Statistical Advance: Analyzing The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 At Pocono Raceway (from NASCAR)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 28, 2008) - Jimmie Johnson clearly grasped the emphasis on winning during the 2007 season.

The proof is in the numbers. During the 2007 Race to the Chase - the 10 races preceding the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup - Johnson posted two wins and an average finish of 12.5.

Those numbers were his best over the same 10-race span since the Chase’s inception in 2004.

In 2004’s Race to the Chase, Johnson had one win and an average finish of 18.5. In 2005, he had no wins and an average finish of 16.4. In 2006, he had one win and an average finish of 12.8.

The key difference between 2007 and the previous three years: Chase bonus points.

Starting in 2007, each win in the first 26 races earned 10 bonus points toward a driver’s Chase seeding.

With six races remaining in the Race to the Chase, 60 points are left to be had.

With his win at Indianapolis on Sunday, Johnson now has 20 bonus points if he makes the Chase. Like last season, his Race to the Chase has been strong. He has an average finish of 8.8, which includes three top-10 finishes over the first four races.

More success could come. The remaining tracks before the Chase set up well for Johnson. He swept the two Pocono races in 2004, both 2007 Richmond events and he has two career wins at California.

At the upcoming six tracks in the Race to the Chase, Johnson has a Driver Rating of 96.6 and an Average Running Position of 12.2 since 2005.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12 at Pocono Raceway

Driver                          Races  Poles  Wins  Top5  Top10  DNFs  Avg.    Rating
1 Kyle Busch                    7        0        0        1          2          2        20.0     78.4
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr      17       1         0        5          6         6        16.5       79.6
3  Jeff Burton                 29      0         0       7         14        14       16.4       91.1
4 Jimmie Johnson         13       1         2       4          8          8        10.3      97.3
5 Carl Edwards               7        0        1        2          3          3        16.1       90.5
6  Jeff Gordon               31        2        4       15        21        21       10.3      94.9
7 Greg Biffle                   11       0        0         1          2          2       18.8       79.5
8 Denny Hamlin              5       2         2        4          5          5         2.8      130.4
9 Kasey Kahne                9       2         1        2           3          3       17.7        84.3
10 Tony Stewart          19        1         1        5        13        13        13.6     102.2
11 Matt Kenseth           17       0         0        3          8          8        14.4      87.0
12 Clint Bowyer              5       0         0        0          2          2        23.8      66.1

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

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• Two wins, seven top fives, eight top 10s
• Average finish of 14.2
• Average Running Position of 8.4, second-best
• Driver Rating of 113.5, second-best
• Series-high 208 Fastest Laps Run
• Average Green Flag Speed of 159.436 mph, second-fastest
• Series-high 1,074 (82.0%) Laps in the Top 15
• 244 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Four wins, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 10.3
• Average Running Position of 12.1, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 94.9, eighth-best
• 535 Green Flag Passes, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 158.876 mph, seventh-fastest
• 869 (66.3%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
• 256 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• Two wins, four top fives, five top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 2.8
• Series-best Average Running Position of 5.6
• Series-best Driver Rating of 130.4
• 193 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 160.024
• Series-best 92.6% (839 total) Laps in the Top 15
• 192 Quality Passes (average of 38.4 per race), tied for fifth-best average

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• One top five, four top 10s
• Average finish of 16.1 in 15 races
• Average Running Position of 13.7, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 91.6, ninth-best
• 473 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
• 867 (66.2%) Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most
• 259 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• Two wins, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 10.3
• Average Running Position of 11.8, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 97.3, sixth-best
• 45 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 159.236 mph, third-fastest
• 954 (72.8%) Laps in the Top 15, fifth-most
• 238 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Mark Martin (No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet)
• 19 top fives, 30 top 10s
• 10.7 average finish
• Average Running Position of 11.9, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 95.3, seventh-best
• 31 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 158.998, fifth-fastest
• 987 (75.3%) Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most
• 229 Quality Passes, tied for ninth-most

Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)
• One win, five top fives, six top 10s
• 13.9 average finish
• Average Running Position of 9.8, third-best
• Driver Rating of 98.7, fourth-best
• 468 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 158.894, sixth-fastest
• 1,027 (78.4%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 292 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
• One win, five top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 13.6
• Average Running Position of 10.7, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 102.2, third-best
• 42 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 159.190, fourth-fastest
• 1,032 (78.8%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most
• Series-high 300 Quality Passes

Brian Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota)
• Four top fives
• 13.0 average finish
• Average Running Position of 11.8, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 97.9, fifth-best
• 68 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• 951 (72.6%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most

At Pocono Raceway:
History
• Opened in 1968 as a .75-mile track, Pocono Raceway held the first race on the 2.5-mile oval in 1971.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was in 1974.
Notebook
• There have been 61 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono Raceway.
• There was one race from 1974 through 1981, and two per year since.
• All NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Pocono have been scheduled for 500 miles. By design, the inaugural race was run to a length of 480 miles due to the energy crisis.
• Buddy Baker won the first pole at Pocono.
• There have been 35 different pole winners at Pocono, including David Pearson who won the pole there in June 1984 but did not race. Only 14 drivers have more than one pole there.
• There have been 21 pole winners in the last 25 races. Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne (two each) are the only repeat pole winners there since 1995. Qualifying was canceled once.
• The pole has been swept just three times: Bill Elliott (1985), Ken Schrader (1993), Denny Hamlin (2006).
• Richard Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono.
• 28 different drivers have won races at Pocono, led by Bill Elliott with five victories; 18 drivers have won more than once there.
• There have been 14 different race winners in the 17 races since Bobby Labonte swept in 1999. Jimmie Johnson swept 2004 and Denny Hamlin 2006. Kurt Busch won the July race in 2005 and 2007.
• There have been six season sweeps at Pocono, including two of the past four seasons.
• Bobby Allison and Tim Richmond each won three consecutive races at Pocono.
• 45 of 61 Pocono races have been won from a top-10 start; 13 by the pole winner.
• The June 2005 race was won by Carl Edwards from the 29th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.
• Rick Hendrick leads all other car owners with 11 Pocono victories.
• There have been eight car owner season sweeps, including three of the past four seasons (two of the car owner sweeps were with different drivers).
• There have been two green-white-checkered finishes: June 2005 (201 laps) and July 2005 (203 laps).
• Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Brian Vickers and J.J. Yeley are the active drivers that have finished on the lead lap in all of their races.
• Denny Hamlin won his first two appearances at Pocono Raceway, claiming both victories from the pole. Hamlin has two third-place finishes and a sixth-place finish in his other races for an average finish of 2.8 in five races - the all-time best of any driver at the Pennsylvania track. He also led 300 of the 906 laps raced in the five races.

NASCAR in Pennsylvania
• There have been 96 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Pennsylvania.
134 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Pennsylvania.
• There are three race winners from Pennsylvania in NASCAR’s three national series:

Driver                     NSCS  NNS   NCTS
Mark Donohue         1         0           0
Dick Linder              3         0           0
Jimmy Spencer       2        12           1

Pocono Raceway Data
Race #: 21 of 36 (8-3-08)
Track Size: 2.5 mile (200 laps/500miles)
• Banking/Turn 1: 14 degrees
• Banking/Turn 2: 8 degrees
• Banking/Turn 3: 6 degrees
• Frontstretch: 3,740 feet
• Backstretch: 3,055 feet
• Shortstretch: 1,780

Driver Rating at Pocono
Denny Hamlin 130.4
Kurt Busch 113.5
Tony Stewart 102.2
Ryan Newman 98.7
Brian Vickers 97.9
Jimmie Johnson 97.3
Mark Martin 95.3
Jeff Gordon 94.9
Kevin Harvick 91.6
Jeff Burton 91.1
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2008 races (7 total) at Pocono.

Qualifying/Race Data
2007 pole winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (169.975 mph, 52.949 seconds)
2007 race winner: Kurt Busch, 131.627 mph, 8-5-07)
Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne (172.533 mph, 52.164 secs., 6-11-04)
Track race record: Rusty Wallace (144.892 mph, 7-21-96)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 28-30 laps, based on fuel mileage.

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