NASCAR.COM - By the Numbers: Mexico

Second international race likely to be won from top starting position

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
March 2, 2006
10:05 AM EST (15:05 GMT)

The formula is set for a Busch Series regular to win Sunday's Telcel-Motorola 200 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (2 p.m. ET, FOX). Both winners this season have been Nextel Cup regulars, but with the top series off this week, many of the double-dippers won't be making the trip to Mexico City.

A new group of Buschwhackers, however, will be there.

Twelve of the 48 drivers attempting to qualify for the race this weekend are either Mexican racers or road-course specialists, including Belgium native Marc Goossens.

If the dozen locals and ringers make the field, there's a 28 percent chance one of those men will be standing in Victory Lane on Sunday afternoon.

What you didn't know

3 -- Times that a full-time Busch Series driver won at a road course: Mike McLaughlin (Watkins Glen, 1997), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Watkins Glen, 1999), Martin Truex Jr. (Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2005). The other 12 races were won by part-timers or by road-course specialists.

Driver Rating: Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200

122.3 -- Kevin Harvick, No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Harvick finished second to Martin Truex Jr. last year in Mexico City. In Harvick's other two Busch Series road-course starts, he has a pair of third-place finishes.

NASCAR's driver rating combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15s, average lead-lap running position, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps and lead-lap finish. Statistics based on current and past year at track. Maximum rating: 150 points.

Numerology

For the second time, NASCAR steps across the border to run a points-paying race when the Busch Series heads to Mexico City's road course.

In the inaugural race last season, winner Martin Truex Jr. led a race-high 45 of the 80 laps. And while Truex has moved on to the Cup Series, most of the other top finishers from last year's race have not. If they qualify well, the numbers say there's a fair chance they'll be up front at the end of the day.

1 -- Busch Series races held outside the United States. Last year's race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez was the first international event for the series.

2.518 -- Miles around Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the longest of the three road courses on which NASCAR competes. Infineon Raceway is 1.99 miles in length and Watkins Glen is 2.45 miles.

3 -- Road-course victories in seven Busch Series starts for Ron Fellows, all at Watkins Glen. His victories in 1998, 2000 and 2001 were his only starts during those seasons.

5 -- Road-course specialists who will be in Mexico City this weekend: Chris Cook, Ron Fellows, Marc Goossens, Boris Said and Paul Tracy.

6.5 -- Average finish of Kevin Harvick in the two Busch Series races this season, the best among drivers who entered both races. His average starting position, however, is 22.5.

7 -- Mexican-born drivers who will try to qualify for Sunday's Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200: Carlos Contreras, Adrian Fernandez, Jorge Goeters, Michel Jourdain Jr., Rogello Lopez, Jimmy Morales and Carlos Pardo.

7 -- Drivers who finished in the top 10 in last year's race entered this weekend: Kevin Harvick (2nd), Carl Edwards (3rd), Boris Said (5th), Clint Bowyer (7th), Kenny Wallace (8th), Ashton Lewis Jr. (9th) and Adrian Fernandez (10th).

9 -- Points Kevin Harvick leads J.J. Yeley in the Busch Series standings entering Sunday's race. Harvick led last year's standings heading to Mexico City by 47 points.

9 -- Full-time Cup drivers who will attempt to make the Busch race this weekend, the lowest number this season. In addition to the seven drivers running both schedules, Jamie McMurray and Michael Waltrip will attempt to qualify.

10 -- Busch Series road-course races of the 15 total that have been won from a top-five starting spot.

15 -- Road-course events in the 25-year history of the Busch Series, all of which have been held at Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

22 -- Laps of last year's 80-lap event that were run under caution, 27.5 percent.

24 -- Laps led by Mexican driver Jorge Goeters in last year's race, second only to race-winner Martin Truex Jr. Goeters' engine let go and he finished 38th. No other driver led more than four laps.

33 -- Cars on the lead lap at the end of the 2005 event.

180 -- Degrees in which racecars must turn in the final corner of Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. The turn is called the Peraltada.

The average starting position of Busch Series road-course winners in 15 races is 7.4. Just three winners have come from outside the top 10, including Morgan Shepherd's win from a 30th-place starting position at Road Atlanta in 1987.

Inside the Numbers

Starting position of winners at Busch Series road courses

Year	Track	Winner	Start
1986	Road Atlanta	Darrell Waltrip	4
1987	Road Atlanta	Morgan Shepherd	30
1991	Watkins Glen	Terry Labonte	1
1992	Watkins Glen	Ernie Irvan	22
1993	Watkins Glen	Bill Elliott	2
1994	Watkins Glen	Terry Labonte	21
1995	Watkins Glen	Terry Labonte	1
1996	Watkins Glen	Terry Labonte	9
1997	Watkins Glen	Mike McLaughlin	6
1998	Watkins Glen	Ron Fellows	2
1999	Watkins Glen	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	3
2000	Watkins Glen	Ron Fellows	1
2001	Watkins Glen	Ron Fellows	2
2005	Watkins Glen	Ryan Newman	4
2005	Autodromo	Martin Truex Jr.	3

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