A bit overlooked from last weekend’s race at ISM Raceway was that both Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman moved up a spot for most consecutive Cup starts.
Both started their 580th consecutive Cup race last weekend. That moved them ahead of Ken Schrader (579 career starts) into ninth on the all-time list. Kevin Harvick has 572 consecutive starts. He’s set to pass Schrader at Kansas in May.
Next for Johnson and Newman is Mark Martin, who made 621 career Cup starts.
Jeff Gordon is the record holder with 797 consecutive starts. At this point, both Johnson, who is 42 years old, and Newman, who is 40, would need six years to reach Gordon’s mark.
To put the streak Johnson and Newman have compiled into perspective, rookies William Byron and Darrell Wallace Jr. would each need to not miss a race for 16 years to match them (provided there continues to be 36 points races a year). Both Byron and Wallace will need 22 seasons to match Gordon’s mark.
Most consecutive Cup starts
797 - Jeff Gordon
788 - Ricky Rudd
704 - Bobby Labonte
697 - Rusty Wallace
655 - Terry Labonte
648 - Dale Earnhardt
628 - Jeff Burton
621 - Mark Martin
580 - Jimmie Johnson
580 - Ryan Newman
579 - Ken Schrader
572 - Kevin Harvick
571 - Matt Kenseth
548 - Jamie McMurray
521 - Tony Stewart
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