2016 Sprint Cup Series

Jimmie Johnson won his seventh and final Cup Series Championship.

Duration

February 21 to November 20

TV

Fox/FS1, NBC/NBCSN/USA

Season statistics

No. of races

36

No. of teams

37 (full-time)
9 (part-time)

Previous	Next
2015	2017

The 2016 Sprint Cup Series was the 68th season of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 21 and ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 20.

Jimmie Johnson won his seventh and final championship in his 15th full-time season, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all time championships. He became the only driver to win the championship in a 10-race Chase format as well as the elimination-style format. It was Chad Knaus' seventh championship and Hendrick Motorsports' 12th. Johnson won 5 races and scored 11 Top-5s and 16 Top-10s in the season.

It was the final season for three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart as well as Brian Scott, Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte, Greg Biffle, and Josh Wise. It was also the final season for Sprint as title sponsor. It was the final season in which Jeff Gordon raced, substituting for an injured Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Earnhardt sat out the second half of the season due to concussion-like symptoms.

It was the first season for the Charter system, whereby 36 teams with charters would be able to start every race, and the remaining four starting positions each race would be 'open' slots for non-charter teams. Only the Wood Brothers Racing team would enter and qualify for every race as an open team. It was the first season without Michael Waltrip Racing and the first season in which Furniture Row Racing raced Toyotas, as well as the first full-time season for eventual champions Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.

Teams and drivers[]

Full-time teams[]

Team	Manufacturer	No.	Driver(s)	Crew Chief
Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	1	Jamie McMurray	Matt McCall
Chip Ganassi Racing	Chevrolet	42	Kyle Larson	Chad Johnston 35 Phil Surgen 1
Team Penske	Ford	2	Brad Keselowski	Paul Wolfe
Team Penske	Ford	22	Joey Logano	Todd Gordon
Richard Childress Racing	Chevrolet	3	Austin Dillon	Slugger Labbe
		27	Paul Menard	Justin Alexander 20 Danny Stockman Jr. 16
		31	Ryan Newman	Luke Lambert
Stewart-Haas Racing	Chevrolet	4	Kevin Harvick	Rodney Childers 35 Dax Gerringer 1
		10	Danica Patrick	Billy Scott
		14	Brian Vickers 5	Mike Bugarewichz
			Ty Dillon 3
			Tony Stewart 28
		41	Kurt Busch	Tony Gibson 35 John Klausmeier 1
Hendrick Motorsports	Chevrolet	5	Kasey Kahne	Keith Rodden
		24	Chase Elliott (R)	Alan Gustafson
		48	Jimmie Johnson	Chad Knaus
		88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 18	Greg Ives
			Alex Bowman 10
			Jeff Gordon 8
Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	6	Trevor Bayne	Bob Osborne
		16	Greg Biffle	Brian Pattie 34 Robbie Reiser 2
		17	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	Nick Sandler 35 Mike Kelley 1
Tommy Baldwin Racing	Chevrolet	7	Regan Smith	Tommy Baldwin
Joe Gibbs Racing	Toyota	11	Denny Hamlin	Mike Wheeler
		18	Kyle Busch	Adam Stevens 35 Todd Berrier 1
		19	Carl Edwards	Dave Rogers
		20	Matt Kenseth	Jason Ratcliff
Germain Racing	Chevrolet	13	Casey Mears	Bootie Barker
HScott Motorsports	Chevrolet	15	Clint Bowyer	Steve Addington 35 Jay Guy 1
		46	Michael Annett 35	Jay Guy 20 Mike Hillman Sr. 16
		46	Justin Allgaier 1	Jay Guy 20 Mike Hillman Sr. 16
Wood Brothers Racing	Ford	21	Ryan Blaney (R)	Jeremy Bullins
BK Racing	Toyota	23	David Ragan	Patrick Donahue
		83	Michael Waltrip 1	Doug Richert 4 Gene Nead 31 Mike Ford 1
			Matt DiBenedetto 30
			Dylan Lupton 2
			Jeffrey Earnhardt (R) 3
Go Fas Racing	Ford	32	Bobby Labonte 4	Wally Rogers 35 Clinton Cram 1
			Jeffrey Earnhardt (R) 19
			Joey Gase 6
			Jeb Burton 2
			Patrick Carpentier 2
			Eddie MacDonald 1
			Boris Said 1
			Dylan Lupton 1
Front Row Motorsports	Ford	34	Chris Buescher (R)	Bob Osborne
Front Row Motorsports	Ford	38	Landon Cassill	Donnie Wingo
Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	43	Aric Almirola	Trent Owens 26 Drew Blickensderfer 10
Richard Petty Motorsports	Ford	44	Brian Scott (R)	Chris Heroy
JTG Daugherty Racing	Chevrolet	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Randall Burnett 35 Ernie Cope 1
Furniture Row Racing	Toyota	78	Martin Truex, Jr.	Cole Pearn 35 Todd Berrier 1
Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet	95	Ty Dillon 7	Todd Parrott 11 Dave Winston 24 Matt Borland 1
Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet	95	Michael McDowell 29	Todd Parrott 11 Dave Winston 24 Matt Borland 1

