Backstretch Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 2, 2008) – With three drivers fighting for one coveted Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spot, all kinds of numbers will swirl around Richmond International Raceway this weekend. Here are some key ones:

2 – Number of drivers who will clinch just by starting Saturday night’s race. Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick will both clinch by taking the green flag (assuming there are no ties for most laps led in the race).
3 – Number of “outside looking in” drivers in the Chase’s four-year history who raced their way into the Chase with their Richmond performance. Jeremy Mayfield was the first to do it, in 2004. Ryan Newman did it in 2005 and Kasey Kahne did it in 2006.
4 – Possible number of past champions involved in this year’s Chase: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth. Johnson is the only one of the four to have already clinched a spot.
10 – Chase bonus points still on the table. Jimmie Johnson won the Richmond cut-off race last season, boosting his bonus points total to 60.
17 – Points separating 13th-place David Ragan from 12th-place Clint Bowyer. It’s the second-closest margin at the cut-off going into Richmond since the Chase’s inception in 2004. In 2005, 11th-place Ryan Newman was only one point outside the top 10, which was then the Chase cut-off.
26 – The finish Matt Kenseth needs to guarantee his fifth Chase appearance. Only Kenseth and Johnson have earned berths in all five Chases.
56 – The margin Jeremy Mayfield overcame to make the 2004 Chase. Mayfield, then 56 points out of the top 10, won the Richmond race to earn a berth. Kasey Kahne, in 14th-place, is currently 48 points outside the top 12.

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

1 Kyle Busch 7 0 0 6 6 0 5.6 110.6
2 Carl Edwards 8 0 0 0 3 1 18.9 79.7
3 Jimmie Johnson 13 2 2 3 3 1 18.8 81.0
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr 18 0 3 7 9 1 11.5 92.4
5 Jeff Burton 28 1 1 7 12 1 15.4 80.2
6 Greg Biffle 12 1 0 2 5 1 15.8 92.0
7 Kevin Harvick 15 1 1 4 9 0 11.8 118.9
8 Tony Stewart 19 0 3 7 13 2 10.9 102.3
9 Matt Kenseth 17 0 1 3 9 1 15.6 85.2
10 Jeff Gordon 31 5 2 12 19 6 15.3 88.2
11 Denny Hamlin 5 2 0 2 3 0 10.0 114.8
12 Clint Bowyer 5 0 1 1 3 0 8.8 93.2
13 David Ragan 3 0 0 1 1 0 13.3 75.0
14 Kasey Kahne 9 1 1 2 5 1 17.3 98.2

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 seven races at Richmond. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet)
• One win, three top 10s
• Average finish of 8.8
• Average Running Position of 12.3, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 93.2, eighth-best
• 265 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 117.900 mph, 10th-fastest
• Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 72.4%, sixth-best percentage
• Series-best average of 29.6 Quality Passes per race (total of 148)

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• One win, two top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 19.7
• Average Running Position of 15.5, 12th-best
• Driver Rating of 94.0, seventh-best
• 188 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.082 mph, sixth-fastest
• 1,630 (58.0%) 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 Pedigree Toyota)
• Six top fives
• Average finish of 5.6
• Average Running Position of 7.1, third-best
• Driver Rating of 110.6, third-best
• 190 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.333 mph, third-fastest
• 2,487 (88.5%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 168 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), second-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)
• Three wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s
• Average finish of 11.5
• Average Running Position of 12.0, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 92.4, ninth-best
• 150 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• Series-high 378 Green Flag Passes
• 1,766 (62.8%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
• 154 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• Two top fives, three top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 10.0
• Series-best Average Running Position of 5.3
• Driver Rating of 114.8, second-best
• 162 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.408 mph, second-fastest
• Series-best percentage of Laps in the Top 15 – 97.5% for a total of 1,959
• 104 Quality Passes (average of 20.8 per race), ninth-best average

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• One win, four top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 11.8
• Average Running Position of 5.8, second-best
• Series-best Driver Rating of 118.9
• Series-high 278 Fastest Laps Run
• Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 118.441 mph
• Series-high 2,677 (95.3%) Laps in the Top 15
• Series-high 191 Quality Passes

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge)
• One win, two top five, five top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 17.3; Finished 10th in May
• Average Running Position of 14.4, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 98.2, fifth-best
• 224 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.127 mph, fifth-fastest
• 1,864 (66.3%) Laps in the Top 15, seventh-most
• 147 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)
• One win, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 10.7
• Average Running Position of 10.1, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 95.4, sixth-best
• 2,506 (89.2%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• 153 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
• Three wins, seven top fives, 13 top 10s
• Average finish of 10.9
• Average Running Position of 9.5, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 102.3, fourth-best
• 133 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.249 mph, fourth-fastest
• 2,313 (82.3%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
• 161 Quality Passes, third-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 104 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Richmond since the track opened in 1953 – 24 on dirt and 39 on the current configuration.
• 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. and Tony Stewart (three) lead the active race winners.
• Petty Enterprises has won 15 races at Richmond, more than any other car owner.
• 59 of 104 races at Richmond have been won from the top five starting positions, including 21 from the pole.
• Nine of the past 10 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 this season’s spring race.
• There have been 10 different pole winners in the past 11 races. Denny Hamlin is the only repeat pole winner in the 11-race period.
• 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 260 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Virginia:
• 155 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 NCTS
Joe Weatherly 25 0 0
Ricky Rudd 23 1 0
Jeff Burton 20 27 0
Curtis Turner 17 0 0
Ward Burton 5 4 0
Denny Hamlin 4 8 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 # 26 of 36 (9-6-08)
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 118.9
Denny Hamlin 114.8
Kyle Busch 110.6
Tony Stewart 102.3
Kasey Kahne 98.2
Ryan Newman 95.4
Kurt Busch 94.0
Clint Bowyer 93.2
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 92.4
Greg Biffle 92.0
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2008 races (7 total) at Richmond.

Qualifying/Race Data
2007 pole winner: Jimmie Johnson (126.298 mph, 21.378 seconds)
2007 race winner: Jimmie Johnson (91.813 mph, 9-8-07)
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