Eight drivers have won NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races this season, potentially earning 10 valuable bonus points for each victory. If those drivers make the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, their “seedings” 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 with four victories, have earned a potential 40 bonus points if they make 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 a car owner won five straight.
• Two drivers have posted career first victories: Casey Mears and Martin Truex Jr.
• The Car of Tomorrow made its debut, running six races thus far.
• Toyota made its NASCAR NEXTEL Cup debut.
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.
Potential Differential
The top-12 drivers in the current point standings and how they would start the Chase based on the first nine races of the season: Chase Current
Rank Driver Wins Points Rank Difference
1 Jeff Gordon 4 5,040 1 0
2 Jimmie Johnson 4 5,040 4 +2
3 Matt Kenseth 1 5,010 2 -1
4 Jeff Burton 1 5,010 5 +1
5 Kevin Harvick 1 5,010 9 +4
6 Kyle Busch 1 5,010 10 +4
7 Martin Truex Jr. 1 5,010 11 +4
8 Denny Hamlin 0 5,000 3 -5
9 Tony Stewart 0 5,000 6 -3
10 Carl Edwards 0 5,000 7 -3
11 Clint Bowyer 0 5,000 8 -3
12 Mark Martin 0 5,000 12 0
Qualifying
• There have been five different Bud Pole winners: Jeff Gordon (five); Ryan Newman (four), David Gilliland, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer (one each). Qualifying was canceled at Texas due to inclement weather.
• Clint Bowyer won the Bud Pole at Darlington, his career first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup pole. There has been a first-time Bud Pole winner each season since 1987 – 21 years running.
• 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 10 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 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.
First-timers
• David Ragan finished fifth in the Daytona 500, earning a top-10 ranking in the point standings for the first time in his career.
• Aric Almirola and Jon Wood both made their first career start when they qualified at Las Vegas.
• AJ Allmendinger and Regan Smith both made their first career start at Bristol.
• David Ragan led two laps at Talladega – the first laps led in his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup career.
• 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.
• Chad McCumbee made his first career start when he substituted for Kyle Petty at Pocono. The Races
• There have been eight 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 12 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.
The Qualifier
Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole for the Pocono 500 – his 41st career pole in 202 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races. Newman has won a pole on 16 of the 23 current tracks on NASCAR’s premier circuit. In addition, he has posted 11 Busch Poles in a limited 33- race NASCAR Busch Series career. Newman has won just five times in a race that he has started on the pole – three in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and twice in the NASCAR Busch Series.
The Bud Pole Winner/Race Winner
• The Bud Pole Winner (or driver that started first in cases of no qualifying) finishing position: 1st 2
2nd 3
3rd 2
4th 2
8th 1
9th 1
23rd 1
35th 1
39th 1
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