|
|
Numbers Game: Analyzing the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 30, 2008) – The July 4th weekend NASCAR tradition continues this weekend at Daytona International Speedway – the 50th running of what is now known as the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola. The milestone lends itself perfectly to a By the Numbers:
2 – Margins of Victory in this race that rank in the top five closest since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993. In 1994, Jimmy Spencer beat Ernie Irvan to the line by .008 seconds, which is tied for the fifth-closest MOV since 1993. Last year, Jamie McMurray nipped Kyle Busch by .005 seconds, tying the second-closest MOV ever.
7 – Passes for the lead on the final lap of last year’s July Daytona race. McMurray and Kyle Busch battled back and forth last year, exchanging the lead seven times over the final 2.5 miles.
22 – Races without a win by Jeff Gordon. Gordon, who is still looking for win No. 82, has been without a victory since race No. 31 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last season. But, the drought could end this weekend – he has six wins at Daytona.
31 – Races without a win by Tony Stewart. Stewart owns the top Driver Rating at Daytona (108.1) and has two career series wins at DIS, both in the July race.
1982 – The last time a driver swept at Daytona. Bobby Allison won both Daytona races that year, and the feat has not occurred again in the 25 years since. That string could end this year, as Ryan Newman owns strong stats at DIS. The 2008 Daytona 500 winner has a Driver Rating of 98.6 (second-best) and an Average Running Position of 11.3 (second-best).
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12 at Daytona International Speedway
| | Driver | Races | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Average Finish | Driver Rating |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 17.7 | 95.3 |
| 2 | Jeff Burton | 29 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 16.8 | 85.2 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 17 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 13.9 | 87.5 |
| 4 | Carl Edwards | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 24.7 | 78.1 |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | 13 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 13.2 | 95.5 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | 31 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 4 | 14.7 | 91.9 |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 72.2 |
| 8 | Greg Biffle | 11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 20.8 | 78.8 |
| 9 | Tony Stewart | 19 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 17.6 | 108.1 |
| 10 | Kasey Kahne | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 18.1 | 78.4 |
| 11 | Clint Bowyer | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 88 |
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 16.2 | 83.2 |
Selected Driver Highlights
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Daytona International Speedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – however, cover the last six races at Daytona. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet)
Three top 10s
Average finish of 13.0
Average Running Position of 15.6, 12th-best
Driver Rating of 88.0, ninth-best
Average Green Flag Speed of 184.864 mph, 10th-fastest
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
Seven top fives
Average finish of 19.3
Average Running Position of 15.1, ninth-best
Driver Rating of 93.0, fifth-best
26 Fastest Laps Run, tied for 12th-most
847 (65.8%) Laps in the Top 15, seventh-most
768 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 11th-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
Three top fives
Average finish of 17.7
Average Running Position of 12.6, fourth-best
Driver Rating of 95.3, fourth-best
25 Fastest Laps Run, tied for 14th-most
948 (73.6%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
981 Quality Passes, second-most
Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet)
One win, six top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
Average finish of 16.8
Average Running Position of 15.6, 11th-best
Driver Rating of 85.2, 11th-best
28 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
1,442 Green Flag Passes, second-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 184.902 mph, eighth-fastest
724 (56.2%) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
829 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
Two wins, six top fives, 10 top 10s
Average finish of 13.9
Average Running Position of 14.8, sixth-best
Driver Rating of 87.5, 10th-best
40 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
840 (65.2%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
851 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
Six wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
Average finish of 14.7
Average Running Position of 12.7, fifth-best
Driver Rating of 91.9, seventh-best
1,240 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 184.921 mph, seventh-fastest
866 (67.2%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most
818 Quality Passes, ninth-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
One win, five top fives, eight top 10s; two poles
Average finish of 13.2
Series-high Average Running Position of 9.8
Driver Rating of 95.5, third-best
1,194 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 184.995 mph, fourth-fastest
Series-high 985 (76.5%) Laps in the Top 15
910 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
One top five, six top 10s
Average finish of 20.4; Finished 36th in February
Average Running Position of 15.1, 10th-best
Driver Rating of 92.4, sixth-best
39 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 184.981 mph, fifth-fastest
876 (68.0%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
943 Quality Passes, third-most
Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)
One win, two top fives, three top 10s
Average finish of 18.7
Average Running Position of 11.3, second-best
Driver Rating of 98.6, second-best
30 Fastest Laps Run, tied for seventh-most
1,342 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
Average Green Flag Speed of 185.055 mph, second-fastest
971 (75.4%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
Series-high 988 Quality Passes
Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
Two wins, six top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
Average finish of 17.6
Average Running Position of 12.4, third-best
Series-best Driver Rating of 108.1
37 Fastest Laps Run, tied for fourth-most
906 (70.3%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
At Daytona International Speedway:
History
Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was on November 25, 1957.
The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona was held on Feb. 13, 1982.
Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under lights ever since.
The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona was held on Feb. 18, 2000.
Notebook
There have been 122 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at the Daytona International Speedway since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 50 have been 500 miles, 45 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races (one in 1959; two from 1960-1971).
Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole.
Bob Welborn won the first race, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, in 1963.
50 drivers have posted poles; 19 have more than one.
Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 13 poles.
Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles.
52 drivers have won; 24 have won more than once.
Richard Petty leads all drivers in victories at Daytona with 10.
Jeff Gordon has six victories at Daytona, more than any other active driver.
The Wood Brothers have won 14 races at Daytona, more than any other organization.
15 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole. Thirteen have been won from the second starting position, for a total of 28 race winners from the front row.
A driver has swept both races at Daytona only four times, most recently by Bobby Allison in 1982.
Bill Elliott won the 1988 summer race from 38th, the deepest in the field that a Daytona race winner has started.
Tony Stewart has led 531 laps in 19 races at Daytona, more than any other active driver. He is 10th all-time in laps led there. Jeff Gordon is 12th all-time in Daytona laps led with 511 – but Gordon has competed in 12 more races there than Stewart.
NASCAR in Florida
There have been 157 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in Florida:
All-time, 150 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series have their home state recorded as Florida.
There have been nine race winners from Florida in NASCAR’s three national series:
| Driver | NSCS | NNS | NCTS |
| Fireball Roberts | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| LeeRoy Yarbrough | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Marshall Teague | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Nemechek | 4 | 16 | 0 |
| Bobby Johns | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Shorty Rollins | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Wilson | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| David Reutimann | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Aric Almirola | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Daytona International Speedway Data
Race #: 18 of 36 (7-5-08)
Track Size: 2.5 miles
Race Length: 400 miles (160 laps)
Banking/Corners: 31 degrees
Banking/Straights: 3 degrees
Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees
Driver Rating at Daytona:
Tony Stewart 108.1
Ryan Newman 98.6
Jimmie Johnson 95.5
Kyle Busch 95.3
Kurt Busch 93.0
Matt Kenseth 92.4
Jeff Gordon 91.9
Sam Hornish Jr.* 90.1
Clint Bowyer 88.0
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 87.5
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2007 races (7 total) at Daytona.
* -- Hornish has run one race at Daytona.
Qualifying/Race Data
2007 pole winner: None (inclement weather)
2007 race winner: Jamie McMurray, 138.983 mph, 7-7-07)
Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (210.364 mph, 42.783 secs., 2-9-87)
Track race record: Bobby Allison (173.473 mph, 7-4-80)
Estimated Pit Window: 36-38 laps depending on fuel mileage.
News and Results |
Point Standings |
2008 Schedule |
2008 Teams |
2007 Schedule and Results
©Copyright 2008 Race 2 Win
|
