Race 2 Win: Chevy American Revolution 400

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Chevy American Revolution 400 - Race Notes

Richmond International Raceway

Track data:
Race #: 11 of 36 (5-14-05)
Track Size: .75 Mile
Event: Chevy American Revolution 400
Number of Laps: 400
Location: Richmond, VA
Length of Event: 300 Miles
Length of Front Stretch: 1,290 Ft.
Length of Back Stretch: 860 Ft.
Degree of Banking in Corners: 14°
Degree of Banking on Straights: 8° Front / 2° Back

Qualifying/Race data:
Last year’s event pole winner: Brian Vickers 129.983 mph 5-14-04 20.772 seconds
Last year’s event winner:Dale Earnhardt Jr. 98.253 mph 5-15-04 3 hrs, 3 min, 12 sec
Track qualifying record:Brian Vickers 129.983 mph 5-14-04 20.772 seconds
Track race record:Dale Jarrett 109.047 mph 9-6-97 2 hr, 45 min, 04 sec

Historical data:
Previous winners at Richmond:
Richard Petty (13) Bobby Allison (7) David Pearson (6) Darrell Waltrip (6) Rusty Wallace (6) Dale Earnhardt (5) Cale Yarborough (3) Joe Weatherly (3) Terry Labonte (3) Tony Stewart (3) Benny Parsons (2) Neil Bonnett (2) Dave Marcis (2) Davey Allison (2) Ernie Irvan (2) Dale Jarrett (2) Jeff Gordon (2) Ricky Rudd (2) Lee Petty (2) Cotton Owens (2) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2) Tim Flock (1) Buck Baker (1) Paul Goldsmith (1) Speedy Thompson (2) Tom Pistone (1) Mark Martin (1) Harry Gant (1) Bill Elliott (1) James Hylton (1) Ned Jarrett (1) Kyle Petty (1) Junior Johnson (1) Rex White (1) Tim Richmond (1) Jeff Burton (1) Matt Kenseth (1) Joe Nemechek (1) Ryan Newman (1) Jeremy Mayfield (1)
Races won from the pole: 19 of 97 events (20%)
Races won from the top 10: 77 of 97 events (80%)
Races won from outside top 10: 19 of 97 events (20%)
Note: Starting position of 1953 race unknown

Track Milestones

Buck Baker won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup pole at Richmond International Raceway on dirt in 1953.

Lee Petty won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Richmond on dirt in April 1953.

In 1968 the track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt.

Kyle Petty became the first third-generation NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race winner when he won his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race on February 23, 1986, the Miller High Life 400 at Richmond. Richard posted his first Richmond victory in 1961 and Lee won the very first Richmond race in 1953.

Davey Allison won the first 3/4-mile race at Richmond from the Bud Pole, the 1988 Miller High Life 400, after the track was increased in distance from one-half mile between the two races that season.

The first night race was held in the fall of 1991.

1999 was the first season that both Richmond races were held at night.

Manufacturer Update
Ford has a slight lead in victory lane at Richmond since the track was re-constructed to its current configuration in 1988. Ford has 13 victories in the 33 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races there since the fall of 1988, including seven of the last 17. Chevrolet has 10 victories; Pontiac has seven and Dodge has two. The other victory was by Harry Gant in an Oldsmobile (February 1991).

Qualifying Update
There has been a different Bud Pole winner in each of the past 10 races at Richmond International Raceway.

Track Update
Rusty Wallace has a 7.939 average finish in 33 races at Richmond, the best of all drivers that have competed on the 3/4-mile configuration, except for Carl Edwards, who finished sixth in the fall of 2004, his only Richmond appearance. Wallace is just one of seven drivers that have competed in all 33 races on the current configuration. Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip are the other drivers with 33 starts on the three quarter-mile configuration.

Track Tidbits

The field at Richmond will consist of 43 cars. The 43rd position is reserved for a past NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion, if needed. If unused, it will go to the next eligible owner.

Two qualifying laps will be used to determine the starting positions with the adjustments made afterwards as required.

There have been 97 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Richmond since 1953 – two each season since 1959.

There have been 33 races at Richmond since the track converted from 1/2 to a 3/4-mile track in the fall of 1988.

Brian Vickers is the defending Bud Pole winner for the Chevrolet American Revolution 400.

Retired drivers Richard Petty and Bobby Allison lead all other drivers each with eight Bud Poles at Richmond.

Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with four Bud Poles on the 3/4-mile track.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Richmond have been won from the pole 19 times since 1953, the most of any starting position.

In the 97 races at Richmond, the winner has started fourth or better in 52.

The furthermost back in the field that a Richmond race winner started was 28th by Richard Petty in the 1971 Richmond 500 (spring).

The furthermost back in the field that a Richmond race winner has started on the 3/4-mile configuration was 25th by Matt Kenseth in the 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., is the defending champion of the Chevrolet American Revolution 400.

Richard Petty scored 13 victories at Richmond, the most of all drivers.

Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with six victories at Richmond, all occurring on the 3/4-mile configuration.

In the modern era of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing at Richmond (1972 to 2004), a sweep has occurred five times. Rusty Wallace (1989) is the most recent driver to win both Richmond races in the same year.

Richard Petty won seven consecutive races at Richmond International Raceway, winning the fall race in 1970 and then sweeping 1971, 1972 and 1973.

Between 1964 and 1975 Richard Petty won 12 of 24 races and David Pearson won six, giving them 75 percent of the wins at Richmond in the 12-year period.

There have been seven different race winners in the last seven races at Richmond International Raceway.

Forty-five of the 97 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races run at Richmond have been won from the top-three starting positions. However, only 11 of the 33 races run on the current configuration have been won from third or better. Ten races on the new configuration have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.

Would You Believe?
Nineteen of the 97 races at Richmond since 1953, have been won by the Bud Pole winner, but only twice since the track was re-configured in September 1988, has the Bud Pole winner gone on to win the race: Davey Allison (fall 1988) and Bill Elliott (spring 1992).

Mr. Consistency
Rusty Wallace has been the dominator on the 3/4-mile track at Richmond since 1988. In those 33 races Wallace has: three Bud Poles (second only to Jeff Gordon with four), six victories (twice as many as closest drivers Terry Labonte and Tony Stewart; three each), 20 top-fives and 26 top-10’s (more than any other driver). led 2,933 laps (more than any other driver). His 7.939 average finish is the best among all drivers with more than one start there.

Youthful Success

Tony Stewart scored his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory at Richmond in his 25th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup start, winning the 1999 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., posted his career-first top-10 finish when he finished 10th in the 1999 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400, his fourth career race. On his next visit to the Virginia track, he scored a victory, winning the 2000 Pontiac Excitement 400 in his 32nd career start.

Ryan Newman finished second in both of his races at Richmond in his rookie season (2002) and won in his fourth attempt there (fall 2003).

Brian Vickers won the Bud Pole and finished eighth in his career-first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Richmond.

Joe Gibbs Racing Richmond Success

Tony Stewart has three victories and seven top-10 finishes in his 12 races at Richmond.

Bobby Labonte has posted nine top-10 finishes in his past 16 races at Richmond, including two runner-up finishes. Labonte followed teammate Tony Stewart across the finish line in the 1999 Exide Batteries Select 400 and then finished second to Joe Nemechek in May 2003.

Prior to the 1999 Pontiac Excitement at Richmond, Bobby Labonte had led only a total of 32 laps in his 46 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup short-track races. In that Richmond race he equaled that number of laps led on two separate occasions and led for a total of 71 laps, more than doubling his previous total.

Selected Performance at this Track
(The following is based on a minimum of three starts in the 33 races since the track was re-configured to 3/4-mile in September 1988.)
Category All-time Last 10 Races
Total Drivers 133 84
Starts Seven drivers - 33 19 drivers - 10
Poles (Races) Jeff Gordon – 4 (24) 10 drivers - 1
Wins (Races) Rusty Wallace – 6 (33) Tony Stewart – 2 (10) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 2 (10)
Top Fives (Races) Rusty Wallace – 20 (33) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 6 (10)
Top 10s (Races) Rusty Wallace – 26(33) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 7 (10
Laps Led (Races) Rusty Wallace - 2,933 (33) Rusty Wallace – 867 (10)
DNFs (Races) Jimmy Spencer – 9 (30) Jimmy Spencer – 5 (10) Derrike Cope – 9 (23)
Average Start (Races) Ryan Newman - 4.17 (6) Ryan Newman - 4.17 (6)
Average Finish (Races) Rusty Wallace - 7.94 (33) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 8.70 (10)

WHO'S HOT Heading to Richmond

Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle have each won three races in 2005, more than any other drivers.

Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to score eight top-10 finishes in 10 races in 2005.

