Below is a look at how the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field has performed at Charlotte Motor Speedway, going into the Bank of America 500 on Oct. 16.
1 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 108.5
2010 Rundown
· Six wins, 13 top fives, 17 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 13.6
· Led 20 races for 1,296 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Six wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 10.2 in 18 races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 7.8
· Series-best Driver Rating of 115.3
· Series-high 386 Fastest Laps Run
· 689 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 175.794 mph
· Series-high 3,361 Laps in the Top 15 (86.1%)
· 533 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), second-most
2 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 94.3
2010 Rundown
· Six wins, 11 top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.2
· Led 15 races for 918 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Three top 10s
· Average finish of 18.5 in 10 races
· Average Running Position of 15.9, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 81.5, 14th-best
· 81 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· 2,103 Laps in the Top 15 (60.1%), 11th-most
· 341 Quality Passes, 10th-most
3 - Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 95.9
2010 Rundown
· Three wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s
· Average finish of 9.5
· Led 12 races for 246 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, three top 10s
· Average finish of 20.7 in 19 races
· Average Running Position of 22.5, 27th-best
· Driver Rating of 67.1, 26th-best
· 730 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
4 - Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 102.9
2010 Rundown
· 11 top fives, 16 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.5
· Led 17 races for 855 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Five wins, 16 top fives, 20 top 10s; seven poles
· Average finish of 15.4 in 35 races
· Average Running Position of 16.8, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 89.1, sixth-best
· 147 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 174.860 mph, seventh-fastest
· 2,154 Laps in the Top 15 (55.2%), 10th-most
· 341 Quality Passes, 10th-most
5 - Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 94.1
2010 Rundown
· Two wins, nine top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 12.9
· Led 18 races for 535 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.4 in 23 races
· Average Running Position of 15.9, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 84.5, 12th-best
· 143 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
· 720 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 174.912 mph, fifth-fastest
· 2,226 Laps in the Top 15 (57.0%), ninth-most
· 386 Quality Passes, sixth-most
6 - Kurt Busch (No. 2 Operation Home Front/Miller Lite Dodge)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 94.7
2010 Rundown
· Two wins, nine top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 14.2
· Led 15 races for 820 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One win, four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 20.0 in 20 races
· Average Running Position of 16.7, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.6, 10th-best
· 161 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· 2,235 Laps in the Top 15 (57.3%), eighth-most
· 368 Quality Passes, eighth-most
7 - Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 89.7
2010 Rundown
· Seven top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 12.2
· Led 9 races for 141 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Four top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 13.2 in 11 races
· Average Running Position of 17.8, 15th-best
· Driver Rating of 84.0, 13th-best
· Series-high 820 Green Flag Passes
· 1,845 Laps in the Top 15 (47.3%), 13th-most
· 337 Quality Passes, 12th-most
8 - Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.9
2010 Rundown
· Six top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 12.9
· Led 13 races for 392 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Three wins, eight top fives, 15 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.1 in 33 races
· Average Running Position of 14.4, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 88.4, eighth-best
· 89 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
· 733 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 174.634 mph, 10th-fastest
· 2,459 Laps in the Top 15 (63.0%), fifth-most
· 455 Quality Passes, fourth-most
9 - Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.6
2010 Rundown
· Three wins, eight top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 13.2
· Led 16 races for 1,028 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Four top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 17.8 in 13 races
· Average Running Position of 10.9, third-best
· Driver Rating of 104.9, second-best
· 261 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 700 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.557 mph, second-fastest
· 3,005 Laps in the Top 15 (77.0%), second-most
· Series-high 548 Quality Passes
10 - Greg Biffle (No. 16 SCOTCH BLUE Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 87.1
2010 Rundown
· Two wins, six top fives, 15 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.9
· Led 10 races for 318 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Two top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 19.1 in 15 races
· Average Running Position of 16.4, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 85.5, 11th-best
· 118 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 2,269 Laps in the Top 15 (58.1%), seventh-most
· 352 Quality Passes, ninth-most
11 - Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 84.4
2010 Rundown
· Five top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.5
· Led 8 races for 90 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.4 in 22 races
· Average Running Position of 16.3, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 89.1, sixth-best
· 125 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
· 2,311 Laps in the Top 15 (59.2%), sixth-most
· 376 Quality Passes, seventh-most
12 - Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.8
2010 Rundown
· One win, six top fives, 16 top 10s
· Average finish of 14.1
· Led 13 races for 380 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, three top 10s
· Average finish of 17.7 in nine races
· Average Running Position of 18.4, 17th-best
· Driver Rating of 79.6, 16th-best
At Charlotte Motor Speedway:
History
· Construction began in 1959.
· The track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was June 19, 1960.
· The track was repaved midseason in 1994.
· The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999. It changed back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2010 season.
· The track was repaved again before the 2006 season.
Notebook
· There have been 103 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, two races per year since the track opened in 1960. In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying points races held the week beforethe May race. The first six fall races at Charlotte were 400-mile events (1960-65).
· 37 drivers have won poles, led by David Pearson with 14.
· Fireball Roberts won the pole for the first race, in 1960.
· David Pearson had 11 straight poles at Charlotte from the fall of 1973 through 1978.
· Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in poles, with nine. Jeff Gordon has seven.
· 43 drivers have won races, led by Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson, with six each.
· Kurt Busch won his first Charlotte race in May, at the Coca-Cola 600. Also the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner, Busch looks to become the first driver to sweep the All-Star Race, the Coke 600 and the Bank of America 500 in the same season.
· Joe Lee Johnson won the first race, in 1960.
· There have been 13 back-to-back victories, including three consecutive by Fred Lorenzen (fall 1964 and both 1965) and four straight by Jimmie Johnson (both in 2004 and 2005).
· A sweep has occurred eight times, including each season from 2004-2006.
· 14 races have been won from the pole, the last by Jimmie Johnson last October.
· Jimmie Johnson won the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 from the 37th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
· A number of active drivers earned their first win at CMS: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and David Reutimann. Inactive drivers David Pearson, Buddy Baker and Charlie Glotzbach also got their first series win at Charlotte.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Data
Race #: 31 of 36 (10-16-10)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
· Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
· Banking/Straights: 5 degrees
· Frontstretch: 1,980 feet
· Backstretch: 1,500 feet
Driver Rating at Charlotte
Jimmie Johnson 115.3 Kyle Busch 104.9 Kasey Kahne 100.4 Joey Logano 100.2 Mark Martin 91.1 Jeff Gordon 89.1 Matt Kenseth 89.1 Jeff Burton 88.4 Kurt Busch 87.6 Greg Biffle 85.5
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (11 total) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Jimmie Johnson (192.376 mph, 28.070 secs.)
2009 race winner: Jimmie Johnson (137.658 mph, 10-17-09)
Qualifying record: Elliott Sadler (193.216 mph, 27.948 secs., 10-13-05)
500-mile race record: Jeff Gordon (160.306 mph, 10-11-99)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage.
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