DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 8,
2010) –
Below is a bulleted statistical
look at some of the top
performers at Daytona
International Speedway,
including both the Daytona 500
and the annual July race:
Clint Bowyer (No.
33 Cheerios Chevrolet)
·
One top five, five top 10s
·
Average finish of 13.4
·
Average Running Position of
16.7, 12th-best
·
Driver Rating of 84.6,
ninth-best
Jeff Burton (No.
31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
·
One win, six top fives, eight
top 10s; one pole
·
Average finish of 17.8
·
Average Running Position of
15.4, ninth-best
·
Driver Rating of 83.5, 10th-best
·
38 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
·
Series-high 1,987 Green Flag
Passes
·
Average Green Flag Speed of
185.228 mph, sixth-fastest
·
1,004 Laps in the Top 15
(57.0%), 11th-most
·
1,195 Quality Passes,
fourth-most
Kurt Busch (No. 2
Miller Lite Dodge)
·
Nine top fives, 10 top 10s
·
Average finish of 17.2
·
Average Running Position of
14.8, sixth-best
·
Driver Rating of 92.5,
fifth-best
·
37 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
·
Average Green Flag Speed of
185.074 mph, 13th-fastest
·
1,148 Laps in the Top 15
(65.2%), sixth-most
·
1,143 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Kyle Busch (No.
18 M&M's Toyota)
·
One win, four top fives, four
top 10s
·
Average finish of 18.0
·
Average Running Position of
10.9, second-best
·
Driver Rating of 101.0,
second-best
·
Series-high 1,363 Laps in the
Top 15 (77.4%)
·
1,181 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Dale Earnhardt
Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy
Drink/National Guard Chevrolet)
·
Two wins, six top fives, 11 top
10s
·
Average finish of 15.6
·
Average Running Position of
15.3, eighth-best
·
Driver Rating of 87.3,
seventh-best
·
49 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
·
Average Green Flag Speed of
185.139 mph, eighth-fastest
·
1,096 Laps in the Top 15
(62.2%), seventh-most
·
1,048 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Carl Edwards (No.
99 Scotts Turf Builder Ford)
·
Three top fives, three top 10s
·
Average finish of 19.7
·
Average Running Position of
16.3, 10th-best
·
Driver Rating of 83.1, 12th-best
·
1,871 Green Flag Passes,
fourth-most
·
Average Green Flag Speed of
185.281 mph, fourth-fastest
·
1,043 Laps in the Top 15
(59.2%), eighth-most
·
1,246 Quality Passes,
second-most
Jeff Gordon (No.
24 DuPont Chevrolet)
·
Six wins, 11 top fives, 17 top
10s; three poles
·
Average finish of 15.5
·
Average Running Position of
12.4, fourth-best
·
Driver Rating of 91.9,
sixth-best
·
36 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most
·
Average Green Flag Speed of
185.096 mph, 11th-fastest
·
1,180 Laps in the Top 15
(67.0%), fifth-most
·
1,076 Quality Passes,
eighth-most
Denny Hamlin (No.
11 FedEx Toyota)
·
One top five, one top 10
·
Average finish of 23.8
·
Average Running Position of
17.0, 13th-best
·
Driver Rating of 83.2, 11th-best
·
46 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
Jimmie Johnson
(No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet)
·
One win, six top fives, nine top
10s; two poles
·
Average finish of 14.2
·
Series-best Average Running
Position of 10.4
·
Driver Rating of 94.3,
fourth-best
·
1,659 Green Flag Passes,
13th-most
·
Series-best Average Green Flag
Speed of 185.321 mph
·
1,328 Laps in the Top 15
(75.4%), second-most
·
1,237 Quality Passes, third-most
Matt Kenseth (No.
17 Crown Royal Ford)
·
One win, three top fives, nine
top 10s
·
Average finish of 17.9
·
Average Running Position of
13.5, fifth-best
·
Driver Rating of 96.1,
third-best
·
50 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
·
Average Green Flag Speed of
185.300 mph, second-fastest
·
1,279 Laps in the Top 15
(72.6%), third-most
·
Series-high 1,267 Quality Passes
Mark Martin (No.
5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet)
·
Nine top fives, 17 top 10s; one
pole
·
Average finish of 18.1
·
Driver Rating of 81.8, 13th-best
·
1,015 Laps in the Top 15
(57.6%), 10th-most
·
992 Quality Passes, 11th-most
Ryan Newman (No.
39 U.S. Army Chevrolet)
·
One win, two top fives, three
top 10s
·
Average finish of 20.9
·
Average Running Position of
16.4, 11th-best
·
Driver Rating of 85.9,
eighth-best
Tony Stewart (No.
