By the Numbers: Ford 400 at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Outgoing champion Tony Stewart won the first two NASCAR Winston Cup races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Kurt Busch won the most recent of four events held here.

But everything that happened at the 1.5-mile speedway from 1999-2002 is like ancient history after a $10 million redesign added 20-degree banking to the turns of the track that formerly were banked a modest six degrees.

With the new banking, Park's record lap of 156.440 mph is predicted to fall by as much as 30 mph.

Even though Matt Kenseth has locked up his first Winston Cup championship, there are a number of battles for points positions that bear watching.

Inside the top 10 in the standings, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are fighting for second and Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick are battling for fifth; as well as at least one driver straining to get back into the top-10, namely Terry Labonte.

Here are some key facts heading into the final Winston Cup race of 2003:

0 -- The number of top-five finishes this season by Ward Burton, Sterling Marlin and Kenny Wallace, the only drivers in the top 30 in the standings without one.

0 -- The number of laps led at Homestead by 2003 Winston Cup champion Matt Kenseth, the only driver in the standings' top six that has not led a lap here.

	Kurt Busch's win at Homestead in 2002 was his third win in the last five races of the season. Credit: Autostock

2 -- The number of drivers who have completed all 35 Winston Cup races this season, Terry Labonte and Kevin Harvick.

6 -- The number of consecutive top-10 finishes by second place Jimmie Johnson, who has a 38-point lead in the standings over Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose best Homestead finish is 13th.

6 -- The number of drivers that won Winston Cup races in 2002 that have not yet won this season, including Ward Burton, Sterling Marlin, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Johnny Benson and Jamie McMurray.

14 -- The league-leading number of top-five finishes on superspeedways in 2003 by eight-time winner Ryan Newman.

21 -- The number of races since Mark Martin last scored a top-five finish, or since he finished second at Pocono Raceway in June.

25 -- The number of points between Ricky Craven, who is 27th in the standings, and Johnny Benson in 25th, the last position that pays Winston Cup point fund money, precisely $132,000.

25 -- The league leading number of top-10 finishes in the 35 races of 2003 by champion Matt Kenseth.

	Bill Elliott's win at Homestead in 2001 ended a seven-year losing streak. Credit: ASP

41 -- The consecutive number of races in which Terry Labonte has been running at the finish, Winston Cup's longest active streak and only 15 races behind Jeff Gordon's modern era record of 56 races, set in 2001-2002.

66 -- The number of races since the Winston Cup point leader last won, by Sterling Marlin at Darlington in March 2002.

97 -- The number of races since Rusty Wallace last won, on April 29, 2001 at California Speedway.

300 -- The number of career Winston Cup starts by Kenny Wallace when he starts on Sunday.

360,000 -- In dollars, the value of the NASCAR Winston Cup Leader bonus at Homestead, available to Matt Kenseth if he can win the Ford 400.

4,745,672 -- In dollars, the posted awards for the Ford 400.