NASCAR.COM - By the Numbers: Texas

No repeat winners in 10 previous races at Lone Star State track

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
April 6, 2006
05:11 PM EDT (21:11 GMT)

Following his third-place finish at Martinsville last week, Jimmie Johnson is back on top of the Nextel Cup point standings. And considering the way he's run this year, aside from the Bristol blunder (30th after a cut tire), he's in position to get comfortable there.

That's not a good sign for the half-dozen or so drivers within a stone's throw of catching him, especially as the series heads to the Lone Star State for Sunday's Samsung/RadioShack 500 (1:30 p.m. ET, FOX).

Johnson has never won at Texas, but he's not been bad, either. Average start: 10.8. Average finish: 6.2.

Only problem for him is that he doesn't have much experience running up front at the 1.5-mile racetrack. He's led just two laps.

But he has been close to the front. And since there has never been a repeat winner at the speedway, Johnson will be looking to rope a victory with his fistful of top-10s.

What you didn't know

0 -- Times Jimmie Johnson has finished outside the top 10 at Texas in five starts. He has finishes of sixth, eighth, ninth, third and fifth.

Driver Rating: Samsung/RadioShack 500

120.9 -- Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Racing Ford. Biffle dominated last spring's race, leading 219 laps before taking the checkered flag for the victory.

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 mark the 11th race at Texas Motor Speedway, a track that opened in 1997 with Jeff Burton driving Roush Racing's No. 99 to Victory Lane. In the most recent race, Roush's No. 99 won again, this time with Carl Edwards behind the wheel.

1 -- DNF for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2002), the only race at Texas in which he finished outside the top 10 (42nd).

2 -- Times that the Texas winner has started in each of the third, fourth and fifth positions.

2 -- Races at Texas that have been won from a driver outside the top five in points.

3 -- Times a Texas race has been won from a starting position outside the top 10.

4 -- Times there have been 24 lead changes at Texas, with the average number being 22.9.

4 -- Drivers who have an average finish of 10th or better, although they have combined to lead just six laps: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin (one race), Jamie McMurray and Kurt Busch.

5 -- Drivers who have completed every lap this season: Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett.

5 -- Victories by Roush Racing at Texas Motor Speedway, including a season sweep last year by Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.

7 -- Drivers who had an average running position inside the top 10 last year at Texas, led by Tony Stewart's 6.63.

7.226 -- Average running position for Tony Stewart this season.

9 -- Full-time drivers who have raced in every Texas event, with Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin having won.

10 -- Different winners at Texas: Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.

11.1 -- Average starting position for winners at Texas, with Matt Kenseth's 2002 victory being the worst any winner has started (31st). No driver has won from the front row.

33.43 -- Percent of laps run this season led by Tony Stewart.

41.22 -- Percent of passes made in Turn 4 and on the frontstretch last year at Texas. In contrast, the backstretch is the toughest place to pass (11.67 percent last year).

87 -- Laps in last year's spring race in which Greg Biffle posted the fastest lap.

141 -- Green-flag passes by Carl Edwards last year at Texas, more than any other driver.

307 -- Combined laps led by teammates Kasey Kahne (148) and Jeremy Mayfield (159) at Texas despite neither claiming a victory there.

Only two of Texas' 10 winners were not ranked in the top five in points after their victory, making Texas a place where the good get better and the bad are left bitter.

Five-Shooter

This year's top-five drivers and their Texas statistics

Pos.	Driver	Starts	Wins	T5	T10	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
1.	J. Johnson	5	0	2	5	10.8	6.2
2.	M. Martin	10	1	4	5	12.9	14.0
3.	M. Kenseth	7	1	2	3	22.1	13.6
4.	K. Kahne	3	0	1	1	7.0	26.3
5.	K. Busch	2	0	0	0	29.5	30.5

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