A history of first-four sweeps by a single NASCAR Cup Series team
Sunday’s Drydene 400 marked just the fourth time in NASCAR Cup Series history that the top four finishers all came from the same organization, with Alex Bowman leading the charge for the Hendrick Motorsports fleet at Dover International Speedway.
RELATED: Official results | At-track photos: Dover
It has been a rare occurrence, happening only twice in NASCAR’s modern era. With Hendrick’s “Monster Mile” mash still fresh, here’s a breakdown of the 1-2-3-4 team finishes through the record books in NASCAR’s top division.
Dec. 30, 1956
Team: DePaolo Engineering
Race winner: Fireball Roberts
Second through fourth: Curtis Turner, Marvin Panch, Ralph Moody
Event: Indian River Gold Cup 100
Track: Titusville-Cocoa Speedway, 1.6-mile road course in Titusville, Florida
Notable: Driving for one of NASCAR’s earliest multi-car teams, Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts drove his No. 22 Ford to the seventh of his 33 Cup wins. Paul Goldsmith led the opening 27 laps before Roberts took control, leading the final 29 laps. … Pete DePaolo became famous as the 1925 Indianapolis 500 winner, but his brief foray into NASCAR team ownership was a successful one. He is credited with 21 Cup Series wins. … The race was the Titusville-Cocoa circuit’s only Cup Series meet.
April 7, 1957
Team: DePaolo Engineering
Race winner: Fireball Roberts
Second through fourth: Paul Goldsmith, Ralph Moody, Marvin Panch
Event: Wilkes County 160
Track: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, .625-mile dirt track
Notable: Fireball Roberts led from wire to wire, never making a pit stop in the 100-mile event. He established a qualifying record of 81.522 mph. … A fifth DePaolo entry took sixth place, with Allen Adkins just missing a top-five result in the No. 99 Ford. … The event marked North Wilkesboro’s last race with a dirt surface. The layout was paved by the time the series returned there that October.
Nov. 20, 2005
Team: Roush Fenway Racing
Race winner: Greg Biffle
Second through fourth: Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards
Event: Ford 400
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval in Homestead, Florida
Notable: While Tony Stewart was celebrating his second Cup Series championship with a 15th-place result for Joe Gibbs Racing, team owner Jack Roush was cheering a four-car sweep atop the scoring pylon in the 2005 season finale. Greg Biffle led just nine laps but closed out a career-best six-win season in style at Miami. … Roush had five entries in the race, with Kenny Wallace taking 21st place as a fill-in for the dismissed Kurt Busch in the No. 97 Ford. NASCAR announced it would start phasing in a four-team limit for team owners the next season. … At the time, the organization was known as Roush Racing. Red Sox majority owner John Henry invested in the team in 2007, when its name changed to Roush Fenway Racing.
May 16, 2021
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Race winner: Alex Bowman
Second through fourth: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron
Event: Drydene 400
Track: Dover (Del.) International Speedway, 1-mile concrete oval
Notable: Alex Bowman notched his second win of the Cup Series season, benefitting from a quick pit stop in the final stage that put his No. 48 Chevrolet out front for the final 97 laps. That victory was the 267th in NASCAR’s top series by team owner Rick Hendrick, placing him just one win back of Petty Enterprises’ 268 on the all-time list. … The win marked the 12th victory for a car with No. 48 at Dover. Jimmie Johnson flew the number for his 11 triumphs at the “Monster Mile.” … Byron extended his streak of top-10 finishes to 11 in a row with a fourth-place effort.
