Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. And Juan Pablo Montoya Post Career First Victories This Season

Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. And Juan Pablo Montoya Post Career First Victories This Season

Daytona Beach, Fla.
Sep 05, 2007

CIA Stock Photo

With one race remaining in the Race to the Chase, the “postseason” seedings are beginning to take shape as eight drivers have clinched spots in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. Ten bonus points are still available for a win. Fourteen drivers have won NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races this season, potentially earning 10 valuable bonus points for each victory; 11 are currently in the top 12 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship point standings. If those drivers make the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, their “seeding” entering the Chase will be determined by the number of wins they accumulated over the first 26 races of the season plus the standard tiebreaker of best finishes.

This past week, Jimmie Johnson won for the first time since May – upping his bonus points to 50 which, depending on this weekend, could give him the lead in the point standings entering the Chase. 2007 Season Highlights

• At Bristol, the Car of Tomorrow made its debut.

• At Talladega, Jeff Gordon won his 77th career race, breaking a tie with Dale Earnhardt for sixth on the all-time win list. Gordon had tied Earnhardt’s mark of 76 wins the prior week in Phoenix.

• Hendrick Motorsports posted five consecutive victories (Phoenix through Charlotte), the first time since 1971 that an organization had won five straight.

• Three drivers have posted career-first victories: Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya, from Colombia, became the first foreign-born race winner since Canadian Earl Ross in 1974.

The following pages contain reviews and analysis of various statistical data which impacts the ongoing standings and the eventual goal of making the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

Winning Matters

The top 12 drivers in the current point standings and how they would start the Chase based on the completed races:

Chase Current

Rank Driver Wins Points Rank Difference

1 Jimmie Johnson 5 5,050 6 +5

2 Jeff Gordon 4 5,040 1 -1

3 Tony Stewart 3 5,030 2 -1

4 Carl Edwards 2 5,020 4 0

5 Kurt Busch 2 5,020 11 +6

6 Denny Hamlin 1 5,010 3 -3

7 Martin Truex Jr. 1 5,010 12 +5

8 Matt Kenseth 1 5,010 5 -3

9 Kyle Busch 1 5,010 8 -1

10 Jeff Burton 1 5,010 7 -3

11 Kevin Harvick 1 5,010 12 -1

12 Clint Bowyer 0 5,000 9 -3

Qualifying

• There have been 13 different Bud Pole winners led by Jeff Gordon (six) and Ryan Newman (four).

Qualifying was canceled at Texas, second Daytona and Watkins Glen due to inclement weather.

• There has been a first-time Bud Pole winner each season since 1987 – 21 consecutive years.

• Ryan Newman’s pole at Atlanta ended a streak of 20 races without a pole – the longest of his career.

• Denny Hamlin leads all other drivers, with 16 top-10 starts this season. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie

Johnson each have 15.

The Races

• There have been 14 different race winners, led by Jimmie Johnson (five), Jeff Gordon (four), Tony

Stewart (three), Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards (two).

• Three drivers have posted back-to-back victories this season:

Jimmie Johnson (Las Vegas and Atlanta)

Jeff Gordon (Phoenix and Talladega)

Tony Stewart (Chicago and Indianapolis).

• Johnson’s victory at Las Vegas was his third consecutive win there.

• Jeff Gordon has posted 14 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes – both more than any other driver.

First-Timers

Start Pole Win

Aric Almirola (Las Vegas) Clint Bowyer (Darlington) Casey Mears (Charlotte)

Jon Wood (Las Vegas) J. J. Yeley (Michigan) Martin Truex Jr. (Dover)

AJ Allmendinger (Bristol) Reed Sorenson (Indianapolis) Juan Pablo Montoya (Infineon

Regan Smith (Bristol) Raceway)

Chad McCumbee (Pocono)

Patrick Carpentier (Watkins Glen)

Laps Led Top 10 in Points

David Ragan (Talladega) David Ragan (Daytona)

Juan Pablo Montoya (Infineon Raceway) Martin Truex Jr. (Michigan)

Patrick Carpentier (Watkins Glen)

David Reutimann (California)

The Bud Pole Winner/Race Winner

• The Bud Pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position:

First 2

2nd-5th 7

6th-10th 3

11th-30th 4

31st or beyond 3

• The lap-leader performance of the Bud Pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying):

Led First Lap 20

Led at All 24

Led Most Laps 5

Won Race 2

Led Most Laps and Won 2

• The race winner’s starting positions:

Bud Pole 2

Top -Five 6

6th-10th 2

11th-30th 13

31st or beyond 2

• The lap-leader performance of the race winner:

Led First Lap 4

Led Most Laps 9

Led Mid-Race Lap 6

Led With 10 to Go 17

Led With One to Go 22

Note: Mid-Race lap is a scheduled lap regardless of shortened or extended race length.

Laps Completed

• No driver has completed every lap in 2007.

• Kevin Harvick leads the series in laps completed with 6,911 of 6,996.

Laps Led

• Fifty different drivers have led at least one lap this season.

• Jeff Gordon has led in 17 races, more than any other driver. He also leads in bonus points with 110.

• Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson have each led 863 of the 6,999 laps – 12.33 percent of the laps raced.

• Thirteen different drivers have led the most laps in a race: Jeff Gordon (five), Tony Stewart (four), Kurt Busch (four), Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two each), Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson,

Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Robby Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch (one each).

• John Andretti led in the second California race – his first laps led since he led at Daytona in February 2004.

Rookie Performance

• Three different drivers have been the highest-finishing rookie at least once this season: Juan Pablo

Montoya (12), David Ragan (nine) and Paul Menard (four)

• The best finish by a rookie has been first by Juan Pablo Montoya at Infineon.

• Juan Pablo Montoya (18th) ranks highest among the rookies in the point standings.

Penalties

• There have been 350 on-track penalties issued this season.

• Every team that has competed in two or more races this season has received at least one on-track penalty.

• Penalty Recap:

Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 217

Too Fast Entering Pit Road 27

Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 51

Others 55

Points

• Only two drivers have ranked in the top 10 in points for every race: Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon.

• Jeff Gordon assumed the points lead after Bristol.

• Mark Martin is ranked 21st in the points – the highest of the drivers that have competed in less than all of

the races.

• Ricky Rudd is ranked 30th, the lowest of drivers that have competed in every race. The Race to The Chase

• With one remaining before the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup begins at New Hampshire, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch have all clinched a berth in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.

• Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. only have to start at Richmond to clinch a Chase berth.

• Kevin Harvick leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 128 points for the 12th position. Kurt Busch in 11th is 141

points ahead of Earnhardt. Harvick can clinch by finishing 32nd or better at Richmond – regardless of

what Earnhardt does. For Busch, a 36th or better finish will clinch a Chase position. Manufacturer

• Chevrolet leads the manufacturer point standings with 202 points. Ford has 136, Dodge 134 while Toyota is fourth with 80.

• Chevrolet has won 17 races. Ford has four wins and Dodge has three.

• Chevrolet got its 600th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory with Kyle Busch’s win at Bristol. Busch’s victory

was the first for the Chevrolet Impala since Wendell Scott won at Jacksonville (Fla. ) Speedway Park on

Dec. 1, 1963.

• Toyota scored its first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup top five when Brian Vickers finished fifth at Charlotte.