The emphasis on winning continues as more drivers rack up victories in the “Race to the Chase. ” Kurt Busch joined the growing list of winners with a dominating victory at Pocono Raceway this past Sunday. Fourteen drivers have won NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races this season, potentially earning 10 valuable bonus points for each victory – 11 of those race winners are currently in the top 12 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. If those drivers make the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, their “seeding” entering the Chase will be determined by the number of wins they accumulated over the first 26 races of the season, plus the standard tie-breaker of best finishes. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, both currently with four victories, have earned a potential 40 bonus points if they make the Chase.
2007 Season Highlights
• At Bristol, the Car of Tomorrow made its debut.
• At Talladega, Jeff Gordon won his 77th career race, breaking a tie with Dale Earnhardt for sixth on the all-time win list. Gordon had tied Earnhardt’s mark of 76 wins the prior week in Phoenix.
• Hendrick Motorsports posted five consecutive victories (Phoenix through Charlotte), the first time since 1971 that an organization had won five straight.
• Three drivers have posted career-first victories: Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya, from Colombia, became the first foreign-born race winner since Canadian Earl Ross in 1974.
The following pages contain reviews and analysis of various statistical data which impacts the ongoing standings and the eventual goal of making the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.
Winning Matters
The top 12 drivers in the current point standings and how they would start the Chase based on the completed races:
Chase Current
Rank Driver Wins Points Rank Difference
1 Jeff Gordon 4 5,040 1 0
2 Jimmie Johnson 4 5,040 7 +5
3 Tony Stewart 2 5,020 5 +1
4 Matt Kenseth 1 5,010 3 -1
5 Kyle Busch 1 5,010 8 +3
6 Denny Hamlin 1 5,010 2 -4
7 Jeff Burton 1 5,010 4 -3
8 Martin Truex Jr. 1 5,010 11 +3
9 Kevin Harvick 1 5,010 9 0
10 Kurt Busch 1 5,010 12 +2
11 Carl Edwards 1 5,010 6 -5
12 Clint Bowyer 0 5,000 10 -2
Qualifying
• There have been 13 different Bud Pole winners, led by Jeff Gordon (five) and Ryan Newman (four). Qualifying was canceled at Texas and the second race at Daytona due to inclement weather.
• There has been a first-time Bud Pole winner each season since 1987 – 21 consecutive years.
• Ryan Newman’s pole at Atlanta ended a streak of 20 races without a pole – the longest of his career.
• Jeff Gordon leads all other drivers, with 14 top-10 starts this season. Denny Hamlin is second with 12, then Jimmie Johnson with 11.
• Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole at Charlotte and Dover, his first back-to-back Bud Poles since Atlanta- Texas in November 2005. Newman’s third consecutive Bud Pole came at Pocono – the second time this season that a driver posted three consecutive Bud Poles (Gordon at Phoenix, Talladega and Richmond).
• Dave Blaney won the Bud Pole at New Hampshire – his first Bud Pole since 2003 (Rockingham).
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Bud Pole at second Pocono – his first since Kansas in 2002, ending a 171- race streak without a pole.
The Races
• There have been 14 different race winners, led by Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (four each).
• Three drivers have posted consecutive victories this season:
Jimmie Johnson (Las Vegas and Atlanta)
Jeff Gordon (Phoenix and Talladega)
Tony Stewart (Chicago and Indianapolis).
• Johnson’s victory at Las Vegas was his third consecutive win there.
• Jeff Gordon has posted 14 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes – both more than any other driver.
First-Timers
Start Pole Win
Aric Almirola (Las Vegas) Clint Bowyer (Darlington) Casey Mears (Charlotte) Jon Wood (Las Vegas) J. J. Yeley (Michigan) Martin Truex Jr. (Dover) AJ Allmendinger (Bristol) Reed Sorenson (Indianapolis) Juan Pablo Montoya (Infineon Raceway) Regan Smith (Bristol) Chad McCumbee (Pocono)
Laps Led Top 10 in Points
David Ragan (Talladega) David Ragan (Daytona) Juan Pablo Montoya (Infineon Raceway) Martin Truex Jr. (Michigan)
Back-to-Back First-Timers
Casey Mears and Martin Truex Jr. posted their first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victories in back-toback races (Charlotte and Dover). It was the first time since the final race of 2000 (Jerry Nadeau) and the first race of 2001 (Michael Waltrip) for back-to-back first-time victories. The only times there were three consecutive first-time winners was twice in 1950 and once in the Series’ first five races in 1949.
The Bud Pole Winner/Race Winner
• The Bud Pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position:
First 2
2nd-5th 6
6th-10th 2
11th-30th 3
31st or beyond 3
• The lap-leader performance of the Bud Pole winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying):
Led First Lap 16
Led at All 20
Led Most Laps 3
Won Race 2
Led Most Laps and Won 2
• The Race Winner’s starting positions:
Bud Pole 2
Top -Five 4
6th-10th 1
11th-30th 12
31st or beyond 2
• The lap-leader performance of the race winner:
Led First Lap 4
Led Most Laps 8
Led Mid-Race Lap 5
Led With 10 to Go 14
Led With One to Go 18
Note: Mid-Race lap is a scheduled lap regardless of shortened or extended race length.
