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Jeff Gordon has an 8.2 average finish through 26 races this season.By the Numbers: Loudon
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By the Numbers starts this week with another milestone in the illustrious career of Jeff Gordon, who will make the 500th Cup Series start at New Hampshire International Speedway.
It marks the second consecutive week a driver has reached the 500-race plateau. Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, made his 500th career start last week at Richmond.
Gordon made his series debut in the final race of the 1992 season at Atlanta, which also marked the final race for Richard Petty. He hasn't missed a race since and his four championships trail only the seven each of Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
The numbers are what they are, and in this case they are staggering. He won titles in 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. He has finished in the top-five in points eight times in 14 full years on the circuit and has finished outside the top 10 just twice.
He has 79 career victories, 228 top-five and 308 top-10 finishes, and has amassed more than $87.5 million in career earnings.
In 2007, Gordon leads all drivers with 15 top-fives and 21 top-10s and held the top spot in points for 22 consecutive weeks until they were reset for the Chase. His four wins were still good enough to give him the second seed.
In honor of the Chase getting under way, a top-12 version of BTN:
1Dodge drivers in the Chase: Kurt Busch.
2Drivers who have competed in every Chase: Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth; and drivers making their first Chase: Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer.
3Drivers who have won a Cup race in 2007 who aren't in the Chase: Casey Mears (Charlotte); Juan Montoya (Sonoma); Jamie McMurray (Daytona, July).
4Starting place for Carl Edwards, the only driver who didn't move in the standings after the points were adjusted for the Chase.
5Drivers in this year's Chase who already have a Cup championship: Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001); Tony Stewart (2002, 2005); Matt Kenseth (2003); Kurt Busch (2004); Jimmie Johnson (2006).
6Wins by Jimmie Johnson this year, most of any driver in the Chase.
7Former rookies of the year in the Chase: Jeff Gordon (1993); Jeff Burton (1994); Tony Stewart (1999); Matt Kenseth (2000); Kevin Harvick (2001); Kyle Busch (2005); Denny Hamlin (2006).
8Drivers who have made previous Chases but are not among the top 12 this year: Mark Martin (2004, 2005, 2006); Ryan Newman (2004, 2005); Jeremy Mayfield (2004, 2005); Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004, 2006); Elliott Sadler (2004); Greg Biffle (2005); Rusty Wallace (2005); Kasey Kahne (2006).
9Chevrolet drivers in the Chase: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer.
10Top-10s this year for Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr., fewest of any drivers in the Chase.
11Starting place for Kevin Harvick, who is trying to become the second consecutive driver to win the Daytona 500 and the Chase in the same year. Jimmie Johnson won both for the first time last year.
12Starting place for Clint Bowyer, the only driver in the Chase without a Cup victory. Bowyer's two top-fives are the fewest of any driver in the top 12.
Now, on to Loudon and New Hampshire International Speedway.
Interesting Fact
1Drivers who have won the first race of the Chase at New Hampshire and gone on to win the Cup: Kurt Busch (2004). Tony Stewart finished second in 2005, and Jimmie Johnson finished 39th in 2006.
Fun Fact
184Episodes of "Newhart," the Bob Newhart sitcom that aired on CBS from 1982-1990. The series was based in New England, although Vermont, not New Hampshire, but the title character was Dick Loudon. Far-fetched, maybe, but I always think of this show when the series goes to Loudon.
All the Facts (Top 20 at New Hampshire, July '07)
1Denny Hamlin has never finished worse than sixth in his three starts at NHIS. Average finish: 3.7.
2Jeff Gordon has finished third and second in his past two NHIS races. His 11 top-fives are the most of all time, and the three-time NHIS winner is the only driver to have led more than 1,000 laps there with 1,141. Average finish (in 25 starts): 12.0.
3Martin Truex Jr. has never finished better than 18th in two previous NHIS starts. His 46 laps led -- the same total as race-winner Hamlin -- are the third-most for Truex this season. Average finish: 14.3.
4Dale Earnhardt Jr. led a race-high 64 laps -- second-most in 16 starts at NHIS -- to post his fourth top-five there. Average finish: 17.6.
5Jimmie Johnson posted his first top-five at NHIS since his 2003 sweep. They represent his only top-fives in 11 starts at NHIS, but he has only one finish worse than 15th there: Johnson completed only 233 of the 300 laps and sputtered home in 39th in last year's Chase opener, the only time he has failed to finish on the lead lap at NHIS. Average finish: 11.1.
6Jeff Green posted just his second top-10 in 14 NHIS starts, and his finish represents a season-high in 2007, matched previously at Bristol and Phoenix. Average finish: 24.6.
7Jeff Burton has finished seventh in three consecutive NHIS races, running his current string of consecutive top-10s there to four. Burton is the track's all-time winner with four, the last coming in 2000. In five starts in the 31 Chevy, his worst finish is 14th. Average finish (in 25 starts): 13.0.
8Kevin Harvick has four consecutive top-10s at NHIS and eight in 13 starts overall. He opened the Chase in style last year, starting from the pole, leading the most laps (196) and winning his first race at NHIS. Average finish: 12.3.
9Matt Kenseth has 10 top-10s in his past 12 NHIS starts and his worst finish in the past 10 races there is 14th. He has only one finish (33rd) outside the top 20 in 15 career starts at NHIS, ironically when his laps-led total (77) was a race-high and personal-best at that track (88 total). Average finish: 10.7.
10Ryan Newman posted his eighth top-10 in 11 starts at NHIS. Newman won the Chase opener in 2005, one of two victories he owns at NHIS. He has led 518 laps there, fourth-most of all time. Average finish: 11.3.
