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Sterling Marlin is the defending champ at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Credit: Don Bok/ISC Photo
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
February 28, 2003
11:19 AM EST (1619 GMT)
LAS VEGAS -- Even though Las Vegas Motor Speedway's single event only has a five-year history, the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 has created a sizeable log of statistical nuggets interspersed with facts and notes about the sport's best drivers.
1 -- The position in the Winston Cup standings for Las Vegas native Kurt Busch. This is the first time in his three-year career that Busch has led the standings, but the second straight season that he's started the season in the top-five in the standings. Unfortunately, his two previous finishes at LVMS are 11th in 2001 and 20th a year ago.
1.5 -- The length of a lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The track has 12-degree banking in its corners, nine-degree banking on its frontstretch and three-degree banking on its backstretch. The frontstretch is 2,275 feet long and the backstretch is 1,572 feet long.
2 -- The number of Bud Pole Awards at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in five attempts by Dale Jarrett, who along with Michael Waltrip has started in the top 10 in four of their five races at LVMS -- the only drivers to do so.
3 -- The number of Winston Cup Bud Pole Awards won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway by Robert Yates Racing. Dale Jarrett won the pole in 1998 and 2001 and former teammate Ricky Rudd won it in 2000.
4 -- The number of drivers that have scored top-10 finishes in both events held this season. They include the top four drivers in the standings heading into Las Vegas: Kurt Busch, Dale Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin.
5 -- The number of top-10 finishes scored by Mark Martin in the five Winston Cup races held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway --- the only driver to accomplish the feat. Martin scored a victory in the inaugural LVMS Cup race in 1998 and finished third a year ago.
6 -- The number of Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidates that will attempt to qualify for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, including Greg Biffle, Larry Foyt, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Tony Raines and Jack Sprague.
7 -- The number of consecutive finishes of sixth or better recorded by Kurt Busch, a streak that began at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway last fall; and the number of straight finishes in the top 10 by Busch's Roush Racing teammate Mark Martin.
8 -- The position in the Winston Cup standings for Ricky Craven, which is the first time Craven has ranked among the top-10 in the standings since he was sixth heading to Las Vegas a year ago. That was the only time in 2002 that he held a top-10 ranking and Craven has never scored a top-25 finish in five LVMS attempts.
9 -- The number of career victories for driver Sterling Marlin when he won last year's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was one of two victories Marlin had in 2002, leaving him with 10 career wins coming to LVMS.
10 -- Kevin Harvick's position in the Winston Cup point standings coming into Las Vegas, an improvement of 17 positions over where he was after two races one year ago.
13 -- Michael Waltrip's best finish in five starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in 2001. The two-time Daytona 500 winner has competed in all five races at LVMS but has yet to score a top-10 finish or lead a lap here.
14 -- The best career finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in three starts for Roush Racing's Matt Kenseth, who was the Winston Cup Series' leading winner last year with five victories. Kenseth was 14th at LVMS in 2000 and 2002.
22 -- The number of Winston Cup drivers that have competed in all five races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
23 -- The car number of Kenny Wallace, who is one of five drivers that has competed in every Winston Cup event at Las Vegas but has never led. Mike Skinner's best finish is fourth; Michael Waltrip's, 13th; Ken Schrader's, 16th; and Wallace's and Ricky Craven's best is 27th.
24 -- The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Las Vegas, by Jeff Gordon in 2001 and again by Sterling Marlin in 2002.
25 -- The position in the 2002 Winston Cup owners' standings that is currently the cutoff for being charged with a provisional starting position in 2003. The "Provisional Land update" says that after two races in the 2003 Winston Cup season, the only teams that have been charged for using provisionals are the Nos. 01 and 4, each from Daytona. Car Nos. 12, 2, 77, 10 and 5 were not charged at Daytona since they were in the top-25 in owner points in 2002. Since there were only 43 entries at the season's second race, Rockingham, cars 48, 99, 30, 54, 14, 74 and 37 were not charged for the provisionals they used at that event. Each team starts the season with four provisionals and gains one provisional spot each time it attempts to qualify for eight races.
31 -- The number of career victories by Dale Jarrett, the Winston Cup Series' most recent victor after he won the Subway 400 at the North Carolina Speedway last weekend. The victory tied Jarrett with "Fireball" Roberts for 18th on the all-time winners' list.
34 -- The best finish in two races this season by John Andretti, whose other finish was 39th, making him the worst placed (42nd) driver in the point standings who is running a full schedule and has made both events. Also qualifying for the "ice cold club" are Jeff Green (40th in the standings, finishes of 39th and 31st) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (38th, finishes of 36th and 33rd).
35 -- The number of races in which sophomore driver Jimmie Johnson has remained in the top 10 in the Winston Cup standings. Johnson was ranked outside the top 10 in points in the first three races of his rookie season, 2002, but moved into the top 10 after the fourth race, at Atlanta Motor Speedway and has remained there ever since.
36 -- The number of races in which veteran Mark Martin has remained in the top 10 in the standings, since the Las Vegas round a year ago, the longest streak among active drivers.
37 -- The number of consecutive Winston Cup races in which Kyle Petty has been running at the finish.
45 -- The number of entries at Las Vegas this weekend, meaning the teams that must qualify on the basis of their speed include those of drivers Brandon Ash and Jamie McMurray, since they are the lowest on the 2002 owner point chart -- which is used to determine provisional starting positions in the first four events of the season. Realistically, the most at-risk "bubble cars" include Ash, who will attempt his first Winston Cup start, Derrike Cope and Hideo Fukuyama, whose first two Cup starts, last season came through the benefit of provisionals. Assuming he will not be among the 36 fastest drivers in Travis Carter's No. 66 Kikkoman Ford, the only way Fukuyama stands to get into the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 is if any two of the drivers lower than he on the owners' list: Jack Sprague, Cope, Biffle, McMurray or Ash qualifies worse than 36th.
99 -- The car number for Roush Racing's Jeff Burton, the only driver to score more than one Winston Cup victory at LVMS (1999-2000).
146.554 -- The race record average speed at Las Vegas, set by Mark Martin in the 1998 inaugural event, in two hours, 43 minutes and 58 seconds. Last year's event winner, Sterling Marlin averaged 136.754 mph over two hours, 55 minutes and 43 seconds.
172.850 -- The Las Vegas Motor Speedway Winston Cup Bud Pole Qualifying record, set in 2002 by Todd Bodine in Travis Carter's No. 26 Ford. That average mph was achieved in 31.241 seconds.
204 -- The number of laps led at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, out of 1,216 total laps, or 17 percent, by Roush Racing's two-time LVMS winner Jeff Burton.
267 -- The number of laps it takes to cover 400.5 miles on Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
1,216 -- The total number of laps run in five Winston Cup races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mark Martin is the only driver that has completed every lap.
30,000 -- The value of the NASCAR Winston Cup Leader bonus at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It is available to the driver that wins the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 if he is also the Winston Cup point leader after the race.
5,251,856 -- The posted awards for the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400.
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