Circuit City 250 - Race Notes

2006 NASCAR BUSCH SERIES
RACE #11 of 35 - Circuit City 250
RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Event #: 45th Busch Series race at Richmond, 35th on the 3/4 mile track and 26th at 250 laps (since 9/93).
Date: May 5th, 2006
Race Time: 8:00 P.M.
Television: FX
Radio: MRN
Track Size: .75 mile (since 09/88)
Race Distance: 187.5 miles, 250 laps
Track: Banking: Corners - 14 degrees Frontstretch - 8 degrees Backstretch - 2 degrees
Straights: Backstretch - 860 feet Frontstetch - 1290 feet Repaved, 5/04
2005 Spring Richmond Race Winner: Carl Edwards (second career win)
2005 Fall Richmond Winner: Kevin Harvick
Last Richmond Race Won From the Pole: Kyle Busch, 5/04
Worst Starting Position of a Richmond Winner: 30th, Johnny Sauter, 9/03
Most Wins at Richmond: Mark Martin - five
Most Top Fives at Richmond: Mark Martin - 14
Most Laps Led at Richmond: Mark Martin - 1,196
Most Poles at Richmond: Tommy Ellis, Michael Waltrip - five

Qualifying at Richmond:
Driver (Make) Date Speed Time
2005 Spring: Kasey Kahne (D) 05/05 128.977 mph 20.934 sec.
2005 Fall: Mark Martin (F) 09/05 127.238 mph 21.220 sec.
Track Record: Kyle Busch (C) 05/04 129.348 mph 20.874 sec.

Richmond Race Speeds:
2005 Spring: Carl Edwards (F) 05/05 85.709 mph 2hr.12min.50sec.
2005 Fall: Kevin Harvick (C) 09/05 88.634 mph 2hr.08min.27sec.
Track Record : Dale Jarrett (F) 09/95 104.928 mph 1hr.47min.13sec.

Top Ten Finishers in the 2005 Spring Richmond Race: Six started in top 10
POS DRIVER START MAKE LAPS LED
1st Carl Edwards 5 F 1
2nd Elliott Sadler 22 F 34
3rd Johnny Sauter 7 D 49
4th Kasey Kahne 1 D 51
5th Greg Biffle 17 F -
6th Jeff Green 3 D -
7th Mark Martin 10 F -
8th Matt Kenseth 11 F -
9th Clint Bowyer 2 C 66
10th Sterling Marlin 29 D -
Pole Winner Kasey Kahne finished fourth.
Leader of the Most Laps: Clint Bowyer - 66
Last Place: Justin Labonte, 40 laps, accident
Last Driver on Lead Lap: Jimmie Johnson, 25th
Most Positions Improved: +20, Elliott Sadler, 22nd to second
Most Positions Lost: -34, fourth to 38th
DNFs: 6 (accident - 6)

Top Ten Finishers in the 2005 Fall Richmond Race: Five started in the top 10
POS DRIVER START MAKE LAPS LED
1st Kevin Harvick 8 C 149
2nd Paul Menard 13 C 66
3rd Matt Kenseth 4 F 15
4th Mark Martin 1 F 10
5th Jason Leffler 5 C 9
6th Elliott Sadler 3 F -
7th Reed Sorenson 15 D 4
8th Bobby Labonte 14 C -
9th Michael Waltrip 27 C -
10th Greg Biffle 23 F -
Pole Winner Mark Martin finished fourth.
Last Place: Jeff Fuller, 23 laps, brakes
Last Driver on Lead Lap: Aaron Fike, 23rd
Most Positions Improved: +23, Stacy Compton, 39th to 16th
Most Positions Lost: -26, Carl Edwards, second to 28th
DNFs: 14 (accident - 9, other - 5)

Milestones at Richmond: (all-time)

