Kyle Busch records top-10 in 500th start
HAMPTON, Ga. — Kyle Busch notched his 500th career start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series with his sixth-place finish in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday.
Busch, who hit the mark in his 15th full-time season in NASCAR’s top series, has earned 51 wins in Cup and the 2015 series title.
“We had a hell of a day,” Busch said of his Atlanta race. “We had a hell of a weekend.
“On the Cup side, we just had no fun this weekend, so it was really unfortunate for us.
“Guys worked hard and persevered and we battled through and took probably a 16th, 14th-place finish in our Camry and ended up sixth with it, so not too bad I guess.”
The only two drivers who won in their 500th start were Richard Petty and Matt Kenseth, according to FOX Sports.
The first driver to hit 500 starts in the Cup Series was Buck Baker in 1964.
The last driver to start their 500th race prior to Busch was Kasey Kahne at Kansas Speedway in October 2017.
Drivers with 500 or more Monster Energy Cup Series starts
1) Richard Petty 1,184
2) Ricky Rudd 906
3) Terry Labonte 890
4) Dave Marcis 883
5) Mark Martin 882
6) Kyle Petty 829
7) Bill Elliott 828
8) Darrell Waltrip 809
9) Jeff Gordon 805
10) Michael Waltrip 784
11) Ken Schrader 763
12) Sterling Marlin 748
13) Bobby Labonte 729
14) Bobby Allison 718
15) Rusty Wallace 706
16) Buddy Baker 700
17) Jeff Burton 695
18) Dale Earnhardt 676
19) Dale Jarrett 668
20) Joe Nemechek 667
21) Matt Kenseth 665
22) J.D. McDuffie 653
23) Kurt Busch* 650
24) Kevin Harvick* 648
25) Buck Baker 635
26) Dale Earnhardt Jr. 631
27) Ryan Newman* 622
28) Tony Stewart 618
29) Jimmie Johnson* 617
30) James Hylton 602
31) Jamie McMurray* 583
32) Geoffrey Bodine 575
33) David Pearson 574
34) Buddy Arrington 560
35) Cale Yarborough 560
36) Elmo Langley 535
37) Kasey Kahne 529
38) Benny Parsons 526
39) Morgan Shepherd 517
40) Greg Biffle 510
41) Kyle Busch 500
* indicates active driver.
List is current through Atlanta 2019.
SOURCES
FOX Sports
Racing-Reference.info
