The 2021 racing season is behind us, and a very brief moment of respite allows us to look back on the year that was. Here are some notable numbers and stats from short track racing in 2021.
1: It’s hard to imagine that Bubba Pollard only won one race in the 2021 season. He will be the first to tell you he and his Port City team with Gary Crooks are heading in the right direction. Pollard also spent time helping run the family dirt track in Senoia, Georgia and that took away time from him racing. We expect to see him behind the wheel more in 2022.
READ MORE: Bubba Back on Track after Snowball Derby
3: In 2010, Donnie Wilson led laps in the Winchester 400, the All American 400 and the Snowball Derby as a driver. In 2021, Wilson picked up wins as a car owner in two of these events and added the Florida Governor's Cup 200 as well.
5: In its first season, the Camping World SRX Series saw five different winners in six races. From guest star and hometown hero Doug Coby in the season opener at Stafford Motor Speedway to 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, the series saw a little bit of everything in its inaugural tour.
5.1: Justin Bonsignore had an average finish of 5.1 during the 14-race NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The key is finishing, and since 2018 Bonsignore has only been outside the top 10 six times in 54 races.
7: Johnny Clark returned to glory with his seventh PASS North title after a campaign with three wins. Clark has finished second in points three times while chasing the seventh crown, but now he’s got it and he’ll be looking for an eighth championship next year.
READ MORE: Clark Caps Off PASS Title with Haunted Hundred Win
11: Tim Brown had to wait for a whole off-season and more to reclaim the title of King of Bowman Gray Stadium with his 11th Modified Track Championship at the famed Winston-Salem track. Brown’s 11th title put him one above Burt Myers, as the two will enter 2022 with 21 titles between the two of them.
16: In 2005, Peyton Sellers won the NASCAR Weekly Championship. 16 years later,, he won it for a second-time, marking the longest separation between two titles in the history of the award. Sellers won 21 times in 38 starts this season.
22: Are we even surprised with Matt Hirschman when he wins 22 races in a season? It was another big win total for the Northhampton, PA driver who won 22 times in 39 races. Hirschman’s win total includes the Richie Evans Memorial, North-South Shootout, the SBM 125 and a NASCAR Tour race at Oswego.
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33: Stewart Friesen won 33 times in 2021 to post one of his most successful seasons ever. From the Fonda 200 to Bristol Motor Speedway to Bubba Raceway Park in January, there weren't many times he didn’t end up battling for a win.
33: Another driver who had 33 wins in 2021? None other than Kyle Larson, putting together one of the best seasons in motorsports history. Along with the 10 victories en route to the NASCAR Cup Series title, Larson won at crown jewel short track events in various disciplines such as the Chili Bowl Nationals, the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal and the Prairie Dirt Classic. He even continued his winning ways after claiming the Cup title, with wins at Placerville Speedway during the Hangtown 100 and at Merced Speedway.
READ MORE: Kyle Larson's 2021 is One For the Ages
58: Derek Thorn has won 58 times with the SRL Southwest Tour, and he recently won his sixth touring series title. His win percentage is 55% after victories in 26 of his last 32 starts. He was one win away from a clear 10-for-10 sweep this year in SRL.
74: The passing of Robert Hamke in 2020 hit the racing world hard, as the chassis builder meant a lot to so many. Wilson Motorsports was able to purchase Chassis 74 from Hamke Race Cars this year and they took it to victory lane with Chandler Smith. Here is the back half of that story.
READ MORE: Snowball Derby Winning Car was a Tribute to Robert Hamke
287: If last year’s number wasn’t enough, Derek Thorn led a race high 287 laps and failed to win the Snowball Derby after getting muscled out of the way on the final restart. Thorn is the 21st driver to lead over 100 laps and not win the race. Amazingly, he’s led over 200 in each of the last two runnings and not gone to victory lane.
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401: Because of the way the cautions fell at the Winchester 400, it allowed for Sammy Smith to take the lead from Jake Garcia on the final lap of the race for the win. It was the 16th and final lead change of the day that resulted in the victory.
500: Tyler Roahrig won the biggest race in not one, but two different disciplines of short track racing. He won his first Little 500 in the Sprint Car at Anderson Speedway, then followed it up by becoming the first driver to win Outlaw Super Late Model racing’s two biggest races in the same year, the Kalamazoo Klash and Summer Sizzler. And, oh yeah, he also won a UMP Modified feature on the dirt at Gas City I-69 Speedway and was runner-up in his USAC Silver Crown debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park.