Historic moments to come in NASCAR for 2021
In 2021, NASCAR and its drivers will once again offer us historic moments. Here is a small selection of the important milestones we could see in the coming season.
1200 starts in the national series
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick only needs 13 starts to reach the 1,200 threshold. At the start of the 2021 season, he will also total 675 consecutive starts since he has not missed a race since that of Martinsville in 2002. If all goes well well it is expected to hit 1,200 starts on May 16, 2021 at Dover International Speedway.
700 NASCAR Cup Series starts
Driver: Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman is 11 starts away from becoming the 19th driver in NASCAR history to total 700 or more Cup Series starts. If no event is missing, it should take place on May 2 at Kansas Speedway.
600 NASCAR Cup Series starts
Driver: Kyle Bush
The two-time NASCAR champion will start the 2021 season with 570 starts to his name and may become the 31st driver to pass the 600-start mark during the Las Vegas event on September 26 during the playoffs.
60 NASCAR Cup Series wins
Drivers: Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch
Harvick (58 wins) and Busch (57 wins) are in a position to clinch their 60th success in 2021. The drivers are respectively 9th and 10th in the ranking of the most victorious drivers. Dale Earnhardt is closest to them with 76 wins to his name.
50 NASCAR Cup Series wins
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Hamlin will start the 2021 season with 44 wins to his credit. In the last two seasons, he has totaled 13 victories so the bar of 50 seems accessible.
30 NASCAR Cup Series wins
Drivers: Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano
The two champions are very close to joining the club of 30. Truex has a total of 27 victories and he is of course able to clinch three victories during the 2021 season. For Logano, who totals 26, the challenge is a little more difficult, but also playable knowing he has won multiple races in six of the last seven seasons.
Early career in NASCAR Cup Series
Driver: Chase Briscoe
The driver of the # 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford will make his first Cup Series start at the 2021 Daytona 500s. He will replace Clint Bowyer. Note that the next Daytona 500 will also mark the debut of several teams including Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing and Live Fast Motorsports.
10,000 laps led in the NASCAR Cup Series
Drivers: Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
There have been 19 pilots in NASCAR history who have led over 10,000 laps. The two former champions – Busch (9902 laps) and Truex (9856) are the closest active pilots to joining this closed circle.
200 NASCAR Cup Series wins
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs has a total of 185 victories as owner and with a team made up of Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Cristopher Bell, he is certain that he will recover a few more in 2021. In 2019 he had totaled some. 19 with the Busch-Truex-Hamlin-Erik Jones pilot four.
NASCAR Cup Series First Race
Circuits: The Bristol Motor Speedway in dirt track mode, the Circuit of the Americas, the Nashville Superspeedway and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road circuit.
With the big news brought to the 2021 NASCAR calendar, several new circuits have appeared.
60 Truck Series wins / 100 Xfinity wins
Driver: Kyle Busch
The undisputed leader in the number of wins in the Camping World Truck Series is one unit out of 60. In the Xfinity Series, Busch already has 97 and could very well land three more in 2021.
