In a wild ending to the rain-delayed Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 at Pocono Raceway, Tony Stewart, No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet took a solid third place finish and was the first of six Team Chevy drivers to cross finish in the top-10. Stewart gained three positions and is now 13th in the point standings.
Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Michigan International Speedway going into the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 on June 13.
Four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, scored a fifth place finish and moved up one spot in the standings to sixth place.
Team Chevy drivers Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet, Mark Martin, No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, and Ryan Newman, No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet were involved in a multi-car crash on the last lap of the 500-miler, and finished 32nd, 29th, and 14th respectively. Gordon and Martin remain in the top 12 in points, but Newman dropped to 14th in the standings.
MICHIGAN-SPECIFIC STATISTICS
Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)
· Two wins, six top fives, eight top 10s
· Average finish of 13.1
· Average Running Position of 9.4, third-best
· Driver Rating of 103.5, third-best
· 124 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 707 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.491 mph, third-fastest
· 1,551 Laps in the Top 15 (80.2%), third-most
· 442 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fourth-most
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
· Two wins, two top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 20.3
· Average Running Position of 13.1, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 96.5, sixth-best
· 102 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.024 mph, eighth-fastest
· 1,335 Laps in the Top 15 (69.0%), ninth-most
· 372 Quality Passes, ninth-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Pretzel Toyota)
· One top five, three top 10s
· Average finish of 17.5
· Average Running Position of 14.7, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 93.1, 10th-best
· 73 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 1,344 Laps in the Top 15 (69.5%), sixth-most
· 356 Quality Passes, 11th-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
· One win, four top fives, seven top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 15.9
· Average Running Position of 11.6, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 99.1, fifth-best
· 113 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
· 744 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.232 mph, fifth-fastest
· 1,339 Laps in the Top 15 (69.2%), seventh-most
· 444 Quality Passes, third-most
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
· Two wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 6.1
· Series-best Average Running Position of 7.9
· Series-best Driver Rating of 112.5
· 143 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· 741 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.700 mph, second-fastest
· Series-high 1,702 Laps in the Top 15 (88.0%)
· Series-high 512 Quality Passes
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Job Skills Chevrolet)
· Two wins, 17 top fives, 22 top 10s; five poles
· Average finish of 11.2
· Average Running Position of 12.6, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 96.3, seventh-best
· 106 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.076 mph, seventh-fastest
· 1,336 Laps in the Top 15 (69.0%), eighth-most
· 374 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)
· Two top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 13.3
· Average Running Position of 12.0, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 92.5, 11th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.010 mph, ninth-fastest
· 1,092 Laps in the Top 15 (71.1%), 12th-most
· 373 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
· Two top fives, six top 10s
· Average finish of 16.0
· Average Running Position of 8.0, second-best
· Driver Rating of 111.0, second-best
· Series-high 249 Fastest Laps Run
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 173.790 mph
· 1,609 Laps in the Top 15 (83.2%), second-most
· 391 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Ford)
· One win, five top fives, five top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.3
· Driver Rating of 81.1, 13th-best
· 61 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· 766 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford)
· Two wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s
· Average finish of 9.9
· Average Running Position of 11.4, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 103.1, fourth-best
· 88 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
· 700 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.374 mph, fourth-fastest
· 1,520 Laps in the Top 15 (78.6%), fourth-most
· 455 Quality Passes, second-most
Mark Martin (No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)
· Five wins, 17 top fives, 29 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.3
· Average Running Position of 14.4, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 88.4, 12th-best
· 58 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 172.846 mph, 11th-fastest
· 1,304 Laps in the Top 15 (67.4%), 10th-most
· 357 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Tony Stewart (No. 14 Old Spice Chevrolet)
· One win, nine top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 12.4
· Average Running Position of 13.8, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 95.0, eighth-best
· 55 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· 713 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 173.093 mph, sixth-fastest
· 1,346 Laps in the Top 15 (69.6%), fifth-most
· 388 Quality Passes, sixth-most
At Michigan International Speedway:
History
· Michigan International Speedway sits on more than 1,400 acres in the Irish Hills of Southeastern Michigan. Groundbreaking took place on Sept. 28, 1967.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan was held June 15, 1969.
· The track was known as Michigan Speedway during the time Roger Penske was the primary owner (1996-99).
Notebook
· There have been 81 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Michigan International Speedway since the first race there in 1969. Other than 1973, which had just one race, there have been two races each season since 1969.
· The first race was 500 miles in length; the second was scheduled for 600. The track was re-measured to 2.04 miles for the last race in 1970 and both races in 1971 – with the race distance being 402 miles. All other races have been scheduled for 400 miles.
· Donnie Allison won the first pole.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was won by Cale Yarborough.
· There have been 39 different pole winners.
· Brian Vickers has won the last three poles.
· 31 different drivers have won races, led by David Pearson (nine); 18 drivers have more than one victory there.
•The race winner has started from the pole 16 times, the most productive starting position. Brian Vickers (last August)was the last driver to win from the pole.
•63 of 81 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 45 from the first four spots. However, four of the last five winners have started outside the top 10.
•The deepest in the field a race winner has started was 32nd, by Mark Martin in last season’s June race.
•The Wood Brothers and Roush Fenway Racing both have 11 wins, more than any other car owners.
•Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth are the only drivers to average a top-10 finish. Edwards, who has two Michigan wins, has an average finish of 6.1. Coincidentally, Edwards’ first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start came at Michigan. Kenseth, who also has two victories, has an average finish of 9.9.
Michigan International Speedway Data
Race # 15 of 36 (6-13-10)
Track Size: 2 miles
· Race Length: 400 miles
· Banking/Corners: 18 degrees
· Banking/Frontstretch: 12 degrees
· Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
Driver Rating at Michigan
Carl Edwards 112.5 Jimmie Johnson 111.0 Greg Biffle 103.5 Matt Kenseth 103.1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 99.1 Kurt Busch 96.5 Jeff Gordon 96.3 Tony Stewart 95.0 Brian Vickers 93.6 Kyle Busch 93.1
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2009 races (10 total) at Michigan.
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