11Kyle Busch has been good in the July races at NHIS -- with two top-fives in three starts; bad in September -- best finish of 27th in two starts. He led 107 laps in winning there in July 2006, but opened his first Chase later that year with a 38th-place result. Average finish: 16.2.
12Tony Stewart has finished second in the past two September races at NHIS, and has nine top-fives and 10 top-10s to go along with two wins in 17 career starts there. Stewart has led 764 laps at NHIS, second-most of all time. Average finish: 13.4.
13Carl Edwards has only one top-10 in six starts at NHIS, but he has never finished outside the top 20 there. Earlier this year he led his first laps at the track, albeit just two of them. Average finish: 14.0.
14Johnny Sauter posted his first top-20 finish in three NHIS starts. Sauter started a season- and track-best fourth. The finish is his third-best of the season. Average finish: 23.0.
15David Ragan started 32nd in his first career start at NHIS. He has seven top-15 finishes this season, including two in a row and a season-high third last week at Richmond. Average finish: 15.0.
16Jamie McMurray posted his best finish in three starts at NHIS in the 26 car. He hasn't had a top-10 since his run of three in a row ended with a track-best fifth-place finish in September 2004. That streak represents his only top-10s in nine starts at NHIS. Average finish: 21.3. Coincidentally, his average start is 21.2.
17Robby Gordon had a win, two top-fives and three top-10s driving RCR's 31 car at NHIS, but the best he has done in the No. 7 is last September's 15th-place finish. Still, in the three races he has been listed as driver and owner of the 7, he has yet to finish outside the top 20. Average finish (in 15 starts): 20.6.
18Bobby Labonte's crash last September marks his only DNF at the track. Labonte's 62 laps led are the fewest of the five drivers who have made all 25 starts at NHIS. Labonte has nine top-10s, seven coming in a nine-race span from 1998-2002. He hasn't had a top-10 there since the last of his five top-fives, when he finished third in July 2005. Average finish: 15.3.
19Juan Montoya started fifth in his first race at NHIS. He has 11 top-20 finishes in his rookie season in the Cup Series. Average finish: 19.0.
20Tony Raines posted his best finish in five NHIS starts. He has seven top-20 finishes this season. Average finish: 26.8.
All the Facts (Notables at New Hampshire, July '07)
21Kurt Busch, who began his 2004 title run with a win at NHIS, hasn't finished better than 19th in the past four races there. The three races he had prior to that resulted in back-to-back wins and a runner-up finish. Average finish (in 13 starts): 16.6. Average finish (in three starts in the No. 2): 26.0.
37Clint Bowyer finished 24th last September, his best in three NHIS starts. He has never finished on the lead lap there. Average finish: 29.3.
Also
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New Hampshire
Track Winners
| Year | Winner | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Rusty Wallace | N/A |
| 1994 | Ricky Rudd | N/A |
| 1995 | Jeff Gordon | N/A |
| 1996 | Ernie Irvan | N/A |
| 1997 | Jeff Burton | Jeff Gordon |
| 1998 | Jeff Burton | Jeff Gordon |
| 1999 | Jeff Burton | Joe Nemechek |
| 2000 | Tony Stewart | Jeff Burton |
| 2001 | Dale Jarrett | Robby Gordon |
| 2002 | Ward Burton | Ryan Newman |
| 2003 | Jimmie Johnson | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2004 | Kurt Busch | Kurt Busch |
| 2005 | Tony Stewart | Ryan Newman |
| 2006 | Kyle Busch | Kevin Harvick |
| 2007 | Denny Hamlin |
Most Popular
Headlines
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News
- Notes: Wallace continues searching for sponsorship
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Features
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Car of Tomorrow
2007 races with the COT
| Date | Track | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| March 25 | Bristol | Kyle Busch |
| April 1 | Martinsville | Jimmie Johnson |
| April 21 | Phoenix | Jeff Gordon |
| May 6 | Richmond | Jimmie Johnson |
| May 13 | Darlington | Jeff Gordon |
| June 4 | Dover | Martin Truex Jr. |
| June 24 | Sonoma | Juan Montoya |
| July 1 | New Hampshire | Denny Hamlin |
| Aug. 12 | Watkins Glen | Tony Stewart |
| Aug. 25 | Bristol | Carl Edwards |
| Sept. 8 | Richmond | Jimmie Johnson |
| Sept. 16 | New Hampshire * | |
| Sept. 23 | Dover * | |
| Oct. 7 | Talladega * | |
| Oct. 21 | Martinsville * | |
| Nov. 11 | Phoenix * |
* -- Chase race | • Store: COT Die-Casts
Cup Series News
- Former Mayfield attorneys sue to recover unpaid fees
- Putting a wrap on 2009 with the top 12 drivers
- Chance meeting provides Edwards insight into 2010
- Hendrick indicates deal in the works to secure Knaus
- Wingo named crew chief for Ragan, No. 6 team
- Hendrick turning attention to getting Junior on track
Official Standings
Nextel Cup Series
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | +5 | Jimmie Johnson | 5060 | Leader |
| 2. | -1 | Jeff Gordon | 5040 | -20 |
| 3. | -1 | Tony Stewart | 5030 | -30 |
| 4. | -- | Carl Edwards | 5020 | -40 |
| 5. | +6 | Kurt Busch | 5020 | -40 |
| 6. | -3 | Denny Hamlin | 5010 | -50 |
| 7. | +3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 5010 | -50 |
| 8. | -3 | Matt Kenseth | 5010 | -50 |
| 9. | -1 | Kyle Busch | 5010 | -50 |
| 10. | -3 | Jeff Burton | 5010 | -50 |
| 11. | +1 | Kevin Harvick | 5010 | -50 |
| 12. | -3 | Clint Bowyer | 5000 | -60 |
• Complete Standings click here
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