Race Weekend Central

Numbers Game: 2011 Ford 400 at Homestead

1
Driver to win Cup titles in the traditional (pre-2004) championship format and in the Chase format. Tony Stewart became the first to do it. He won his first championship (2002) under the old points system and won his second Chase title on Sunday (Nov. 20).

1
Driver to enter the Chase winless, and then go on to win the championship. Stewart became the first.

3
Victories for Stewart at Homestead. Stewart is tied for most wins all time at the track with Greg Biffle.

3
Drivers to overcome point deficits in the final race of the season to win the championship in the last 20 years. Jimmie Johnson did it in 2010 and Stewart did it in 2011. Before that, Alan Kulwicki was the last driver to accomplish the feat in 1992.

4.9
The average finishing position of Carl Edwards in the Chase. It is the best average in NASCAR history, but Edwards didn’t even win the title.

5
Victories in the Chase this season for Stewart, the most by any driver since the playoffs were started in 2004.

5
Top-10 finishes for Martin Truex Jr. in seven starts at Homestead. Truex was third on Sunday. Truex also recorded top 10s in four of the final five races.

5
Top 10s for Jeff Burton in 2011. Four were in the final five races. Burton was 10th at Homestead.

6th
Johnson’s final position in the Sprint Cup Series standings. It is his lowest finishing position since entering NASCAR’s top series in 2002.

7
Drivers to win the series finale and Cup series title. Jeff Gordon (1998) was the last driver to do it before Stewart in 2011.

7
Consecutive titles won by Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series. The last non-Chevy driver to score a title was Kurt Busch in a Ford in 2004.

7
Top 10s for Kasey Kahne in the last eight races of the season. Kahne was seventh on Sunday.

8
Drivers to win championships with two different organizations. Stewart has won titles with Stewart-Haas and Joe Gibbs Racing. Terry Labonte (1996) was the last driver to win titles with two different teams.

8
Top-five results for Edwards in the last 11 races of the season.

9
Drivers to win three or more championships in Cup competition. Stewart joined Lee Petty, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson as drivers with three titles.

9
Top fives for Stewart in 36 races this season. It is the fewest number of top fives for a champion since Bill Rexford had five in the 1950 season in 17 starts. By comparison, Edwards had 19 top-five finishes this season.

9th
Stewart’s starting position in the Chase standings. It is the furthest back anyone has come to win a championship.

15.7
The average finishing position of the most recent race winner in the next week’s race. Kahne placed seventh at Homestead after winning at Phoenix.

18
Different race winners in the Sprint Cup Series in 2011 in 36 races.

26
Lead changes in Sunday’s race at Homestead, a new track record.

1,259
Total laps completed in 2011 by Joe Nemechek. Nemechek started all 36 races. He completed 29 laps and finished 40th on Sunday. Kyle Busch led more laps this season (1,455) than Nemechek ran.

About the author

The Frontstretch Staff is made up of a group of talented men and women spread out all over the United States and Canada. Residing in 15 states throughout the country, plus Ontario, and widely ranging in age, the staff showcases a wide variety of diverse opinions that will keep you coming back for more week in and week out.

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