Jason Keller Makes 14 Starts At O’Reilly Raceway Park
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Jul 24, 2007
With his start on Saturday night, Jason Keller (No. 27 Huggies Ford) will have made 14 starts at O’Reilly Raceway Park – one less than ORP record-holder Tommy Houston.
The track has treated Keller well over the past 13 years. He has won there twice, in 1995 and 1999. In the 1999 victory, he won from the pole, leading 130 of the 200 laps.
The success has continued for Keller in recent years. Since 2000, the first driver in series history to win $9, $10 and $11 million has finished in the top five in five of the last seven races at the .686-mile track, which include runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2003.
Over the last two years, the 37-year-old native of Greenville, S.C., racked up some of the best stats on the NASCAR Busch Series at ORP.
In the previous two ORP races, Keller had an average pre-race Driver Rating of 102.3, which is the second-best mark of any driver competing Saturday. Additionally, Keller has an Average Running Position of 9.0, 19 Fastest Laps Run and 338 Laps in the Top 15.
In two races at ORP, J.J. Yeley (No. 1 Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet) has excelled. He finished third last season and 13th in 2005. In the last ORP race, Yeley had a Driver Rating of 116.2 and an Average Running Position of 5.6.
Through the last two races at the track, Yeley has an Average Running Position of 10.5, a Driver Rating of 100.1, 13 Fastest Laps Run, 314 Laps in the Top 15 and 37 Quality Passes – passes of cars in the top 15 under green – which is more than any other driver over the past two ORP races.
But 2002 series champion Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) might be the driver to beat. Thanks to a fourth-place finish last season, Biffle holds some of the best stats of any driver racing Saturday night. He has the top Driver Rating (110.5), the best Average Running Position (7.2), and ran all but five of his laps in the top 15 (195 total). He has never finished outside the top five in each of his four previous races there.
