 |  | | Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of four drivers who will try to catch Jimmie Johnson this week at Phoenix. Credit: Autostock |
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
November 10, 2006
10:34 AM EST (15:34 GMT)
Mathematically, nobody is eliminated from winning the Nextel Cup championship. Realistically, that may not be true. The 2006 season has nearly come full circle with Jimmie Johnson leading the way and Matt Kenseth on his heels. In fact, five drivers can walk away from Phoenix with the points lead. Three of them have won there. But recent trends say four of those five may be dried up in the desert heat. Fifth-place Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix in April, but he led just 10 laps. And before that, he had finished better than 15th once (2004, fourth). Denny Hamlin has but two starts at the track, both of which began well with a pole position and a sixth-place qualifying mark. But his two finishes -- 13th and 34th -- drop him to an average finish of 23.5, worst among Chasers. Since winning back-to-back races at Phoenix in 2003 and 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not led a lap there with finishes of fourth, 40th and 23rd. Matt Kenseth, a former Phoenix winner, finished third at PIR in April, even leading a lap. But in his three races prior to that, he had an average finish of 36.7. For Johnson, however, the desert has been fruitful. His worst finish at Phoenix is 15th (2002 and 2005). The rest of his finishes have been in the top 10. Now he's trying to finish what he started in February. What you didn't know
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14 -- Years since the points leader with two races remaining did not win the Cup Series championship. In 1992, Bill Elliott led Davey Allison (-70) and Alan Kulwicki (-85) with Phoenix and Atlanta left on the schedule. But it was Kulwicki who came away with the title, beating Elliott by 10 points. |
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Driver Rating: Checker Auto Parts 500
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123.3 -- Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Racing Ford. Biffle has never won at Phoenix, but he finished second in this race a year ago and 15th in April. In those two races, he's led a combined 340 of 624 laps (54.49 percent). |
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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 Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC) will be the 21st race at Phoenix International Raceway. Ford has been the best manufacturer at Phoenix, collecting 12 victories to Chevrolet's six. Dodge has never won a race at the 1-mile track, with Ryan Newman's second-place finish in 2004 being its best showing.
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0 -- Times Tony Stewart has won three races in a row during his career. Stewart has won two consecutive races going into Sunday's event. He went to Victory Lane at Phoenix in 1999, his first visit to the track. |
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1 -- Chase driver who has never led a lap at Phoenix: Kasey Kahne. He has two top-10s in four starts at the track. |
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3 -- Drivers have started all 20 Phoenix races: Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin and Ken Schrader. |
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6 -- Chase drivers finished in the top 10 at Phoenix in April: Kevin Harvick (first), Matt Kenseth (third), Kasey Kahne (sixth), Jimmie Johnson (seventh), Jeff Burton (ninth) and Jeff Gordon (10th). |
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7 -- Times that second place has changed in the standings during the eight races of the Chase. Five drivers have ranked second: Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick. |
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7.674 -- Average running position for Jeff Gordon at Phoenix and Homestead in 2005 and 2006, the best among Chase drivers. Gordon, however, has never won at the two tracks. |
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8 -- Drivers who have an average running position inside the top 10 during the last three Phoenix races: Kurt Busch (6.532), Jimmie Johnson (7.360), Kevin Harvick (7.649), Greg Biffle (8.308), Martin Truex Jr. (9.327), Bobby Labonte (9.746), Brian Vickers (10.504) and Tony Stewart (10.891). |
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12.3 -- Average starting position of winners at Phoenix. No driver has won from the pole, and five of the last six winners have started outside the top 10. |
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17 -- Points separating leader Jimmie Johnson and second-place Matt Kenseth in the standings, the second-closest margin with just two races remaining since the current points system was installed in 1975. The closest margin was in 1979 when Richard Petty led Darrell Waltrip by eight points with two races left. |
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22.064 -- Average running position of Denny Hamlin at Phoenix, the worst among Chasers. Hamlin's 3.5 average starting position is best, although he has an average finish of 23.5. |
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35 -- Points Tony Stewart would lead the Chase standings by if he began the playoff in 10th place. Stewart has five top-10 finishes and three wins in the last eight races. |
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35 -- Points Matt Kenseth would lead the standings over Jimmie Johnson if there was no Chase format. No other driver would be mathematically eligible for the championship. |
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48.75 -- Percent of passes made on the frontstretch (24.75) and backstretch (24.04) in the last three Phoenix races, the most popular places to pass. |
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89.8 -- Average points Jimmie Johnson has scored at Phoenix and Homestead in the past two seasons, eighth among the 10 Chase drivers. Mark Martin has averaged the most among Chasers at the two tracks during that span, 149.3. |
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157 -- Points sixth-place Jeff Gordon trails leader Jimmie Johnson in the standings. The most one driver can gain on another in a single race is 156. |
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124.514 -- Average green-flag speed, in miles per hour, of Greg Biffle, the fastest of all drivers in the last three Phoenix races. Jimmie Johnson has the fastest speed among Chasers at 123.819 mph. Denny Hamlin is the slowest Chaser (122.851 mph). |
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186 -- Laps that Greg Biffle had the fastest car in the last three Phoenix races. The next-closest driver is Kurt Busch with 88 although Busch did not compete in last year's November race. |
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342 -- Laps led by Greg Biffle at Phoenix, the most among full-time drivers who have not won at the track. Mark Martin's 582 laps led is tops among full-time drivers. |
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872 -- Laps that Bobby Labonte has run inside the top 15 in the last 936 laps run at Phoenix. Labonte's average finish in the last three races there is 6.3 and he has four consecutive top-10 finishes. |
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At Phoenix ... Six Chase drivers have won: Jeff Burton (2000, 2001), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003, 2004), Kyle Busch (2005), Kevin Harvick (2006), Matt Kenseth (2002) and Mark Martin (1993). Three Chase drivers have an average finish inside the top 10: Jimmie Johnson (8.7), Jeff Gordon (8.9) and Mark Martin (9.4). Two Chase drivers have more than 10 top-10 finishes: Mark Martin (13) and Jeff Gordon (12). • Dale Earnhardt Jr. has moved from sixth to third in the last two races.
• Jeff Gordon has moved from 10th to sixth in the last three races.
• Jeff Burton has dropped from first to seventh in the last three races.
• Mark Martin has dropped from third to ninth in the last four races.
| Chase Watch |
| Phoenix International Raceway statistics for Chase drivers |
| Rank |
Driver |
Starts |
Avg. Finish |
Laps Led |
Wins |
| 1. |
Jimmie Johnson |
6 |
8.7 |
85 |
0 |
| 2. |
Matt Kenseth |
8 |
20.8 |
60 |
1 |
| 3. |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
8 |
17.3 |
310 |
2 |
| 4. |
Denny Hamlin |
2 |
23.5 |
23 |
0 |
| 5. |
Kevin Harvick |
7 |
16.4 |
10 |
1 |
| 6. |
Jeff Gordon |
15 |
8.9 |
191 |
0 |
| 7. |
Jeff Burton |
14 |
11.6 |
215 |
2 |
| 8. |
Kyle Busch |
3 |
15.0 |
78 |
1 |
| 9. |
Mark Martin |
20 |
9.4 |
582 |
1 |
| 10. |
Kasey Kahne |
4 |
13.8 |
0 |
0 |
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