Part-time teams[]

Team	Manufacturer	No.	Driver(s)	Crew Chief	Rd(s)
BK Racing	Toyota	26	Robert Richardson, Jr.	Mike Ford	1
		49	Matt DiBenedetto	Gene Nead	1
		93	Matt DiBenedetto	Gene Nead	4
			Ryan Ellis	Mike Ford	3
			Dylan Lupton	Mike Ford	1
The Motorsports Group	Chevrolet	30	Josh Wise	Dave Fuge 31 Wayne Carroll 4	32
The Motorsports Group	Chevrolet	30	Gray Gaulding	Dave Fuge 31 Wayne Carroll 4	3
Front Row Motorsports	Ford	35	David Gilliland	Joe Lax 1 Todd Anderson 3	4
Hillman Racing	Chevrolet	40	Reed Sorenson	Pat Tryson	1
Premium Motorsports	Chevrolet 24 Toyota 7	55	Reed Sorenson	Pat Tryson 30 Maurice Hester 1	24
			Michael Waltrip		1
			Cole Whitt		3
			Cody Ware		1
			Alex Kennedy		1
			D.J. Kennington		1
	Toyota 6 Chevrolet 26	98	Cole Whitt	Mark Hillman 23 Ben Leslie 8 Pat Tryson 1	26
			Reed Sorenson		4
			Ryan Ellis		1
			Timmy Hill		1
Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing	Chevrolet	59	Michael McDowell	Dave Winston 1 Todd Parrott 1	2
Roush Fenway Racing	Ford	99	Ryan Reed	Phil Gould	1

Schedule[]

The 2016 schedule was released on October 26, 2015.

