 |  | | Kevin Harvick has the second-best average finish among full-time drivers. Credit: Autostock |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
August 24, 2006
10:24 AM EDT (14:24 GMT)
While a big deal is made about starting position at Bristol, Kevin Harvick is more focused on finishing. Sure, Bristol can be a roll of the dice. But for Harvick, lately it's been 7-11. Seven, as in the past seven races in which Harvick has quietly moved his way from 11th to third in the Nextel Cup standings. His worst finish during that time -- 11th last week at Michigan. He has five top-fives and a victory at Watkins Glen. Eleven, as in 11 starts Harvick has at the high-banked half-mile, where he's finished outside the top 10 just three times. His first race there he was 24th -- a gimme -- except that he led 137 laps. The past two years have been off and on for Harvick, with the offs being a 24th-place finish in the 2004 night race (Kyle Petty relieved Harvick due to numbness in his arms) and a 37th-place finish last year (caught in the pinball game between Dale Jarrett and Ryan Newman). The rest have been ons. He was second and third in the 2003 races. He won the spring race last year. And he was second behind Kurt Busch this spring. His average start at Bristol: 17.0, eighth-best. His average finish at Bristol: 10.5, second-best. What you didn't know
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117.498 -- Average green-flag speed of Kevin Harvick over the last three Bristol races, the fastest of all drivers. |
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Driver Rating: Sharpie 500
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125.9 -- Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Roush Racing Ford. Kenseth, who won at Bristol a year ago, has led 589 laps in the past three races there, two times more than any other driver. |
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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 will be the 92nd race at Bristol Motor Speedway, where racing has been held in late summer under the lights since Aug. 26, 1978. Chevrolets have been the dominant manufacturer, snagging 39 victories. Ford has 30 wins, while Dodge has six. The past three races have been won by a Chevrolet, Ford and a Dodge, respectively. And Kurt Busch is the only full-time driver to win in two different makes (Ford and Dodge).
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0 -- Full-time drivers who have top-10 finishes in every start they have made at Bristol. |
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1 -- Race went caution-free at Bristol: July 11, 1971, won by Charlie Glotzbach. |
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2 -- Consecutive finishes of 30th or worse for Jimmie Johnson at Bristol. His engine expired last fall for a 36th-place finish, and he had a tire problem on Lap 1 this spring and finished 30th. |
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3 -- Races Kurt Busch finished in the top 10 at Bristol but did not win. He was sixth in 2002, eighth in 2004 and 10th in 2005 -- all August races. |
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4 -- Different drivers have won the last four Bristol races driving for four different owners: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (DEI), Kevin Harvick (RCR), Matt Kenseth (Roush) and Kurt Busch (Penske). |
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4 -- Races won from a starting position worse than 25th, all of which have come since 1999. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (30th in 2004) and Elliott Sadler (38th in 2001) are the only drivers to win from a starting spot of 30th or worse. |
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5 -- Victories by Kurt Busch in the last nine Bristol races. Busch won his first race there in 2002, then won three consecutive from 2003-2004. His most recent victory was this spring. |
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5 -- Drivers with an average running position inside the top 10 in the last three Bristol races: Matt Kenseth (3.669), Elliott Sadler (8.097), Jeff Gordon (8.684), Tony Stewart (9.204) and Greg Biffle (9.963). |
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5.0 -- Average starting position at Bristol for Jeff Gordon, who has started on the front row in 13 of his 27 races and seven of the last nine. Gordon has led 2,388 laps at the half-mile track, more than twice Mark Martin's total of 957 in 39 races. |
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6.37 -- Average starting position for Bristol winners. Thirty-three of the 91 races have been won from the front row, 21 of which were won from the pole position (11 in the fall race). |
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8 -- Top-10 finishes in the last nine Bristol races for Matt Kenseth. In 13 races, his average finish is 11.5. |
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9 -- Former Bristol winners entered in Saturday's race. Only Jeff Gordon (five), Kurt Busch (five) and Mark Martin (two) have multiple victories. |
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9.9 -- Average finish for Greg Biffle in seven races at Bristol. He has never won a race there although he has led 202 laps and has four top-10s, including three in a row. |
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14 -- Times the two Bristol races have been swept by the same driver in the same season, most recently by Kurt Busch in 2003. |
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20.46 -- Average number of laps run at Bristol between cautions (over last 20 races). |
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38.46 -- Percent of passes made in Turns 3 and 4 of the past three Bristol races. Total passes on both straightaways equal just 31.66 percent. |
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55 -- Laps Elliott Sadler has run outside of the top 15 in the past three races at Bristol. Sadler has run 96.3 percent of his laps (1445 of 1500) in the top 15, more than any other driver. |
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111 -- Green-flag passes by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the past three Bristol races, more than any other driver. |
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363 -- Laps led by Sterling Marlin, the most by a full-time driver who has not won at Bristol. |
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799 -- Cautions over 91 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol races average 8.78 cautions per race. Three races have had 20 cautions. |
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With three races to go before the Chase begins, 19 drivers are still mathematically eligible for the 10-race playoff. Any driver leading 11th-place by 381 points following Bristol will secure a position in the Chase. Last driver eligible: Clint Bowyer, 951 points out of the lead and 467 points behind 10th place. First driver eliminated: Elliott Sadler, 1,016 points out of the lead.
| Chase Watch |
| Bristol statistics for top 15 in points |
| Rank |
Driver |
Wins |
Top-5s |
Top-10s |
Avg. Finish |
| 1. |
Jimmie Johnson |
0 |
2 |
5 |
19.3 |
| 2. |
Matt Kenseth |
1 |
6 |
8 |
11.5 |
| 3. |
Kevin Harvick |
1 |
6 |
8 |
10.5 |
| 4. |
Mark Martin |
2 |
15 |
21 |
12.4 |
| 5. |
Tony Stewart |
1 |
4 |
5 |
16.3 |
| 6. |
Jeff Gordon |
5 |
10 |
16 |
12.0 |
| 7. |
Kyle Busch |
0 |
0 |
1 |
23.0 |
| 8. |
Denny Hamlin |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14.0 |
| 9. |
Jeff Burton |
0 |
6 |
9 |
19.6 |
| 10. |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
1 |
4 |
6 |
13.2 |
| 11. |
Kasey Kahne |
0 |
0 |
1 |
25.4 |
| 12. |
Greg Biffle |
0 |
2 |
4 |
9.9 |
| 13. |
Carl Edwards |
0 |
1 |
1 |
21.8 |
| 14. |
Kurt Busch |
5 |
5 |
8 |
11.9 |
| 15. |
Brian Vickers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
24.8 |
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