Race Weekend Central

Numbers Game: 2014 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon

0 – Laps led by Tony Stewart Sunday at Loudon. Stewart, who led 84 laps in this race last season remains winless in 2014, outside the Chase grid as it currently stands.

1 – Cup race finished by 72-year-old Morgan Shepherd this season after running the distance at Loudon. Shepherd, who wound up 27 laps off the pace, hadn’t run a Cup race to completion since the 2004 July race down in Daytona.

2 – Top-10 finishes by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. this season (including a ninth at Loudon) at any track where NASCAR runs without a restrictor plate. Stenhouse sits a distant 28th in points.

3 – Joe Gibbs Racing drivers who finished inside the top 10 Sunday. It’s the first time that’s happened since the 2013 season finale at Homestead.

4 – Of seven NASCAR cautions called at Loudon were for “debris.” Ironically, it was an unquestionable reason for a yellow flag (Justin Allgaier‘s wreck) that precipitated a green-white-checkered overtime finish.

5 – Drivers who would make the Chase on points if the season ended today: Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard and Kyle Larson.

6 – Number, out of the last seven races where Carl Edwards has run outside the top 10, including a ho-hum 13th on Sunday. Lone exception? Sonoma, where the No. 99 car wound up in victory lane.

7 – Straight top-15, lead-lap finishes for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt wound up the only Hendrick Motorsports car to post a top 10 at Loudon (10th).

10 – Laps led by Newman, all season long. That’s compared to 11 for underdog driver Landon Cassill; however, as of now Newman is seventh in the standings, on the strength of seven top-10 finishes and is solidly in position to make the Chase.

14 – Laps led by Larson at Loudon, a career high for him in any Cup race.

323 – Miles run on Sunday, the most for any Cup race at Loudon since 2006.

$109,565 – Money won by Denny Hamlin for finishing eighth.

$114,091 – Money won by Jimmie Johnson for crashing and finishing 42nd.

About the author

The author of Did You Notice? (Wednesdays) Tom spends his time overseeing Frontstretch’s 40+ staff members as its majority owner and Editor-in-Chief. Based outside Philadelphia, Bowles is a two-time Emmy winner in NASCAR television and has worked in racing production with FOX, TNT, and ESPN while appearing on-air for SIRIUS XM Radio and FOX Sports 1's former show, the Crowd Goes Wild. He most recently consulted with SRX Racing, helping manage cutting-edge technology and graphics that appeared on their CBS broadcasts during 2021 and 2022.

You can find Tom’s writing here, at CBSSports.com and Athlonsports.com, where he’s been an editorial consultant for the annual racing magazine for 15 years.

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