Backstretch Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 27, 2009) – Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway was unpredictable in every way but one. There was a safe bet going in that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings would shake up a bit, and that is exactly what happened.
Each new wrinkle in the standings offers a new storyline going into Richmond:

• Kurt Busch is the new points leader, overtaking Jeff Gordon by five points. Gordon held the top spot for the last six races. Busch, after a Talladega finish of sixth, assumes the lead for the first time since March 13, 2005.
• Mark Martin’s victory parade is short lived. After his win at Phoenix, Martin moved to 13th-place. But after only his sixth 43rd-place finish in 731 starts, Martin fell 18th. He is now 92 points outside the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cut-off.
• Ryan Newman lands on the Chase bubble. Newman, who finished third at Talladega, has shrugged off a slow start that saw four consecutive finishes outside the top 20. He is now just 30 points outside the top 12. Only six races ago, Newman was 32nd in the points.
• Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne are going in opposite directions. Biffle, off three consecutive top 10s, is back in the top 12. Kahne, coming off four consecutive finishes outside the top 10, got bounced from the top 12 and sits 14th.
• Marcos Ambrose is the biggest mover this week, vaulting seven spots up the standings. His fourth-place finish at Talladega (which was his second career top five) moved him into the top 20.

Driver Races Poles Wins Top Fives Top 10s DNFs Average Finish Driver Rating

1 Kurt Busch 16 0 1 2 5 1 19.1 93.1
2 Jeff Gordon 32 5 2 12 20 6 15.1 89.4
3 Jimmie Johnson 14 2 3 4 4 1 17.5 85.9
4 Tony Stewart 20 0 3 8 14 2 10.5 104.9
5 Denny Hamlin 6 2 0 3 4 0 8.8 115.3
6 Kyle Busch 8 0 0 6 6 0 6.8 109.9
7 Carl Edwards 9 0 0 0 3 1 18.2 80.5
8 Clint Bowyer 6 0 1 1 3 0 9.3 93.3
9 Jeff Burton 29 1 1 7 13 1 15.0 83.3
10 Greg Biffle 13 1 0 2 5 1 15.7 89.9
11 David Reutimann 4 0 0 0 1 0 18.3 73.8
12 Matt Kenseth 18 0 1 3 9 1 16.9 82.7
1 Kurt Busch 16 0 1 2 5 1 19.1 93.1
2 Jeff Gordon 32 5 2 12 20 6 15.1 89.4

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

Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet)
• One win, one top five, three top 10s
• Average finish of 9.3
• Average Running Position of 12.2, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 93.3, seventh-best
• 329 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.436 mph, ninth-fastest
• 1,734 Laps in the Top 15 (72.0%), 13th-most
• 179 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• One win, two top fives, five top 10s
• Average finish of 19.1
• Average Running Position of 15.3, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 93.1, eighth-best
• 190 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• 342 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.553 mph, sixth-fastest
• 1,883 Laps in the Top 15 (58.7%), 12th-most
• 182 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Pedigree Toyota)
• Six top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 6.8
• Average Running Position of 8.1, third-best
• Driver Rating of 109.9, third-best
• 225 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.881 mph, third-fastest
• 2,737 Laps in the Top 15 (85.3%), second-most
• 194 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy Drink/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Three wins, eight top fives, 10 top 10s
• Average finish of 11.1
• Average Running Position of 10.9, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 97.0, fifth-best
• 203 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• 429 Green Flag Passes, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.591 mph, fifth-fastest
• 2,161 Laps in the Top 15 (67.3%), sixth-most
• 202 Quality Passes, second-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont/Pepsi Throwback Challenger Chevrolet)
• Two wins, 12 top fives, 20 top 10s; five poles
• Average finish of 15.1
• Average Running Position of 16.2, 13th-best
• Driver Rating of 89.4, 13th-best
• 98 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
• 1,943 Laps in the Top 15 (60.5%), 10th-most
• 167 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• Three top fives, four top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 8.8
• Series-best Average Running Position of 5.4
• Driver Rating of 115.3, second-best
• 201 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.957 mph, second-fastest
• 2,354 Laps in the Top 15 (97.7%), fifth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• One win, four top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 11.5
• Average Running Position of 5.8, second-best
• Series-best Driver Rating of 118.8
• Series-high 319 Fastest Laps Run
• Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 117.963 mph
• Series-high 3,069 Laps in the Top 15 (95.6%)
• Series-high 246 Quality Passes

