Special Sub-Topic: Oddities of Sprint Cup 2009 Click Here To Play: Oddities of Sprint Cup 2009

What team finished 35th in owner's point?

Front Row Motorsports. John Andretti and Front Row Motorsports finished 35th, the final spot for guaranteed starts for the first five races of 2009. Owner/driver Gordon finished 34th. Scott Speed and Red Bull Racing finished 36th in owner's points. Kevin Buckler's TRG Motorsports finished 37th with a number of drivers, but Bobby Labonte will have the advantage of the past champion's provisional.

How many drivers were point penalized in 2009?

Four. Carl Long lost 200 points after an engine too large for NASCAR specifications at the Sprint Showdown. Robby Gordon lost 50 points for his rear axle at Charlotte. Martin Truex was penalized for a car too high at Chicago (25 points)and car too low at Texas (50 points). Kyle Busch lost 25 points to a car too low at New Hampshire.

What driver finished highest despite not having a top five finish?

Casey Mears. Casey Mears finished 21st in points while driving for Richard Childress.

David Stremme finished highest for a driver not in the top ten.

F. Paul Menard finished 31st while driving for Robert Yates, one spot higher than Stremme.

Of the drivers that did not start and park (run a handful of laps before parking the car for the night), who had the most DNFs?

Sam Hornish. Hornish had eight DNFs. Start-and-park drivers Dave Blaney (29), Joe Nemechek (27), and David Gilliland (14) had more. Reasons for starting and parking include vibrations, overheating, steering, brakes, and electrical, when in reality, teams are short on cash.

Which of these drivers had a DNF in the 2009 season?

Ryan Newman. Newman crashed at the second Talladega event.

What position did Brad Keselowski finish?

38th. Keselowski ran a total of 15 races for Phoenix Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and Penske Racing. Keselowski got a surprise win at Talladega for James Finch's Phoenix Racing, who got his first Sprint Cup win as a team owner. He replaced David Stremme for the final three races of 2009.

How many total races did David Gilliand run?

31. Gilliand ran for Kevin Buckler, Wood Brothers Racing (replacing an injured Bill Elliott at Atlanta), Robby Gordon (at Richmond while Gordon was racing in the Baja 1000), Joe Gibbs (three starts, plus a relief role at California), and James Finch at Phoenix. Gilliland's best finish was 14th at Las Vegas.

What team had the most DNQs?

Brad Jenkins. Brad Jenkins' #37 team attempted 27 races, but only made 13. Larry Gunselman's #64 entry attempted 18 races, but failed to make 12 of them. James Finch's #09 Phoenix Racing team failed to make nine out of 36 races. After some early promise, Tommy Baldwin's #36 team failed to make 11 races.

How many past champion's provisionals were used in 2009?

Seven. Terry Labonte ran six races and used the past champion's provisional on all six of them. Bill Elliott used one at Texas.