 |  | | Carl Edwards would like to be the first to do three consecutive backflips at Atlanta. Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
March 16, 2006
09:16 AM EST (14:16 GMT)
Carl Edwards is glad to be back at Atlanta Motor Speedway, although he'd like a little more elbow room. This time last year, Edwards was bouncing off Jimmie Johnson as the two exited Turn 4 and headed to the checkered flag. The headlights of Edwards' Ford were just ahead of Johnson's Chevy when they crossed the line, giving Edwards his first career victory by a matter of feet. But that wasn't good enough. Edwards came back to Atlanta in the fall, qualified second, led 115 laps and won the race. In doing so, he joined nine other drivers who have won consecutive races at the speedway. The guy loves this place. His average starting spot in three races is 3.3. Average finish is 1.7. Average running position last year was 2.768. So what's standing in his way of doing another backflip after Sunday's Golden Corral 500? Numbers. What you didn't know
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0 -- Drivers who have won three consecutive Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Last fall, Carl Edwards became the 10th driver to win back-to-back races at Atlanta. |
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Driver Rating: Golden Corral 500
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133.5 -- Carl Edwards, No. 99 Roush Racing Ford. Edwards won both Atlanta races last year, beating Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson in the spring and Jeff Gordon in the fall. |
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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 Sunday will be the 94th Cup race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway but it could be the first for one driver. Bill Lester, a Truck Series regular, will attempt to make his Nextel Cup debut and become the first black driver to qualify for a Cup race since Willy T. Ribbs ran three races in 1986.
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.028 -- Margin of victory for Carl
Edwards when he beat Jimmie Johnson to the finish line in last spring's Golden Corral 500. |
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2 -- Drivers who did not complete
a lap in the 2005 spring event: Travis Kvapil and Shane Hmiel. |
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2 -- Drivers who completed every
lap inside the top 15 during last year's race: Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. |
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3 -- Drivers ranked in the top 10
who also ranked in the top 10 this time last season: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. |
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5 -- Black drivers who have
competed in a Cup Series race. Bill Lester will attempt to become the sixth this weekend when he makes a
qualifying run in Bill Davis' No. 23 Dodge. |
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6 -- Victories at Atlanta by
Bobby Labonte, more than any other active driver. Four came in a Pontiac, while two were in a
Chevrolet. |
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6 -- Consecutive Bud Poles won by
Ryan Newman. His average starting position is 1.8 in eight races at Atlanta. Tony Stewart (2002) was the
last driver other than Newman to start up front. |
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7.387 -- Miles per hour faster that drivers run on Atlanta's backstretch in comparison to the frontstretch, according to NASCAR's
loop data from last year's race. |
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8 -- Top-10 finishes for Tony
Stewart in the past nine Atlanta races. |
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12.0 -- Average finish by Kasey
Kahne in four starts at Atlanta. Prior to last fall's 35th-place finish, his average finish was
4.3. |
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22.78 -- Percent of passes that
were made in Turn 4 last year at Atlanta under green-flag conditions, just more than the frontstretch
(22.37 percent) for the most popular passing ground. |
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23 -- Victories by drivers who
started on the front row, 13 of which were won from the pole position. |
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29 -- Years since a Dodge has
gone to Victory Lane at Atlanta (Richard Petty, 1977). |
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240 -- Laps led at Atlanta by
Terry Labonte, the most by a driver who has not won at the track. Labonte has 24 top-10s in 53
starts. |
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307 -- Laps led by Jimmie Johnson
and Greg Biffle in last year's 325-lap race. They finished second and third, respectively. |
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1979 -- Last time the Atlanta
spring race was won from the pole position (Buddy Baker). |
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After making three stops where qualifying position didn't really matter, Atlanta is a completely different animal. The average starting position for Atlanta winners is 7.7. And it's always been that way. Only once in the first 38 races did someone win from a starting position outside the top 10. In the 93 races there, 73 of them have been won from a top-10 starting spot, including eight of the last 10.
| Starting Spot Matters |
| Past 10 Atlanta winners and where they started |
| Year |
Winner |
Start |
Led |
Make |
| 2001 |
Kevin Harvick |
5 |
18 |
Chevy |
| 2001 |
Bobby Labonte |
39* |
13 |
Pontiac |
| 2002 |
Tony Stewart |
9 |
143 |
Pontiac |
| 2002 |
Kurt Busch |
8 |
84 |
Ford |
| 2003 |
Bobby Labonte |
4 |
172 |
Chevy |
| 2003 |
Jeff Gordon |
19 |
55 |
Chevy |
| 2004 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
7 |
56 |
Chevy |
| 2004 |
Jimmie Johnson |
8 |
17 |
Chevy |
| 2005 |
Carl Edwards |
4 |
9 |
Ford |
| 2006 |
Carl Edwards |
2 |
115 |
Ford |
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