#SrigleyStats Countdown to Daytona: 46 Days!
Wednesday, January 3rd, 2024 -- 46 Days Until Daytona!
46 DAYS UNTIL DAYTONA!
Let’s take a look back at the history of the #46 in NASCAR’s National Series.
FIRST USAGE:
NCS: 1949-04 - Langhorne - Bill Blair
NXS: 1983-12 - Charlotte - Slick Johnson
NCTS: 1997-22 - Sonoma - Joe Bean
BEST FINISH:
NCS: P1 - 10 NASCAR Cup Series Wins (Most: Speedy Thompson - 7)
NXS: P2 - 2002-10 - Richmond - Ashton Lewis
NXS: P2 - 2004-33 - Darlington - Ashton Lewis
NCTS: P1 - 13 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Wins (Most: Dennis Setzer - 11)
BEST START:
NCS: P1 - 14 NASCAR Cup Series Poles (Most: Speedy Thompson - 11)
NXS: P1 - 2 NASCAR Xfinity Series Poles (Most: Shawna Robinson/Ashton Lewis - 1)
NCTS: P1 - 8 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Poles (Most: Dennis Setzer - 6)
IS THE NUMBER ACTIVE?
The #46 was utilized on a part-time basis in only the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2023, while also appearing on a part-time basis in the ARCA Menards Series West.
MBM Motorsports was the last organization to utilize the #46 in NASCAR Cup Series competition, competing in the 2019 Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway with Joey Gase behind the wheel of the unsponsored machine.
The organization only attempted to qualify for a single points-paying event in the NASCAR Cup Series with the #46 in 2019, finishing in 38th place, 13 laps off the pace.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, it’s been more than six years since the #46 hit the racetrack, competing at Kansas Speedway with Quin Houff, driving for Precision Performance Motorsports — an organization owned by Rick Gdovic, father of Brandon Gdovic.
The October event at Kansas Speedway was the last NASCAR Xfinity Series event that the organization ever attempted to qualify for, and resulted in Houff finishing in 22nd-place, four laps down.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, G2G Racing was utilizing the #46, albeit on a part-time basis, attempting to qualify for a total of 15 races in 2023 with drivers Norm Benning, Armani Williams, Dale Quarterley, Akinori Ogata, Memphis Villarreal, Brennan Poole and Jerry Bohlman.
What will end up being the final attempt for G2G Racing in the #46 will be Homestead-Miami Speedway with Armani Williams, where the organization finished 31st place, 13 laps off the pace.
Finally, across the ARCA Menards Series platform, Lowden-Jackson Motorsports has utilized the #46 in ARCA, ARCA East, and ARCA West this season, primarily with RJ Smotherman, but also with other drivers such as Kyle Sieg, Justin Johnson, and Stefan Rzesnowiecky.
WHO HAS MOST FREQUENTLY USED THE #46?
NASCAR Cup Series: Speedy Thompson - 77 Starts
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Ashton Lewis - 145 Starts
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Dennis Setzer - 123 Starts
MISCELLANEOUS STATS ABOUT THE #46 IN NASCAR
The #46 hasn’t earned a top-10 finish in the NASCAR Cup Series since Watkins Glen in 1997, when Wally Dallenbach finished in 10th-place — more than 26 years ago.
Ashton Lewis accounts for eight of the nine top-five results for the #46 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Greg Sacks (Daytona 1990) is the only other driver to finish inside the top five with the number.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the #46 has been run as a Chevrolet entry in 276 of 295 starts. Whereas, in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the number hasn’t been associated with a manufacturer other than Toyota since 2010.
Dennis Setzer went to victory lane on 11 different occasions while driving the #46 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series — more wins than he scored with any other number across NASCAR’s top-three series.
Of the 460 NASCAR Cup Series starts for the #46, six of them featured a finish worse than 43rd — which for the longest time was the traditional field size of a NASCAR Cup Series event. The car number’s worst finish was 70th at Darlington in 1950.