winston cup 2002 in cijfers

[Raceboy]

Facts and figures from the 2002 Winston Cup season:

0 – Wins by Rusty Wallace, ending a 16-year winning streak. Wallace is tied with Ricky Rudd for the most consecutive winning years in the modern era. Wallace came close to extending the streak -- he finished second four times in the final 20 races.

1 – Wins by Ricky Rudd. He's usually good for one win a year -- in 12 of his 24 full seasons in Winston Cup, Rudd has won exactly one race in a season. Rudd won at Sonoma in June -- it was the first road course win for Robert Yates Racing since 1994.

2 – Winston Cup Championships for Joe Gibbs Racing. Tony Stewart matched Bobby Labonte's title in 2000, but it didn't come as easily -- Labonte beat Dale Earnhardt by 265 points, and Stewart beat Mark Martin by only 38.

3 – Wins by Jeff Gordon, equaling his lowest total since he won twice in 1994. Gordon also won three times in 2000.

4 – Straight seasons the champion's average finish has increased. Tony Stewart's averaged a finish of 12.6. Jeff Gordon averaged 10.9 when he won the title in 2001, Bobby Labonte averaged 7.4 when he won in 2000 and Dale Jarrett averaged 6.7 in 1999.

5 – Wins by Matt Kenseth, which led the Winston Cup Series. It was the first time a Roush Racing driver had ever led the series in victories. Kenseth's series-leading total was the fewest since 1992, when Davey Allison and Bill Elliott shared the lead with five wins apiece.

6 – Number of races Tony Stewart failed to finish. Stewart was involved in three accidents. He blew an engine twice and broke a rear end gear once.

7 – Top-10 finishes by Bobby Labonte, his lowest total since joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 1995.

7 – Number of drivers on the lead lap after the Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond in September -- a season low.

8 – Top-10 finishes by Ricky Craven and Cal Wells' PPI Motorsports, tops among single-car teams.

8 – Number of drivers (Jeff Burton, Ricky Craven, Robby Gordon, Bobby Hamilton, Joe Nemechek, Steve Park, Elliott Sadler, Rusty Wallace) who won in 2001 but failed to win a race in 2002.

9 – Final points position by Dale Jarrett, his first time out of the top five in his seven-year tenure in the No. 88 Ford.

10 – Wins by Roush Racing drivers -- up from two in 2001. Roush Racing won four more races than its closest competitor, Hendrick Motorsports, which won six times.

10 – DNFs by Joe Nemechek, which led the Winston Cup Series.

11 – Top-10 finishes by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the second half, which moved him from 15th in the standings to 11th.

12 – Top-five finishes by Kurt Busch, up from three in his rookie season in 2001.

13 – Top-five finishes by Jeff Gordon, nine of which came in the second half. Gordon finished the year with three straight top-five finishes, which helped him avoid a finish out of the top five in points for the third time in four years.

14 – Wins by Ford drivers, tops among all manufacturers. Roush Racing scored 10 wins, Robert Yates Racing scored three and Penske Racing had one.

14 – Times Mark Martin qualified in the top 10.

15 – Top-five finishes by Tony Stewart, which led the Winston Cup Series. Stewart has either matched or improved his top-five finishes total in each of his four Winston Cup seasons.

16 – Drivers who failed to finish the Protection One 400 at Kansas, a season high.

19 – Times Tony Stewart qualified in the top 10.

24 – Times the NASCAR Winston Cup champion -- since 1949 -- didn't lead the series in victories.

25 – Drivers who have won Winston Cup championships since 1949.

32 – Number of drivers on the lead lap after the Pepsi 400 at Michigan in August -- a season high.

38 – Tony Stewart's final margin of victory in the point standings over Mark Martin. It was the closest title race since 1997, when Jeff Gordon edged Dale Jarrett by 14 points and Martin by 29.

137 – Amount of laps Dave Blaney failed to complete in the first 35 races. Blaney crashed on lap 2 of the season-ending Ford 400 and finished the race 248 laps down.

622 – Lead changes -- for 36 points races -- an average of 17.2 per race.

1,127 – Miles led by Jimmie Johnson.

1,366 – Miles led by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

4,600 – Points scored by Jimmie Johnson.

4,800 – Points scored by Tony Stewart.

13,841 – Miles run by Mark Martin, which led the Winston Cup Series.

14,072 – Race distance -- in miles -- for all 36 points races.