“Lowe’s is definitely one of my favorite tracks and we have a unique opportunity to win all three races here this year,” Kahne said. “We’ve won all the races here — we are just trying to get it done in one year. It would be a huge accomplishment for me personally and everyone at Gillett Evernham Motorsports to be able to complete the sweep.”
Kahne has three wins, three top fives, four top 10s and one DNF (did not finish) in nine career starts at LMS (this doesn’t include non-points All-Star events).
He also ranks well in pre-race NASCAR Loop Data statistics for LMS — third in Driver Rating (98.4) behind Johnson and Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s/Susan G. Komen For The Cure Toyota), respectively. He also ranks third in Average Running Position (12.7) and Quality Passes (296).
Kahne ranks second in Fastest Laps Run (227) and Green Flag Passes (516).
“It’s a track where I seem to know what the car needs to go fast,” he said of LMS. “The line that you need to run here is so crucial. Lowe’s Motor Speedway is such a sensitive track, you can really mess up here by missing your line by just a little bit or not slowing down quite enough getting to the white line throughout the race.
“It’s a great track and hopefully we can continue to keep up the success here and get a win in the Bank of America 500.”
In The Loop: Johnson Solidly Out Front At LMS
How can you explain Jimmie Johnson’s success at Lowe’s Motor Speedway?
Is it just coincidence? Is it that LMS suits Johnson’s style perfectly? Or maybe there’s added pressure to succeed considering the number of sponsor eyeballs on the No. 48, and Johnson is certainly a driver who thrives on added pressure.
Whatever the reason, Johnson is always the man to beat at Lowe’s Motor Speedway
In just 14 starts, Johnson has five wins (tying Jeff Gordon – who has 31 LMS starts – for the active lead in LMS victories), eight top fives and 11 top 10s.
Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, Johnson is far and away the class of the field at LMS – despite having two of his three non-top-10 finishes fall during that span.
Over the last seven LMS races, Johnson owns series-high statistics in Driver Rating (116.5), Average Running Position (7.7), Fastest Laps Run (260), average Green Flag Speed (176.860 mph), Laps in the Top 15 percentage (88.5) and Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15), with 388.
What makes his stats even more impressive are the numbers of those who rank second in each of the above categories. They’re not really close:
Kyle Busch is second in Driver Rating with a 98.7, 17.8 points behind Johnson.
Mark Martin (No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet) is second in Average Running Position with a 12.2, 4.5 positions lower than Johnson.
Kasey Kahne ranks second in Fastest Laps Run with 227, 33 fewer than Johnson.
Busch ranks second in average Green Flag Speed with 176.378 mph, .483 mph slower than Johnson.
Martin ranks second in Laps in the Top 15 percentage at 74.5%, 14 percent worse than Johnson.
Busch ranks second in Quality Passes with 335, 53 fewer than Johnson.
In other words, if Johnson wins, it won’t be a surprise. But who could be a surprise winner this weekend?
Martin has won four times at LMS and has posted solid stats recently there. He has a Driver Rating of 91.5 (fourth-best), an Average Running Position of 12.2 (second) and Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 74.5% (second).
Also watch for a strong run from Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet), who had a strong run at Talladega before getting caught up in a late-race accident.
He’ll look to rebound at LMS, his home track. He has yet to win at LMS, but has three top-10 finishes in the last four races there.
Over the last seven, he has a Driver Rating of 89.7 (fifth), an Average Running Position of 16.2 (seventh) and 106 Fastest Laps Run (fifth).
Three Drivers To Attempt Series Debuts This Weekend
Much is on the line in Saturday’s Bank of America 500, but so too could be the start of three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series careers.
Brad Keselowski, Bryan Clauson and Scott Speed all will attempt to make their series debuts in the race, and all three first must qualify on speed during Thursday night’s qualifying session.
Keselowski will qualify Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. Clauson will qualify Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 40 Target/Sony’s Motorstorm: Pacific Rift Dodge. Speed will qualify Team Red Bull’s No. 82 Red Bull Toyota.
All three drivers are considered future talents and all are busy in separate series this season.
Keselowski, 24, who drives the No. 88 Navy Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, is third in that series’ standings. He’ll also attempt to qualify for one other NASCAR Sprint Cup event this season, at Texas Motor Speedway.
Clauson, 19, has 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts, with one pole and one top-five finish.
Speed, 25, who will drive the No. 84 Red Bull Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next season, currently leads the ARCA RE/MAX Series standings. He’s a former Formula One driver making the transition to stock cars.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Etc.
Milestone Watch … Several NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers will mark personal series milestones in Saturday night’s Bank of America 500.
Jimmie Johnson will make his 250th career start. Kasey Kahne will make his 175 career start. If he qualifies the No. 70 Hunt Broithers Pizza Chevrolet on Thursday night, Tony Raines will make his 125th career start.
This weekend also means a milestone for LMS, which will host its 100th NASCAR Sprint Cup and 54th NASCAR Nationwide events. A total of 499 drivers have competed there.
Four will attempt to make their first LMS starts this week — Brad Keselowski, Bryan Clauson, Scott Speed and Chad McCumbee (No. 45 Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge).
Allmendinger Back In Action … Two weeks after parting ways with Red Bull Racing, AJ Allmendinger is back behind a steering wheel.
Michael Waltrip Racing announced this week that Allmendinger will qualify the No. 00 Champion Mortgage Toyota for Saturday’s Bank of American 500.
Owner Michael Waltrip said following the NASCAR Sprint Cup event at Kansas Speedway that several drivers will be used during the remainder of the season. The No. 00 currently is 36th in the owner standings; the top 35 each week are guaranteed starting positions.
Michael McDowell had driven the No. 00 since the fifth race of the season. Kenny Wallace drove it last week at Talladega and finished 12th — the team’s best result this season.
Jail And Bail For A Good Cause … Many in the NASCAR industry, including nearly a dozen drivers, will participate in a Jail and Bail Charity Event benefitting the Brienne Davis Scholarship Fund on Wednesday, Oct. 8. It’s at the Brickhouse Tavern in Davidson, N.C.
The scholarship honors Davis, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series official, who passed away earlier this year.
Up Next: Chase For the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Race 6 @ Martinsville Speedway
Another hurdle awaits those who would be the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion — Martinsville Speedway.
The .526-mile short track in Virginia has hosted the series since 1949 and is considered an always-worthy opponent.
This time, it’s the TUMS Quik Pak 500 on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson is the defending winner. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon — who leads all active drivers with seven Martinsville wins — is the defending pole winner. Johnson swept both Martinsville events last year.
This season, it’s Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota) who will attempt the Martinsville sweep. A Virginia native, he won the March event.
The Race: Bank of America 500
The Place: Lowe’s Motor Speedway
The Date: Saturday, Oct. 11
The Track: 1.5-mile tri-oval
The Distance: 501 miles/334 laps
2007 Winner: Jeff Gordon
2007 Polesitter: Ryan Newman
Series Standings
Driver Points
1 Jimmie Johnson 5,718
2 Carl Edwards 5,646
3 Greg Biffle 5,641
4 Jeff Burton 5,619
5 Clint Bowyer 5,566
6 Kevin Harvick 5,547
7 Tony Stewart 5,515
8 Jeff Gordon 5,486
9 Matt Kenseth 5,473
10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5,469
11 Kyle Busch 5,387
12 Denny Hamlin 5,383
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