First NASCAR Busch Series Start: last five years or current driver
Driver Date (Finish)
Joey Clanton 05/03 (22nd)
Troy Cline 03/02 (24th)
Erin Crocker 09/05 (39th)
Jeff Green 09/90 (22nd)
Steve Grissom 09/86 (30th)
Caleb Holman 05/03 (32nd)
Scott Lynch 05/04 (39th)
Boston Reid 11/04 (37th)
David Reutimann 03/02 (16th)
Josh Richeson 9/01 (40th)
Johnny Sauter 09/01 (5th)
Shane Wallace 09/03 (36th)

First NASCAR Busch Series Win:
Driver Date (# of races)
Kyle Busch 05/04 (18)
Robby Gordon 11/04 (23)
Tommy Houston 2/82 (2)
Butch Lindley 5/82 (3)
Jeff Purvis 3/96 (31)
Bobby Hamilton 9/89 (25)

First NASCAR Busch Series Pole:
Driver Date (# of races)
Geoffrey Bodine 02/82 (2)
Andy Santerre 09/98 (29)
Wayne Grubb 06/98 (10)

First NASCAR Busch Series Top Ten: last five years or active
Driver Date (Finish)
Chad Chaffin 09/99 (9th)
Johnny Sauter 9/01 (5th)
Brian Vickers 02/02 (7th)

Starting Position of Richmond Winners: Last Year’s spring winner started fifth.
Start 1st Race 2nd Race Total
Pole - 5 3 8
2nd - 3 3 6
Front Row - 8 6 14 - 32%
3rd - 5th - 5 7 12
Top Five 13 13 26 - 59%
6th - 10th - 1 4 5
Top Ten - 14 17 31 - 70%
11th - 20th - 4 3 7
21st + - 2 4 6
Total 20 24 44
The last four races and 20 of the 25 races at 250 laps have been won from a top 10 start; 15 from the first two rows and 16 from the top five.

Manufacturer Wins at Richmond: (Last-time)
Ford - 13 (05/05, Carl Edwards) Buick - 5 (03/92, Harry Gant) Pontiac - 6 (02/90, Michael Waltrip) Oldsmobile - 5 (09/92, Robert Pressley) Chevrolet - 15 (9/05, Kevin Harvick)

Last Richmond Race Same Manufacturer Top Five:
November, 2004: Chevrolet, Robby Gordon (1st), Casey Atwood (2nd), Martin Truex Jr. (3rd), Jason Leffler, (4th), Kyle Busch (5th)

Miscellaneous Richmond Stats: (all-time)
1. Most Cars Starting a Race: 43 cars - 3/97 - 9/05
2. Most DNFs in a Race: 19 cars - 5/02
3. Fewest DNFs in a Race: three cars - 3/92
4. Most Laps Led by Winner: 246 laps - Kenny Wallace, 9/96
5. Most Laps Led by a Non-Winner: 179 laps - Jeff Burton, 3/97
6. Fewest Laps Led by a Winner: one lap - Carl Edwards, 5/05
7. Races Top Five All Same Make: Chevrolet - 5/01, 9/01, 9/04
8. Driver With Most DNFs: Elton Sawyer - 11
9. Most Starts in Top Five: nine - Jeff Green, Mark Martin
10. Average Lead Changes per Race: 6.98
11. Average Leaders Per Race: 4.8
12. Average Cautions Per Race: 7.25

Wins From the Pole at Richmond: Eight of forty-four; six on the ¾ mile.
Driver Date
Sam Ard 02/83
Tommy Ellis 09/84
Harry Gant 09/88
Michael Waltrip 02/90
Jeff Purvis 03/96
Jeff Green 05/00
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 09/02
Kyle Busch 05/04 - only one at 250 lap distance

Richmond Standouts: (active drivers)
- Matt Kenseth has finished in the top eight in 10 of his last 11 Richmond races (seven top fives).
- Kenny Wallace has won nine Busch Series races three of which have been at Richmond. He has finished in the top 10 in 17 of 24 Richmond races.

