Statistical Advance: Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

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Statistical Advance: Aaron’s 499 At Talladega Superspeedway

 

Daytona Beach, Florida (April 11, 2011) – Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Talladega Superspeedway going into the Aaron’s 499 on April 17.

 

TALLADEGA-SPECIFIC STATISTICS

 

Jeff Burton (No. 31 CAT Financial Chevrolet)

 

· Four top fives, 13 top 10s

· Average finish of 19.0

· Average Running Position of 17.2, 11th-best

· Driver Rating of 87.8, fifth-best

· Series-high 4,634 Green Flag Passes

· Average Green Flag Speed of 192.114 mph, fifth-fastest

· 1,259 Laps in the Top 15 (55.1%), fourth-most

· Series-high 3,202 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green)

 

Kurt Busch (No. 22 Shell Pennzoil / AAA Dodge)

 

· Six top fives, 13 top 10s

· Average finish of 13.7

· Average Running Position of 15.7, sixth-best

· Driver Rating of 85.4, eighth-best

· 38 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most

· 3,923 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most

· 1,369 Laps in the Top 15 (59.9%), second-most

· 2,800 Quality Passes, fourth-most

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet)

 

· Five wins, eight top fives, 11 top 10s

· Average finish of 15.1

· Average Running Position of 14.3, third-best

· Driver Rating of 92.7, second-best

· 56 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

· 3,995 Green Flag Passes, third-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 192.137 mph, second-fastest

· Series-high 1,496 Laps in the Top 15 (65.5%)

· 2,886 Quality Passes, second-most

 

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet)

 

· Six wins, 13 top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 16.4

· Driver Rating of 84.8, ninth-best

· 1,173 Laps in the Top 15 (51.3%), fifth-most

· 1,937 Quality Passes, 13th-most

 

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota)

 

· Three top fives, four top 10s

· Average finish of 18.3

· Average Running Position of 14.9, fourth-best

· Series-best Driver Rating of 93.0

· 46 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

· 3,287 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 192.059 mph, seventh-fastest

· 1,074 Laps in the Top 15 (56.5%), ninth-most

· 2,209 Quality Passes, seventh-most

 

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet)

 

· One win, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 17.2

· Average Running Position of 17.4, 13th-best

· Driver Rating of 82.5, 11th-best

· 1,158 Laps in the Top 15 (50.7%), seventh-most

· 2,381 Quality Passes, fifth-most

 

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford)

 

· Three top fives, six top 10s

· Average finish of 18.6

· Average Running Position of 16.6, ninth-best

· Driver Rating of 82.2, 13th-best

· 3,730 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most

· 1,311 Laps in the Top 15 (57.4%), third-most

· 2,873 Quality Passes, third-most

 

Joey Logano (No. 20 The Home Depot Toyota)

 

· Two top fives, three top 10s

· Average finish of 13.3

· Series-best Average Running Position of 12.8

· Driver Rating of 89.1, fourth-best

· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 192.152 mph

 

Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet)

 

· One win, five top fives, six top 10s

· Average finish of 19.2

· Driver Rating of 82.5, 11th-best

· 38 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 192.017 mph, eighth-fastest

· 1,065 Laps in the Top 15 (46.6%), 11th-most

 

Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)

 

· Three top fives, three top 10s; two poles

· Average finish of 14.8

· Average Running Position of 13.8, second-best

· Driver Rating of 85.9, seventh-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 192.124 mph, third-fastest

 

David Ragan (No. 6 UPS Ford)

 

· Two top fives, three top 10s

· Average finish of 14.3

· Average Running Position of 16.7, 10th-best

· Driver Rating of 87.7, sixth-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 192.063 mph, sixth-fastest

 

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

 

· One win, nine top fives, 12 top 10s

· Average finish of 15.5

· Average Running Position of 16.4, seventh-best

· Driver Rating of 84.7, 10th-best

· 51 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

· 3,709 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most

· Average Green Flag Speed of 192.006 mph, ninth-fastest

· 1,136 Laps in the Top 15 (49.7%), eighth-most

· 1,951 Quality Passes, 12th-most

 

Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota)

 

· One win, three top fives, five top 10s

· Average finish of 19.9

· Average Running Position of 15.4, fifth-best

· Driver Rating of 89.6, third-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.973 mph, 10th-fastest

· 1,159 Laps in the Top 15 (60.8%), sixth-most

· 2,268 Quality Passes, sixth-most

 

Chase Contenders

 

The Top 10 Following Race 7 of 36

 

1. Carl Edwards 256

2. Kyle Busch 247

3. Matt Kenseth 243

4. Jimmie Johnson 243

5. Kurt Busch 240

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.235

7. Ryan Newman 233

8. Juan P. Montoya 232

9. Kevin Harvick 228

10. Tony Stewart 213

 

ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

 

11. Paul Menard 209

12. Clint Bowyer 201

13. AJ Allmendinger 193

14. Jeff Gordon 192

15. Mark Martin 189

16. Kasey Kahne 186

17. David Ragan. 185

18. Greg Biffle 183

19. Marcos Ambrose 175

20. Denny Hamlin 174

21. Martin Truex Jr. 160

22. Brad Keselowski 159

23. Bobby Labonte 157

24. Jamie McMurray 157

25. Jeff Burton 156

26. Brian Vickers 149

27. David Reutimann 144

28. Joey Logano 144

29. David Gilliland 114

30. Regan Smith 112

31. Robby Gordon 104

32. Casey Mears 93

33. Dave Blaney 87

34. Bill Elliott 82

35. Tony Raines 81

36. Andy Lally 73

37. Ken Schrader 44

38. Terry Labonte 30

39. J.J. Yeley 26

40. Michael McDowell 25

41. Michael Waltrip 4

42. Brian Keselowski 3

 

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 10 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season.

 

At Talladega Superspeedway:

 

History

 

· Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969.

· The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.

· Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.

 

Notebook

 

· There have been 83 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway since the track opened in 1969; two a year every year except the inaugural season, which had just one.

· Richard Brickhouse won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

· Bobby Isaac won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in September 1969. Isaac won the first three poles there.

· 35 different drivers have won poles. Bill Elliott leads all drivers with eight poles.

· 41 different drivers have posted victories, led by Dale Earnhardt Sr. (10). Eighteen drivers have won more than once.

· Jeff Gordon leads all other active drivers in victories, with six. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is second among active drivers in victories with five.

· Richard Childress Racing has won 11 races, more than any other organization. Hendrick Motorsports, with 10 wins, can match that mark this weekend.

· 32 of 83 races have been won from a top-two starting position, including 13 from the pole; 23 have been won from a starting position outside the top 10. The most recent driver to win from the pole was Jeff Gordon in 2007 (spring).

· The furthest back in the field a race winner started was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in 2000.

· Mark Martin’s pace in the 1997 spring race set an all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup record for the fastest race ever. He won the caution-free race with an average speed of 188.354 mph and covered the 500-mile distance in two hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds.

· Last season’s spring race set the all-time and track records for lead changes (88) and lap leaders (29). The previous highs were 75 lead changes (set on May 6, 1984) and 28 lap leaders (set on Oct. 5, 2008). Both previous records also were set at Talladega.

· Dale Earnhardt Jr. had four consecutive victories (October 2001 through April 2003), the most ever by a driver there. Buddy Baker (three – May 1975 through May 1976) is the only other driver to win more than two consecutive races there.

· Since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993, every race that has ended under green has had a margin of victory under half a second.

 

NASCAR In Alabama

 

* There have been 102 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Alabama.

* 66 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Alabama.

 

Talladega Superspeedway Data

 

Race #: 8 of 36 (4-17-11)

 

Track Size: 2.66 miles

 

· Banking/Corners: 33 degrees

· Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees

· Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees

· Frontstretch: 4,300 feet

· Backstretch: 4,000 feet

 

Driver Rating at Talladega

 

Denny Hamlin 93.0

Dale Earnhardt Jr. 92.7

Brian Vickers 89.6

Joey Logano 89.1

Jeff Burton 87.8

David Ragan 87.7

Juan P. Montoya 85.9

Kurt Busch 85.4

Jeff Gordon 84.8

Tony Stewart 84.7

 

Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (12 total) at Talladega.

 

Qualifying/Race Data

 

2010 pole winner: None, due to inclement weather.

2010 race winner: Kevin Harvick (150.590 mph, 04-25-10)

Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (212.809 mph, 44.998 seconds, 04-30-87)

Track race record: Mark Martin (188.354 mph, 05-10-97)