NASCAR SNCS (CHARLOTTE) - PRE-RACE ADVANCE

Statistical Advance: Analyzing The Bank Of America 500 At Lowe's Motor Speedway

Lowe’s Motor Speedway has become NASCAR’s broom closet – its nickname could be the “House of Sweeps.”

Last year, Kasey Kahne dominated each of the LMS races en route to a series-high six wins.

And in both 2004 and 2005, Lowe’s-sponsored Jimmie Johnson won all four races. All told, Johnson has five wins at his team’s “home” track.

Now, Casey Mears looks to become the latest in the line of LMS sweepers. The way he’s running, the feat doesn’t seem far-fetched.

Mears is the only driver to collect four top 10s in the four Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races this season. His average finish over that span has been an impressive 6.0.

At LMS, Mears has three top 10s – including, of course, his first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup win at this year’s Coca-Cola 600. Mears outlasted the field in the marathon races, earning a Driver Rating of 110.8.

Other than the “sweep” character trait, LMS has become a track tough on Chase drivers. Only four of the 12 drivers competing in the Chase have a Driver Rating in the top 10 (Johnson, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth). And only two of those have a Driver Rating over 90.0 (Johnson and Busch).

The track has tamed some of the best. Five Chase drivers failed to make the top 20 in Driver Rating, and series points leader Jeff Gordon – coming off his 80th career win at Talladega – sits 20th in LMS Driver Rating with a 76.3.

Selected Driver Highlights – Lowe’s Motor Speedway-specific Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last five races at LMS. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) • One top five, three top 10s • 20.3 average finish • Driver Rating of 88.3, fifth-best • 64 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most • Fifth-fastest Green Flag Speed • 1,091 Laps in the Top 15 (58.3%), fifth-most • 162 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the Top 15 while under green), 11th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet) • One top 10 • Average finish of 29.1 • Average Running Position of 15.9, eighth-most • Driver Rating of 90.6, fourth-best • 80 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most • Second-fastest Green Flag Speed • 1,185 Laps in the Top 15 (63.4%), third-most • 238 Quality Passes, second-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet) • Four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole • 16.8 average finish • Driver Rating of 86.3, eighth-best • 47 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best • Fourth-fastest Green Flag Speed • 316 Green Flag Passes, 14th-most • 1,023 Laps in the Top 15 (54.7%), eighth-most • 169 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) • Two top fives, four top 10s • Average finish of 7.8 • Average Running Position of 15.2, fourth-best • Driver Rating of 87.9, sixth-best • 41 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most • Series-high 438 Green Flag Passes • 1,014 Laps in the Top 15 (54.2%), ninth-most • 182 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) • Four wins, 13 top fives, 15 top 10s; seven pole • Average finish of 17.3 • 64 Fastest Laps Run, tied for seventh-most • Eighth-fastest Green Flag Speed

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) • Five wins, eight top fives, 11 top 10s; two poles • Average finish of 6.2 • Series-best Average Running Position of 7.5 • Series-best Driver Rating of 121.0 • Series-high 174 Fastest Laps Run • 384 Green Flag Passes, second-most • Fastest Green Flag Speed • Series-high 1,676 Laps in the Top 15 (89.6%) • Series-high 291 Quality Passes • Series-best “Closer” – 36 positions improved over the last 10% of LMS races

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge) • Two wins • 16.9 average finish • Average Running Position of 12.9, third-best • Driver Rating of 96.4, second-best • 161 Fastest Laps run, second-most • 360 Green Flag Speed, fifth-most • 1,082 Laps in the Top 15 (57.9%), sixth-most • 214 Quality Passes, third-most

Casey Mears (No. 25 National Guard Chevrolet) • One win, three top 10s • 20.0 average finish • Average Running Position of 15.4, sixth-best • Driver Rating of 84.1, 10th-best • 321 Green Flag Passes, 12th-best • 12th-fastest Green Flag Speed • 1,185 Laps in the Top 15 (63.4%), tied for third-most • 190 Quality Passes, sixth-most

At Lowe’s Motor Speedway: History • Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway as LMS was then known in 1959. • The first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race was held on June 10, 1960. • The first night race was in 1992. The first night (twilight) point race was in the spring of 1993. • The track was repaved mid-season in 1994. • The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999. • The 2003 fall race was the first race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway run completely at night. • The track was re-paved again before the 2006 season.

Notebook • There have been 97 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, two races per year since the track opened in 1960. In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying point races held the week before the World 600. The first six fall races were 400-mile events (1960-65). • Fireball Roberts won the pole for the first race in 1960. • Joe Lee Johnson won the first race in 1960. • Thirty-six drivers have won Bud Poles, led by David Pearson with 14. • David Pearson posted 11 straight poles from the fall of 1973 through 1978. • Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven poles. • Jeff Gordon won five straight poles for the spring between 1994 and 1998. • Forty have won races at LMS, led by Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip with six each. • Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers, with five victories at Charlotte. • Rick Hendrick has won 14 races at Charlotte, more than any other car owner. • A sweep has occurred eight times, including the past three seasons: Jimmie Johnson (2004 and 2005) and Kasey Kahne (2006). • Thirteen LMS races have been won from the pole. • Jimmie Johnson won the 2003 Bank of America 500 from the 37th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started at LMS. • Ryan Newman has started fourth or better in 11 of his 13 races at LMS. He has scored six poles, two seconds and three fourth-place starts, and in spite of his 18th-place and 15th-place starts there in 2006, his 4.23 average start is the best of any driver that has competed there.

The Local Flavor • There have been 505 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races in North Carolina. • There have been 42 race winners from North Carolina in NASCAR’s three national series:

Lowe’s Motor Speedway Data

Race #: 31 of 36 (10-8-07) Track Size: 1.5 miles Race Length: 334 laps/500 miles • Banking/Corners: 24 degrees • Banking/Straights: 5 degrees • Frontstretch: 1,980 feet • Backstretch: 1,500 feet

Driver Rating at Lowe’s Motor Speedway Jimmie Johnson 121.0 Kasey Kahne 96.4 Mark Martin 95.8 Kyle Busch 90.6 Greg Biffle 88.3 Carl Edwards 87.9 Matt Kenseth 87.6 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 86.3 Brian Vickers 84.7 Casey Mears 84.1 Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005 and 2006 races (5 total) at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Qualifying/Race Data 2006 pole winner: Scott Riggs (191.469 mph, 28.203 seconds) 2006 race winner: Kasey Kahne, 132.142 mph, 10-14-06) Track qualifying record: Elliott Sadler (193.216 mph, 27.948 secs., 10-13-05) 500-mile race record: Jeff Gordon (160.306 mph)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage.