|
Statistical Advance:
Analyzing The Southern 500 Presented By GoDaddy.com At Darlington
Raceway
.
DAYTONA BEACH,
Fla.
(May 4, 2009) � With his fourth
career weekend sweep, Kyle Busch etched his name in a couple of record
books.
First, he joined Cale Yarborough as the only drivers to win on their
birthday.
Second, Bush totaled 50 wins across NASCAR�s three national
series. That�s tied for third-most since the inception of the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 1995.
Ahead of Busch in national series wins since 1995 are Jeff Gordon (82)
and Mark Martin (60). Greg Biffle also has 50 national series wins.
The quantity is impressive. The speed at which he got to 50 is
staggering.
Busch needed 365 NASCAR national series starts to get there. That puts
him in the middle of a list of legends. Below are the 14 drivers who
have won at least 50 NASCAR national series races, and how many races
it took to get to 50:
Driver Races
Jeff Gordon
275
Darrell Waltrip 278
David Pearson 293
Junior Johnson 303
Ned Jarrett
332
Richard Petty 338
Cale Yarborough 347
Kyle Busch
365
Lee Petty
392
Dale Earnhardt 400
Bobby Allison 432
Mark Martin
486
Rusty Wallace 533
Greg Biffle
534
The
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2009 Top 12 at
Darlington
Raceway
|
|
Driver
|
Races
|
Poles
|
Wins
|
Top
Fives
|
Top
10s
|
DNFs
|
Average
Finish
|
Driver
Rating
|
|
1
|
Jeff
Gordon
|
28
|
3
|
7
|
16
|
19
|
6
|
11.5
|
115.1
|
|
2
|
Kurt
Busch
|
12
|
1
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
17.6
|
78.9
|
|
3
|
Tony
Stewart
|
16
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
8
|
1
|
12.5
|
81.5
|
|
4
|
Denny
Hamlin
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
6.3
|
112.5
|
|
5
|
Kyle
Busch
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
17.0
|
99.0
|
|
6
|
Jimmie
Johnson
|
10
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
8
|
0
|
7.4
|
116.0
|
|
7
|
Jeff
Burton
|
26
|
0
|
2
|
8
|
15
|
1
|
11.5
|
85.0
|
|
8
|
Clint
Bowyer
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
15.7
|
80.9
|
|
9
|
Carl
Edwards
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
12.4
|
98.6
|
|
10
|
Ryan
Newman
|
10
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
6
|
1
|
13.3
|
97.1
|
|
11
|
Greg
Biffle
|
8
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
14.8
|
121.8
|
|
12
|
Matt
Kenseth
|
15
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
6
|
1
|
18.5
|
91.2
|
Selected Driver Highlights � Darlington Raceway-specific
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Darlington Raceway.
The Loop Data statistics � Driver Rating, Average Running
Position, etc. � in this release, however, cover the last four
races at Darlington. NASCAR�s scoring loops began collecting
data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)
� Two wins, two top fives, three top 10s; one pole
� Average finish of 14.8
� Average Running Position of 7.9, fourth-best
� Series-best Driver Rating of 121.8
� Series-high 174 Fastest Laps Run
� Average Green Flag Speed of 155.230 mph, second-fastest
� 1,298 Laps in the Top 15 (88.2%), fourth-most
� 126 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under
green), seventh-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Combos Toyota)
� One win, one top five, two top 10s
� Average finish of 17.0
� Average Running Position of 11.1, sixth-best
� Driver Rating of 99.0, sixth-best
� 72 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
� 225 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
� 1,172 Laps in the Top 15 (79.7%), fifth-most
� Series-high 155 Quality Passes
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP
Energy Drink/National Guard Chevrolet)
� Three top fives, seven top 10s
� Average finish of 14.2
� Average Running Position of 8.8, fifth-best
� Driver Rating of 104.2, fifth-best
� 45 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
� 221 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
� 1,306 Laps in the Top 15 (88.8%), third-most
� 149 Quality Passes, second-most
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Aflac Ford)
� Two top fives, four top 10s
� Average finish of 12.4
� Average Running Position of 12.0, seventh-best
� Driver Rating of 98.6, seventh-best
� 79 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
� 227 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
� Average Green Flag Speed of 154.989 mph, fifth-fastest
� 1,075 Laps in the Top 15 (73.1%), sixth-most
� 140 Quality Passes, third-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont
