#SrigleyStats Countdown to Daytona: 41 Days!
Monday, January 8th, 2024 -- 41 Days Until Daytona!
41 DAYS UNTIL DAYTONA!
Let’s look back at the history of the #41 in NASCAR’s National Series.
FIRST USAGE:
NCS: 1949-01 - Charlotte - Curtis Turner
NXS: 1982-13 - Charlotte - Mike Watts
NCTS: 1995-20 - Phoenix - AJ Foyt
BEST FINISH:
NCS: P1 - 29 NASCAR Cup Series Victories (Most: Curtis Turner - 12)
NXS: P1 - 5 NASCAR Xfinity Series Victories (Most: Reed Sorenson - 3)
NCTS: P1 - 2 NASCAR Truck Series Victories (Most: Ben Rhodes/Ross Chastain - 1)
BEST START:
NCS: P1 - 33 NASCAR Cup Series Poles (Most: Kurt Busch - 11)
NXS: P1 - 7 NASCAR Xfinity Series Poles (Most: Reed Sorenson/Jamie McMurray - 2)
NCTS: P1 - 8 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Poles (Most: Ben Rhodes - 4)
IS THE NUMBER ACTIVE?
In 2023, the #41 was utilized in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on a full-time basis.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, Stewart-Haas Racing has been responsible for the utilization of the #41 since 2014, when Gene Haas opened up a fourth entry for Kurt Busch to pilot, which he did until leaving for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019.
However, this season, after Cole Custer was moved down to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Ryan Preece was given the nod to take over the #41 at NASCAR’s top level, where he had a season that can only be described as difficult.
Preece will return to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024, where he’ll once again be paired with Chad Johnston as he chases his first victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Stewart-Haas Racing was the last organization to utilize the #41, running a six-race slate with 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Niece Motorsports was the team that utilized the #41, albeit for a myriad of drivers including Bayley Currey, Ross Chastain, Chad Chastain, Conor Daly, and Travis Pastrana.
The organization will once again use the number in 2024, but with Bayley Currey being named as the full-time driver, as he looks to improve upon his three top-five results from 2023.
WHO HAS MOST FREQUENTLY USED THE #41?
NASCAR Cup Series: Kurt Busch - 177 Starts
NASCAR Xfinity Series: Reed Sorenson - 90 Starts
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Ben Rhodes - 46 Starts
MISCELLANEOUS STATS ABOUT THE #41 IN NASCAR
Ben Rhodes (2023 NCTS Champion) and Cole Custer (2023 NXS Champion) have each piloted the #41 at some point in their NASCAR National Series career.
Throughout the last six seasons, the #41 has had four different drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series — all of which are champions in a NASCAR-sanctioned series: Preece (NWMT), Suarez (NXS), Custer (NXS), Busch (NCS).
The last time the #41 finished outside of the top-10 in a NASCAR Xfinity Series event, was the final race of the 2012 season, when Juan Carlos Blum drove the #41 for Rick Ware Racing at Homestead, finishing 37th.
While Richard Petty is well-known for his NASCAR Cup Series tenure in the #43, the seven-time champion has also secured six victories while using the #42, as well as two victories in the #42.
AJ Foyt, the winner of the 1972 Daytona 500, utilized the number again 23 years later in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, finishing 18th in the event at Phoenix Raceway.
In NASCAR’s National Series, drivers from five different countries have used the #41 at some point — United States, Canada (Noel Dowler), Mexico (Juan Carlos Blum and Daniel Suarez), Scotland (Dario Fanchitti), and New Zealand (Shane van Gisbergen).