His win at Homestead propelled NASCAR driver Martin Truex, Jr. into elite company.
With the victory in the Ford EcoBoost 400, Truex, Jr. became one of 15 different drivers since 1972 to win eight or more races in a season, reports nascar.com. As a bonus, the win gave Truex, Jr. his first Cup title.
While eight victories are nothing to sneeze at, Truex, Jr. has got a long way to go to catch some NASCAR legends. Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon hold the top position with 13 victories in a season. Petty accomplished the impressive feat in 1975 while also winning one of his seven Cup titles. Gordon won 13 races in 1998.
Darrell Waltrip had back-to-back 12-win seasons in 1981 and 1982, also winning two of his three Cup titles. Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliott, and David Pearson all won 11 races in a season, but Pearson's is impressive for the fact that he did it running only 18 races.
Several drivers have won at least 10 races in a season, but it's worth mentioning that Cale Yarborough had four seasons where he won 8 or more races, the last back in 1978. It's a feat that has not since been matched.