PHOTOS
Scott Walsh
Pocono winners
The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series has been coming to Pocono Raceway annually since 1974 and bi-annually since 1982. A total of 59 races have been run at the 2.5-mile tri-oval track. Here are the winning car numbers there and their drivers in order of most wins:
No. 11 (6 wins)
Denny Hamlin 2
Cale Yarborough
Terry Labonte
Darrell Waltrip
Geoffrey Bodine
No. 88 (5 wins)
Bobby Allison (2 wins)
Dale Jarrett 2( wins)
Darrell Waltrip
No. 9 (5 wins)
Bill Elliott (5 wins)
No. 24 (5 wins)
Jeff Gordon (5 wins)
No. 2 (5 wins)
Rusty Wallace (4 wins)
Kurt Busch (1 wins)
No. 28 (3 wins)
Cale Yarborough
Dale Jarrett
Ricky Rudd
No. 25 (3 wins)
Tim Richmond (3 wins)
No. 12 (3 wins)
Jeremy Mayfield (2 wins)
Ryan Newman
No. 18 (3 wins)
Bobby Labonte (3 wins)
No. 43 (2 wins)
Richard Petty (2 wins)
No. 21 (2 wins)
David Pearson
Neil Bonnett
No. 33 (2 wins)
Harry Gant
No. 3 (2 wins)
Dale Earnhardt (2 wins)
No. 5 (2 wins)
Geoffrey Bodine
Terry Labonte
No. 17 (2 wins)
Darrell Waltrip (2 wins)
No. 7 (2 wins)
Alan Kulwicki
Geoffrey Bodine
No. 48 (2 wins)
Jimmie Johnson (2 wins)
No. 72 (1 win)
Benny Parsons
No. 22 (1 win)
Bobby Allison
No. 27 (1 win)
Tim Richmond
No. 42 (1 win)
Kyle Petty
No. 20 (1 win)
Tony Stewart
No. 99 (1 win)
Carl Edwards
No. 97 (1 win)
Kurt Busch
The Legend of 43
Baseball has Jackie Robinson's No. 42. Basketball has Michael Jordan's No. 23. Hockey has Wayne Gretzky's No. 99. And in auto racing, the number that is instantly recognizable is No. 43.
Richard Petty, aka "The King," is synonymous with the number 43, but he has driven other car numbers in his career. As a result, only 192 of his 200 career victories came in the 43 car. At the beginning of Petty's career, he would use one of his father Lee's cars, which bore the number 42. Sometimes, Petty would alter the number by covering one digit or adding a letter. So he also raced the numbers 42A and 2. One time, he flipped the numbers and raced the number 24. Once he got his own car, he decided to go one higher than his dad and went with 43. That tradition continued through the years at Petty Enterprises. When Richard's son Kyle started racing, he used number 44. When Kyle's son Adam started racing, he was number 45. After Adam was killed in a crash at New Hampshire, Kyle took the number 45 and Petty Enterprises dropped the 44. It also worked in reverse. Other drivers who drove for Petty Enterprises used the numbers 40 and 41.
The Power of 3
Unlike other sports, NASCAR does not retire a number. Perhaps the closest thing to a retired number is the No. 3 of the late Dale Earnhardt.
No one has used that number since Earnhardt was killed in a last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500. The main reason is that Richard Childress Racing applies for - and is granted - the number every year by NASCAR. Merchandising is probably the biggest reason RCR takes the No. 3. Earnhardt souvenirs are still popular sellers, evidenced by the several trailers that are at each track peddling the merchandise and the crowds gathered around buying it. However, team owner Richard Childress has not ruled out seeing the No. 3 in action again. "You never know," Childress said. "Someday, Dale's grandson may come around and use it."