Chevrolet)
� Seven wins, 16 top fives, 19 top 10s; three poles
� Average finish of 11.5
� Average Running Position of 6.0, second-best
� Driver Rating of 115.1, third-best
� 61 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
� Average Green Flag Speed of 155.036 mph, fourth-fastest
� Series-high 1,453 Laps in the Top 15 (98.8%)
� 138 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx
Toyota)
� One top five, three top 10s
� Average finish of 6.3
� Average Running Position of 7.7, third-best
� Driver Rating of 112.5, fourth-best
� 106 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
� Average Green Flag Speed of 155.176 mph, third-fastest
� 964 Laps in the Top 15 (87.6%), eighth-most
� 128 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's/Kobalt
Tools Chevrolet)
� Two wins, five top fives, eight top 10s
� Average finish of 7.4
� Series-best Average Running Position of 5.7
� Driver Rating of 116.0, second-best
� 132 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
� Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 155.341 mph
� 1,393 Laps in the Top 15 (94.7%), second-most
� 131 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
� One top five, six top 10s
� Average finish of 18.5
� Average Running Position of 14.7, 13th-best
� Driver Rating of 91.2, ninth-best
� 55 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
� 254 Green Flag Passes, second-most
� Average Green Flag Speed of 154.419 mph, 10th-fastest
� 817 Laps in the Top 15 (55.5%), 12th-most
� 111 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Ryan Newman (No. 39 U.S. Army
Chevrolet)
� Five top fives, six top 10s; one pole
� Average finish of 13.3
� Average Running Position of 12.2, eighth-best
� Driver Rating of 97.1, eighth-best
� 45 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
� Average Green Flag Speed of 154.984 mph, sixth-fastest
� 1,072 Laps in the Top 15 (72.9%), seventh-most
At Darlington Raceway:
History
� Built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-50,
Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history
and the first on asphalt.
� The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 4,
1950.
� The track was re-measured to 1.375 miles in 1953.
� The track was re-configured to 1.366 miles following the
spring race in 1970.
� The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was held on
April 3, 1982.
� The track was repaved in 1995.
� The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at
Darlington was held on May 12, 2001.
� The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at
Darlington.
� The track was repaved again for the 2008 season.
Notebook
� There have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at
Darlington Raceway since the track opened in 1950.
� There was one race per year in 1950, 1951, between 1953
and 1959 and again every year since 2005. Darlington held two races a
season in all other years.
� Curtis Turner won the first pole at Darlington Raceway
in 1950.
� Johnny Mantz won the first race at Darlington, in 1950.
� 45 drivers have posted poles at Darlington; 23 drivers
have won more than one.
� David Pearson leads all drivers with 12 poles at
Darlington.
� Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Kasey Kahne and Ken Schrader
lead all active drivers with three poles each.
� 43 drivers have won races; 22 drivers have won more than
once there.
� David Pearson leads all drivers with 10 victories,
followed by Dale Earnhardt with nine.
� Jeff Gordon is third overall and leads all active
drivers with seven victories.
� Hendrick Motorsports has won 12 races at Darlington,
more than any other organization. He broke a tie with Junior Johnson
when Jeff Gordon won there in 2007.
� 18 races at Darlington have been won from the pole, the
most productive starting position.
� The deepest in the field that a race winner has started
at Darlington was 43rd, in the track�s inaugural race in 1950
by Johnny Mantz. That race had a 75-car field.
� Not only is Darlington the site of the oldest NASCAR
race on asphalt, it is also the site of one of the closest race
finishes in NASCAR history. Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by 0.002
seconds on March 16, 2003 � the smallest margin of victory
since NASCAR instituted electronic timing in mid-1993.
NASCAR in South Carolina
� There have been 215 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in South
Carolina.
� 133 NASCAR drivers (all-time) have their home state
recorded as South Carolina.