Teammates Greg Biffle (third in points) and Kurt Busch (fourth in points) have each scored six top-10 finishes in 2005, second only to Jimmie Johnson.

Jeff Gordon has climbed from 12th to second in the point standings in the last five races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has climbed from 27th to ninth in the point standings. He remained ninth for the second straight week.

Jeff Burton has climbed from 23rd to 16th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings in the last five races.

Jamie McMurray began the season ranked 32nd in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He has climbed to eighth in the standings nine races later.

Roush Racing drivers have won five of the 10 races in 2005. All were on superspeedways. Hendrick Motorsports drivers have scored four victories and Richard Childress Racing has scored one.

Career Milestones

Ricky Rudd is expected to make his 850th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup start at Richmond International Raceway. Rudd ranks third all-time in starts, behind Richard Petty with 1,185 and Dave Marcis with 883.

Rudd is expected to make his 763rd consecutive career start this week at Richmond International Raceway, extending the all-time record for consecutive starts by a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver.

Richmond Bud Pole Winners
There have been 10 different Bud Pole winners in the last 10 races at Richmond International Raceway.

Richmond Winners
There have been seven different winners in the seven NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Richmond since September 2001.

Owner Would You Believe?
There have been seven different race winners in the last seven races at Richmond, all with different car owners.

Sweeps at Richmond
There have been eight sweeps at Richmond since twice-a-year racing began there in 1959. Rusty Wallace (1989) was the last driver to sweep both races at Richmond, 16 years ago.

Don’t Tell Me You Can’t
Matt Kenseth won the 2002 Monte Carlo 400 at Richmond from a 25th starting position. This was the furthest back a race winner has started since Richard Petty won the 1971 Richmond 500 from the 28th starting position, the lowest race winner starting position ever at Richmond.

Leading the way at Richmond

Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with 3,023 laps led at Richmond.

Ryan Newman is the only driver that has led at least one lap in all of his races at Richmond (six).

Tough at Richmond in 2004

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored top-five finishes in both Richmond races in 2004, finishing first in this race one year ago and second there last fall.

Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin scored top-10 finishes in both races at Richmond in 2004.

Up Front at Richmond

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finished among the top 10 in eight of his 11 races at Richmond. He has scored two victories and six top-five finishes in those 11 races and has never had a DNF at the Virginia short track.

Matt Kenseth has scored six top-10 finishes in his 10 races at Richmond. Five of those came in his last six races there, including a victory in the 2002 Monte Carlo 400.

Jeff Gordon has scored three straight top-10 finishes at Richmond. No other drive has more than two straight.

Selected Richmond History

Richard Petty competed in 63 races at Richmond, more than any other driver. Petty won 13, (21 percent) scored 34 top-fives (54 percent) and 41 top-10s (65 percent) in those 63 races. He led 5,128 laps at Richmond with a 10.4 starting average and a 9.1 average finish.

Dale Earnhardt scored five victories in 44 races at Richmond (11 percent), 25 top-five finishes (57 percent) and 33 top-10 finishes (75 percent) in those 44 races at Richmond. Earnhardt had a 13.2 starting average and an 8.3 finishing average at Richmond.

Ricky Rudd leads all active drivers with 52 starts at Richmond International Raceway. Richard Petty leads all drivers with 63 races at the Virginia short-track.

Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four Bud Poles at Richmond.

Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with six victories at Richmond International Raceway.

Rusty Wallace leads all active drivers with 21 top-five finishes in 42 races at Richmond International Raceway.

Rusty Wallace has scored 29 top-10 finishes at Richmond International Raceway, the most among active drivers.

Michael Waltrip has posted 11 DNFs in 36 races at Richmond, the most among active drivers.

Rusty Wallace has led 3,023 laps at Richmond International Raceway, more than any other active driver.

Jeff Gordon has a 6.875 starting average in 24 races at Richmond International Raceway, the best among drivers with starts in 10 or more races at Richmond. Ryan Newman has a 4.2 starting average in six races at Richmond.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has an 8.8 average finish in 11 races at Richmond, the best among active drivers.

Richmond Woes

Michael Waltrip, who has competed in 38 races at Richmond, scored his first Richmond top-10 finish (10th) in this race one year ago.

Robby Gordon has finished 26th or worse in nine of his 10 races at Richmond. His fourth-place finish there in this race in 2003, marked his only success at the Virginia short-track.

Jeff Green has finished 13th or worse in nine of his 10 races at Richmond. His third-place finish there in September 2002 marked his only success at the Virginia short-track.