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge)
• One win, two top fives, five top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 17.5
• Average Running Position of 15.4, 12th-best
• Driver Rating of 94.2, sixth-best
• 225 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• 373 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.537 mph, seventh-fastest
• 1,916 Laps in the Top 15 (59.7%), 11th-most
• 158 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet)
• Three wins, eight top fives, 14 top 10s
• Average finish of 10.5
• Average Running Position of 8.9, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 104.9, fourth-best
• 165 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.839 mph, fourth-fastest
• 2,709 Laps in the Top 15 (84.4%), third-most
• 202 Quality Passes, second-most

At Richmond International Raceway:
History
• Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a .5-mile dirt track.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on April 19, 1953.
• The spring 1964 race was run on a Tuesday night under temporary lighting.
• The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.
• The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.
• The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.
• Track was re-measured to .500 miles in April; then to .542 miles in September 1969.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond was Feb. 20, 1982.
• The track was rebuilt as a .750-mile D-shaped oval following the spring race on Feb. 21, 1988.
• The first race under permanent lights was held Sept. 7, 1991.
• The first season with both races as night races was 1999.

Notebook
• There have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond since the track opened in 1953.
• The current 400-lap race length was established on the .542-mile measurement in March 1976.
• Buck Baker won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in 1953.
• Lee Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race in April 1953.
• Davey Allison won the first .750-mile race at Richmond from the pole.
• There have been 46 different pole winners, led by Bobby Allison and Richard Petty (eight).
• Jeff Gordon (five) leads active drivers with five poles.
• 45 different drivers have posted victories at Richmond, led by Richard Petty (13).
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson (three) lead the active race winners.
• Petty Enterprises has won 15 races at Richmond, more than any other car owner.
• 60 of 105 races at Richmond have been won from the top five starting positions, including 21 from the pole.
• 11 of the past 12 races have been won from the top 10.
• The furthest back in the field that a race winner started was 31st, by Clint Bowyer in 2008’s spring race.
• Kyle Petty became the first third-generation NASCAR race winner when he won his first race, at Richmond, on February 23, 1986. Richard Petty posted his first Richmond victory in 1961 and Lee won the very first Richmond race in 1953.

NASCAR in Virginia
• There have been 263 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.
• 157 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Virginia.
• There have been 18 race winners from Virginia in NASCAR’s three national series:

Driver NSCS NNS NCWTS
Joe Weatherly 25 0 0
Ricky Rudd 23 1 0
Jeff Burton 21 27 0
Curtis Turner 17 0 0
Ward Burton 5 4 0
Denny Hamlin 4 9 0
Glen Wood 4 0 0
Elliott Sadler 3 5 0
Emanuel Zervakis 2 0 0
Lennie Pond 1 0 0
Wendell Scott 1 0 0
Tommy Ellis 0 22 0
Jimmy Hensley 0 9 2
Rick Mast 0 9 0
Hermie Sadler 0 2 0
Elton Sawyer 0 2 0
Stacy Compton 0 0 2
Jon Wood 0 0 2

Richmond International Raceway Data
Race # 10 of 36 (5-2-09)
Track Size: .75 miles
• Banking/Corners: 14 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 8 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
• Frontstretch: 1,290 feet
• Backstretch: 860 feet
Driver Rating at Richmond
Kevin Harvick 118.8
Denny Hamlin 115.3
Kyle Busch 109.9
Tony Stewart 104.9
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 97.0
Kasey Kahne 94.2
Clint Bowyer 93.3
Kurt Busch 93.1
Ryan Newman 92.3
Terry Labonte 91.6
Mark Martin 91.0
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2008 races (8 total) at Richmond.

Qualifying/Race Data
2008 pole winner: Denny Hamlin (126.198 mph, 21.395 seconds)
2008 race winner: Clint Bowyer (95.786 mph, 5-3-08)
Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers (129.983, 20.772 seconds, 5-14-04)
Track race record: Dale Jarrett (109.047 mph, 9-6-97)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 85-95 laps, based on fuel mileage