� There have been 11 race winners from South Carolina in
NASCAR�s three national series:
|
Driver
|
NSCS
|
NNS
|
NCTS
|
|
David
Pearson
|
105
|
1
|
0
|
|
Cale
Yarborough
|
83
|
0
|
0
|
|
Rex
White
|
28
|
0
|
0
|
|
Cotton
Owens
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
|
Tiny
Lund
|
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
|
James
Hylton
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
|
Johnny
Allen
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Joe
Eubanks
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Larry
Pearson
|
0
|
15
|
0
|
|
Jason
Keller
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
|
Butch
Lindley
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
Darlington
Raceway Data
Race
#: 11 of 36 (5-9-09)
Track
Size: 1.366 miles
�
Banking/Corners:
23-25 degrees
�
Banking/Frontstretch:
6 degrees
�
Banking/Backstretch:
6 degrees
�
Frontstretch:
1,229 feet
�
Backstretch:
1,229 feet
Driver Rating at
Darlington
Greg
Biffle
121.8
Jimmie
Johnson
116.0
Jeff
Gordon
115.1
Denny
Hamlin
112.5
Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
104.2
Kyle
Busch
99.0
Carl
Edwards
98.6
Ryan
Newman
97.1
Matt
Kenseth
91.2
Kasey
Kahne
88.4
Note:
Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2008 races (4 total) at
Darlington
.
Qualifying/Race
Data
2008
pole winner: Greg Biffle (179.442 mph,
27.405 seconds, 5-9-08)
2008
race winner: Kyle Busch (140.350 mph,
5-10-08)
Track
qualifying record: Greg Biffle (179.442 mph, 27.405 seconds, 5-9-08)
Track
race record: Kyle Busch (140.350 mph, 5-10-08)
Estimated
Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
News and Notes - Darlington
Kyle Busch Has 50 Reasons To
Take A Bow
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
— As he stood atop his Indiana Jones-themed car, surrounded by smoke
from his victory burnout, Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s
Toyota) bowed to the fans at Darlington Raceway.
It wasn’t the first time Busch took a
bow after a win, but was the first time “The Bow” beckoned a
reporter to ask about it during post-race interviews.
The question was simple – “What’s
with this bow?”
The answer was simpler – “I don’t
know. It’s, thank you very much.”
When prodded for a longer response,
Busch answered, “I mean, the good burnout, then I can't get out of
the car fast enough, man. I need to work on that... Then I'm up on
top, I appear, then I do a bow, thank you very much, then I go on and
have a nice day. I'm trying to get more smoke built up before I get
out. I'm working on it.”
Busch wasn’t lying when he said he
was working on it.
In 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races
since that day, Busch has nine victories. Add in 10 NASCAR Nationwide
Series wins (in only 27 starts) and three NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series wins, and Busch has had plenty of opportunities to perfect his
now trademark bow.
His bow after Saturday night’s
Richmond win came with some added meaning – the win came on his 24th
birthday, making Busch the second driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
history to win on his birthday. It was also his 50th career victory
across NASCAR’s three national series, putting Busch one-quarter of
the way to his goal of 200 national series wins.
“Hopefully I can achieve the goal,”
Busch said Saturday night. “I know it’s not 200 (NASCAR Sprint)
Cup victories like Richard Petty has. It will still
be a phenomenal mark for me.”
The win also tied Busch with Jeff
Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) as the only drivers under 25
to reach 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins. A repeat win this weekend
at Darlington would be ideal for Busch and especially crew chief Steve
Addington, who hails from Spartanburg, S.C.
“Anytime you win in your home state
is special,” Addington said. “It’s been a place I always wanted
to win. To finally get that win last year in the (NASCAR Sprint) Cup
Series was really exciting. It’s just a neat deal to win a race so
close to home.”
Stewart-Haas Racing On Verge Of
Victory Lane
When Tony Stewart (No. 14 Old
Spice Chevrolet) made the decision to leave
championship-caliber Joe Gibbs Racing to start his
own team last season, many skeptics whispered that it would be years
before Stewart made another trip to Victory Lane. After all, Haas
CNC Racing, the team Stewart took over, had competed in 284
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and had one top-five finish to show for
it. Apparently Stewart wasn’t listening to the grim outlook.
Almost one-third of the way into
Stewart’s first season as owner/driver of Stewart-Haas
Racing, Stewart is third in the standings and a few breaks
away from a trip to Victory Lane. Teammate Ryan Newman (No. 39
Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet) is 10th, both in Chase for the
NASCAR Sprint Cup contention. Stewart has finished runner-up in two of
the last three races and has been in the top five in four of the last
five. Newman has been able to shake off early season struggles, moving
up 22 spots over the past six races.
A Darlington win would be especially
sweet for Stewart, who has won at all but three tracks on the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series schedule – Darlington Raceway, Auto Club Speedway
and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Stewart came a step closer last year
when he won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington.
“With the rich heritage and history
at Darlington, to win there – it’s a feeling that’s hard to
describe,” Stewart said of his NASCAR Nationwide Series win.
