Race 2 Win: Advance Auto Parts 500

Nextel Cup Series

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Advance Auto Parts 500 - Race Notes

Martinsville Speedway

Track data:
Race #: 6 of 36 (4-10-05)
Track Size: 0.526 Mile
Event: Advance Auto Parts 500
Number of Laps: 500
Location: Martinsville, VA
Length of Event: 263 Miles
Length of Front Stretch: 800 Ft.
Degree of Banking in Corners: 12°
Length of Back Stretch: 800 Ft.
Degree of Banking on Straights: None

Qualifying/Race data:
Last year’s event pole winner: Jeff Gordon 93.502 mph 4-16-04 20.252 seconds
Last year’s event winner: Rusty Wallace 68.169 mph 4-18-04 3 hrs, 51 min, 29 sec
Track qualifying record: Ryan Newman 97.043 mph 10-22-04 19.513 seconds
Track race record: Jeff Gordon 82.223 mph 9-22-96 3hrs, 11min, 55 sec

Historical data
Previous winners:
Richard Petty (15) Darrell Waltrip (11) Rusty Wallace (7) Cale Yarborough (6) Dale Earnhardt (6) Fred Lorenzen (6) Jeff Gordon (5) Geoffrey Bodine (4) Harry Gant (3) Ricky Rudd (3) Jim Paschal (3) Lee Petty (3) Junior Johnson (2) Rex White (2) Buck Baker (2) Bill Welborn (2) Bobby Isaac (2) Curtis Turner (2) Herb Thomas (2) Mark Martin (2) Fireball Roberts (1) Earl Ross (1) Nelson Stacy (1) Joe Weatherly (1) Jack Smith (1) Buddy Baker (1) David Pearson (1) Ernie Irvan (1) Dave Marcis (1) Morgan Shepherd (1) Jeff Burton (1) Bobby Hamilton (1) John Andretti (1) Tony Stewart (1) Dale Jarrett (1) Ricky Craven (1) Bobby Labonte (1) Kurt Busch (1) Red Byron (1) Tim Flock (1) Frank Mundy (1) Dick Rathman (1) Speedy Thompson (1) Jimmie Johnson (1)
Races won from the pole: 17 of 108 events (16%)
Races won from in top 10: 82 of 108 events (76%)
Races won from outside top 10: 26 of 108 events (24%)
NOTE: Four starting positions of dirt races held between 1950 and 1954 are unknown and missing in totals AND percentages above.

Track Milestones

Red Byron won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup (Grand National) 200-lap dirt race at Martinsville Speedway on September 25, 1949 in an Oldsmobile.

A Dodge driven by Buck Baker won The Virginia 500 in 1956, the first 500-lap race at Martinsville. Prior to that, the races at Martinsville were all 200 laps or less; all run on dirt.

The front and backstretch pit roads were combined into one pit road in October 1999.

A new infield garage area and widened pit road was completed prior to the 2001 Virginia 500.

Track Update
There have been 15 different race winners at Martinsville since 1993, yet there are only two repeat race winners in the 24-race period: Jeff Gordon (both races 2003, fall 1999, spring 1997 and fall 1996) and Rusty Wallace (spring 2004, spring 1996, spring 1995 both races in 1994 and spring 1993).

Manufacturer Update
A Chevrolet has won three of the last four races at Martinsville. All were owned by Hendrick Motorsprorts with Jeff Gordon posting two of those victories and Jimmie Johnson one. The other victory was scored by Rusty Wallace who posted the first Dodge Martinsville victory since Dave Marcis in the fall of 1975 when the Miller Lite Dodge driver won there in April 2004.

Qualifying Update
There have been just two Bud Pole winners in the last six races at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon won four Bud Poles and Ryan Newman won two. Newman has started from a top-10 starting position in all six of his races at the Virginia short track. Gordon has posted 17 top-10 starts in 24 races at Martinsville, including top-five starts in eight of his last nine races there.

Fuel/Tire Data
Goodyear Tire Codes: Left-side -- D-6834; Right-side -- D-6836
Other Nextel Cup Tracks At Which This Tire Combination Will Be Run: None
Estimated Pit Window: Every 150-160 laps, based on fuel mileage.
Speed Limits: Pit Road – 35 mph; Caution Car – 40 mph

The Money
Purse $5,306,617
NASCAR NEXTEL Leader Bonus $20,000
MBNA Mid-Race Leader Bonus $25,000

Would You Believe?
Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett have all posted seven top-10 finishes in the past 10 races at Martinsville. Gordon has won twice and Jarrett once but Burton has one more top-five finish (five) and the best average-finish of the three over the 10-race period (8.90). Dale Earnhardt Jr., also has five top-five finishes over the same 10 race period but has an average finish of 15.2. Earnhardt’s only finish better than 26th in his five finishes outside the top-five was 11th in April 2001.

Notebook

One session with two qualifying laps will be run to determine the starting positions with adjustments made as required.

The Advance Auto Parts 500 will be the first race of the 2005 season which will use current owner points to determine the guaranteed starters.

There have been 112 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Martinsville since 1949.

Jeff Gordon is the defending Bud Pole winner for the Advance Auto Parts 500.

Darrell Waltrip is the all-time Bud Pole winner at Martinsville scoring eight poles at the Virginia track. He scored his first pole there in the fall of 1976 and his last in the spring of 1992.

Jeff Gordon has scored five Bud Poles at Martinsville, the most among active drivers.

The same driver has won back-to-back Bud Poles at Martinsville only twice since 1990, both posted three consecutive Bud Poles: Mark Martin (fall 1990 through fall 1991) and Jeff Gordon (spring 2003 through spring 2004).

Darrell Waltrip (spring 1979 through spring 1980) and Glen Wood (fall 1959 through fall 1960) also posted three consecutive Bud Poles at Martinsville.

Rusty Wallace is the defending race winner of the Advance Auto Parts 500.

Richard Petty is the all-time Martinsville race winner scoring 15 of his 200 career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victories at the Virginia track.

Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with seven victories at Martinsville.

The race has been won from the Bud Pole 17 times at Martinsville, the most productive starting position. Additionally, the second starting position has provided 14 winners, third 13 and fourth 11, for a total of 55 victories from the top-four starting positions.

Kurt Busch won the 2002 Old Dominion 500 from the 36th starting position - the farthest back a race winner has started at Martinsville.

A sweep has occurred nine times in the 55 years of continuous twice-a-year NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing at Martinsville (1950 to 2004) – most recently by Jeff Gordon in 2003.

Rusty Wallace (1994), Geoffrey Bodine (1990), Darrell Waltrip (1989), Cale Yarborough (1977), Richard Petty (1967, 1969 and 1972) and Fred Lorenzen (1964) are the other drivers to win both races there in the same year.

Fred Lorenzen became the first driver to sweep Martinsville when he won both races there in 1964. Lorenzen won both races from the pole while driving the factory-backed Holman Moody Ford. Jeff Gordon swept both races from the Bud Pole in 2003 – becoming the only driver other than Lorenzen to win from the pole in both races in a season at Martinsville.

Fifty-five of 112 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup 500-lap races at Martinsville have been won from the first four starting positions – including both races in 2003 which Jeff Gordon won from the Bud Pole. However, seven of the last 12 have been won from a starting position of 13th or worse, including three from outside the top 20.

Lately Starting Up Front is NOT Important at Martinsville
Despite 31 of the 112 races at Martinsville being won from the front row (28 percent), both races in 2004 were won from starting positions outside the top 15. Rusty Wallace won this race one year ago from 17th while Jimmie Johnson won from 18th last October.

It's The Same Old Song
Only two drivers have won Bud Poles at Martinsville in the last six races: Jeff Gordon (four) and Ryan Newman (two).

Big Winners at Martinsville
Richard Petty won 15 races in 67 starts at Martinsville, more than any other driver. Darrell Waltrip scored 11 victories at the Virginia short track. Rusty Wallace has scored seven victories in 42 races there, the most among active drivers, but less than half what Petty accomplished.

Strong Starter at Martinsville Speedway
Jeff Gordon posted eight top-five starts, including five Bud Poles in the last nine races at Martinsville Speedway. Gordon started 15th there last fall, his worst start at Martinsville since he started 25th there in September 1993 during his rookie season. Gordon has started first or second in five of his last six Martinsville races. Gordon has scored four straight Bud Poles in the spring race. No driver has ever scored five straight event Bud Poles at Martinsville.