No.	Race name	Track	Date	Time (EST)	TV	Radio
E	Sprint Unlimited	Daytona International Speedway	February 13	8:00pm	FOX	MRN
E	Can-Am Duel at Daytona	Daytona International Speedway	February 18	7:00pm	FS1	MRN
1	Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	February 21	1:00pm	FOX	MRN
2	Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	February 28	1:00pm	FOX	PRN
3	Kobalt 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	March 6	3:30pm	FOX	PRN
4	Good Sam 500	Phoenix International Raceway	March 13	3:30pm	FOX	MRN
5	Auto Club 400	Auto Club Speedway	March 20	3:30pm	FOX	MRN
6	STP 500	Martinsville Speedway	April 3	1:00pm	FS1	MRN
7	Duck Commander 500	Texas Motor Speedway	April 9	7:30pm	FOX	PRN
8	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	April 17	1:00pm	FOX	PRN
9	Toyota Owners 400	Richmond International Raceway	April 24	1:00pm	FOX	MRN
10	GEICO 500	Talladega Superspeedway	May 1	1:00pm	FOX	MRN
11	GoBowling.com 400	Kansas Speedway	May 7	7:30pm	FS1	MRN
12	AAA 400 Drive for Autism	Dover International Speedway	May 15	1:00pm	FS1	MRN
E	Sprint Showdown	Charlotte Motor Speedway	May 21	11:00am	FS1	MRN
E	Sprint All-Star Race	Charlotte Motor Speedway	May 21	9:00pm	FS1	MRN
13	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	May 29	6:00pm	FOX	PRN
14	Axalta "We Paint Winners" 400	Pocono Raceway	June 5	1:00pm	FS1	MRN
15	FireKeepers Casino 400	Michigan International Speedway	June 12	1:00pm	FS1	MRN
16	Toyota / Save Mart 350	Sonoma Raceway	June 26	3:00pm	FS1	PRN
17	Coke Zero 400	Daytona International Speedway	July 2	7:45pm	NBC	MRN
18	Quaker State 400	Kentucky Speedway	July 9	7:30pm	NBCSN	PRN
19	New Hampshire 301	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	July 17	1:30pm	NBCSN	PRN
20	Crown Royal Presents the Combat Wounded Coalition 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	July 24	3:00pm	NBCSN	IMS
21	Pennsylvania 400	Pocono Raceway	July 31	1:30pm	NBCSN	MRN
22	Cheez-It 355 at the Glen	Watkins Glen International	August 7	2:30pm	USA	MRN
23	Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway	August 20	8:00pm	NBCSN	PRN
24	Pure Michigan 400	Michigan International Speedway	August 28	2:00pm	NBCSN	MRN
25	Bojangles' Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	September 4	6:00pm	NBC	MRN
26	Federated Auto Parts 400	Richmond International Raceway	September 10	7:30pm	NBCSN	MRN
The Chase for the Sprint Cup
Round of 16
27	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400	Chicagoland Speedway	September 18	2:30pm	NBCSN	MRN
28	Bad Boy Off Road 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	September 25	2:00pm	NBCSN	PRN
29	AAA 400	Dover International Speedway	October 2	2:00pm	NBCSN	MRN
Round of 12
30	Bank of America 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	October 8	6:45pm	NBC	PRN
31	Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway	October 16	2:15pm	NBC	MRN
32	Hellmann's 500	Talladega Superspeedway	October 23	2:00pm	NBCSN	MRN
Round of 8
33	Goody's Fast Relief 500	Martinsville Speedway	October 30	1:00pm	NBCSN	MRN
34	AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	November 6	2:00pm	NBC	PRN
35	Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500	Phoenix International Raceway	November 13	2:30pm	NBC	MRN
Championship Round
36	Ford EcoBoost 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	November 20	2:30pm	NBC	MRN

Results[]

