NASCAR SNCS (DAYTONA) - IN THE LOOP

'In The Loop' At Kansas Speedway

Since the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup’s inaugural 2004 year, the standings have never been this tight at the top. Two points separate first-place Jeff Gordon from second-place Tony Stewart. Third-place Jimmie Johnson trails Gordon by four points. And fourth-place Kyle Busch is only 10 behind.

From the looks of it, the gridlock at the top of the standings should continue after the checkered flag flies at Kansas. The top four – as well as fifth-place Clint Bowyer, who is 18 points back – have strong statistics at Kansas. Below is a driver-by-driver breakdown at Kansas since 2005:

Jeff Gordon at Kansas Date Finish ARP DR FLR LT15% 10/05 10 9.8 103.9 5 93.6 10/06 39 15.4 80.2 7 69.3 ARP: Avg. Running Position; DR: Driver Rating; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15

Tony Stewart at Kansas Date Finish ARP DR FLR LT15% 10/05 4 4.1 117.6 9 98.1 10/06 1 7.3 114.7 2 88.0 ARP: Avg. Running Position; DR: Driver Rating; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15

Jimmie Johnson at Kansas Date Finish ARP DR FLR LT15% 10/05 6 9.2 105.6 14 94.0 10/06 14 2.5 130.3 60 100.0 ARP: Avg. Running Position; DR: Driver Rating; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15

Kyle Busch at Kansas Date Finish ARP DR FLR LT15% 10/05 21 21.2 65.8 1 10.1 10/06 7 7.0 114.7 33 91.0 ARP: Avg. Running Position; DR: Driver Rating; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15

Clint Bowyer at Kansas Date Finish ARP DR FLR LT15% 10/06 9 8.8 106.0 21 74.5 ARP: Avg. Running Position; DR: Driver Rating; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15

Of the top five, only two drivers have failed to earn a Driver Rating of at least 100 over the last two years at Kansas – Jeff Gordon last year and Kyle Busch in 2005 (his first career visit to Kansas Speedway).

Also, the two lowest percentages of Laps in the Top 15 was Kyle Busch’s 10.1% in 2005 and Jeff Gordon’s rare 39th-place finish (fuel pump) last year. Gordon had a still-respectable 69.3% in that race.

In other words, figure the top five in points to run in the top 15 all day, which would translate into a strong points day – which, in turn, would continue the tightness at the top.

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Below are the top five in three key Loop Data categories:

Driver Rating 1. Jimmie Johnson – 118.0 2. Tony Stewart – 116.2 3. Greg Biffle – 115.4 4. Mark Martin – 114.4 5. Clint Bowyer – 106.0

Average Running Position 1. Tony Stewart – 5.7 2. Jimmie Johnson – 5.9 3. Greg Biffle – 6.5 4. Mark Martin – 8.6 5. Clint Bowyer – 8.8

Fastest Laps Run 1. Jimmie Johnson – 74 2. Greg Biffle – 68 3. Kyle Busch – 34 4. Carl Edwards – 28 5. Matt Kenseth – 26