Winning From Up Front at Martinsville Speedway
Fifty-five of the 112 races at Martinsville Speedway (49 percent) have been won from a top-four starting position.Martinsville Domination Jeff Gordon has an 8.416 average finish in 24 races at Martinsville Speedway, second only to Lee Petty (5.54 in 24 races) among drivers with more than five starts at Martinsville. No driver has ever reached the pinnacle that Lee Petty did at Martinsville Speedway. Petty drove his last race there in April 1962 starting and finishing fifth.

Manufacturer Update
Rusty Wallace (April 2004) scored the first victory for Dodge at Martinsville Speedway since Dave Marcis scored his career-first Grand National victory in a Dodge there in September 1975 – 29 years earlier.Would You Believe? Jeff Gordon has been running at the finish in all 24 races at Martinsville Speedway, the longest streak from a first start without a DNF among the 599 drivers that have competed there since 1949.Different Winners at Martinsville There have been nine different winners in the last 10 races at Martinsville Speedway. Jeff Gordon is the only driver to repeat, winning two of those 10 races (both in 2003).

Selected Records at Martinsville Speedway

Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five Bud Poles at Martinsville Speedway, including three of the last four races.

Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with seven victories at Martinsville Speedway.

Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with 16 top-five finishes in 42 races Martinsville Speedway.

Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 27 top-10 finishes in 53 races at Martinsville Speedway.

Rusty Wallace has led 3,585 laps at Martinsville Speedway, more than any other active driver and third all-time at Martinsville.

Ryan Newman has a 4.33 starting average in six races at Martinsville Speedway the best of all active drivers. Jeff Gordon has a 6.625 starting average in 24 races there.

Jeff Gordon has an 8.416 average finish in 24 races at Martinsville Speedway, the best of all active drivers.

Slumping at Martinsville Speedway
Michael Waltrip has scored only one top-10 finish in his last 22 races at Martinsville. That one finish (third-April 2000) is his best there.

Short-Track Success

There were five different short track winners in the six short-track races in 2004. Only Dale Earnhardt Jr. won two (first Richmond and second Bristol).

Dale Earnhardt Jr., has scored two victories and five top-five finishes in the seven short-track races, beginning 2004. Earnhardt Jr., finished fourth at Bristol.

Defending NEXTEL Cup Champion at Martinsville
Kurt Busch has competed in nine races at Martinsville, scoring one victory (October 2002) and three top-10 finishes. He finished 11th in this race one year ago and fifth there last fall.

Point Leader at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson finished 35th in his first race at Martinsville in April 2002. Since then, he has scored five straight top-10 finishes including three straight top-fives. Johnson won at Martinsville last October. Johnson is the only driver to score top-10 finishes in the each of the five races of the season. Johnson is ranked first in the point standings, 94 points ahead of second-place Greg Biffle.

Martinsville - May Spell Trouble for Some of the Top 10

Greg Biffle has never posted a top-15 finish at Martinsville Speedway.

Carl Edwards has only raced at Martinsville one time finishing 24th there last October.

Mark Martin has finished 17th, 14th, 34th and 12th in his last four races at Martinsville Speedway.

Tony Stewart finished 14th and 15th in his last two races at Martinsville Speedway.

Elliott Sadler has posted only one top-10 finish in 12 races at Martinsville Speedway. Starting Up Front Never Hurt Only Ryan Newman has started every race in 2005 from a top-10 starting position.

Streaks

Ricky Rudd has competed in 757 consecutive races, the all-time record.

Jimmie Johnson has posted 11 consecutive top-10 finishes, extending a streak that began at Charlotte last October.

Mark Martin has been running at the finish in 27 consecutive races, the longest current streak.

Get Those Bonus Points
Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to have led at least one lap in all five races in 2005.

Maintaining a Top-10 Standard

Tony Stewart has ranked in the top-10 of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings for 50 consecutive races (since Dover - September 2003), the longest current streak.

Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace have each ranked in the top 10 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after every race in 2005.

News and Results | Point Standings | 2005 Schedule | 2005 Teams | 2004 Schedule and Results