NASCAR SNCS (DAYTONA) - Analyzing The UAW-Ford 500 At Talladega Superspeedway

This weekend will mark the first time the Car of Tomorrow will race at a restrictor plate track. And the anticipation is unprecedented.

Most figure the already thrilling Talladega race will be turned up a notch.

Jeff Gordon summed it up best last Friday during his Nextel Leader Chat at Kansas Speedway:

“[The Car of Tomorrow] is only going to enhance entertainment at Talladega,” Gordon said. “I expect for it to be pretty wild, pretty crazy and a heck of a show for the fans.”

Gordon, with five Talladega wins, would know. In April, Gordon won the Talladega race, and passed Dale Earnhardt on the all-time career wins list. Gordon currently stands at 79 career wins, sixth on the all-time list.

If Gordon notched the milestone 80th win, he’d move into first place in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series standings. Gordon, in second, is six points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

Two other drivers looking to make up ground are also attempting to find thus-far elusive success at Talladega.

Clint Bowyer, in third place, sits 14 points behind Johnson. Bowyer’s best finish in three races at Talladega is 35th and his Driver Rating is 45.5, his lowest at any track.

Tony Stewart, in fourth, has performed well at Talladega, but still has not won. Talladega is one of only four tracks at which Stewart has yet to win. Stewart has eight top fives and 10 top 10s at Talladega – and has been runner-up six times.

One other note of interest: defending winner Brian Vickers will have to race his way in this weekend. His No. 83 Red Bull Toyota is 38th in the owners point standings. Selected Driver Highlights Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Talladega Superspeedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last five races at Talladega. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) • Two top fives, 10 top 10s • Average finish of 18.5 • Average Running Position of 17.1, 10th-best • Driver Rating of 83.6, eighth-best • Series-high 2,166 Green Flag Passes • 539 Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most • 1,539 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), second-most

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge) • Six top fives, 10 top 10s • Average finish of 10.2 • Series-high 40 “Closer” spots – positions improved in the last 10% of races • Average Running Position of 10.3, second-best • Driver Rating of 98.7, fourth-best • 2,068 Green Flag Passes, second-most • Series-high 767 Laps in the Top 15 • Series-high 1,672 Quality Passes • Fifth-fastest Speed in Traffic

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet) • Five wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s • 12.6 average finish • Driver Rating of 799, 13th-best • 23 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best • 1,662 Green Flag Passes, 12th-best • Seventh-fastest Green Flag Speed • 483 Laps in the Top 15, 11th-most • 1,060 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) • Five wins, 12 top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole • Average finish of 15.4 • Average Running Position of 11.7, fourth-best • Series-high Driver Rating of 103.0 • 680 Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) • One win, three top fives, four top 10s; one pole • Average finish of 19.3 • Average Running Position of 12.4, fifth-best • Driver Rating of 92.0, sixth-best • 670 Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most • 1,338 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford) • Three top fives, six top 10s • Average finish of 15.4 • Series-best Average Running Position of 9.4 • Driver Rating of 99.6, third-best • 21 Fastest Laps Run, tied for ninth-most • 1,813 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most • 749 Laps in the Top 15, second-most • 1,456 Quality Passes, third-most

Jamie McMurray (No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford) • Three top fives, four top 10s • 15.9 average finish • Average Running Position of 11.0 • Driver Rating of 100.9, second-best • 1,764 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most • Eighth-fastest Green Flag Speed • 724 Laps in the Top 15, third-most • 1,273 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet) • Eight top fives, 10 top 10s • Average finish of 12.9 • Average Running Position of 13.9, seventh-best • Driver Rating of 90.8, seventh-best • 21 Fastest Laps Run, tied for ninth-most • 1,949 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most • 544 Laps in the Top 15, tied for sixth-most • 1,076 Quality Passes, seventh-most

At Talladega Superspeedway: History • Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968. • The first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969. • The track name was changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989. • The second race was moved from July to October in 1997.

Notebook • There have been 76 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Talladega Speedway since the track opened in 1969; two a year every year except the inaugural season. • Bobby Isaac won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Bud Pole at Talladega in September 1969. Isaac went on to win the first three poles there. • Thirty-two different drivers have won a pole at Talladega. • Bill Elliott leads all drivers with eight poles at Talladega. • Jeremy Mayfield and Joe Nemechek lead all other active drivers in poles at Talladega with three. • Richard Brickhouse won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Talladega. • Thirty-five different drivers have won at Talladega, led by Dale Earnhardt (10); eighteen drivers have won more than once. • Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon lead all other active drivers in victories, each with five. • Richard Childress has won nine races at Talladega, more than any other car owner. • Thirty-one of 76 races at Talladega have been won from a top-two starting position, including 13 from the pole, while 20 have been won from a starting position outside the top 10. • The farthest back in the field that a Talladega race winner started was 36th by Jeff Gordon in 2000. • All of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Talladega have been scheduled for 188 laps, 500 miles. • There have been three green-white-checkered races at Talladega: May 2005 (194), October 2005 (190) and April 2007 (192). • Bobby Hamilton won the caution-free 2001 race with an average speed of 184.008 mph. His average speed for 188 laps was just 0.853 mph slower than the pole speed for that race set by Stacy Compton. • Mark Martin’s pace in the first Talladega race of 1997 set an all-time NASCAR NEXTEL Cup record for the fastest race ever run. He won the caution-free race with an average speed of 188.354 mph and covered the 500-mile distance in two hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds. • Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 42nd and 14th in his first two races at Talladega. In his 13 races there since, he finished eighth or better nine times, including five victories and two second-place finishes. His four consecutive victories (October 2001 through April 2003) are the most ever by a driver at Talladega. • David Gilliland posted his career-first Bud Pole in qualifying for the last season’s second Talladega race. Brian Vickers posted his career-first victory in the same race.

In Alabama… • There have been 95 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races in Alabama. • Sixty-four NASCAR drivers have their home state recorded as Talladega – including Bobby Allison, who is tied for third on the all-tie winners list with 84. (Note: Over the years many drivers have not provided or have changed their home of record.) • There have been seven race winners from Alabama in NASCAR’s three national series:

Driver

NNCS

NBS

NCTS

Bobby Allison

Davey Allison

Neil Bonnett

Donnie Allison

Red Byron

Steve Grissom

Rick Crawford

Talladega Superspeedway Data Race # 30 of 36 (10-7-07) Track Size: 2.66 miles • Banking/Corners: 33 degrees • Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees • Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees • Frontstretch: 4,300 feet • Backstretch: 4,000 feet

Driver Rating at Talladega Jeff Gordon 103.0 Jamie McMurray 100.9 Matt Kenseth 99.6 Kurt Busch 98.7 Brian Vickers 94.3 Jimmie Johnson 92.0 Tony Stewart 90.8 Jeff Burton 83.6 Denny Hamlin 83.4 David Gilliland 83.0 Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005 and 2006 races (5 total) at Talladega.

Qualifying/Race Data 2006 pole winner: David Gilliland (191.712 mph, 49.950 seconds) 2006 race winner: Brian Vickers, 157.602 mph, 10-8-06) Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (212.809 mph, 44.998 seconds, 4-30-87) Track race record: Mark Martin (188.354 mph, 5-10-97)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 34-36 laps, based on fuel mileage.