Laps Completed
• Denny Hamlin had completed all but two laps heading into the second Daytona race. Despite finishing 62 laps off the lead lap, he still leads the series in laps completed with 5,891 of 5,956.
Laps Led
• No driver has led in every race this season.
• Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have each led in 14 races, more than any other driver. Both also share the lead in bonus points with 90.
• Tony Stewart has led 833 of the 5,956 laps – 14.0 percent of the laps raced.
• Eleven different drivers have led the most laps in a race: Jeff Gordon (four), Tony Stewart (four), Kurt Busch (three), Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two each), Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards, Robby Gordon and Clint Bowyer (one each).
• Tony Stewart leads all other drivers in laps led with 833. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for second, each with 764.
Rookie Performance
• Three different drivers have been the highest-finishing rookie at least once this season: Juan Pablo Montoya (11), David Ragan (seven) and Paul Menard (three)
• The best finish by a rookie has been first by Juan Pablo Montoya at Infineon.
• Juan Pablo Montoya (18th) ranks highest among the rookies in the point standings.
Penalties
• There have been 300 penalties issued during the races this season.
• Every team that has competed in two or more races this season has received at least one on-track penalty.
• Penalty Recap:
Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 186
Too Fast Entering Pit Road 24
Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 42
Others 48
Points
• Only two drivers have ranked in the top 10 in points for every race: Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon.
• Jeff Gordon assumed the points lead after Bristol.
• Mark Martin is ranked 17th in the points – the highest of the drivers that have competed in less than all of the races.
• Jeff Green is ranked 30th, the lowest of drivers that have competed in every race.
The Race to The Chase
• With five races remaining before the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup begins at New Hampshire, 28 drivers remain mathematically in contention to make the final top 12.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-7), Ryan Newman (-90) and Jamie McMurray (-113) could move into the top 12 in the next race.
Manufacturer
• Chevrolet leads the manufacturer point standings with 174 points. Ford (111) and Dodge are tied for (111) with Ford taking the position based on more victories and Toyota fourth (68).
• Chevrolet has won 16 races. Ford has three victories and Dodge two.
• Chevrolet got its 600th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory with Kyle Busch’s win at Bristol. Busch’s victory was the first for the Chevrolet Impala since Wendell Scott won at Jacksonville (Fla. ) Speedway Park on Dec. 1, 1963.
• Toyota scored its first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup top five when Brian Vickers finished fifth at Charlotte.
• Chevrolet posted the top eight finishers in the LENOX Industrial Tools 300 – the most dominating performance by a manufacturer since Chevrolet posted the top six finishers at Texas in November 2006. The all-time record for consecutive finishes by a manufacturer is 11 set by Chevrolet at North Wilkesboro on Oct. 21, 1979.
• Chevrolet won 13 of the first 14 races this season, the best start to a season for a manufacturer since Chevrolet won the first seven races and nine of the first 11 in 1995. Ford won the second race of the season.
• Ford won 33 of the first 34 races of the 55-race season in 1965. Mercury won the second race of the season that year.
• Ford notched nine consecutive wins in 1992, the longest streak to start a season ever. Behind the Numbers
Speed MOV Leaders Changes Cautions Laps
Lead
Lap DNFs
Daytona # 143.355 0.020 9 12 6 26 27 8
California 38.451 0.679 12 28 9 36 17 10
Las Vegas 128.183 2.795 16 28 9 40 15 6
Atlanta 152.915 1.311 13 31 6 27 18 2
Bristol # 81.969 0.064 10 14 15 90 15 5
Martinsville 70.258 0.065 9 14 13 93 21 1
Texas 143.359 0.410 9 13 7 33 14 5
Phoenix 107.710 0.697 7 12 6 34 19 2
Talladega # 154.167 UC 20 42 8 28 26 12
Richmond 91.270 0.723 12 24 14 80 21 6
Darlington 124.383 0.978 10 21 10 44 21 9
Charlotte 130.222 9.561 15 29 13 62 12 10
Dover 118.950 7.355 6 18 7 35 13 5
Pocono * 135.608 UC 8 15 4 10 36 1
Michigan 148.072 3.668 11 22 4 19 9 2
Infineon 74.547 4.097 8 11 7 14 32 4
New Hamp. 129.437 0.068 11 20 6 31 27 3
Daytona 138.983 0.005 11 27 8 30 30 2
Chicago 134.258 1.727 9 20 7 32 19 7
Indianapolis 117.379 2.982 6 14 9 43 21 9
Pocono 131.627 4.131 11 17 7 27 28 4
Average 118.814 2.176 10.619 20.571 8.333 39.714 21.000 5.381
# - Extended Race * - Shortened Race
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