#SrigleyStats Countdown to Daytona: 28 Days!
Sunday, January 21st, 2024 -- 28 Days Until Daytona!
28 DAYS UNTIL DAYTONA!
Let’s look back at the history of the #28 in NASCAR’s National Series.
FIRST USAGE:
NCS: 1949-01 — Charlotte — Slick Smith
NXS: 1982-01 — Daytona — Phil Parsons
NCTS: 1995-10 — Milwaukee — Ron Esau
BEST FINISH:
NCS: 76 NASCAR Cup Series Victories (Most: Fred Lorenzen, 25)
NXS: 3 NASCAR Xfinity Series Victories (Most: Almirola/Parsons/Craven, 1)
NCTS: P2 — Ernie Irvan — 4x — Most Recent: 1998-20 (Richmond)
BEST START:
NCS: 91 NASCAR Cup Series Poles (Most: Fred Lorenzen, 30)
NXS: 10 NASCAR Xfinity Series Poles (Most: Phil Parsons, 6)
NCTS: 1 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Poles (Bryan Reffner — Flemington 1996)
IS THE NUMBER ACTIVE?
Yes, the #28 is active in the NASCAR Xfinity Series - on a full-time basis - and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series - on a part-time basis. Despite its historical roots, the number is inactive in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, the #28 hasn’t been utilized full-time since Travis Kvapil ran for Yates Racing in 2009, but that’s not the last time the historic number was on track. In 2021, in honor of Davey Allison, Joey Gase drove the #28 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing at Talladega Superspeedway.
The return to full-time competition for the #28 in 2009, in a variation of what was Robert Yates Racing, marked the first time in seven years the number had been run in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the #28 is currently fielded by RSS Racing. Last season, the entry was primarily run by Kyle Sieg, but also featured cameos from Aric Almirola, Zane Smith, and CJ McLaughlin. Almirola would score the organization’s first victory at Sonoma Raceway.
Surprisingly, despite the history it carries, the number has been utilized by several different teams over the last decade, including H2 Motorsports, JGL Racing, and Jay Robinson Racing.
The #28 will once again compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time this season, with Kyle Sieg piloting the entry, as he did for much of last season.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, FDNY Racing is the sole proprietor of the #28, fielding the entry on a part-time basis with Bryan Dauzat, who has been the sole driver of the truck since mid-2017.
The organization is the longest-running in the NASCAR Truck Series, and the only original team to still be present in the series. As such, Dauzat is scheduled to compete in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway at Daytona.
WHO HAS MOST FREQUENTLY USED THE #28?
NASCAR Cup Series: Davey Allison — 183 Starts
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Kenny Wallace — 100 Starts
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Bryan Dauzat — 20 Starts
MISCELLANEOUS STATS ABOUT THE #28 IN NASCAR
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, only Bryan Dauzat (20) and Ryan Ellis (11) have recorded more than 10 starts while piloting the #28.
In 1963, Fred Lorenzen posted an average finish of 5.6 in a 25-race season while driving the #28, one of the best average finishes for a driver running a significant portion of the season in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Ernie Irvan has piloted the #28 in each of NASCAR’s top-three series, totaling 111 starts, primarily in the NASCAR Cup Series. While he didn’t score wins in each of the top-three series, he did score multiple top-fives in each.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, only three drivers have scored top-10 finishes while driving the #28, for two different teams — Ernie Irvan and Mark Simo for Simo Racing, and Bryan Dauzat for FDNY Racing.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, Ford has been the manufacturer of the #28 in 790 of 1,037 races it competed in — more than 75 percent of its races. In the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series, Chevrolet is the leading manufacturer.