14 Office Depot/Old Spice
Chevrolet)
·
Three wins, seven top fives, 12
top 10s; one pole
·
Average finish of 16.5
·
Average Running Position of
11.6, third-best
·
Series-best Driver Rating of
108.2
·
51 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
·
Average Green Flag Speed of
185.266 mph, fifth-fastest
·
1,279 Laps in the Top 15
(72.6%), third-most
The NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series Final 2009 Top 12 at
Daytona International Speedway
|
|
Driver
|
Races
|
Poles
|
Wins
|
Top Fives
|
Top 10s
|
DNFs
|
Average
Finish
|
Driver
Rating
|
|
1
|
Jimmie
Johnson
|
16
|
2
|
1
|
6
|
9
|
1
|
14.2
|
94.3
|
|
2
|
Mark
Martin
|
49
|
1
|
0
|
9
|
17
|
11
|
18.1
|
81.8
|
|
3
|
Jeff
Gordon
|
34
|
3
|
6
|
11
|
17
|
4
|
15.5
|
91.9
|
|
4
|
Kurt
Busch
|
18
|
0
|
0
|
9
|
10
|
1
|
17.2
|
92.5
|
|
5
|
Denny
Hamlin
|
8
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
23.8
|
83.2
|
|
6
|
Tony
Stewart
|
22
|
1
|
3
|
7
|
12
|
4
|
16.5
|
108.2
|
|
7
|
Greg
Biffle
|
14
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
1
|
22.1
|
70.5
|
|
8
|
Juan
Pablo Montoya
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
24.0
|
59.1
|
|
9
|
Ryan
Newman
|
16
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
20.9
|
85.9
|
|
10
|
Kasey
Kahne
|
12
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
1
|
17.8
|
79.4
|
|
11
|
Carl
Edwards
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
19.7
|
83.1
|
|
12
|
Brian
Vickers
|
11
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
2
|
20.1
|
81.3
|
Daytona 500
Tidbits
-
The 2010 edition
will be the 52nd running of the
Daytona 500.
-
Although the
first Daytona 500 was held in
1959, it has been the
season-opener only since 1982.
-
510 drivers have
competed in at least one Daytona
500; 300 in more than one.
-
33 drivers have
won a Daytona 500.
-
Eight drivers
have won more than one Daytona
500, led by Richard Petty with
seven victories.
-
Fred Lorenzen posted a top-10
finish in eight of his nine
Daytona 500s, the best
percentage of drivers who have
competed in more than two
Daytona 500s.
-
Dale Earnhardt finished in the
top 10 in 16 of his 23 Daytona
500s.
-
Dale Earnhardt
and Richard Petty each had 16
top 10s in the Daytona 500, more
than any other driver.
-
Dale Earnhardt had 12 top fives
in the Daytona 500, more than
any other driver.
-
Only 13 drivers
have an average finish of 10th
or better in the Daytona 500,
six of those competed in the
Daytona 500 only once.
-
Kevin Harvick has a 12.9 average
finish in eight appearances, the
best of the active drivers who
have competed in more than one
Daytona 500.
-
Other than Lee
Petty, who won the inaugural
Daytona 500, no driver has ever
won in his first appearance.
-
27 of the 33
drivers who have won,
participated in at least two
Daytona 500s before visiting
Victory Lane.
-
Dale Earnhardt competed 19 times
before winning his only Daytona
500 (1998), the longest span of
any of the 33 race winners.
-
Six drivers
made 10 or more attempts before
their first Daytona 500 victory:
Dale Earnhardt (19), Buddy Baker
(18), Darrell Waltrip (16),
Bobby Allison (14), Michael
Waltrip (14) and Sterling Marlin
12). Last year’s winner, Matt
Kenseth, won it in his 10th try.
-
The most
Daytona 500s all-time without a
victory was Dave Marcis (33
races).
-
Mark Martin (25) leads active
drivers without a victory. He
will start on the pole for this
year’s race.
-
Six drivers
posted their career-first
victory with a win in the
Daytona 500: Tiny Lund (1963),
Mario Andretti (1967), Pete
Hamilton (1970), Derrike Cope
(1990), Sterling Marlin (1994)
and Michael Waltrip (2001).
-
Three other
drivers posted their
career-first victory in
(point-paying) qualifying races:
Johnny Rutherford (1963), Bobby
Isaac (1964) and Earl Balmer
(1966).