No.	Race	Pole sitter	Winner	Cautions	Caution laps	Average speed	Number of lead changes
E	2016 Sprint Unlimited	Jimmie Johnson	Denny Hamlin	7	25	128.432	12
E	2016 Can-Am Duel Race #1	Chase Elliott	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	1	4	172.899	4
E	2016 Can-Am Duel Race #2	Matt Kenseth	Kyle Busch	1	1	191.898	3
1	2016 Daytona 500	Chase Elliott	Denny Hamlin	6	31	157.549	20
2	2016 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500	Kurt Busch	Jimmie Johnson	3	13	155.863	28
3	2016 Kobalt 400	Kurt Busch	Brad Keselowski	6	36	138.170	20
4	2016 Good Sam 500	Kyle Busch	Kevin Harvick	5	30	113.212	7
5	2016 Auto Club 400	Austin Dillon	Jimmie Johnson	6	33	137.213	26
6	2016 STP 500	Joey Logano	Kyle Busch	8	51	80.088	11
7	2016 Duck Commander 500	Carl Edwards	Kyle Busch	7	41	138.355	17
8	2016 Food City 500	Carl Edwards	Carl Edwards	15	102	81.637	16
9	2016 Toyota Owners 400	N/A	Carl Edwards	8	49	97.070	23
10	2016 GEICO 500	Chase Elliott	Brad Keselowski	10	41	140.046	37
11	2016 GoBowling.com 400	Martin Truex, Jr.	Kyle Busch	6	30	141.909	16
12	2016 AAA 400 Drive for Autism	N/A	Matt Kenseth	12	65	109.348	19
E	2016 Sprint All-Star Race	Kevin Harvick	Joey Logano	4	18	98.103	13
13	2016 Coca-Cola 600	Martin Truex, Jr.	Martin Truex, Jr.	4	19	160.655	9
14	2016 Axalta 'We Paint Winners' 400	Brad Keselowski	Kurt Busch	10	40	125.490	14
15	2016 FireKeepers Casino 400	Joey Logano	Joey Logano	9	46	134.241	14
16	2016 Toyota / Save Mart 350	Carl Edwards	Tony Stewart	4	10	80.966	12
17	2016 Coke Zero 400	Greg Biffle	Brad Keselowski	5	28	150.342	26
18	2016 Quaker State 400	N/A	Brad Keselowski	11	53	128.580	16
19	2016 New Hampshire 301	Jimmie Johnson	Matt Kenseth	7	36	107.416	13
20	2016 Combat Wounded Coalition 400	Kyle Busch	Kyle Busch	8	34	128.940	4
21	2016 Pennsylvania 400	Martin Truex, Jr.	Chris Buescher	7	31	127.581	19
22	2016 Cheez-It 355 at the Glen	Carl Edwards	Denny Hamlin	8	20	89.513	9
23	2016 Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race	Carl Edwards	Kevin Harvick	9	106	77.968	20
24	2016 Pure Michigan 400	Joey Logano	Kyle Larson	4	17	162.730	20
25	2016 Bojangles' Southern 500	N/A	Martin Truex, Jr.	10	52	126.437	14
26	2016 Federated Auto Parts 400	Denny Hamlin	Denny Hamlin	16	89	85.778	21
27	2016 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400	N/A	Martin Truex, Jr.	4	22	145.161	17
28	2016 Bad Boy Off Road 300	Carl Edwards	Kevin Harvick	6	31	109.291	14
29	2016 Citizen Soldier 400	N/A	Martin Truex, Jr.	4	22	130.969	14
30	2016 Bank of America 500	Kevin Harvick	Jimmie Johnson	8	51	134.929	17
31	2016 Hollywood Casino 400	Matt Kenseth	Kevin Harvick	8	38	133.155	18
32	2016 Hellmann's 500	Martin Truex, Jr.	Joey Logano	6	25	159.905	31
33	2016 Goody's Fast Relief 500	Martin Truex, Jr.	Jimmie Johnson	5	54	78.540	15
34	2016 AAA Texas 500	Austin Dillon	Carl Edwards	8	37	134.541	12
35	2016 Can-Am 500	Alex Bowman	Joey Logano	9	53	102.866	8
36	2016 Ford EcoBoost 400	Kevin Harvick	Jimmie Johnson	7	33	128.869	20

Championship Points Standings[]

Drivers' Championship[]

Pos	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Diff
1	Jimmie Johnson	36	5	11	16	1	5040
2	Joey Logano	36	3	16	26	3	5037	-3
3	Kyle Busch	36	4	17	25	2	5035	-5
4	Carl Edwards	36	3	9	18	6	5007	-33
5	Matt Kenseth	36	2	8	19	1	2330	-2,710
6	Denny Hamlin	36	3	12	22	1	2320	-2,720
7	Kurt Busch	36	1	9	21	2	2296	-2,744
8	Kevin Harvick	36	4	17	27	2	2289	-2,751
9	Kyle Larson	36	1	10	15	0	2288	-2,752
10	Chase Elliott	36	0	10	17	2	2285	-2,755
11	Martin Truex, Jr.	36	4	8	17	5	2271	-2,769
12	Brad Keselowski	36	4	16	22	1	2267	-2,773
13	Jamie McMurray	36	0	2	12	0	2231	-2,809
14	Austin Dillon	36	0	4	13	2	2223	-2,817
15	Tony Stewart	28	1	5	8	0	2211	-2,829
16	Chris Buescher	36	1	2	2	0	2169	-2,871
Chase for the Sprint Cup cut-off
17	Kasey Kahne	36	0	3	13	0	898	-4,142
18	Ryan Newman	36	0	2	10	0	895	-4,145
19	A.J. Allmendinger	36	0	2	9	0	830	-4,210
20	Ryan Blaney	36	0	3	9	0	812	-4,228
21	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	36	0	4	6	0	772	-4,268
22	Trevor Bayne	36	0	2	5	0	762	-4,278
23	Greg Biffle	36	0	1	3	1	691	-4,349
24	Danica Patrick	36	0	0	0	0	689	-4,351
25	Paul Menard	36	0	0	3	0	678	-4,362
26	Aric Almirola	36	0	0	1	0	638	-4,402
27	Clint Bowyer	36	0	0	3	0	628	-4,412
28	Casey Mears	36	0	0	0	0	556	-4,484
29	Landon Cassill	36	0	0	0	0	530	-4,510
30	Michael McDowell	31	0	0	2	0	500	-4,540
31	Brian Scott	36	0	1	1	0	481	-4,559
32	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	18	0	5	6	0	461	-4,579
33	David Ragan	36	0	0	0	0	455	-4,585
34	Regan Smith	35	0	1	2	0	452	-4,588
35	Matt DiBenedetto	35	0	0	1	0	386	-4,654
36	Michael Annett	35	0	0	0	0	328	-4,712
37	Cole Whitt	26	0	0	0	0	276	-4,764
38	Jeff Gordon	8	0	0	2	0	218	-4,822
39	Reed Sorenson	28	0	0	0	0	198	-4,842
40	Josh Wise	28	0	0	0	0	168	-4,872
41	Jeffrey Earnhardt	22	0	0	0	0	159	-4,881
42	Brian Vickers	5	0	0	1	0	86	-4,954
43	Bobby Labonte	4	0	0	0	0	61	-4,979
44	David Gilliland	2	0	0	0	0	46	-4,994
45	Michael Waltrip	2	0	0	0	0	42	-4,998
46	Boris Said	1	0	0	0	0	17	-5,023
47	Patrick Carpentier	2	0	0	0	0	11	-5,029
48	Gray Gaulding	2	0	0	0	0	6	-5,034
48	Eddie MacDonald	1	0	0	0	0	5	-5,035
50	Alex Kennedy	1	0	0	0	0	5	-5,035
51	Robert Richardson, Jr.	1	0	0	0	0	3	-5,037

