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