SEASON IN REVIEW – AN ONGOING LOOK AT THE 2007 SEASON
Ten drivers have won NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races this season, potentially earning 10 valuable bonus points for each victory. Eight are currently in the top 12 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship 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. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, both currently with four victories, have earned a potential 40 bonus points if they qualify for the Chase.
2007 Season Highlights
• 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 won five straight.
• Three drivers have posted career first victories: Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya.
• Montoya became the first foreign-born race winner since Earl Ross in 1974, and third overall (Mario Andretti, 1967 Daytona 500), with his victory at Infineon Raceway.
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 first 16 races:
Chase Current
Rank Driver Wins Points Rank Difference
1 Jeff Gordon 4 5,040 1 0
2 Jimmie Johnson 4 5,040 3 +1
3 Matt Kenseth 1 5,010 4 +1
4 Jeff Burton 1 5,010 5 +1
5 Carl Edwards 1 5,010 7 +2
6 Kevin Harvick 1 5,010 8 +2
7 Martin Truex Jr. 1 5,010 11 +4
8 Kyle Busch 1 5,010 10 +2
9 Denny Hamlin 0 5,000 2 -7
10 Tony Stewart 0 5,000 6 -4
11 Clint Bowyer 0 5,000 9 -2
12 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 0 5,000 12 0
SEASON IN REVIEW
Qualifying
• There have been eight different Bud Pole winners: Jeff Gordon (five); Ryan Newman (four), David Gilliland, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, J.J. Yeley and Jamie McMurray (one each). Qualifying was canceled due to inclement weather at Texas.
• There has been a first-time Bud Pole winner each season since 1987 – 21 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 11 top-10 starts this season.
• 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. It was the 38th time in NASCAR history that a driver posted three (or more) consecutive Bud Poles.
The Races
• There have been 10 different race winners, led by Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (four each).
• Jimmie Johnson posted back-to-back victories at Las Vegas and Atlanta.
• Johnson’s victory at Las Vegas was his third consecutive win there.
• Jeff Gordon posted back-to-back victories at Phoenix and Talladega.
• Jeff Gordon has posted 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes – both more than any other driver.
• The Richmond and Darlington races were postponed from Saturday night to Sunday. The last time
consecutive races were postponed was Martinsville and North Wilkesboro in 1992.
• Casey Mears won the Coca-Cola 600 by 9.561 seconds – the largest margin of victory since Tony Stewart beat Mears to the line by 12.422 seconds at Kansas in 2006.
• Juan Pablo Montoya became the third foreign-born driver to win a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race when he won at Infineon. He also led for the first time in his 17-race career, taking the lead with seven laps remaining in the 110-lap event. Montoya joined Mario Andretti (Italy) and Earl Ross (Canada).
• 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.
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 Allemedinger (Bristol) Juan Pablo Montoya (Infineon) Regan Smith (Bristol) Chad McCumbee (Pocono)
All By Himself
Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole for the Pocono 500 – his 41st career Bud Pole in 202 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races. Newman has won a Bud Pole on 16 of the 22 current tracks on NASCAR’s premier circuit. In addition, he has posted 11 Busch Poles in a limited 33-race NASCAR Busch Series career.
SEASON IN REVIEW
Laps Led Top 10 in Points
David Ragan (Talladega) David Ragan (Daytona)
Juan Pablo Montoya (Infineon) Martin Truex Jr. (Michigan)
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 7
6th-10th 2
11th – 30th 2
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 1
3
Led at All 1
5
Led Most Laps 3
Won Race 2
Led Most Laps and Won 1
• The race-winner’s starting positions:
Bud Pole 2
Top Five 3
Sixth-10th 1
11th-30th 8
31st or beyond 2
• The lap-leader performance of the race winner:
Led First Lap 3
Led Most Laps 5
Led Mid-Race Lap 3
Led With 10 to Go 10
Led With One to Go 14
Note: Mid-Race lap is scheduled lap regardless of shortened or extended race length.
Laps Completed
• No driver has completed every lap in 2007.
• Denny Hamlin has completed all but two laps this season.
Laps Led
• No driver has led in every race this season.
• Tony Stewart has led in 12 races, more than any other driver.
• Jeff Gordon leads all other drivers in bonus points earned this season with 75.
• Jeff Gordon has led 718 of the 4,869 laps – 14.75 percent of the laps raced.
• Eight different drivers have led the most laps in a race: Jeff Gordon (four), Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin (two each), Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards and Robby Gordon (one each).
• Only five times has the race winner led the most laps: California (Matt Kenseth), Atlanta (Jimmie Johnson), Talladega (Jeff Gordon), Dover (Martin Truex Jr. ), Michigan (Carl Edwards).
Penalties
• There have been 210 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 except the No. 49 of Mike Bliss and the No. 83 of Brian Vickers.
• Penalty Recap:
Pitting Before Pit Road is Open 131
Too Fast Entering Pit Road 22
Too Fast Exiting Pit Road 27
Others 30
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.
• David Ragan ranked fifth in the point standings for the first two weeks of the season, the highest point standings by a Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate in 2007.
• Mark Martin is ranked 15th in the points – the highest of the drivers who have not competed in every race.
Rookie Performance
• Three different drivers have been the highest-finishing rookie at least once this season: Juan Pablo Montoya (eight), David Ragan (five) and Paul Menard (three)
• The best finish by a rookie has been first by Juan Pablo Montoya at Infineon Raceway.
• Juan Pablo Montoya (21st) is highest-ranking among the rookies in the point standings.
Car Owner Points
• Sterling Marlin and the No. 14 Ginn Racing Chevrolet was the only driver in the first five races of the season that had to make the field on time and do so in all five races.
• The biggest gain in car owner points over the final 2006 standings is held by the No. 01 owned by Bobby Ginn. The No. 01 ranked 28th in the final 2006 owner point standings and is currently 20 positions ahead of that ranking.
Car Owner Streaks and Sweeps
• Hendrick Motorsports won five consecutive races (Phoenix through Charlotte). Prior to this season, the previous time that a car owner won five straight was by Petty Enterprises in 1971. Hendrick’s five wins were compiled by three drivers.
• Hendrick Motorsports has already swept the top-two finishing positions four times in 2007. Last season, an owner posted a 1-2 finish just once (Jack Roush Racing at Dover in June). In the 10 seasons prior to this, there were only 32 1-2 (or better) finishes by an owner – and an owner has posted four in a season only once: Roush Fenway Racing (2005).
• Hendrick also has posted back-to-back 1-2 finishes this season (Talladega and Richmond). In the previous 10 seasons this has occurred just once. Roush did so at Bristol and Texas in 1998.
• Hendrick Motorsports has posted at least one top-10 finish in 44 consecutive races. Their nearest competitor, Joe Gibbs Racing has six straight top 10s.
Manufacturer
• Chevrolet leads the manufacturer point standings with 135 points. Dodge is second (84), Ford is third (83) and Toyota fourth (50).
• Chevrolet has won 13 of 16 races. Ford has two victories and Dodge one.
• 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. Blazing Start
• Chevrolet has 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.
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