Bumpy ride: The history of the No. 25 in NASCAR
In preparation for his transition to the famed No. 24 car in 2016, Chase Elliott got his feet wet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driving the No. 25 for Hendrick Motorsports in five events this past season.
The young driver was the latest in a long line of drivers who have piloted the No. 25 in the NASCAR's premier division, going back to the first Strictly Stock race at Charlotte Speedway on June 19, 1949.
During that inaugural event at the .75-mile dirt track, two drivers actually carried the No. 25: Bob Smith and Glenn Dunaway. Smith finished the race 19th in an Oldsmobile, while Dunaway appeared to win the race. However, Dunaway's No. 25 Ford had bootlegger shocks in the rear of the car and was disqualified from the event.
The No. 25 would be run three more times during that inaugural Strictly Stock season, once more by Smith at Occoneechee Speedway, as well as by Ken Marriott at Langhorne Speedway and Jack White at Hamburg Speedway.
With Dunaway's victory stripped for a rules violation, White gave the No. 25 its first victory on Sept. 18, 1949 when he led 66 laps in the No. 25 Lincoln and beat Ray Erickson for the victory.
From that first season, the No. 25 has remained a staple of NASCAR's Premier Series, with numerous drivers carrying the number. NASCAR Hall of Fame members Glen "Fireball" Roberts, Bud Moore, Ned Jarrett and Wendell Scott all took turns piloting the 25.
Christiansburg, Virginia native Jabe Thomas has the most starts in the No. 25, carrying the number in 306 races between 1965 and 1976. Thomas earned three top fives and 75 top 10s with the number.
Since the 1986 season, the No. 25 has become synonymous with one team -- Hendrick Motorsports. That season, team owner Rick Hendrick put hot-shoe Tim Richmond in the No. 25 Folgers Chevrolet with legendary crew chief Harry Hyde calling the shots.
Together that season, Richmond and Hyde earned seven wins, 13 top fives and 17 top 10s, ending the year third in points. Facing serious illness, Richmond only competed in eight races in the No. 25 during the 1987 season, but he was able to score two wins, three top fives and four top 10s. With Richmond out of the car for much of the season, Hendrick himself drove the No. 25 at Riverside International Raceway.
For the 1988 season, Hendrick introduced Ken Schrader as the new driver of the No. 25 Chevrolet. Schrader would pilot the No. 25 for 267 events from 1988 until 1996, earning four wins, 58 top fives and 127 top 10s.
After Schrader and Hendrick parted ways, Ricky Craven became the next driver of the No. 25, helping deliver a 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports in the 1997 Daytona 500. Craven's tenure in the No. 25 did not last long, as Wally Dallenbach Jr., Jerry Nadeau, Joe Nemechek and Brian Vickers took turns behind the wheel of the No. 25 between 1998 and 2006. Nadeau, Nemechek and Vickers each scored a win with the number.
In 2007, Casey Mears was named the driver of the No. 25 Chevrolet, winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Mears is the most recent driver to race the No. 25 full time in the Sprint Cup Series, as it has become a number used by competitors trying to get their feet wet in the series by running limited schedules.
Brad Keselowski drove the No. 25 for nine races between 2008 and 2009, while Elliott made five starts this past season. With Elliott moving to the No. 24 for his first full Sprint Cup season next year, there are currently no plans to have the No. 25 on track in 2016.
The No. 25 by the numbers:
Races: 1,317
Wins: 21
Wins by driver: Tim Richmond, 9; Ken Schrader, 4; Dick Linder, 3; Brian Vickers, 1; Jerry Nadeau, 1; Joe Nemechek, 1; Casey Mears, 1; Lloyd Dane, 1; Jack White, 1
Top fives: 123
Top 10s: 340
Poles: 38
Average finish: 18.84
Average start: 18.7
Laps led: 5,915
DNFs: 369
Drivers: 94
All stats provided by driveraverages.com
