Race 2 Win: Sam's Town 250

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Sam's Town 250 - Race Notes

2005 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RACE # 32 of 35 – Sam’s Town 250
MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK - MEMPHIS, TN

Event: Seventh Busch Series race at Memphis.
Date: October 22nd, 2005 Race Time: 3:30 P.M. (ET)
Television: TNT Radio: MRN
Track Size: .75 miles
Race Distance: 187.5 miles, 250 laps
Track: Banking: Corners - 11 degrees Straights - 4 degrees
Straights: Backstretch - 1,100 ft. Frontstretch - 1,100 ft.

2004 WINNER: Martin Truex Jr. (C) (Sixth win of 2004)

Sam’s Town 250 Races Won From the Pole: 1999, Jeff Green in the inaugural event and Martin Truex Jr. in 2004

Worst Starting Position of a Sam’s Town 250 Winner: 16th, Randy LaJoie, 2001 (started by points)

Average Starting Position of Sam’s Town 250 Winners: 5.0

Most Wins at Memphis: six drivers @ one each - Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green, Randy LaJoie, Scott Wimmer, Bobby Hamilton Jr., and Martin Truex Jr.

Most Top Fives at Memphis: three - Jeff Green

Most Poles at Memphis: two - Jeff Green

Qualifying at Memphis:
Driver (make) Date Speed Time
2004 Race: Martin Truex Jr. (C) 120.198 mph 22.463 sec.
Track Record: Jeff Green (C) 10/00 120.267 mph 22.450 sec.

Memphis Race Speeds:
2004 Race: Martin Truex Jr. (C) 78.560 mph 2:26:04
Track Record: Kevin Harvick (C) 10/00 92.352 mph 2:01:49

Memphis Fast Fact:
Reed Sorenson scored his first NBS top 10 finish at Memphis in 2004 (10th).

2004 victor Martin Truex Jr. was the first driver to lead the most laps and win a race at Memphis.

The leader of the most laps has led over 100 laps in each of the six Memphis races. The most laps led in a Memphis race is 179 by Jeff Green in 2000; he finished third.

Jeff Green led 414 laps in his three Memphis races and finished 1st (1999), 2nd (2001) and 3rd (2000).

Nextel Cup Regulars in the Busch Series:
Nextel Cup regulars have won 20 of the 31 races in 2005. Non-Cup regular driver winners are Clint Bowyer (1), Johnny Sauter (1), David Green (1), Reed Sorenson (2) and Martin Truex Jr. (6).

Dover winner Ryan Newman has five wins, all consecutive starts, and seven top three finishes in his seven NBS starts in 2005. Average finish 1.6 .

In seven NBS starts in 2005 Mark Martin has two wins, one pole, and five top seven finishes. Average finish, 9.0.

Kevin Harvick has three wins, two poles, and 11 top five finishes in his 18 NBS starts in 2005. He finished 24th at Lowe’s. Average finish, 1.6.

Many other Nextel Cup regulars have not fared so well in the Busch Series in 2005 – average finish, five or more races: Kasey Kahne, 16.2; Sterling Marlin, 20.4; Jeremy Mayfield, 24.4; Jamie McMurray, 20.9; Joe Nemechek, 15.1; Tony Stewart, 20.0; Michael Waltrip, 23.6.

2005 Busch Series Points Race:
1st place Martin Truex Jr. finished 11th at Lowe’s gaining 71 points on second. He was 9th at Kansas, adding 23 points to his lead. It was his first top 10 in four races. Truex finished 12th at Dover, losing 43 points. He was 27th at Richmond, losing 48 points (plus 25 due to penalty). Truex was 15th at California, ending a streak of top six finishes at four and lost 52 points. Truex has won at: Mexico, Talladega, Dover, Daytona 2, Loudon and IRP. 18 races ago, he was 318 behind first, in fourth place. Average 2005 finish, 10.9. Truex won last year’s Memphis from the pole.

2nd place (-120) Clint Bowyer finished 33rd at Lowe’s, losing 71 points to first. He was 16th at Kansas and lost 23 points to first place. It was his worst finished of 2005. He was second at Dover, gaining 43 points on first place. Bower finished 11th at Richmond, gaining 48 points on first place, plus 25 due to Truex’s penalty. He finished third from the pole and gained 52 points on first place at California. He was fourth at Bristol, 30th at Michigan, and 15th at Watkins Glen, ending a streak of consecutive top 10 finishes at three. He has nine top fives and 17 top 10s in 2005. Average 2005 finish, 11.2. He started 10th and finished fourth last year at Memphis.

Head to Head
First vs. Second Place
Truex Bowyer
Top fives 14 10
Top 10s 19 18
Wins 6 1
Poles 2 2
Races Led 18 11
Laps Led 655 428
Average Finish 10.9 11.2
Lead Lap Fin. 22 27
Bonus Points 115 70
Run at End 28 30

2005 NASCAR Busch Series Bits:

Seventh place Paul Menard has finished in the top 10 in 13 of the last 16 races. He was third at Lowe’s. He had a career-best finish of second at Richmond 2.

At California 2, rookie Reed Sorenson passed the $1,000,000 money won mark for the season.

Mark Martin’s Busch Pole at Richmond 2 was his 28th NBS pole win, tying him for first all-time with Tommy Ellis.

Ryan Newman’s Michigan win marked the first time in 2005 that a driver has scored consecutive victories.

Ryan Newman has won five of the last seven NBS races (Waktins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, and Dover). His Bristol Food City 250 victory marked the first three straight NBS race wins since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won three consecutive Busch Series races in 1999. Three straight wins have been done only six other times in the Busch Series. (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Harry Gant, Larry Pearson , Sam Ard, two times). Ard’s first streak was the all-time Series record four straight race wins, 1983. Newman’s Lowe’s win was his fifth win in his last five starts, which were not consecutive races.

The green-white-checker finish at Richmond 2 was the eighth of the season.

Three drivers have been in the top 10 all season: Carl Edwards, Reed Sorenson, and Martin Truex Jr. Three drivers in the top 10 started the season 33rd or worse: Kenny Wallace (37th), Denny Hamlin (33rd), and David Stremme (40th).

Last season Martin Truex Jr. was running at the end of every races. This season he has had three DNFs in 31 starts.

Jeff Fuller made the 180th start of his career at Lowe’s, finishing 27th (accident).

Martin Truex Jr. made the 80th start of his career at Lowe’s, finishing 11th.

Derrike Cope’s next NBS start will be the 100th of his career.

Johnny Sauter is $21,468 away from $4,000,000 in career money won.

Jamie McMurray is $32,363 away from $3,000,000 in career money won.

Kevin Lepage’s ninth place at Lowe’s 2 was the first Series top 10 finish for MacDonald Motorsports.

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