the standings, from 13th to 24th.

$550,858
Money collected by Texas winner Kyle Busch, easily the most for any first-place finisher since the Daytona 500.

$2,612,961
Money won by Jimmie Johnson so far this season through seven races, leading all drivers.