Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway shined a spotlight on a growing rivalry. It’s old guard vs. new guard – perennial powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports vs. the new kids on the block, Stewart-Haas Racing.
Hendrick claimed the Dover battle with Jimmie Johnson’s win, but lost the points lead in the process.
Tony Stewart took over the lead, becoming the first driver-owner to hold the top spot since Alan Kulwicki did it to close out the 1992 season. Next up for Stewart: A victory. He has three runner-up finishes this season, suggesting a win will come sooner than later.
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Also on the verge of a Victory Lane visit is Stewart’s teammate, Ryan Newman. Newman has scored four consecutive top-five finishes. The last time he
accomplished the feat was 2003, when he posted five in a row. Newman had a career-high eight victories that season.
Still, Hendrick has a slight edge in the matchup. The team has five wins in the season’s 13 races – two from Johnson, two from Mark Martin and one from Jeff Gordon.
The key to that stat: 50 potential Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup bonus points. Each driver earns 10 bonus points toward his Chase seeding for each win during the first 26 races.
The bonus point opportunities are slowly slipping away. The Dover race marked the halfway point of the “regular season.”
But here’s the good news for Stewart and Newman: If history is any indication, they’re a lock to make the Chase. In each of the last two seasons, 11 of the 12 drivers in the top 12 after the 13th race made the Chase after race No. 26.
Selected Driver Highlights
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Pocono Raceway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last seven races at Pocono. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• Two wins, seven top fives, eight top 10s
• Average finish of 15.7
• Average Running Position of 10.1, second-best
• Driver Rating of 106.8, second-best
• Series-high 209 Fastest Laps Run
• Average Green Flag Speed of 159.147 mph, third-fastest
• 1,117 Laps in the Top 15 (74.0%), fifth-most
• 271 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
• Two wins, three top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 14.3
• Driver Rating of 95.7, seventh-best
• 94 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 158.568 mph, 13th-fastest
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Four wins, 15 top fives, 22 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 10.3
• Average Running Position of 11.9, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 95.3, eighth-best
• Series-high 657 Green Flag Passes
• Average Green Flag Speed of 158.761 mph, sixth-fastest
• 1,016 Laps in the Top 15 (67.3%), eighth-most
• 313 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• Two wins, four top fives, five top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 6.2
• Series-best Average Running Position of 6.5
• Series-best Driver Rating of 123.6
• 201 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 159.808 mph
• 1,002 Laps in the Top 15 (90.6%), ninth-most
• 266 Quality Passes, 11th-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• Two wins, five top fives, nine top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 9.8
• Average Running Position of 11.0, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 100.8, fourth-best
• 53 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 159.152 mph, second-fastest
• 1,144 Laps in the Top 15 (75.8%), third-most
• 312 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Mark Martin (No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet)
• 19 top fives, 31 top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 10.7
• Average Running Position of 11.3, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 98.2, fifth-best
• 66 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 158.993 mph, fifth-fastest
• 1,165 Laps in the Top 15 (77.2%), second-most
• 297 Quality Passes, seventh-most
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Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet)
• One win, five top fives, six top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 13.9
• Average Running Position of 10.6, third-best
• Driver Rating of 96.8, sixth-best
• 578 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 158.706 mph, seventh-fastest
• 1,132 Laps in the Top 15 (75.0%), fourth-most
• 334 Quality Passes, third-most
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