-
Only eight
drivers have won the Daytona 500
more than once: Richard Petty
(seven), Cale Yarborough (four),
Bobby Allison (three), Dale
Jarrett (three), Jeff Gordon
(three), Bill Elliott (two),
Sterling Marlin (two) and
Michael Waltrip (two).
-
A driver has
won back-to-back Daytona 500s
three times. Richard Petty
(1973-74), Cale Yarborough
(1983-84) and Sterling Marlin
(1994-95)
-
Kevin Harvick’s
0.020-second margin of victory
over Mark Martin in the 2007
Daytona 500 is the ninth-closest
overall since the advent of
electronic timing in 1993, and
the closest in a Daytona 500.
-
26
of the 51 Daytona 500s have been
won from a top-five starting
position.
-
Matt Kenseth won the Daytona 500
from the 39th starting position
last year, the deepest a race
winner has started.
-
Nine have been
won from the pole. The last to
do so was Dale Jarrett in 2000.
-
15 Daytona 500s
have been won from the front
row.
At Daytona
International Speedway
History
-
Groundbreaking
for Daytona International
Speedway was Nov. 25, 1957. The
soil underneath the banked
corners was dug from the infield
of the track and the hole filled
with water. It is now known as
Lake Lloyd.
-
The first NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series race at
Daytona was a
100-mile qualifying race for the
Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
-
Richard Petty
won his 200th career race on
July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
-
Lights were installed in the
spring of 1998. However, the
race was delayed until October
that year due to thick smoke
from wildfires. The second
Daytona race has been held under
lights ever since.
Notebook
-
There have been 125 NASCAR
Sprint Cup races since the track
hosted its first race in 1959:
51 have been 500 miles, 47 were
400 miles and four 250 miles.
There were also 23 qualifier
races that were point races.
-
Fireball Roberts won the
inaugural pole at Daytona.
-
Bob Welborn won the first race
at Daytona, the 100-mile
qualifying race for the
Daytona 500.
-
Lee Petty won the inaugural
Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
-
Fireball Roberts won the first
400-mile race at Daytona, the
1963 Firecracker 400.
-
52 drivers have
posted poles at Daytona; 19 have
more than one.
-
Cale Yarborough leads all
drivers with 12 poles at
Daytona.
-
Bill Elliott leads all active
drivers with five poles at
Daytona.
-
52 drivers have
won at Daytona; 24 have won more
than once.
-
Richard Petty leads all drivers
in victories at Daytona with 10.
-
Jeff Gordon has six victories at
Daytona, more than any other
active driver.
-
The Wood Brothers
have won 14 races at Daytona,
more than any other car owner.
-
16 full-length
races at Daytona have been won
from the pole, including last
July’s Coke Zero 400, won by
polesitter Tony Stewart.
-
A driver has
swept both races at Daytona only
four times, most recently by
Bobby Allison in 1982.
NASCAR in Florida
-
There have been
162 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in
Florida.
-
156 drivers in
NASCAR’s three national series
have their home state recorded
as Florida.
-
There have been
nine race winners whose hometown
is Florida in NASCAR’s three
national series:
|
Driver
|
NSCS
|
NNS
|
NCWTS
|
|
Fireball
Roberts
|
33
|
0
|
0
|
|
LeeRoy
Yarbrough
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
|
Marshall
Teague
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
|
Joe
Nemechek
|
4
|
16
|
0
|
|
Bobby
Johns
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
|
David
Reutimann
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
|
Shorty
Rollins
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
|
Rick
Wilson
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
|
Aric
Almirola
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
Daytona
International Speedway
Data
Race #: 1 of 36
(2-14-10)
Track Size:
2.5 miles
Race Length:
500 miles (200 laps)
Banking/Corners:
31 degrees
Banking/Straights:
3 degrees
Banking/Tri-Oval:
18 degrees
Driver Rating at Daytona
Tony
Stewart 108.2
Kyle
Busch 101.0
Matt Kenseth
96.1
Jimmie
Johnson 94.3
Kurt
Busch 92.5
Jeff Gordon
91.9
Dale Earnhardt
Jr. 87.3
Ryan
Newman 85.9
Clint
Bowyer 84.6
Jeff Burton
83.5
Note:
Driver Rating compiled from
2005-2009 races (10 total) at
Daytona.
Qualifying/Race
Data
2009 pole winner:
Martin Truex Jr. (188.001 mph,
47.872 seconds)
2009 race winner: Matt Kenseth
(132.816 mph,
2-17-08)
Qualifying record:
Bill Elliott (210.364 mph,
42.783 secs., 2-9-87)
Race record:
Buddy Baker (177.602 mph,
2-17-80)
Estimated Pit Window:
36-38 laps depending on fuel
mileage