The angles are seemingly endless for this weekend’s race at Richmond International Raceway.
Here’s a “by the numbers” look at some of the things to watch for:
1 and 43 – Two finishing positions at Richmond during Jeff Burton’s career. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader, and Virginia native, has experienced both the highs and the lows at Richmond. He finished first in the fall of 1998 and last in the spring race of 2007.
6.5 – Denny Hamlin’s finishing position at Richmond. Richmond is Hamlin’s home track, and would be a most coveted victory. He’s come close a few times, finishing second in 2006 and third last season. Both finishes came in the spring race.
12 – Points position of Juan Pablo Montoya, the first time in the Colombian’s young NASCAR Sprint Cup career he’s been inside the Chase cutoff. His previous best position was 15th after the fourth race of 2007.
23 – The age Kyle Busch will turn on Friday. Busch, a six-time winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition, has won more races by the age of 23 than any driver in history. Busch is charging up the standings, too – only 22 points behind points leader Burton.
26 – This is race No. 10, but race No. 26 is also held at Richmond – and it’s arguably the most important race of the season. This weekend is a preview to the second Richmond race, the cut-off before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
71 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s race winless drought. This weekend’s race is the two-year anniversary of Earnhardt’s last win. It’s been 71 races since that visit to Victory Lane.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2008 Top 12 at Richmond International Raceway
Driver
Races
Poles
Wins
Top Fives
Top 10s
DNFs
Average Finish
Driver Rating
1
Jeff Burton
27
1
1
7
12
1
15.5
80.1
2
Kyle Busch
6
0
0
5
5
0
6.7
109.0
3
Dale Earnhardt, Jr
17
0
3
7
9
1
11.3
89.9
4
Denny Hamlin
4
1
0
2
3
0
6.5
111.3
5
Jimmie Johnson
12
2
2
3
3
1
17.8
84.9
6
Kevin Harvick
14
1
1
4
8
0
12.1
121.2
7
Clint Bowyer
4
0
0
0
2
0
10.8
88.8
8
Greg Biffle
11
1
0
2
5
1
16.0
93.2
9
Tony Stewart
18
0
3
6
12
2
11.8
102.2
10
Carl Edwards
7
0
0
0
2
1
20.6
77.2
11
Ryan Newman
12
1
1
4
7
0
11.1
95.4
12
Juan Pablo Montoya
2
0
0
0
0
1
33.5
63.0
Selected Driver Highlights – Richmond International Raceway-specific
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Richmond International Raceway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last six races at Richmond. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Greg Biffle (No. 16 Dish Network Ford)
• Two top fives, five top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 16.0
• Average Running Position of 13.9, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 93.2, eighth-best
• 81 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.612 mph, seventh-fastest
• 1,744 (72.7%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
• 113 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), tied for ninth-most
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• One win, two top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 18.1
• Average Running Position of 13.3, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 100.8, fifth-best
• 187 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.715 mph, fifth-fastest
• 1,574 (65.6%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most
• 136 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), tied for third-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Pedigree Toyota)
• Five top fives
• Average finish of 6.2
• Average Running Position of 7.8, third-best
• Driver Rating of 109.0, third-best
• 163 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.779 mph, third-fastest
• 2,077 (86.5%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 153 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), second-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Three wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s
• Average finish of 11.3
• Average Running Position of 12.9, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 89.9, 10th-best
• 96 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• Series-high 334 Green Flag Passes
• 1,401 (58.4%) Laps in the Top 15, 10th-most
• 124 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• Two top fives, three top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 6.5
• Average Running Position of 6.0, second -best
• Driver Rating of 111.3, second-best
• 58 Fastest Laps Run, tied for 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.820 mph, second-fastest
• Series-best percentage of Laps in the Top 15 – 98.1% for a total of 1,570
• 104 Quality Passes (average of 26.0 per race), fourth-best average
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• One win, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 12.1
• Series-best Average Running Position of 5.6
• Series-best Driver Rating of 121.2
• Series-high 259 Fastest Laps Run
• Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 118.997
• Series-high 2,267 (94.5%) Laps in the Top 15
• Series-high 166 Quality Passes
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge)
• One win, two top fives, four top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 18.2
• Average Running Position of 15.5, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 97.9, sixth-best
• 216 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• 1,454 (60.6%) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
• 113 Quality Passes, tied for ninth-most
Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)
• One win, four top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 11.1
• Average Running Position of 9.9, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 95.4, seventh-best
• 2,104 (87.7%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• 136 Quality Passes, tied for third-most
Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
• Three wins, six top fives, 12 top 10s
• Average finish of 11.3
• Average Running Position of 9.6, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 102.2, fourth-best
• 130 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.775, fourth-fastest
• 1,903 (79.3%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
• 133 Quality Passes, fifth-most
At Richmond International Raceway:
History
• Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was held on April 19, 1953.
• The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between spring and fall races in 1968.
• Track was re-measured to 0.542 miles in September 1969.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond was Feb. 20, 1982.
• The track was rebuilt as a 0.750-mile D-shaped oval following the spring race on Feb. 21, 1988.
• The first race under lights was held Sept. 7, 1991.
• The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ran 11 races at Richmond between 1995 and 2005.
• The first season with both races as night races was 1999.
Notebook
• There have been 103 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond International Raceway since the track opened in 1953.
• Buck Baker won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in 1953.
• Lee Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race in April 1953.
• Davey Allison won the first race on the 0.75-mile layout from the Coors Light Pole in 1988.
• There have been 46 different pole winners led by Bobby Allison and Richard Petty (eight).
• Jeff Gordon (five) leads the active drivers with five poles.
• 44 different drivers have posted victories led by Richard Petty (13).
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart (three) lead the active race winners.
• Petty Enterprises has won 15 races at Richmond, more than any other organization.
• 59 of 103 races have been won from the top-five starting positions, including 21 from the pole. However, only four races on the 0.75-mile configuration have been won from the pole.
• The last 10 races have been won from the top 10.
• The furthest back in the field that a Richmond race winner started was 28th by Richard Petty in the 1971 spring race.
• The furthest back in the field that a race winner has started on the 0.75-mile configuration was 25th by Matt Kenseth in the 2002 fall race.
• Kyle Petty became the first third-generation NASCAR race winner when he won his first race – at Richmond – on February 23, 1986. Richard posted his first Richmond victory in 1961 and Lee won the very first Richmond race in 1953.
• There has been a different pole winner in each of the past 10 races at Richmond International Raceway.
The Local Flavor
• There have been 259 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia:
• 355 NASCAR drivers have their home state recorded as Virginia.
• There have been 18 race winners from Virginia in NASCAR’s three national series:
Driver
NSCS
NNS
NCTS
Joe Weatherly
25
0
0
Ricky Rudd
23
1
0
Jeff Burton
20
27
0
Curtis Turner
17
0
0
Ward Burton
5
4
0
Denny Hamlin
4
5
0
Glen Wood
4
0
0
Elliott Sadler
3
5
0
Emanuel Zervakis
2
0
0
Lennie Pond
1
0
0
Wendell Scott
1
0
0
Tommy Ellis
0
22
0
Jimmy Hensley
0
9
2
Rick Mast
0
9
0
Hermie Sadler
0
2
0
Elton Sawyer
0
2
0
Stacy Compton
0
0
2
Jon Wood
0
0
2
Richmond International Raceway Data
Race # 10 of 36 (5-3-08)
Track Size: .75 mile
• Banking/Corners: 14 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
• Frontstretch: 1,290 feet
• Backstretch: 860 feet
Driver Rating at Richmond
Kevin Harvick 121.2
Denny Hamlin 111.3
Kyle Busch 109.0
Tony Stewart 102.2
Kurt Busch 100.8
Kasey Kahne 97.9
Ryan Newman 95.4
Greg Biffle 93.2
Matt Kenseth 91.4
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 89.9
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2007 races (6 total) at Richmond.
Qualifying/Race Data
2007 pole winner: Jeff Gordon (126.251 mph, 21.386 seconds)
2007 race winner: Jimmie Johnson, 91.270 mph, 9-9-06)
Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers (129.983, 20.772 seconds, 5-14-04)
Track race record: Dale Jarrett (109.047 mph, 9-6-97)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 85-95 laps, based on fuel mileage
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