Joey Logano completes 500th start

By starting the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Saturday night (Sept. 17), Joey Logano became the 45th driver in NASCAR Cup Series history to race in at least 500 points-awarding races in NASCAR’s elite series.
Logano, who started 15th, didn’t make it to the end of the race with a suspension issue. He completed 437 of the 500 laps, credited with a 27th-place finish.
“Got the car going to where it was decent,” Logano said of his 500th race. “…A top-10 looked pretty solid in our future, and blew a right-front [tire].”
500 Races

Logano made his first Cup Series start in the September 2008 New Hampshire race.
Racing for Joe Gibbs Racing full-time from 2009 to 2012, Logano signed with his current organization, Team Penske, in 2013.
In 500 Cup Series starts — 497 consecutive after the Bristol race — Logano has earned 31 poles, 29 wins, 146 Top-5 finishes, 253 Top-10 finishes,7,911 laps led, and the 2018 series title.
History
The first driver to hit 500 starts in the Cup Series was Buck Baker in 1964.
The only two drivers who won in their 500th start were Richard Petty and Matt Kenseth, according to FOX Sports.
Of active NASCAR Cup Series drivers, Brad Keselowski is the closest driver who could make reach their 500th start next, currently at 478.
Drivers with 500 or more 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. Kevin Harvick* 783
12. Kurt Busch* 776
13. Ken Schrader 763
14. Sterling Marlin 748
15. Bobby Labonte 729
16. Ryan Newman 725
17. Bobby Allison 718
18. Rusty Wallace 706
19. Buddy Baker 700
20. Matt Kenseth 697
21. Jeff Burton 695
22. Jimmie Johnson 686
23. Dale Earnhardt 676
24. Joe Nemechek 674
25. Dale Jarrett 668
26. J.D. McDuffie 653
27. Buck Baker 635
28. Kyle Busch* 635
29. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 631
30. Tony Stewart 618
31. Martin Truex Jr.* 614
32. Denny Hamlin* 607
33. James Hylton 602
34. Jamie McMurray 584
35. Geoffrey Bodine 575
36. David Pearson 574
37. Buddy Arrington 560
38. Cale Yarborough 560
39. Clint Bowyer 541
40. Elmo Langley 535
41. Kasey Kahne 529
42. Benny Parsons 526
43. Morgan Shepherd 517
44. Greg Biffle* 515
45. Joey Logano* 500
* – Indicates active drivers
** – List current through Bristol (Sept. 17, 2022)
SOURCES
Racing-Reference.info
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