Manufacturer's Championship[]

Toyota won the 2016 Manufacturer's Championship for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.^[1]

Pos	Manufactuer	Wins	Points	Diff
1	Toyota	16	1,477	Leader
2	Chevrolet	12	1,452	-25
3	Ford	8	1,388	-89

Contingency Awards[]

Rookie of the Year[]

Chase Elliott won the 2016 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award in the Sprint Cup Series.^[1]

Pos	Driver	Wins	Points
1	Chase Elliott	0	339
2	Ryan Blaney	0	269
2	Chris Buescher	1	237
4	Brian Scott	0	221
5	Jeffrey Earnhardt	0	169

Other Season Awards[]

American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Kevin Harvick (7)
Coors Light Pole Award: Carl Edwards (6)
Duralast Brakes "Brake in the Race" Award: Kyle Busch (8)
Ingersoll Rand Power Move: Carl Edwards (39)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder Award: Hendrick Motorsports (#4 Stewart-Haas Racing Team)
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Kyle Busch (10)
Moog Steering and Suspension Problem Solver of the Race: Alan Gustafson (Crew Chief of the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Team)
Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap Award: Kyle Busch (10)^[1]

References[]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/36hms2016racereport.pdf

NASCAR Cup Series seasons
1949 \| 1950 \| 1951 \| 1952 \| 1953 \| 1954 \| 1955 \| 1956 \| 1957 \| 1958 \| 1959 \| 1960 \| 1961 \| 1962 \| 1963 \| 1964
1965 \| 1966 \| 1967 \| 1968 \| 1969 \| 1970 \| 1971 \| 1972 \| 1973 \| 1974 \| 1975 \| 1976 \| 1977 \| 1978 \| 1979 \| 1980
1981 \| 1982 \| 1983 \| 1984 \| 1985 \| 1986 \| 1987 \| 1988 \| 1989 \| 1990 \| 1991 \| 1992 \| 1993 \| 1994 \| 1995 \| 1996
1997 \| 1998 \| 1999 \| 2000 \| 2001 \| 2002 \| 2003 \| 2004 \| 2005 \| 2006 \| 2007 \| 2008 \| 2009 \| 2010 \| 2011 \| 2012
2013 \| 2014 \| 2015 \| 2016 \| 2017 \| 2018 \| 2019 \| 2020 \| 2021 \| 2022 \| 2023 \| 2024 \| 2025

[:0-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2019/05/36hms2016racereport.pdf

[1]