Backstretch Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 30, 2008) – The July 4th weekend NASCAR tradition continues this weekend at Daytona International Speedway – the 50th running of what is now known as the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola. The milestone lends itself perfectly to a By the Numbers:
2 – Margins of Victory in this race that rank in the top five closest since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993. In 1994, Jimmy Spencer beat Ernie Irvan to the line by .008 seconds, which is tied for the fifth-closest MOV since 1993. Last year, Jamie McMurray nipped Kyle Busch by .005 seconds, tying the second-closest MOV ever.

7 – Passes for the lead on the final lap of last year’s July Daytona race. McMurray and Kyle Busch battled back and forth last year, exchanging the lead seven times over the final 2.5 miles.
22 – Races without a win by Jeff Gordon. Gordon, who is still looking for win No. 82, has been without a victory since race No. 31 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last season. But, the drought could end this weekend – he has six wins at Daytona.
31 – Races without a win by Tony Stewart. Stewart owns the top Driver Rating at Daytona (108.1) and has two career series wins at DIS, both in the July race.
1982 – The last time a driver swept at Daytona. Bobby Allison won both Daytona races that year, and the feat has not occurred again in the 25 years since. That string could end this year, as Ryan Newman owns strong stats at DIS. The 2008 Daytona 500 winner has a Driver Rating of 98.6 (second-best) and an Average Running Position of 11.3 (second-best).

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12 at Daytona International Speedway
Driver Races Poles Wins Top Fives Top 10s DNFs Average Finish Driver Rating

1 Kyle Busch 7 0 0 3 3 1 17.7 95.3
2 Jeff Burton 29 1 1 6 8 4 16.8 85.2
3 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 17 0 2 6 10 1 13.9 87.5
4 Carl Edwards 7 0 0 1 1 2 24.7 78.1
5 Jimmie Johnson 13 2 1 5 8 1 13.2 95.5
6 Jeff Gordon 31 3 6 11 17 4 14.7 91.9
7 Denny Hamlin 5 0 0 0 0 0 27.0 72.2
8 Greg Biffle 11 1 1 1 3 0 20.8 78.8
9 Tony Stewart 19 1 2 6 10 4 17.6 108.1
10 Kasey Kahne 9 0 0 0 3 1 18.1 78.4
11 Clint Bowyer 5 0 0 0 3 0 13.0 88
12 Kevin Harvick 14 1 1 3 5 1 16.2 83.2

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

Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet)
• Three top 10s
• Average finish of 13.0
• Average Running Position of 15.6, 12th-best
• Driver Rating of 88.0, ninth-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 184.864 mph, 10th-fastest

Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• Seven top fives
• Average finish of 19.3
• Average Running Position of 15.1, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 93.0, fifth-best
• 26 Fastest Laps Run, tied for 12th-most
• 847 (65.8%) Laps in the Top 15, seventh-most
• 768 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 11th-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota)
• Three top fives
• Average finish of 17.7
• Average Running Position of 12.6, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 95.3, fourth-best
• 25 Fastest Laps Run, tied for 14th-most
• 948 (73.6%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 981 Quality Passes, second-most

Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet)
• One win, six top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 16.8
• Average Running Position of 15.6, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 85.2, 11th-best
• 28 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
• 1,442 Green Flag Passes, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 184.902 mph, eighth-fastest
• 724 (56.2%) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
• 829 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Two wins, six top fives, 10 top 10s
• Average finish of 13.9
• Average Running Position of 14.8, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 87.5, 10th-best
• 40 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• 840 (65.2%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
• 851 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Six wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 14.7
• Average Running Position of 12.7, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 91.9, seventh-best
• 1,240 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 184.921 mph, seventh-fastest
• 866 (67.2%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most
• 818 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• One win, five top fives, eight top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 13.2
• Series-high Average Running Position of 9.8
• Driver Rating of 95.5, third-best
• 1,194 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 184.995 mph, fourth-fastest
• Series-high 985 (76.5%) Laps in the Top 15
• 910 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
• One top five, six top 10s
• Average finish of 20.4; Finished 36th in February
• Average Running Position of 15.1, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 92.4, sixth-best
• 39 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 184.981 mph, fifth-fastest
• 876 (68.0%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
• 943 Quality Passes, third-most

Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)
• One win, two top fives, three top 10s
• Average finish of 18.7
• Average Running Position of 11.3, second-best
• Driver Rating of 98.6, second-best
• 30 Fastest Laps Run, tied for seventh-most
• 1,342 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 185.055 mph, second-fastest
• 971 (75.4%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• Series-high 988 Quality Passes

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
• Two wins, six top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 17.6
• Average Running Position of 12.4, third-best
• Series-best Driver Rating of 108.1
• 37 Fastest Laps Run, tied for fourth-most
• 906 (70.3%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most

At Daytona International Speedway:

History
• Groundbreaking for Daytona International Speedway was on November 25, 1957.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona was a 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20, 1959.
• The first NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona was held on Feb. 13, 1982.
• Richard Petty won his 200th career race on July 4, 1984 at Daytona.
• Lights were installed in the spring of 1998. However, the race was delayed until October that year due to thick smoke from wildfires. The second Daytona race has been held under lights ever since.
• The first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona was held on Feb. 18, 2000.

Notebook
• There have been 122 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at the Daytona International Speedway since the track hosted its first race in 1959: 50 have been 500 miles, 45 were 400 miles and four 250 miles. There were also 23 qualifier races that were point races (one in 1959; two from 1960-1971).
• Fireball Roberts won the inaugural pole.
• Bob Welborn won the first race, the 100-mile qualifying race for the Daytona 500.
• Lee Petty won the inaugural Daytona 500 on Feb. 22, 1959.
• Fireball Roberts won the first 400-mile race at Daytona, in 1963.
• 50 drivers have posted poles; 19 have more than one.
• Cale Yarborough leads all drivers with 13 poles.
• Bill Elliott leads all active drivers with five poles.
• 52 drivers have won; 24 have won more than once.
• Richard Petty leads all drivers in victories at Daytona with 10.
• Jeff Gordon has six victories at Daytona, more than any other active driver.
• The Wood Brothers have won 14 races at Daytona, more than any other organization.
• 15 full-length races at Daytona have been won from the pole. Thirteen have been won from the second starting position, for a total of 28 race winners from the front row.
• A driver has swept both races at Daytona only four times, most recently by Bobby Allison in 1982.
• Bill Elliott won the 1988 summer race from 38th, the deepest in the field that a Daytona race winner has started.
• Tony Stewart has led 531 laps in 19 races at Daytona, more than any other active driver. He is 10th all-time in laps led there. Jeff Gordon is 12th all-time in Daytona laps led with 511 – but Gordon has competed in 12 more races there than Stewart.

NASCAR in Florida
• There have been 157 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in Florida:
• All-time, 150 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series have their home state recorded as Florida.
• There have been nine race winners from Florida in NASCAR’s three national series:
Driver NSCS NNS NCTS
Fireball Roberts 33 0 0
LeeRoy Yarbrough 14 0 0
Marshall Teague 7 0 0
Joe Nemechek 4 16 0
Bobby Johns 2 0 0
Shorty Rollins 1 0 0
Rick Wilson 0 2 0
David Reutimann 0 1 1
Aric Almirola 0 1 0

Daytona International Speedway Data
Race #: 18 of 36 (7-5-08)
Track Size: 2.5 miles
Race Length: 400 miles (160 laps)
Banking/Corners: 31 degrees
Banking/Straights: 3 degrees
Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees

Driver Rating at Daytona:
Tony Stewart 108.1
Ryan Newman 98.6
Jimmie Johnson 95.5
Kyle Busch 95.3
Kurt Busch 93.0
Matt Kenseth 92.4
Jeff Gordon 91.9
Sam Hornish Jr.* 90.1
Clint Bowyer 88.0
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 87.5
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2007 races (7 total) at Daytona.
* — Hornish has run one race at Daytona.

Qualifying/Race Data
2007 pole winner: None (inclement weather)
2007 race winner: Jamie McMurray, 138.983 mph, 7-7-07)
Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (210.364 mph, 42.783 secs., 2-9-87)
Track race record: Bobby Allison (173.473 mph, 7-4-80)
Estimated Pit Window: 36-38 laps depending on fuel mileage.