You already know the number one stat of the 2010 NASCAR season -- Jimmie Johnson won his fifth consecutive Cup Series title.
Digging a little deeper, I have complied my annual post-season recap of some of the most strange, surprising, and sometimes shocking statistical findings of the year -- which I now present for your perusal:
Matt Kenseth was the highest finisher who did not win a race this season. Kenseth ranked fifth in points despite going winless in 2010. Jamie McMurray claimed three victories this year, including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, but finished outside the Chase in 14th place.
Kevin Harvick, who finished the season ranked third, had the best average finish of the year at 8.7. Carl Edwards was second in this category with an 11.8; Jimmie Johnson was third at 12.2.
Harvick's 2010 average finish of 8.7 was better than any season average finish ever posted by Jimmie Johnson. Johnson's best was a 9.7 in 2006, while his career average finish is an 11.7.
Harvick's 2010 average finish was the second-best for any driver since the Chase began in 2004. In 2007, Jeff Gordon had an average finish of 7.3, but finished second to Johnson for the title.
Jeff Gordon had the most top-five finishes this year among drivers who failed to win a race. Gordon had 11 top-five finishes, including two second- and four third-place finishes.
Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray tied for the most poles in 2010 with four each. Neither driver made the Chase.
Jimmie Johnson led the most laps this year with 1315, followed by Kyle Busch with 1271. Busch finished eighth in points.
Three drivers finished on the lead lap in a total of 32 of 36 races: Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth. Jimmie Johnson had 27 lead-lap finishes.
Only two drivers were racing at the finish of all 36 races in 2010 (no DNFs). They were Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth completed 99.93% of the total laps run this year.
Jimmie Johnson started the 2010 season with a DNF in the Daytona 50 and was 35th in points after that race. He won three of the next four races and was third in points by the fifth race of the season. Johnson took the points lead after race number six, but lost it to Kevin Harvick after race number ten and then recaptured it after the 29th race of the year.
Matt Kenseth completed the most miles raced in 2010, a total of 14521.80 miles. The next five drivers in that category were Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Paul Menard.
Jeff Gordon is listed as the top team owner in point standings for 2010 with 6,622 owner points for the No. 48 car.
From the second week of the season on, only three drivers led the point standings all season: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, and Denny Hamlin. Harvick topped the standings for a total of twenty races, Johnson, ten, and Hamlin, five.
Jimmie Johnson led at least one lap in 24 of 36 races this year. Next on the list were Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart, who each led at least one lap in 20 races.
Kevin Harvick earned the most points in restrictor plate races in 2010, followed by Clint Bowyer, David Reutimann, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Carl Edwards. Kyle Busch earned the most short-track racing points.
Jeff Gordon led all drivers in the category of average running position for the year with a 9.438. Jimmie Johnson was second and Jeff Burton, third.
Jeff Burton far outpaced the field in the category of quality passes, defined as passing a car running in the top-15 under green, with 1848. The next closest competitor was Jimmie Johnson with 1653.
Kevin Harvick was the most improved driver of 2010 compared to 2009. His third-place ranking was 16 spots higher than his 19th-place position last year.
In 2010, Jeff Gordon continued his league-leading consecutive starts record among active drivers. Gordon has competed in 617 straight races and has not missed a Cup race since the start of his career in November of 1992.
This year, Kyle Busch became the first driver in history to win all three of NASCAR's top touring series races in one weekend. Busch won a total of 24 races in the Cup, Nationwide, and Truck Series in 2010.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
