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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has two victories at Daytona -- one in February and one in July. Credit: Autostock

By the Numbers: Daytona Int'l Speedway

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
June 29, 2006
03:43 PM EDT (19:43 GMT)

It's hard to believe it has been five years since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first race at Daytona.

It was the 2001 Pepsi 400, where he teamed with Michael Waltrip to go to the front and lead 116 laps. And after he took the checkered flag, he went spinning through the infield in celebration.

BY THE NUMBERS
•  2006 Nextel Cup Statistics
•  Season-to-Date Loop Data
•  Best 25 Over Last Six Races
•  2006/2005 Driver Comparison

"That was a special win for me," Earnhardt Jr. said. "A lot of emotions went into that race, and it was one we'll keep in the scrapbook."

Five Daytona races later, Earnhardt Jr. had another special day, winning the 2004 Daytona 500 in just his fifth try.

Five Daytona races later, Earnhardt Jr. is headed back to the beach to parlay his winning percentage into another special night.

Junior has 13 starts at the superspeedway and has finished every single one of them. He's got six consecutive top-10 finishes there -- the longest current streak -- and nine overall.

But a top-10 isn't necessarily what he's looking for.

What you didn't know

26.92 -- Winning percentage of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his 26 restrictor-plate races, the best among full-time drivers. Half of his plate races have resulted in top-fives.

Driver Rating: Pepsi 400

124.3 -- Tony Stewart, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet. Stewart is the defending race winner and was fifth in this year's Daytona 500.

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 night will be the 96th race at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway but only the seventh summer race under the lights. The 1998 Pepsi 400 was the first summer Daytona event at night, however wildfires postponed the race from July to October. Jeff Gordon won that race, his third of six wins at the track.

0 -- Times Jimmie Johnson had the fastest lap in the season-opening Daytona 500. Jeremy Mayfield (36th), Hermie Sadler (40th) and Carl Edwards (43rd) are the only other drivers who did not lead the field in speed.
1 -- Driver who has an average start and average finish inside the top 10 at Daytona. Jimmie Johnson's average start is 8.6 and average finish is 7.0 in nine races. He does not have a DNF.
2 -- Consecutive Pepsi 400s that have been won from the pole: Tony Stewart (2005) and Jeff Gordon (2004).
2 -- Drivers who have led the standings this season. Jimmie Johnson has been the top driver all year except for two weeks. Matt Kenseth led after the Bristol race and after the Phoenix race.
3 -- Drivers in the top 10 who have never made the Chase for the Nextel Cup: Kasey Kahne (third), Jeff Burton (sixth) and Kevin Harvick (10th).
3 -- Drivers who have competed in all 74 restrictor-plate races since they were instituted in 1988: Mark Martin, Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip.
5.629 -- Average running position for Jimmie Johnson in the past three races at Daytona, best among full-time drivers.
6.929 -- Average running position for Tony Stewart in the past three races at Daytona. He won last year's Pepsi 400.
7 -- Lowest running position for Tony Stewart in last year's Pepsi 400, the only driver who stayed in the top 10 all night.
7 -- Times Tony Stewart has finished second in a restrictor-plate race.
7.295 -- Average starting position of Daytona winners. Just five races have been won there from a starting position worse than 20th.
9 -- Laps in which Kevin Harvick had the fastest car in last year's Pepsi 400, the most among any driver.
9 -- Drivers who have won at Daytona and are entered in the Pepsi 400: Jeff Gordon (six), Dale Jarrett (four), Sterling Marlin (three), Michael Waltrip (three), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two), Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle.
10 -- Races until the Chase for the Nextel Cup begins. Ten drivers are eligible heading to Daytona, whereas this time last year there were 13 drivers within 400 points of leader Greg Biffle.
11 -- Victories for Jeff Gordon on restrictor-plate tracks, six of which have come at Daytona.
24 -- Drivers who made more than 100 passes in the 2005 Pepsi 400.
24.96 -- Percent of passes made on the frontstretch of Daytona in the past three races, the most popular place on the track to pass. The backstretch was the second-most popular place, where 24.33 percent of passes have been made.
28 -- Races of the 95 at Daytona that have been won from a front-row starting position. There have been 15 races won from the pole, while 39th was the lowest starting position for a Daytona winner (Bill Elliott, 1988 Pepsi 400).
49 -- Daytona races for Kyle Petty entering Saturday night's Pepsi 400, most among full-time drivers.
53 -- Restrictor-plate races have been won from a top-10 starting spot, but only seven have been won from the pole.
73 -- Points that separate 10th-place Kevin Harvick and 13th-place Carl Edwards in the Nextel Cup standings.
151 -- Laps led by Tony Stewart in last year's 160-lap Pepsi 400.
200 -- Career victory Richard Petty recorded on July 4, 1984, in the Pepsi Firecracker 400 when he beat fellow legends Harry Gant, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison and Benny Parsons.
289 -- Laps led by Ken Schrader at Daytona, the most among full-time drivers without a victory there. Schrader also leads full-timers in top-10s with 22.
589 -- Laps led by Sterling Marlin at Daytona, the most among full-time drivers.
729 -- Passes made by Dave Blaney during the past three races at Daytona, the most among full-time drivers.

In eight night races at Daytona, there have been seven winners. Only Jeff Gordon has repeated, having won in 1998 and again in 2004. He also leads full-time drivers with 10 restrictor-plate victories, one shy of Dale Earnhardt's 11 for tops on the all-time list.

Inside the Numbers
Top-five restrictor-plate drivers (active)
Driver Wins T-5s T-10s Led Avg. Fin.
Jeff Gordon 10 21 29 1,172 14.3
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7 13 17 811 11.8
Dale Jarrett 6 20 33 565 15.5
Sterling Marlin 5 20 34 1,004 16.9
Michael Waltrip 4 13 25 535 19.4
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