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A Look to Indianapolis
Jimmie Johnson won at Indianapolis in 2006, providing a huge boost to his championship run. |
Thursday, July 26, 2007
From NASCAR Press Release
Win at historic track often leads to championships
(DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.) - Kissing the bricks after a victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway sometimes foreshadows bigger things.
For the past two years, the winner of the Brickyard 400 has gone on to win the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series championship. In 2005, Indiana native Tony Stewart won his personal Holy Grail race, and went on to win the championship at season's end.
The same occurred last season, as Jimmie Johnson pulled off the Indy-Cup double.
In fact, the winner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race has won the championship in the same year six times in the 13 years the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series has raced at Indy:
2006: Jimmie Johnson
2005: Tony Stewart
2001: Jeff Gordon
2000: Bobby Labonte
1999: Dale Jarrett
1998: Jeff Gordon
Furthermore, the eventual NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion finished outside the top 10 at Indy only once - Stewart finished 12th in 2002.
The above statistic could equal good news for Matt Kenseth, who is looking to become the first driver from Roush Fenway Racing to win the Brickyard 400.
Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion, has finished second twice at IMS - in 2003 and last season. He also leads all drivers in Average Running Position (5.8) over the past two years. Kenseth currently sits third in the series standings.
Following is a look at the top 12 drivers in the NEXTEL Cup standings and their histories at Indianapolis:
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
| Rank | Driver | Races | Poles | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Avg. Finish | | 1 | Jeff Gordon | 13 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 9.3 | | 2 | Denny Hamlin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.0 | | 3 | Matt Kenseth | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 13.7 | | 4 | Jeff Burton | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19.2 | | 5 | Carl Edwards | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.5 | | 6 | Tony Stewart | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8.4 | | 7 | Jimmie Johnson | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 20.4 | | 8 | Kevin Harvick | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7.8 | | 9 | Kyle Busch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8.5 | | 10 | Clint Bowyer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4.0 | | 11 | Martin Truex Jr. | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30.5 | | 12 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19.3 |
Top Performers at Indianapolis
Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet)
• One top-five, two top-10s; one pole
• Average finish of 19.2
• 187 Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Four wins, seven top-fives, 10 top-10s; three poles
• Average finish of 9.3
• Second-best closer - 17 positions improved in the last 10 percent of laps in each race
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• One win, three top-fives, four top-10s; one pole
• Average finish of 7.8
• Average Running Position of 9.2, fifth-best
• 275 Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet)
• One win, two top-10s
• Average finish of 20.4
• 184 Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge)
• Two top-fives
• Average finish of 14.0
• Average Running Position of 6.4, second-best
• 304 Laps in the Top 15, second-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
• Four top-fives
• Average finish of 13.7
• Series-high 316 Laps in the Top 15
Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet)
• One win, three top-fives, five top-10s; one pole
• Average finish of 8.4
• Average Running Position of 11.0, eighth-best
• 246 Laps in the Top 15, tied for sixth-most
Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota)
• One top-five
• Average finish of 16.3
• Average Running Position of 9.4, sixth-best
• 260 Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series History at Indianapolis
• There have been 13 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since the first race there in 1994.
• Rick Mast won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Bud Pole.
• Jeff Gordon won the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race.
• There have been 10 different Bud Pole winners - including nine straight. Only Jeff Gordon (three) and Ernie Irvan (two) have repeated as pole winners there. All five of their Bud Poles came between 1995 and 1999.
• Nine different drivers have won races at Indianapolis. Jeff Gordon (four) and Dale Jarrett (two) - are the only drivers with multiple wins.
• Opened in 1909, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the second-oldest active track in the world (after The Milwaukee Mile).
• Eight drivers have competed in all 13 races at Indianapolis: Bill Elliott, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Joe Nemechek.
• Rick Hendrick has won five races at Indianapolis - more than any other car owner.
• Jeff Gordon has 10 top-10 finishes in 13 races at Indianapolis. Two of his remaining three finishes have been 33rd or worse.
• Kevin Harvick has posted a top-10 finish in four of his six races at Indianapolis and has never finished worse than 19th there.
• Tony Stewart has posted a top-10 finish in five of his eight Indianapolis races. His worst finish there has been 17th.
• Eight of 13 races at Indianapolis have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• The race winner has started third three times, the only starting position to produce more than one victory.
• Only one Indianapolis race has been won from the Bud Pole: 2003 (Kevin Harvick).
• The deepest in the field that an Indianapolis race winner has started was 27th by Jeff Gordon in 2001.
In Indiana
• There have been 15 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races in Indiana: the 13 in Indianapolis, one at Funk's Speedway in Winchester in 1950, and one at Playland Park Speedway in South Bend in 1952.
• Since NASCAR's inaugural year of 1948, 73 NASCAR drivers have their home state recorded as Indiana. (Note: Over the years, many drivers have not provided or have changed their home of record).
• There have been 11 race winners from Indiana in NASCAR's three national series:
Jeff Gordon*: 79 NEXTEL Cup Series (NNCS) wins, 5 Busch Series (NBS) wins
Tony Stewart*: 30 NNCS, 2 NBS, 2 Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) wins
Ryan Newman*: 12 NNCS, 7 NBS
Darel Dieringer: 7 NNCS
Charlie Glotzbach: 4 NNCS
John Andretti: 2 NNCS
Earl Balmer: 1 NNCS
Larry Frank: 1 NNCS
Dick Passwater: 1 NNCS
Kenny Irwin Jr.: 2 NCTS
Tony Raines*: 4 NCTS
* - denotes driver entered in Brickyard 400
Quick Facts: The Brickyard 400 and Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Race 20 of 36
Track Size: 2.5 miles
Race Length: 400 miles (160 laps)
Banking in Corners: 9 degrees
Banking on Straightaways: 0 degrees
Frontstretch: 3,330 feet
Backstretch: 3,300 feet
Qualifying and Race Data
2006 pole winner: Jeff Burton, 49.240 seconds, 182.778 mph
2006 race winner: Jimmie Johnson, 137.182 mph
Track qualifying record: Casey Mears, 48.311 seconds, 186.293 mph (2004)
Track race record: Bobby Labonte, 155.912 mph (2000)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 30-32 laps, based on fuel mileage
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