#SrigleyStats Countdown to Daytona: 32 Days!
Wednesday, January 17th, 2024 -- 32 Days Until Daytona!
32 DAYS UNTIL DAYTONA!
Let’s look back at the history of the #32 in NASCAR’s National Series.
FIRST USAGE:
NCS: 1949-04 — Langhorne — Jim Rathamnn
NXS: 1982-01 — Daytona — Mike Riley
NCTS: 1995-15 — Richmond — Derrike Cope
BEST FINISH:
NCS: 2 NASCAR Cup Series Victories (Most: Ricky Craven, 2)
NXS: 18 NASCAR Xfinity Series Victories (Most: Dale Jarrett, 11)
NCTS: P2 — Miguel Paludo — Pocono 2013
NCTS: P2 — Tayler Malsam — Talladega 2014
NCTS: P2 — Austin Wayne Self — Daytona 2017
BEST START:
NCS: 3 NASCAR Cup Series Victories (Most: Ricky Craven, 3)
NXS: 25 NASCAR Xfinity Series Poles (Most: Dale Jarrett, 11)
NCTS: 4 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Poles (Most: Miguel Paludo, 2)
IS THE NUMBER ACTIVE?
Yes. The #32 was used on a full-time basis in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series in 2023.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, the #32 is not currently being used and hasn’t since GoFas Racing closed its doors after the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, with Corey LaJoie moving on to Spire Motorsports.
The organization had become a fixture among the underfunded teams in the Cup Series, with the team’s several different forms occupying the use of the #32 since the Frank Stoddard-owned entry debuted in 2011.
It’s been more than a decade since the #32 has qualified for a NASCAR Xfinity Series event, with the 2013 season-finale marking the end of a rookie campaign for Kyle Larson — a future champion of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Turner Scott Motorsports fielded the entry for Kyle Larson, but would cease to use the #32 at any point afterward, leaving the number vacated ever since that afternoon in November 2013.
As things stand, Bret Holmes is the driver carrying the flag for the #32 in NASCAR’s National Series — piloting the entry on a full-time basis in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for his family-owned team, Bret Holmes Racing.
While Holmes has never visited Victory Lane, he is a former champion of the ARCA Menards Series and came extremely close to victory in the 2022 event at Talladega Superspeedway, crossing the start-finish line in first - albeit after the caution.
WHO HAS MOST FREQUENTLY USED THE #32?
NASCAR Cup Series: Ricky Craven — 133 Starts
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Dale Jarrett — 291 Starts
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Miguel Paludo — 44 Starts
MISCELLANEOUS STATS ABOUT THE #32 IN NASCAR
Should Bret Holmes pilot the #32 in an additional nine events in 2024, he will become the driver with the most NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts while using the number.
Ben Rhodes, now a two-time champion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, has the last non-superspeedway top-five finish for the #32 in NASCAR’s National Series, finishing fifth at Phoenix Raceway in 2014.
Despite having the most NASCAR Cup Series starts in the #32, Ricky Craven doesn’t hold the record for most top-five or top-10 finishes, with Dick Brooks significantly outranking him in each category, despite 55 fewer starts.
Only three drivers - Paludo, Holmes, Malsam - have made more than 10 NASCAR Truck Series starts in the #32. Despite that, Mark Martin and Kyle Larson rank second and third in laps led for the number, with two starts apiece.
Despite only having two season tenures in the #32, Matt DiBenedetto and Corey LaJoie rank second and third all-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, as far as laps complete while using the #32.
After a seventh-place run by Derrike Cope in the first-ever NASCAR Truck Series event for the #32, it took more than 15 seasons for the number to score another top-10 — Brad Sweet, Kansas 2011.
The #32 had made 1,000 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series — one of 43 numbers to cross that threshold.