 |  | | Jeff Gordon has his eye on a Phoenix trophy. Credit: Autostock |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
April 21, 2006
01:37 PM EDT (17:37 GMT)
To look at Jeff Gordon's numbers, you'd think he is the master of Phoenix. His average running position last year at Phoenix International Raceway was 8.183, the second best on the series. The only guy better was Kurt Busch, and that's because he didn't run the fall race there due to suspension. Gordon started from the pole in the spring and finished 12th after leading four laps. In the fall, he started 10th, led 22 laps and wound up third on the day. None of that is abnormal for the four-time champ in the desert. His career average starting position at Phoenix is 9.7, fourth best among active drivers. His average finish is 8.9, good enough for second and only bettered by Kyle Busch, who has raced there just twice. Gordon has finished inside the top 10 in eight of the last nine races at PIR. He's got 11 top-10s overall with his worst day being a 35th-place struggle in his first race at Phoenix in 1993. But the Arizona portion of Gordon's resume is missing one thing -- a victory. What you didn't know
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4 -- Tracks at which Jeff Gordon has not won, including Phoenix International Raceway in 14 races. The others are Texas, Homestead and Chicago. Gordon, however, is tied for fifth among laps led (191) at PIR. |
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Driver Rating: Subway Fresh 500
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150.0 -- Kurt Busch, No. 2 Penske Racing South Dodge. Busch had a perfect driver rating in last year's spring race, never falling out of the top 10 all day and leading 219 laps on his way to victory. |
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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 Saturday's Subway Fresh 500 (8 p.m. ET, FOX) at Phoenix will be the 20th race held at the 1-mile oval in the desert. But it will only be the second Nextel Cup race to be held at PIR under the lights. Last spring's race began a new tradition of kicking off the night-racing portion of the schedule, as Phoenix was awarded its first two-race season and made the first event a Saturday night special, particularly for Kurt Busch.
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0 -- Times a Phoenix race has been won from the pole position. |
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1.853 -- Average running position for Kurt Busch in last spring's Phoenix race. |
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2 -- Laps from last year's spring race that were among the fastest 25 laps at Phoenix in 2005. Kurt Busch clocked both of them. |
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3 -- Active drivers who have raced in all 19 events at Phoenix: Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin and Ken Schrader. |
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3 -- Drivers who have won multiple times at Phoenix: Davey Allison (2), Jeff Burton (2) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2). |
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4 -- Consecutive top-10 finishes for Kurt Busch at Phoenix, the longest current streak. |
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6 -- Series in which Tony Stewart has raced at Phoenix International Raceway: Nextel Cup, Busch, USAC Midgets, USAC Silver Crown, Indy cars and Supermodifieds. |
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7 -- Times the race winner started in the top 10, although it has happened just once in the past five races. The average starting position for winners is 12.16. |
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9 -- Drivers who have competed in every race this season but have not led a lap: Casey Mears, Clint Bowyer, Reed Sorenson, Joe Nemechek, Robby Gordon, Ken Schrader, Dave Blaney, Jeremy Mayfield and David Stremme. |
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10 -- Lead changes in three of the past four races at PIR, with the average number of lead changes being 13.3. |
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16 -- Different winners in 19 races at PIR. |
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27.98 -- Percent of passes made last year at PIR that occurred on the backstretch, the most popular place to pass. |
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63.16 -- Winning percentage of Fords at PIR (12 of 19 races), although a Chevrolet has won three of the past four races there. |
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68.42 -- Percent that Mark Martin has finished inside the top 10 at Phoenix. His 13 top-10s are more than any other active driver. Jeff Gordon is the only other driver with double-digit top-10s there (11). |
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97 -- Points that separate the top five positions in the point standings. After seven races last season, 247 points separated the top five. |
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102 -- Passes made by Kyle Busch last year at Phoenix, more than any other driver. |
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290 -- Combined laps led by Kurt and Kyle Busch last year at Phoenix, although Kurt only competed in the spring race when he led 219 laps and won. |
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312 -- Laps and miles that make up the length of the Subway Fresh 500. The traditional 500 in the race's name refers to kilometers. |
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471 -- Laps led by Mark Martin at PIR, more than any other active driver. |
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Seven races into the 2006 season, not everyone is sitting where they -- or others -- thought they'd be. In fact, 13 drivers who have started every race this season are lower in the points than they were at this time last year. Through seven races, just one driver is in the same position he was in last year -- leader Jimmie Johnson.
| Feeling the Heat |
| Drivers ranking lower in the standings through seven races |
| Driver |
'06 Rank |
'05 Rank |
Difference |
| Sterling Marlin |
34 |
6 |
-28 |
| Greg Biffle |
23 |
2 |
-21 |
| Jeremy Mayfield |
35 |
16 |
-19 |
| Kyle Petty |
32 |
19 |
-13 |
| Kurt Busch |
17 |
4 |
-13 |
| Michael Waltrip |
33 |
24 |
-9 |
| Dave Blaney |
31 |
22 |
-9 |
| Carl Edwards |
22 |
13 |
-9 |
| Ryan Newman |
18 |
9 |
-9 |
| Jamie McMurray |
21 |
14 |
-7 |
| Elliott Sadler |
12 |
8 |
-4 |
| Jeff Gordon |
8 |
5 |
-3 |
| Dale Jarrett |
11 |
10 |
-1 |
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