 |  | | Greg Biffle was one of the best at California last season and has been to Fontana's Victory Lane before. Credit: Autostock |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
February 23, 2006
03:16 PM EST (20:16 GMT)
Sunday will be a homecoming for Jimmie Johnson -- and five other full-time drivers -- as he returns to the Golden State with a Daytona 500 title and the points lead. But it's his history at the track that puts him among the favorites to be running up front this weekend. Johnson won his first race at Fontana in 2002 and has an average finish of 8.5 at the track, including a pair of second-place finishes. His lowest finish is 16th (twice), and he's completed every lap in his six races there. Must be that Hendrick power -- five victories for the team at California. Having won the Daytona 500 last week, Johnson is no stranger to back-to-back victories. He actually claimed three victories in a row in October 2004 (Charlotte, Martinsville and Atlanta). But the numbers -- and perhaps Roush Racing's equally strong grip on the 2-mile track -- say that winning the season-opening race doesn't guarantee a victory come Sunday at California. What you didn't know
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4 -- Drivers who started the season with consecutive victories: Jeff Gordon (1997), David Pearson (1976), Bob Welborn (1959) and Marvin Panch (1957). The second victories for Pearson and Welborn came in Daytona 500 qualifiers, which counted toward season standings. |
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Highest driver rating: Auto Club 500
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116.55 -- Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Racing Ford. Roush drivers
make up the top three in NASCAR's driver ratings for California Speedway. |
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Using NASCAR's new loop data statistics, the driver rating combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15s, average running position while on lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps and lead-lap finish. Statistics based on current and past year at this track. The maximum rating is 150 points per race. Numerology This is the 10th year California Speedway has hosted a Nextel Cup race, but it's just the second season that the Auto Club 500 has been the second stop on the Cup schedule, which this year will provide a sunny sequel to Daytona's damp afternoon.
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0 -- California races that have failed to go the
scheduled distance of 250 laps. |
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.231 -- Margin of victory for Greg Biffle last year,
as he beat Jimmie Johnson in the closest race ever at California. Six of the 11 races there have been decided by less than a
second. |
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1.5 -- Average finish for defending race-winner Greg
Biffle in last year's two California races. He finished second to Kyle Busch in the '05 September race. |
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2 -- Consecutive years Jimmie Johnson has finished
second in the Auto Club 500. |
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3 -- Drivers who have won at California with teams
other than Roush Racing or Hendrick Motorsports. Only Elliott Sadler (2004), Rusty Wallace (2001) and Jeremy Mayfield (2000)
have won races with other teams. |
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4.5 -- Average starting spot by Brian Vickers in his
four races at the speedway. |
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5 -- Races at California that have been won by a driver who did not
lead the most laps. |
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5.65 -- Average running position for Mark Martin in
last year's Auto Club 500. He finished seventh. |
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6 -- Victories by Ford at California, one more than
Chevrolet. Dodge has not won a race at the track. |
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7 -- Drivers who maintained their top-10 position in
points following last year's Auto Club 500. |
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8 -- Combined top-five finishes by Roush and Hendrick
cars in last year's two races at California Speedway. |
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9 -- Different winners at California in 11 events.
Only Jeff Gordon has won multiple times (3). |
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10 -- Laps led by Robby Gordon at California. Dale
Earnhardt Jr. (3) and Ryan Newman (7) have combined to lead 10 laps at the track. |
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14 -- Approximate distance, in miles, from Fontana,
Calif., to Ontario Motor Speedway (1971-80) and from Fontana to Riverside International Raceway (1958-88), both former stops
on the Cup Series. |
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80 -- Percent of Jamie McMurray's starts at
California that have resulted in a top-10 finish. |
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2003 -- Last time a race at California had fewer than
20 lead changes (19). The only other race that had fewer than 20 lead changes came in 1998, when there were 18. |
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5,476 -- Miles run by Jeff Burton at California
Speedway, more than any other active driver. Although he has no wins and only two top-fives, Burton is the only driver to
finish all 11 races at the speedway. |
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Eleven active drivers have started all 11 races at California Speedway. Three of the drivers have wins at the track, but just one of them has parlayed those starts into multiple victories.
| Inside the Numbers |
| Active drivers who have started all 11 California races |
| Driver |
Wins |
T-5s |
T-10s |
Poles |
Avg. Start |
Avg. Finish |
| J. Burton |
0 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
21.9 |
19.2 |
| J. Gordon |
3 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
12.8 |
12.3 |
| D. Jarrett |
0 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
20.5 |
17.9 |
| B. Labonte |
0 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
20.9 |
15.0 |
| S. Marlin |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
22.5 |
19.2 |
| M. Martin |
1 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
12.5 |
14.3 |
| J. Mayfield |
1 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
11.5 |
16.7 |
| J. Nemechek |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
15.2 |
24.2 |
| K. Petty |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27.1 |
30.7 |
| K. Schrader |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27.0 |
26.3 |
| M. Waltrip |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
21.8 |
22.7 |
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