Below is a look at how the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series field has performed at Charlotte Motor Speedway, going into the Bank of America 500 on Oct. 15.
CHARLOTTE-SPECIFIC STATISTICS
1 - Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 99.8
2011 Rundown
· One win, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 10.2
· Led 19 races for 713 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Four top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 13.3 in 13 races
· Average Running Position of 16.7, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 86.1, 11th-best
· 99 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most
· 1,019 Green Flag Passes, third-most
· 2,445 Laps in the Top 15 (52.7%), 11th-most
· 479 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), eighth-most
2 - Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.6
2011 Rundown
· Four wins, eight top fives, 16 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.1
· Led 14 races for 343 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One win, two top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 19.1 in 21 races
· Average Running Position of 21.0, 22nd-best
· Driver Rating of 71.7, 24th-best
· 973 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
3 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s / Chevrolet 100th Anniversary Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 101.7
2011 Rundown
· Two wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s
· Average finish of 10.2
· Led 18 races for 1,049 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Six wins, 10 top fives, 14 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 10.8 in 20 races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 8.2
· Series-best Driver Rating of 112.8
· Series-high 428 Fastest Laps Run
· 950 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 176.082 mph
· Series-high 3,917 Laps in the Top 15 (84.5%)
· Series-high 676 Quality Passes
4 - Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 87.9
2011 Rundown
· Three wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.5
· Led 16 races for 280 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One pole
· Average finish of 19.5 in four races
· Average Running Position of 17.9, 15th-best
· Driver Rating of 74.2, 21st-best
5 - Matt Kenseth (No. 17 FLUIDMASTER Ford)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 96.9
2011 Rundown
· Two wins, nine top fives, 17 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 11.5
· Led 17 races for 654 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One win, six top fives, 12 top 10s
· Average finish of 14.9 in 24 races
· Average Running Position of 15.3, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 92.1, fifth-best
· 217 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
· 941 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.044 mph, ninth-fastest
· 2,892 Laps in the Top 15 (62.4%), fourth-most
· 550 Quality Passes, third-most
6 - Kurt Busch (No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ultra Dodge)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.7
2011 Rundown
· Two wins, eight top fives, 16 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 12.6
· Led 18 races for 712 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One win, five top fives, six top 10s
· Average finish of 19.7 in 22 races
· Average Running Position of 17.4, 14th-best
· Driver Rating of 85.1, 13th-best
· 171 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
· 2,487 Laps in the Top 15 (53.6%), 10th-most
· 450 Quality Passes, 12th-most
7 - Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 90.7
2011 Rundown
· Two wins, five top fives, 13 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.7
· Led 15 races for 377 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.8 in 25 races
· Average Running Position of 16.3, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 82.2, 14th-best
· 147 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 957 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.135 mph, seventh-fastest
8 - Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 107.4
2011 Rundown
· Four wins, 13 top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 11.1
· Led 22 races for 1,197 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Five top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 17.7 in 15 races
· Average Running Position of 10.4, second-best
· Driver Rating of 106.5, second-best
· 362 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· 879 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.935 mph, second-fastest
· 3,601 Laps in the Top 15 (77.6%), second-most
· 658 Quality Passes, second-most
9 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard / Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 83.9
2011 Rundown
· Four top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.3
· Led 8 races for 50 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Five top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 19.4 in 24 races
· Average Running Position of 21.1, 23rd-best
· Driver Rating of 77.8, 18th-best
· 135 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· 1,026 Green Flag Passes, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 174.825 mph, 13th-fastest
· 1,962 Laps in the Top 15 (42.3%), 13th-most
· 404 Quality Passes, 13th-most
10 - Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger / Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 98.2
2011 Rundown
· Three wins, 11 top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 12.5
· Led 19 races for 801 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Five wins, 16 top fives, 20 top 10s; eight poles
· Average finish of 15.8 in 37 races
· Average Running Position of 16.1, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 88.3, seventh-best
· 164 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 175.141 mph, sixth-fastest
· 2,573 Laps in the Top 15 (55.5%), ninth-most
· 456 Quality Passes, 11th-most
11 - Ryan Newman (No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 88.3
2011 Rundown
· One win, eight top fives, 14 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 13.8
· Led 14 races for 347 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· Four top fives, seven top 10s; nine poles
· Average finish of 20.9 in 21 races
· Average Running Position of 19.1, 21st-best
· Driver Rating of 74.8, 20th-best
12 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota)
· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 88.8
2011 Rundown
· One win, four top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 17.1
· Led 14 races for 392 laps
Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, five top 10s
· Average finish of 16.6 in 12 races
· Average Running Position of 14.4, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 87.2, ninth-best
· 118 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 174.869 mph, 12th-fastest
· 2,786 Laps in the Top 15 (65.7%), sixth-most
· 473 Quality Passes, ninth-most
At Charlotte Motor Speedway:
History
· Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1959.
· The track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on 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 re-paved again before the 2006 season.
Notebook
· There have been 105 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).
· 38 drivers have posted poles, led by David Pearson with 14.
· Fireball Roberts won the pole for the first race, in 1960.
· David Pearson posted 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 eight.
· Jeff Gordon won five straight poles for the spring races between 1994 and 1998.
· 44 drivers have won races, led by Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson, with six each.
· 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 2004-2007.
· 14 races have been won from the pole, the last by Jimmie Johnson (October, 2009).
· Jimmie Johnson won the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 from the 37th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
· Joey Logano is the only driver with more than two starts at Charlotte to average a top-10 finish (7.4).
· 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 wins at Charlotte.
· Three Chase contenders earned their first career Coors Light poles at Charlotte: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Data
Race #: 31 of 36 (10-15-11)
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 112.8 Kyle Busch 106.5 Joey Logano 96.5 Kasey Kahne 94.5 Matt Kenseth 92.1 Mark Martin 89.7 Jeff Gordon 88.3 Greg Biffle 87.4 Denny Hamlin 87.2 Jeff Burton 87.1
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Jeff Gordon (191.544 mph, 28.192 seconds)
2010 race winner: Jamie McMurray (140.391 mph, 10-16-10)
Qualifying record: Elliott Sadler (193.216 mph, 27.948 seconds, (10-13-05)
600-mile race record: Bobby Labonte (151.952 mph, 05-28-95)
NASCAR in North Carolina
•There have been 513 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in North Carolina.
•425 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as North Carolina.
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