NASCAR’s year in numbers

The 2021 NASCAR season was memorable in many ways beyond the brilliance of Kyle Larson. It should be no surprise that Larson led the way in many statistical categories. But the season was also noteworthy as the swansong for the sport's sixth-generation race car and some elements on that car (five lug nuts, centered door numbers).

Let’s take one more look at last season through some of its most interesting numbers. All stats are for the 2021 season unless otherwise noted.

0: Wins for Kevin Harvick (the first time since 2009 that he went winless)

0: DNFs by Denny Hamlin (the only full-time driver to finish every race)

1: NASCAR national series wins and championships for Daniel Hemric

3: First-time Cup Series winners

3: First-time NASCAR champions crowned

5: First-time winners in the Camping World Truck Series

5: New racetracks on the Cup Series schedule

6: First-time winners in the Xfinity Series

8.5: Average finish by Hamlin (series best)

11.083: average rank by William Byron as the fastest driver in the series on restarts

16: Different winners in the Cup Series

16: Drivers who made their Cup Series debuts

17: Consecutive seasons with a win for Kyle Busch (the most by an active driver)

18: Stage wins by Kyle Larson

19: Wins by Chevrolet drivers

34: Wins scored by Brad Keselowski as a Team Penske driver

36: Different drivers won in the Gen6 race car (2013-2021)

80: Lug nut penalties in the Cup Series

280: Cup Series wins for Hendrick Motorsports, now the winningest team in the series

324: Points races run with the Gen6 race car (2013-’21)

712: Consecutive starts by Kevin Harvick to move to third on the all-time list and hold the most by an active driver

725: Cup Series career starts for Ryan Newman (who has no announced plans for 2022)

1,288: Fastest laps run by Kyle Larson (series best)

2,581: Laps led by Kyle Larson (new single-season record)

9,196: Laps completed by Denny Hamlin (a series-best 99.96 percent)

10,000: Dollars donated by Alex Bowman to Stand for Animals from the sale of “Hack” t-shirts

3,559.579: Miles led by Kyle Larson