Richmond Season Sweeps:
Year Driver
1982 Butch Lindley (won two of the three races held in 1982)
1991 Harry Gant
1992 Mark Martin
2001 Jimmy Spencer

NASCAR Busch Series and Nextel Cup Weekend Richmond Sweeps:
Driver Dates
Harry Gant 9/6/91 & 9/7/91

Birthdays:
Danny O’Quinn - 21 on 5/7
Bobby Labonte - 42 - 5/8

Richmond Fast Fact:
Kasey Kahne has won the Busch Pole for the last two of the last three Richmond races; he finished ninth (9/04) and fourth (5/05). Mark Martin won the 9/05 pole. It was the 28th of his career, tying him for first all-time in most poles won with Tommy Ellis.

2006 Busch Series Points Race:

1st place Kevin Harvick finished second at Talladega. It was his fifth consecutive top 10 finish. He won his second consecutive race of the 2006 season at Phoenix. Harvick is the only driver to win more than one race this season. He won at Nashville, finished eighth at Texas, second at Bristol and 11th at Atlanta, his only 2006 finish outside the top 10. He has seven top fives and nine top 10s. Average 2006 finish, 4.4 vs. 4.4 in 2005 (seven races). Harvick finished 12th in the first Richmond NBS race of 2005 and won the second Richmond NBS race of 2005. He has one other win (5/03), six top fives and seven top 10s in his 10 NBS races at the track.

2nd place (-299) Clint Bowyer finished fifth at Talladega. He was 21st at Phoenix and gained a position in the standings. Bowyer was second at Nashville, ending a streak of three races without a top 10 finish. He was 18th at Texas, 12th at Bristol and 14th at Atlanta. Bowyer has two top fives and three top 10s. Average 2006 finish, 11.6 vs. 10.9 in 2005. Last season at Richmond in NBS competition, he finished ninth in May and 11th in September.

3rd place (-372) Carl Edwards finished 10th at Talladega and gained two positions in the standings. It was his third consecutive top 10 finish. He was third at Phoenix and fifth at Nashville. He has one pole, five top fives, and seven top 10s in 2006. His best 2006 finish is third, two times, at Phoenix and California. Average 2006 finish, 14.5 vs. 8.3 in 2005. He won the May Richmond race, his first NBS race at the track, and finished 28th in the September Richmond.

4th place (-392) Denny Hamlin finished 30th at Talladega and dropped a position in the standings for the second consecutive week. It was his third finish worse than 29th in 2006, his second consecutive finish worse than 29th. Hamlin was 39th (accident) at Phoenix, his first DNF of 2006, and dropped a position in the standings. He won the pole and finished third at Nashville. He won the pole and finished 10th at Texas, gaining a position in the standings. He finished fourth at Bristol and 38th at Atlanta, his first 2006 finish outside the top 20. He has one win (Mexico), two poles, three top fives and four top 10s. Average 2006 finish, 15.5 vs. 16.5 in 2005. Last season at Richmond in NBS competition, he finished 13th in May and 34th (engine) in September.

5th place (-415) J.J. Yeley finished 34th at Talladega (accident) and dropped a position in the standings. It was his third finish worse than 28th in 2006. He was 11th at Phoenix, fourth at Nashville and 42nd (accident) at Texas, his worst finish of 2006, dropping two positions in the standings. Yeley finished ninth at Bristol and eighth at Atlanta. He has one pole (Daytona), three top fives and six top 10s. Average 2006 finish, 15.2 vs. 26.6 in 2005. Last season at Richmond in NBS competition, he finished 24th in May and 19th in September. His best finish in four Richmond NBS races

Busch Series Milestones:
Reed Sorenson made the 50th of his NASCAR Busch Series career at Talladega.
Regan Smith made the 60th of his NASCAR Busch Series career at Talladega.
Brian Vickers’s next start will be the 70th of his NASCAR Busch Series career.
Jeff Burton’s next start will be the 250th of his NASCAR Busch Series career.
Mike Wallace’s next start will be the 340th of his NASCAR Busch Series career.
Jason Keller’s next start will be the 400th of his NASCAR Busch Series career.

2006 Season Statistics: