Qualifying at Michigan:
Driver (make) Date Speed Time
2004 Race: - None due to weather -
Track Record: Kasey Kahne (F) 8/03 186.490 mph 38.608 sec.

Michigan Race Speeds:
2004 Race: Kyle Busch (C) 122.166 mph 2:02:47
Track Record: Mark Martin (F) 8/95 169.571 mph 1:10:46

*Fifth 250 mile race; the first eight Michigan races were each 200 miles.

Top Ten Finishers in Last Year’s Race: Five started in the top 10.
POS DRIVER START MAKE LAPS LED
1st Kyle Busch 2 C 87 Won $57,280
2nd Mark Martin 43 F -
3rd Martin Truex Jr. 1 C 22
4th Casey Mears 21 D 5
5th Kasey Kahne 10 D 3
6th Rusty Wallace 42 C -
7th Jason Leffler 4 C -
8th Greg Biffle 5 F -
9th Mike Wallace 22 F -
10th Mike Bliss 11 C -

DNFs: nine (accident - 2, engine - 2, other - 5)
Most Laps Led: Kyle Busch
Last Place: Steve Grissom, 0 laps, oil leak
Last Driver on Lead Lap: Stacy Compton, 31st
Most Positions Improved: +41, Mark Martin, 43rd to 2nd
Most Positions Lost: -27, Kevin Harvick, third to 30th

Birthdays:
Casey Atwood will be 25 on 8/25.
Shane Hall will be 36 on 8/25.
Randy LaJoie will be 44 on 8/28.
Paul Menard will be 25 on 8/21.
Kenny Wallace will be 42 on 8/23.
Ray Evernham will be 48 on 8/26

Miscellaneous Michigan Stats:
1. Most Cars Starting a Race: 1998 - 2004 - 43 cars
2. Most DNFs in a Race: 1993 - 15 cars
3. Fewest DNFs in a Race: 2000 - two cars
4. Most Laps Led by a Race Winner: 2001 - Ryan Newman - 119 laps
5. Most Laps Led by a Non-Winner: 1995 - Dale Jarrett - 89 laps
6. Fewest Laps Led by a Race Winner: 1994 - Bobby Labonte - six laps 1996 - Jeff Purvis - six laps
7. Races Top Five All Same Make: none
8. Driver With Most DNFs: Jimmy Spencer - four times
9. Most Starts in Top Five: five drivers - three times
10. Average Lead Changes per Race: 9.0
11. Average Leaders Per Race: 5.77
12. Average Cautions Per Race: 3.0

Michigan FastFacts:
With his fifth 2004 victory at Michigan, Kyle Busch tied the record for most rookie wins in a season in the NASCAR Busch Series (equals Greg Biffle’s 2001 record). No driver has won more than one pole at Michigan, 13 races, 12 pole winners (no qualifying in 2004 due to weather).

The average speed for the 1995 Michigan race of 169.571 mph is the all-time fastest average race speed in the NASCAR Busch Series. The 2004 race was the slowest at Michigan, more than 47 miles per hour slower than the1995 race.

Jeff Purvis’s 1996 win from the 27th start is the lowest start of a Michigan NBS victor. In the eight races since the race winner has started in the top five positions seven times. Eight of the 13 Michigan races have been won from the first two rows.

2005 Busch Series Points Race: The Top Three Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates are in the Top Six.

1st place Martin Truex Jr. finished fifth at Watkins Glen, adding 37 points to his 85 point lead. He has finished in the top 10 in 14 of the last 16 races. He won his sixth race of 2005 at IRP, finished 26th at Gateway, and won his fifth race of 2005 at Loudon. Truex has won at: Mexico, Talladega, Dover, Daytona 2, Loudon and IRP. 13 races ago, Truex was 318 behind first, in fourth place. Average 2005 finish, 10.6. Truex finished third, from the pole, in last year’s Michigan, his first NBS race at the track.

2nd place (-122) Clint Bowyer finished 15th at Watkins Glen, ending a streak of consecutive top 10 finishes at three and losing 37 points to first place. He was second at IRP, eighth at Gateway, and second, from the pole, at Pikes Peak. Bowyer was 16th at Loudon, sixth at Chicago, fifth at Daytona, 10th at Milwaukee, and third at Kentucky. Bowyer won his first NASCAR Busch Series race at Nashville (in his 32nd start). Bowyer has seven top fives and 15 top 10s in 2005. Average 2005 finish, 10.3. He has not previously competed at Michigan.

Head to Head
First vs. Second Place
Truex Bowyer
Top fives 13 7
Top 10s 16 15
Wins 6 1
Poles 1 1
Races Led 14 7
Laps Led 608 352
Average Finish 10.6 10.3
Lead Lap Fin. 17 22
Bonus Points 95 45
Run at End 21 23

3rd place (-219) Reed Sorenson had his worst finish of 2005 at Watkins Glen, 41st (engine), ending a streak of consecutive top 10 finishes at three. It was his fourth finish worse than 30th this season. He finished third at IRP and won his second race of 2005 at Gateway. Sorenson was seventh at Pikes Peak, 14th at Loudon, 10th at Chicago, and 20th at Daytona. He has 14 top 10 finishes in 2005 and 16 top 10 finishes in 24 races. Average 2005 finish, 12.0. He has not previously competed at Michigan.

4th place (-356) Carl Edwards finished 11th at Watkins Glen, his third finish outside the top 10 in the last four races. He was 20th at IRP and third at Gateway, his ninth top five and 14th top 10 of 2005. Edwards finished 34th at Pikes Peak, second at Loudon, and fourth at Chicago after having his worst finish of the season at Daytona, 36th (accident). He was 14th at Milwaukee and won his third race of 2005 at Kentucky. Edwards did not compete at Nashville and lost the lead in the standings. He has two poles and three wins in 2005 (Atlanta, Richmond, Kentucky). Average 2005 finish, 12.4. He has not previously competed at Michigan in the Busch Series. He made his first Nextel Cup start in the August, 2004 Michigan race, finishing 10th.

5th place (-472) Kenny Wallace finished 28th at Watkins Glen, his third consecutive finish outside the top 10. He was 11th at IRP and 24th at Gateway. Wallace finished third at Pikes Peak, his fifth top five and 10th top 10 of the season. He was 11th at Loudon, 29th at Chicago and fourth at Daytona. Wallace was eighth at Milwaukee, 14th at Kentucky and second at Nashville, his best finish (equals two others) of the season. Average 2005 finish, 14.3. He has not cracked the top 10 in eight NBS Michigan races. Best Michigan finish is 18th, 2002.

Running at Finish:
Jason Keller is the current RAF leader - 20 (started at Las Vegas).

Drivers in all 2005 races with only one Did Not Finish (DNF) are: Clint Bowyer, Ashton Lewis Jr., David Green, Jason Keller, and Kenny Wallace.

Denny Hamlin and Reed Sorenson both had their second DNFs of 2005 at Watkins Glen.

The most DNFs of a top 10 driver: four by David Stremme.

2005 Season Statistics:

2005 NASCAR Busch Series Bits: