At Talladega Superspeedway, anything – especially the unpredictable – can happen.
Much like this 2009 season. Some of the unforeseen happenings through eight races this season:
• David Reutimann is ninth in the series standings, posting one top five and two top 10s. Last year at this time, he was in 30th in the points, with a top finish of 18th.
• Tony Stewart is fourth in the points. While a two-time series champion ranking in the top five in points might not be that surprising, his performance as a first-time driver/owner is. His last three finishes are third, fourth and second. Stewart was seventh last year after eight races.
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• Mark Martin became the fourth driver over the age of 50 to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. After finishes of 16th, 40th, 40th and 31st in the first four races of the season placed Martin 34th in the series standings, some thought his best days were behind him. But four consecutive top 10s, including the win at Phoenix, have him just nine points out of the top 12.
• Jeff Gordon shook off a subpar 2008 and is back in championship form. After going winless last season and getting only as high as fifth in the points standings, Gordon already has a win and has been the points leader since the third race of the season. The rich will likely get richer this weekend. With 12 victories, Gordon is the all-time wins leader at restrictor plate races.
Selected Driver Highlights – Talladega Superspeedway-specific
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Talladega Superspeedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last eight races at Talladega. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
• Three top fives, 11 top 10s
• Average finish of 18.6
• Driver Rating of 82.7, 11th-best
• Series-high 3,148 Green Flag Passes
• 806 Laps in the Top 15 (53.1%), ninth-most
• Series-high 2,082 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green)
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• Six top fives, 11 top 10s
• Average finish of 12.5
• Average Running Position of 15.2, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 86.2, eighth-best
• 964 Laps in the Top 15 (63.5%), second-most
• 1,945 Quality Passes, second-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy Drink/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Five wins, seven top fives, 10 top 10s
• Average finish of 14.8
• Average Running Position of 16.3, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 86.8, seventh-best
• 40 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 192.560 mph, fourth-fastest
• 879 Laps in the Top 15 (57.9%), fifth-most
• 1,610 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont/National Guard GED Plus Chevrolet)
• Six wins, 13 top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 15.8
• Average Running Position of 15.8, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 92.3, third-best
• 911 Laps in the Top 15 (60.0%), fourth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• Two top fives, two top 10s
• Average finish of 18.3
• Average Running Position of 14.2, second-best
• Driver Rating of 93.2, second-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 192.519 mph, sixth-fastest
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet)
• One win, four top fives, six top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 16.9
• Average Running Position of 17.2, 12th-best
• Driver Rating of 83.9, 10th-best
• 804 Laps in the Top 15 (53.0%), 10th-most
• 1,572 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
• Three top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 18.0
• Average Running Position of 16.2, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 84.3, ninth-best
• 2,385 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
• 920 Laps in the Top 15 (60.6%), third-most
• 1,857 Quality Passes, third-most
Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Valvoline/Sears Ford)
• Three top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 18.8
• Average Running Position of 16.2, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 87.6, sixth-best
• 2,388 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 192.350 mph, 12th-fastest
• 861 Laps in the Top 15 (56.7%), seventh-most
• 1,518 Quality Passes, ninth-most
David Ragan (No. 6 UPS Ford)
• Two top fives, two top 10s
• Average finish of 14.5
• Average Running Position of 17.0, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 91.4, fourth-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 192.521 mph, fifth-fastest
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Tony Stewart (No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet)
• One win, nine top fives, 12 top 10s
• Average finish of 13.3
• Series-best Average Running Position of 12.3
• Series-best Driver Rating of 95.9
• 31 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
• 2,649 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 192.504 mph, eighth-fastest
• Series-high 981 Laps in the Top 15 (64.6%)
• 1,535 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota)
• One win, three top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 21.0
• Average Running Position of 16.0, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 90.6, fifth-best
• 814 Laps in the Top 15 (61.4%), eighth-most
• 1,465 Quality Passes, 11th-most
At Talladega Superspeedway:
History
• Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was held on Sept. 14, 1969.
• The track name was changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was held on July 25, 1992.
• The second NASCAR Sprint Cup Talladega race was moved from July to October in 1997.
• Talladega Superspeedway completed its fourth repaving on Sept. 19, 2006.
• The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race was held on Oct. 7, 2006.
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