Sometimes, the circumstances dictate that I switch things up in my little blog here. Don't fret -- the regular format will return in due time.
But Saturday's race was so gigantic, I'll use my space this week to determine whether Regan Smith was the most unlikely winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.
What, you wanted me to statistically break down the Kevin Harvick-Kyle Busch feud? Not a whole lot of numbers to throw out there. Just some good, old-fashioned anger.
Despite the bizarre format, I still give you …
Trivia break! Who are the four other drivers to win for single-car teams since 2000?
The criteria
OK, so there are a few criteria to judge a long-shot winner. The first is longtime drivers who got a win after many races, such as Michael Waltrip or Sterling Marlin. But they had a degree of success already in their careers to stick around that long.
Another way is to look at drivers who came out of nowhere because it was early in their careers.
Maybe they weren't the most unlikely winners, because we didn't know what to expect from them that early in their careers. There are the upset restrictor-plate race winners, such as Brad Keselowski or Trevor Bayne, and drivers who inherited good rides, such as Jamie McMurray.
So, I'm going to focus on the drivers who have been around at least a couple of seasons and not had much success.
Trivia break! Who was the last driver to get his first career win at Darlington?
The breakdown
Smith was the 179th different driver to win a Cup series race. Of those, 145, or 81 percent, had a previous career top-5 finish. Smith's best career finish entering Darlington was seventh at this year's Daytona 500. Before that, he'd never had a top-10.
Of those 34 to never have a top-5 before their first win, only four had more than 20 career Cup series starts before their win: Smith, Elliott Sadler, Derrike Cope and Greg Sacks. Chart time!
Drivers To Win Their First Cup Race(With more than 20 career starts and no top-5 finishes)
• Regan Smith -- 105 starts (best finish: seventh)
• Elliott Sadler -- 75 starts (seventh)
• Derrike Cope -- 72 starts (sixth)
• Greg Sacks -- 41 starts (sixth)
Of those four, Smith is only one to have one prior top-10 finish. Sadler had two, Sacks three and Cope five.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the most unlikely winner in series history.
Trivia break! Who was the last driver to win in the No. 78 car?
Trivia break answers
1. Bayne and Sadler (Wood Brothers), Keselowski (Phoenix Racing) and Ricky Craven (PPI Motorsports) were the others to win for single-car teams since 2000.
2. Lake Speed got his first win at Darlington in 1988.
3. Jim Paschal won three races in the 78 in 1955.