NASCAR: Only one driver has completed every lap in 2021

After seven races on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, only one driver has completed every lap that has been contested.

Entering the sixth race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, three drivers had completed all 1,116 laps that had been contested throughout the first five races.

One of those drivers, reigning champion Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports, saw his streak come to an end at his home track with an engine issue with 105 laps remaining in the 325-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) oval in Hampton, Georgia.

Entering the seventh race of the season, the first dirt race in over five decades, at Bristol Motor Speedway, two drivers had completed every one of the 1,441 laps that had been run through six races.

One of those drivers saw his streak continue while the other saw his come to an end.

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Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, who entered this race as the overwhelming favorite due to his illustrious dirt track racing background, was involved in multiple incidents and ended up finishing the race five laps off the lead lap.

He finished in 29th place, bettering only his 30th place from the second race of the season at the Daytona International Speedway road course, when he was still able to finish on the lead lap despite crashing late.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, however, saw his streak extend, and he became the last man standing in doing so.

This race was the first of the season to be extended into an overtime period due to a late caution flag period. The race ended up lasting for 253 laps around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked oval in Bristol, Tennessee as opposed to the scheduled 250, and Hamlin completed all 253, doing so with a third place finish.

Hamlin has yet to win a race this season following a seven-win 2020 season that saw him become the only driver to qualify for the Championship 4 in both 2019 and 2020, but he leads the series in top five finishes (six), top 10 finishes (six) and average finish (4.71). He also has a 58-point lead in the championship standings.

His lowest finish of 11th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway is the best lowest finish among all drivers.

Will Hamlin continue his streak in the eighth race of the season this evening, the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway? This race is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Of note, through seven races this year, only the race at Phoenix Raceway, the fifth race of the season, has not resulted in one or more of the remaining drivers on the 100% laps completed list losing that perfect mark.

Will Martinsville Speedway join that list? Hamlin completed 997 of the 1,000 laps at the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) oval in Ridgeway, Virginia in its two races last year.