“It’s just cool to win at Darlington… This series is just so
deep in history, and this is one of those tracks where the history
goes as deep as NASCAR does. To finally get a win at Darlington was a
huge honor for me.”
Darlington Raceway Steeped In NASCAR Tradition
One year after NASCAR celebrated its
60th year, Darlington Raceway, is set for a 60-year celebration of its
own. Darlington is the second-oldest track in NASCAR and has hosted
105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races over the past 59 years.
“Darlington is steeped in tradition,
as much a part of the Southern NASCAR landscape as the sweet scent of
magnolias,” said NASCAR Vice President of Communications Jim
Hunter, a former president of Darlington Raceway. “The
Southern 500 is the Kentucky Derby and Masters of our sport.”
It is only fitting that as part of its
60th anniversary, the track is bringing back the race name that it has
been identified with since its first race in 1950. In addition, the
outer retaining walls have been painted with red stripes, something
that hasn’t been done since 1989.
"Celebrating 60 Years of Racing at
Darlington Raceway is truly a special milestone for the track as well
as NASCAR," said Darlington Raceway President Chris
Browning. "We wanted to go 'retro' for our 60th season
and I feel like we have certainly accomplished that on many fronts.
Going back to the Southern 500 race name and painting the
walls in the old red and white paint scheme is definitely
reminiscent of early NASCAR.”
The link to Darlington’s rich NASCAR
history doesn’t end there. Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
champion and five-time Darlington winner Cale Yarborough
will serve as the honorary pace car driver for the race. Yarborough,
from nearby Timmonsville, S.C., will also be joined by several past
Darlington winners for a special pre-race ceremony honoring their
accomplishments.
The biggest honor of the weekend,
however, will go to Saturday night’s race winner – the Johnny
Mantz Southern 500 trophy. The newly designed trophy is named after
the race’s first winner. It stands approximately three feet tall,
weighs nearly 40 pounds and features engraved photos of all past 43
Darlington winners.
“Re-designing the trophy and naming
it after Inaugural Southern 500 winner Johnny Mantz
was something that was important for us to do because it showcases the
history of Darlington Raceway in one place,” Browning said.
It’s not like a driver needs extra
incentive to win at Darlington, as Hunter notes.
“A driver's resume, fans say, is
never complete until he's won a race at what many believe is NASCAR's
toughest track, appropriately nicknamed the track ‘Too Tough To
Tame,’ ” Hunter said.
Darlington Raceway Through The
Years
1950 Californian Johnny
Mantz wins the first Southern 500 despite being the slowest
qualifier.
1957 Darlington Raceway gets a
second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, which is won by Fireball
Roberts.
1965 Ned Jarrett
wins the Southern 500 by 14 laps, the largest margin of victory in
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history.
1968 David Pearson
wins his first of a record 10 Darlington races.
1985 Bill Elliott
wins the Winston Million at Darlington for capturing three of four
selected races during the season.
1997 The track configuration is
flipped, making the frontstretch the backstretch and vice-versa.
2003 Ricky Craven
edges Kurt Busch by .002 seconds, the closest margin
in NASCAR history.
2004 For the first time a
Darlington race is held under lights.
2005 Darlington begins a new
tradition, hosting its race on Mother’s Day weekend.
Motherly Love: NSCS Moms Return
As Race Grand Marshals
The return of the Southern 500 moniker
combines one of Darlington’s oldest traditions with one if its
newest – a Mother’s Day weekend race. The addition of lights to
Darlington Raceway in 2004 paved the way for the track’s spring race
to move to Mother’s Day weekend, starting a new Darlington
tradition. For the fifth consecutive year, mothers of the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series will serve as the Grand Marshals for Saturday
night’s race.
“I think Mother’s Day is special to
all of us, but being in Darlington with our mothers is great,” said Carl
Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford) whose mom Nancy Sterling
attends 15-20 races per year. “It’s real cool to race in front of
your mother. It’s great for her to meet the other driver’s moms.
It’s a fun event.”
Biffle Earns His (Darlington)
Stripes
Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford)
has finished last only four times in his 232-race career. One of those
four took place last year at Darlington Raceway.
Still, Biffle could be considered a
favorite going into this weekend’s Southern 500 Presented by
GoDaddy.com.
Despite the 43rd-place finishing,
Biffle still owns some of the top Loop Data statistics since the
stats’ inception in 2005.
