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A single point separates 12th-place Juan Pablo Montoya and 13th-place Kasey Kahne on the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup bubble.
It matches the closest Chase cut-off margin through 17 races. In 2005, when there was a 10-driver Chase field, Jeremy Mayfield trailed both Dale Jarrett in 10th and Kurt Busch in ninth by a point.
With the unpredictable nature of a race at Daytona International Speedway (there have been seven different winners in the last seven races), no standings position is secure.
Last season, seven of the top 12 drivers shifted positions after the July Daytona race – and many of those were around the Chase bubble.
The same, and more, should be the case this season – considering how the points currently look.
A mere 17 points separate drivers 10 through 14.
Kahne is one point outside the top 12 and David Reutimann (in 14th) is 12 points out.
But Montoya isn’t the only driver in jeopardy of losing his top-12 spot. Mark Martin in 11th is only four points inside the Chase bubble and Matt Kenseth in 10th is six points inside it.
Statistics suggests a spot in the top 12 is completely up for grabs. Among the drivers in positions 10 through 14, only one driver has a Daytona victory – Kenseth, in this season’s Daytona 500.
Even a Kenseth win would go against historical trends. A Daytona sweep has not occurred in over 25 years. The last to do so was Bobby Allison in 1982.
Kenseth, though, has the top Daytona Driver Rating of the bunch at 95.1.
Selected Driver Highlights – Daytona International Speedway-specific
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Daytona International Speedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last eight races at Daytona. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios Chevrolet)
• One top five, five top 10s
• Average finish of 11.1
• Average Running Position of 15.8, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 87.0, ninth-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 185.098 mph, 11th-fastest
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• Eight top fives, nine top 10s
• Average finish of 17.9
• Average Running Position of 15.5, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 90.8, seventh-best
• 1,006 Laps in the Top 15 (62.8%), eighth-most
• 1,014 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
• One win, four top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 18.4
• Average Running Position of 11.7, third-best
• Driver Rating of 100.1, second-best
• Series-high 1,203 Laps in the Top 15 (75.1%)
• 1,108 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy Drink/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Two wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s
• Average finish of 14.3
• Average Running Position of 13.6, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 91.9, fifth-best
• 46 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 185.118 mph, 10th-fastest
• 1,091 Laps in the Top 15 (68.1%), sixth-most
• 1,031 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Six wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 15.1
• Average Running Position of 11.6, second-best
• Driver Rating of 95.6, third-best
• 34 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 185.238 mph, second-fastest
• 1,126 Laps in the Top 15 (70.3%), fourth-most
• 1,014 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• One win, five top fives, eight top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 15.0
• Series-best Average Running Position of 11.0
• Driver Rating of 91.8, sixth-best
• 1,553 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 185.201 mph, fifth-fastest
• 1,172 Laps in the Top 15 (73.2%), second-most
• 1,131 Quality Passes, second-most
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