Dale Jarrett has finished 13th or worse in his last six races at Richmond.

Sterling Marlin has not scored a top-10 finish in his last 10 races at Richmond.

No Richmond Manufacturer Dominance
Dodge, Chevrolet, Ford and Pontiac have each posed a victory in at least one of the last six races at Richmond.

Strong Starters at Richmond International Raceway

Ryan Newman has posted five straight top-five starts at Richmond.

Jeff Gordon has scored seven top-10 starts in his last eight races at Richmond.

And Beat Goes On

Jeff Burton has been running at the finish in all of his 21 races at Richmond International Raceway.

Ken Schrader has been running at the finish in his last 30 races at Richmond.

Top 10 Lap Leaders at Richmond International Raceway
Driver Starts Laps Led
1. Petty, Richard 63 5,128
2. Wallace, Rusty 42 3,023
3. Allison, Bobby 38 2,957
4. Waltrip, Darrell 51 2,159
5. Earnhardt, Dale 44 1,977
6. Pearson, David 13 1,221
7. Yarborough, Cale 22 1,212
8. Burton, Jeff 21 874
9. Rudd, Ricky 52 867
10. Bonnett, Neil 21 803

Richmond May Spell Trouble for Some of the Top 10

First-place Jimmie Johnson has finished 11th or worse in five of his six races at Richmond. His second-place finish in this race one year ago is his best Richmond finish.

Third-place Greg Biffle has scored just one top 10 finish in five races at Richmond.

Fourth-place Kurt Busch has scored just one top-10 finish in eight races at Richmond.

Fifth-place Elliott Sadler has finished 12th or worse in all 12 of his races at Richmond. His best Richmond finish, 12th, came in this race one year ago.

Seventh-place Tony Stewart has finished 19th or worse in four of the last five races at Richmond.

Marching to the Front
Jeff Gordon has climbed from 12th to second in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings in the last five races. Gordon has scored two DNFs in the first 10 races of the season. No other driver ranked 16th or better in the current point standings has more than one. Gordon is 127 points behind first-place Jimmie Johnson.

Would You Believe?
Jamie McMurray was 32nd in points after Race No. 1 at Daytona. Nine races later he ranks eighth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings.

Points Shuffle
Sterling Marlin ranked sixth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after Texas. Three races later he is 18th, the result of three straight finishes of 26th or worse.

Point Leader at Richmond
Jimmie Johnson has competed in six races at Richmond. He finished second in this race one year ago, his only top- 10 finish at the Virginia short track. While his Richmond record is less than stellar, he has been running at the finish in all of his six races there.

Defending NEXTEL Cup Champion at Richmond
Kurt Busch has competed in eight races at Richmond scoring just one top-10 finish. Like Johnson, he has been running at the finish in all of his races there.

Starting Up Front Never Hurt
Only Ryan Newman has started every race in 2005 from a top-10 starting position.

Streaks

Mark Martin has been running at the finish in 32 consecutive races, the longest current streak.

Get Those Bonus Points
Greg Biffle is the only driver to lead at least one lap in eight of the 10 races in 2005. Biffle has led 739 laps this season, 338 more than Tony Stewart (401) the next highest lap leader.

Maintaining a Top-10 Standard

Kurt Busch has ranked in the top-10 of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series point standings for 45 consecutive races since Rockingham in February 2004, the longest current streak.

Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch are the only drivers that have ranked in the top 10 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after every race in 2005.

2005 Struggles

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has led only five laps in 2005. Dale Jarrett has led only one.

Matt Kenseth ranks 24th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings after 10 races in 2005. One year ago he was fourth.

Bobby Labonte (33rd) has posted five DNFs in 10 races in 2005, more than all other drivers. Labonte ranked ninth in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings one year ago.

Robby Gordon (40th) has competed in six of the 10 races in 2005. He posted DNFs in four and has failed top qualify in four. One year ago he ranked 19th in the point standings.

2005 Short Track Standouts
In the first two short-track races in 2005:

Most Points Earned - Elliott Sadler - 313 (five more than Jeff Gordon)

Most Bud Poles – Elliott Sadler, Scott Riggs (one each)

Most Victories – Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon (one each)

Most Top-fives – 10 drivers (one each)

Most Top-10s – Elliott Sadler, Jimmie Johnson (two each)

Most Races Led – Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Matt Kenseth (two each)

Winning Manufacturer – Chevrolet (two)

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