That’s largely because the last-place
finish was as deceiving as they get. Biffle had as good a shot at
winning as any driver in the field, leading 95 laps.
In fact, he had the fourth-best Driver
Rating that race of 108.6, along with an Average Running Position of
16.1, 33 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 61%.
So those totals already added to the
impressive lot that was racked up during back-to-back wins in 2005 and
2006.
Over the last four Darlington races,
Biffle has a series-best Driver Rating of 121.8, a series-high 174
Fastest Laps Run, an Average Running Position of 7.9 (fourth-best), an
average Green Flag Speed of 155.230 mph (second) and a Laps in the Top
15 percentage of 88.2% (fourth).
Plus, with three top 10s in the last
four races, Biffle seems poised for a victory.
Speaking of drivers who are “due,”
none seem more likely for his season-first Victory Lane appearance
than Tony Stewart. Stewart has finished in the top
five in four of the last five races.
And what he’s done as a first-year
owner is astounding.
In this season alone, Stewart’s two
teams have combined for a Driver Rating of 89.1, an Average Running
Position of 14.7, 187 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15
percentage of 61.9% in 20 starts.
Compare that to all of last season when
the team fell under the Haas-CNC banner: Driver Rating of 49.1, an
Average Running Position of 30.1, 62 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in
the Top 15 percentage of 6.1% in 65 starts.
Locked In: Raines Subs For
Andretti In May
John Andretti’s
19th-place finish at Daytona for Front Row Motorsports
put the upstart team on the right track to a locked-in position in
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Nine races later, Andretti has kept
the No. 34 A&W Chevrolet owned by Teresa
Earnhardt, inside the top 35 in owners points, guaranteeing
it a starting spot in each race.
Andretti will have to give up the seat
over the next two races, however, as he attempts to make the Indy 500.
The team has tabbed Tony Raines to fill-in for Andretti.
“John (Andretti) had made a
commitment to run in the Indianapolis 500,” said Front Row
Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins. “He let us know very
early in the season so we could plan for this. We worked with John and
we hope he does well. We still plan on running Darlington and the
events in Charlotte before John returns at Dover. Tony Raines
has had a lot of experience with us and has done a great job with our
NASCAR Nationwide Series program. It was pretty easy to pick him to
run the No. 34 for this weekend and in Charlotte.”
Raines has plenty of NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series experience, including two starts this year. He finished 43rd at
Phoenix and 41st at Richmond. In five Darlington starts, he has a
Driver Rating of 51.3. He finished 20th, a career best at the track,
in 2006 for Hall of Fame Racing.
2009 NSCS Owner Standings
Driver/
Drlngtn
Rank Owner (Car #) Pts
D.R.
31 Bobby
Labonte/ 893 71.2
Jeff Moorad (96)
32 Joey
Logano/ 859 N/A
Joe Gibbs (20)
33 Paul
Menard/ 839 41.9
Max Jones (98)
34 Robby
Gordon/ 768 56.2
Robby Gordon
(7)
35 Tony
Raines/ 743
51.3
Teresa
Earnhardt (34)
36 Scott
Speed/ 699
N/A
Dietrich
Mateschitz (82)
37 David
Gilliland/ 640 52.2
Kevin Buckler (71)
38
Sterling Marlin/ 496
59.9
James Finch (09)
39 Joe
Nemechek/ 476 60.5
Andrea Nemechek (87)
40 Regan
Smith/ 473
58.5
Barney Visser (78)
This And That – Happenings From The NASCAR World
Goodyear Holds Daytona Tire
Test
Ten NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers
took a detour from Richmond to Darlington to participate in a Goodyear
tire test at Daytona International Speedway on Monday. All four
manufacturers were represented at the test which helped to fine-tune
the tire compound that will be used in the Coke Zero 400 on July 4.
“When you get here, they let you get
your stuff sorted out a little bit and get your car handling good,”
said Clint Bowyer (No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet), who
participated in the one-day test. “Then they start throwing tires at
you and getting your input on which one you think is best.”
The drivers spent the first half of the
day doing single car runs, trying out different tires, before ending
the day drafting.
“They put certain people on different
agendas, but at the end of the day, they get us all back together and
go out there and draft and get everybody together,” Bowyer said.
“When you're drafting, everybody is on the same tire and same
conditions, but those single car runs you saw us do earlier today,
people were definitely on different agendas, whether it be tires or
whatever else.”
Gordon Could Make History
A trip to Darlington Raceway is always
welcomed by current points leader Jeff Gordon. The
four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion leads all active drivers
with seven Darlington victories and will make track – and NASCAR –
history with another victory Saturday night.
Of Gordon’s seven Darlington wins,
five have come in the Southern 500, tying him with Cale
Yarborough for most in the prestigious event. A win this
weekend will break that tie, but will ironically bring Gordon into
another tie with Yarborough in the NASCAR record books. Gordon
currently has 82 career victories, one shy of Yarborough, who sits
fifth on the all-time list with 83.
“I was able to spend some time with
Cale a few years back at an event at the track,” Gordon said. “It
was neat to hear him tell stories about racing here during that era.
The cars have changed, the speeds have changed and the asphalt has
changed, but I don’t believe the driver’s thinking has changed one
bit. You race the track here, not the other competitors.”
Don’t Stop Now
Clint Bowyer put his
name in the record books with his 38th-place finish at Talladega,
passing teammate Kevin Harvick for longest streak of
running at the finish with 82 straight races. As strange as it sounds,
Bowyer has one more hurdle to pass to hold the undisputed streak. Herman
Beam completed 84 straight races that he competed in between
1961-1963. However, Beam’s streak was not accomplished in
consecutive races. The split record could no longer be necessary,
however, as Bowyer could tie Beam by avoiding a DNF this weekend at
Darlington and hold sole possession of the record by running at the
finish of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 24.
Up Next: NASCAR Sprint All-Star
Week
The quest for a NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series championship is put on hold for a week as drivers and crew
members share the spotlight during a week full of all-star festivities
in Charlotte. Here is a rundown of next week’s events:
Wednesday, May 13
NASCAR Media Pit Crew Challenge
Members of the media are invited to
participate in the same pit crew challenge events that NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series crews will tackle Thursday evening. Following the event,
members of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota pit crew – the defending event
champions – will be available for interviews. If you are interested
in participating in the event, please contact Jenn Powell (NASCAR
Public Relations) at (386) 947-6788.
When: 1:30 – 3 p.m.
Where: Time Warner Cable Arena
NASCAR Rev’d Up featuring O.A.R.
The week’s festivities will open with
a six-hour event in Uptown Charlotte, highlighted with a free concert
by Everfine/Atlantic recording artists O.A.R. The event will feature
the live broadcast of SPEED’s “Countdown to All-Star” show, with
guest appearances by several NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.
When: 4 – 10 p.m. (live on SPEED at 8
p.m.)
Where: Between third and Mint Streets in Uptown Charlotte
Thursday, May 14
NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge
presented by Craftsman
For the fifth year, the Pit Crew
Challenge will feature over-the-wall crew members competing against
each other in individual and team events. For more information visit www.pitcrewchallenge.com.
When: 7 p.m. (live on SPEED at 9 p.m.)
Where: Time Warner Cable Arena
Friday, May 15
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Qualifying
Qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint
All-Star Race is different than any other race – cars complete three
laps, including a four-tire pit stop, rather than the traditional two
laps.
When: 6:15 p.m. (Live on SPEED)
Where: Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Saturday, May 16
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
The 25th-running of the NASCAR Sprint
All-Star Race is preceded by the Sprint Open. The top two teams, plus
the top driver in the fan vote, move on to the NASCAR Sprint All-Star
Race. This year’s race will feature the return of the 10-lap
shootout to end the event.
Fast Facts
The Race: Southern 500
Presented by GoDaddy.com
The Place: Darlington
Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
The Date: Saturday,
May 9
The Time: 7:20 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 500
miles/367 laps
TV: FOX , 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN and Sirius
Satellite (Local: WEGX-FM 92.9)
2008 Polesitter: Kyle
Busch
2008 Winner: Greg
Biffle
Schedule: (All times
local ET) Friday–Practice, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Final Practice,
1:30–3 p.m., Qualifying, 5:10 p.m.
2009 Top 12 Drivers
Driver
Pts (Wins)
1 Jeff Gordon
1,441 (1)
2 Kurt Busch
1,431 (1)
3 Tony Stewart 1,402
4 Denny Hamlin 1,321
5 Kyle Busch
1,314 (3)
6 Jimmie Johnson 1,290 (1)
7 Jeff Burton
1,257
8 Clint Bowyer 1,212
9 Carl Edwards 1,204
10 Ryan Newman 1,198
11 Greg Biffle
1,193
12 Matt Kenseth 1,187 (2)
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