Backstretch Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 23, 2009) – Last Sunday’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway saw two teammates battle for the win, as Kyle Busch yet again found Victory Lane, this time ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin.
It will probably happen again this Sunday.
But this time, watch for two Hendrick Motorsports teammates to toss allegiances aside in the name of victory.
Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are in a class by themselves when discussing Martinsville favorites.
The two have combined for an absurd nine of the last 12 Martinsville wins. Johnson has five during that span to Gordon’s four.

Johnson has owned the paper clip short track more so recently. With wins in four of the last five races and a series-high Driver Rating of 124.7, Martinsville ranks near the top of a crowded list of tracks at which Johnson excels.
Johnson averages a top-10 finish in 10 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ 22 tracks. His average Martinsville finish is 5.6. Only at Phoenix does the three-time champion fare better – his average finish is 5.5 there.
Before Johnson burst onto the Martinsville scene, Gordon was king of the premises.
He has seven wins there and has finished in the top five in the last eight Martinsville races.
Unlike Johnson, Gordon’s most successful track – by far – is Martinsville.
In 32 races there, Gordon has an average finish of 6.9, almost two full positions better than his second-best track (Indianapolis, 8.6).

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12 at Martinsville Speedway

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

1 Jeff Gordon 32 7 7 20 26 0 6.9 124.0
2 Kurt Busch 17 1 1 2 4 1 22.0 79.9
3 Clint Bowyer 6 0 0 0 3 0 14.0 77.2
4 Kyle Busch 8 0 0 3 4 1 18.3 90.6
5 Carl Edwards 9 0 0 1 2 0 17.3 78.5
6 Kasey Kahne 10 0 0 1 2 2 18.5 77.2
7 Tony Stewart 20 3 2 7 11 1 12.6 113.7
8 Denny Hamlin 7 1 1 4 6 1 8.9 101.3
9 Jimmie Johnson 14 1 5 10 13 1 5.6 124.7
10 Matt Kenseth 18 0 0 2 6 2 16.0 78.4
11 David Reutimann 4 0 0 0 0 1 28.3 52.3
12 Kevin Harvick 15 0 0 0 6 0 18.0 89.1

Selected Driver Highlights – Martinsville Speedway-specific
Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Martinsville Speedway. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last eight races at Martinsville. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.
Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet)
• One win, 10 top fives, 14 tops 10s
• Average finish of 14.6
• Average Running Position of 17.3, 13th-best
• Driver Rating of 84.8, ninth-best
• 87 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
• 292 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 90.881 mph, seventh-fastest
• 2,112 (52.7%) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
• 145 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), eighth-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
• Three top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 18.3
• Average Running Position of 14.9, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 90.6, sixth-best
• 103 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 90.973 mph, sixth-fastest
• 2,666 (66.5%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
• 199 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fourth-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Eight top fives, nine top 10s
• Average finish of 13.6
• Average Running Position of 10.4, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 102.4, fourth-best
• 311 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• Series-high 396 Green Flag Passes
• Average Green Flag Speed of 91.183 mph, fourth-fastest
• 3,049 (76.0%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
• 219 Quality Passes, second-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Seven wins, 20 top fives, 26 top 10s; seven poles
• Average finish of 6.9
• Average Running Position of 6.8, second-best
• Driver Rating of 124.0, second-best
• Series-high 467 Fastest Laps Run
• Series-fastest average Green Flag Speed of 91.520 mph
• 3,539 (88.3%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• Series-high 220 Quality Passes
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• One win, four top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 8.9
• Average Running Position of 11.9, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 101.3, fifth-best
• 134 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 91.113 mph, fifth-fastest
• 2,512 (71.6%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-best percentage
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• Six top 10s
• Average finish of 18.0
• Average Running Position of 15.1, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 89.1, seventh-best
• 55 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 90.863 mph, eighth-fastest
• 2,407 (60.0%) Laps in the Top 15, seventh-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• Five wins, 10 top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 5.6
• Series-best Average Running Position of 6.4
• Series-best Driver Rating of 124.7
• 446 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 91.462 mph, second-fastest
• Series-high 3,579 (89.3%) Laps in the Top 15
• 214 Quality Passes, third-most
Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Crown Royal Ford)
• One top five, seven top 10s
• Average finish of 16.9
• Average Running Position of 14.8, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 88.2, eighth-best
• 72 Fastest Laps Run, tied for 11th-most
• 2,379 (59.3%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
Tony Stewart (No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Ford)
• Two wins, seven top fives, 11 top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 12.6
• Average Running Position of 7.4, third-best
• Driver Rating of 113.7, third-best
• 312 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 91.356 mph, third-fastest
• 3,471 (86.6%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 193 Quality Passes, fifth-most
At Martinsville Speedway:
History
• Opened in September 1947 by H. Clay Earles, Martinsville Speedway, originally a dirt track, is one of the oldest continuously-operating racing facilities in the United States.
• The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville was on July 4, 1948.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 25, 1949.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race was held March 28, 1982.
• The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville was Sept. 25, 1995.
• The track was paved in 1955.
• The first 500-lap event at Martinsville was in 1956.
• Concrete corners were added atop the asphalt track in 1976.
Notebook
• There have been 120 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway.
• Curtis Turner won the pole for the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville in 1949.
• Red Byron won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville.
• 55 drivers have posted poles at Martinsville, led by Darrell Waltrip with eight.
• Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Darrell Waltrip share the consecutive pole record, each with three.
• Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven poles.
• 45 different drivers have won races, led by Richard Petty with 15.
• Fred Lorenzen holds the consecutive win record with four.
• Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven victories.
• Petty Enterprises has won 19 races, more than any other organization.
• 17 races have been won from the pole, but none since Jeff Gordon swept both races from the pole in 2003.
• Kurt Busch won the 2002 fall race from the 36th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
Hot Fact
Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last five races at Martinsville. Johnson finished 35th in his first Martinsville appearance (April 2002), his only DNF there. Since then, he has posted 13 straight top-10 finishes. Johnson has finished fourth or better in his last seven Martinsville races. He has completed all but 54 laps in his 14 appearances at Martinsville, with all his incomplete laps coming in that first appearance.

NASCAR in Virginia
• There have been 262 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia.
• 157 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series 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
Martinsville Speedway Data
Race #: 6 of 36 (3-29-09)
Track Size: .526 mile
Race Length: 500 laps/263 miles
• Banking/Corners: 12 degrees
• Banking/Straights: 0 degrees
• Frontstretch: 800 feet
• Backstretch: 800 feet

Driver Rating at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson 124.7
Jeff Gordon 124.0
Tony Stewart 113.7
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 102.4
Denny Hamlin 101.3
Kyle Busch 90.6
Kevin Harvick 89.1
Jamie McMurray 88.2
Jeff Burton 84.8
Ryan Newman 84.0
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2008 races (8 total) at Martinsville Speedway.

Qualifying/Race Data
2008 pole winner: Jeff Gordon (96.288 mph, 19.666 seconds)
2008 race winner: Denny Hamlin, 73.163 mph, 3-30-08)
Track qualifying record: Tony Stewart (98.083 mph, 19.306 secs., 10-21-05)
Race record: Jeff Gordon (82.223 mph, 9-22-96)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 140-150 laps, based on fuel mileage.