History of the No. 1: Drivers who've raced and won with it

Everybody wants to be No. 1, right? Well, in the NASCAR Premier Series, the No. 1 has been on the side of a car ever since the first NASCAR Strictly Stock race at the old Charlotte Speedway on June 19, 1949, when B.E. Renfro finished 24th in a Hudson.

The list of drivers who have been behind the wheel of the No. 1 for at least one race is indeed impressive: Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, Donnie Allison, David Pearson and A.J. Foyt are among some of the legends to pilot the No. 1.

But here's the odd thing: The No. 1 hasn't really been No. 1 that often. Since 1949, the No. 1 has visited Victory Lane in the NASCAR Premier Series just 19 times -- not a huge number, all things considered.

Three drivers -- Jamie McMurray, Donnie Allison and the late Billy Wade -- won four races each in the No. 1.

Interestingly, Wade's victories came in four consecutive races in 1964, all in the Northeast and all in a Bud Moore-owned Mercury. On July 10, 1964, Wade won the Fireball Roberts 200 at Old Bridge Stadium in New Jersey. Two days later, Wade won on the Bridgehampton Raceway road course in New York. He followed up with wins on the Islip Speedway on Long Island on July 15 and the Watkins Glen International road course on July 19.

Sadly, Wade never won again and was killed in tire testing the following January.

McMurray had what might have been the best season ever in the No. 1, winning the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2010.

And one of the most emotional victories for the No. 1 came at Rockingham in 2001, when Steve Park drove a Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet to the win.

Now, some trivia you can win bar bets with:

The first NASCAR Premier Series victory in the No. 1 came on Sept. 23, 1956, when owner/driver Lloyd Dane won at Portland (Ore.) Speedway in a Ford.

The first NASCAR Premier Series top-five finish in the No. 1 took place on Oct. 2, 1949. That's when Sarah Christian finished fifth at Heidelberg (Pa.) Raceway in a race won by Lee Petty. Christian's excellent result remains to this day as the best finish ever by a woman in a NASCAR Premier Series race.

By the numbers for the No. 1:

Races: 1,382

Drivers: 138

Wins: 19

Top fives: 160

Top 10s: 377

Poles: 34

Laps led: 7,087

Laps run: 333,584

DNFs: 371

* All stats per DriverAverages.com