 |  | | Kevin Harvick hasn't been to Gateway since 2001, but he's had plenty of success there. Credit: Autostock |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
July 27, 2006
05:07 PM EDT (21:07 GMT)
Fifty-three drivers have run more laps at Gateway International Raceway than Kevin Harvick, but nobody has led more. In just two trips to the place, Harvick has completed 400 laps. He's led 221 of them. His first time there, in 2000, Harvick was out front for 111 circuits and won his first career Busch Series race. A year later, he led one less lap but had the same result. He went on to win the 2001 Busch championship and finished ninth in the Cup standings as the original driver to run both schedules. This year, the scene is similar, with Harvick being one of a handful of drivers running both the Busch and Cup series full time. He leads the Busch points and is fifth in the Cup standings. And Gateway, as Harvick already knows, has been kind to Busch Series points leaders. What you didn't know
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4 -- Drivers who have won at Gateway and gone on to win the Busch Series championship the same season: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998, 1999), Kevin Harvick (2001), Greg Biffle (2002) and Martin Truex Jr. (2004). |
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Driver Rating: Busch Silver Celebration 250
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141.7 -- Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge. Sorenson started second and led 60 laps last year at Gateway to win his second career Busch Series race. |
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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 night's Busch Silver Celebration 250 (8 p.m. ET, TNT) will be the 10th race at the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. Chevrolet has been the dominant manufacturer at the track near St. Louis, having won the first five races at the track and six of the first nine. Ford has a pair of victories, and Reed Sorenson's win last year was the first for Dodge at the track.
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1 -- Driver to complete all 4,038 laps this season: Kevin Harvick. |
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2 -- Times Reed Sorenson was passed under green-flag conditions in last year's Gateway race. |
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2 -- Finishing position of Mike Wallace, the highest among the three Wallace brothers in last year's race, named the Wallace Family Tribute 250. Kenny Wallace finished 24th, while Rusty Wallace led 17 laps but finished 37th. Three Wallaces will race this weekend, but Steve will drive instead of Rusty. |
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2.615 -- Average running position for Reed Sorenson last year at Gateway. |
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5 -- Drivers who recorded the 25 fastest laps last year at Gateway, with Reed Sorenson's 133.763 mph speed on Lap 6 being the fastest. Drivers on the list were Sorenson (eight laps), David Stremme (seven), Paul Menard (five), Martin Truex Jr. (four) and Denny Hamlin (one). |
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6.44 -- Average cautions per race at Gateway. |
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7.11 -- Average leaders per race at Gateway. |
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7.44 -- Average starting position for Gateway winners. Only Martin Truex Jr. (2004) has won from the pole, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s 1999 victory was the worst any winner has started (18th). The last two races have been won from the front row. |
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9 -- Cars that had an average running position inside the top 10 last year at Gateway. All drivers except David Stremme and Brandon Miller are entered in Saturday's race. |
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12 -- Races Clint Bowyer has led of the 21 this year, including seven of the last eight. |
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12 -- Lowest running position for Denny Hamlin last year at Gateway. Hamlin was the only driver to stay inside the top 15 the entire race, although he did not lead a lap and finished 11th. |
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12.3 -- Average lead changes per race at Gateway. |
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18 -- Top-10 finishes for Kevin Harvick this season. His other three finishes are 11th (Atlanta), 13th (Dover) and 19th (Milwaukee). |
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32.35 -- Percent of passes made on the backstretch last year at Gateway, the most popular place to pass. Turn 4 saw just 11.31 percent of passes. |
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50 -- Green-flag passes made by Carl Edwards last year at Gateway, although Edwards started fourth and finished third. |
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114 -- Combined laps led by Reed Sorenson (first) and David Stremme (14th) last year at Gateway before they became teammates in the Cup Series at Chip Ganassi Racing. |
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194 -- Laps led by Ron Hornaday in his four races at Gateway, the most by a driver who has not won there. Hornaday will drive the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet on Saturday. |
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946 -- Points scored by Kevin Harvick in the last six races, more than any other Busch Series driver. J.J. Yeley is second, with 919. |
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Busch-only drivers have won the last two races held at tracks that do not appear on the Nextel Cup schedule: David Gilliland won at Kentucky, and Paul Menard took the checkers at Milwaukee. But at the stand-alone Busch races this season, it's been the Cup guys who have held firm.
| Standing Alone |
| Results of 2006 stand-alone Busch races |
| Race |
Winner |
Top Busch-only driver |
Pos. |
| Mexico City |
Denny Hamlin |
Paul Menard |
5 |
| Nashville |
Kevin Harvick |
Jon Wood |
6 |
| Nashville |
Carl Edwards |
Paul Menard |
5 |
| Kentucky |
David Gilliland |
-- |
-- |
| Milwaukee |
Paul Menard |
-- |
-- |
| Martinsville |
Kevin Harvick |
Johnny Sauter |
5 |
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