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If anyone could show Casey Mears how to celebrate at Lowe's, it's Jimmie Johnson.

By the Numbers: Lowe's

By Jarrod Breeze, NASCAR.COM
October 11, 2007
05:43 PM EDT

type size: + -

Strange things can and often do take place in the October night race at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but perhaps nothing will be as unusual as the top of the finishing order in this year's Coca-Cola 600 in May.

1. Casey Mears
2. J.J. Yeley
3. Kyle Petty
4. Reed Sorenson
5. Brian Vickers
7. Ricky Rudd

Combined this season, those drivers have but 10 top-fives and 24 top-10s. Mears alone accounts for five top-10s and 10 top-10s -- he's the only driver with top-10s in each of the four Chase races -- in addition to the lone victory, his one and only in the Cup Series. For Yeley, Petty and Vickers, it represents their only top-fives this season, and Rudd's lone top-10.

And what is wrong with Jimmie Johnson? After winning four in a row at Lowe's and five of six, Johnson has now gone three races without visiting Victory Lane there. The best he could do last year was a sweep of the runners-up positions and this past May he slumped all the way to 10th, his worst finish since his first finish (39th) in October 2001, his Cup debut. Interesting, yes; but not as much as this:

Interesting Fact

5Consecutive DNFs at LMS for Jeff Gordon, including four crashes. Gordon had only four DNFs in his first 24 starts there. The last time Gordon finished a race at LMS was Oct. 2004 when he finished second.

Fun Fact

148Career wins for Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, second-most in NFL history. Elway won the "Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race" reality series featuring 12 celebrities in a stock-car competition, held this past June at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

All the Facts (Top 20 at Lowe's, May '07)

1Casey Mears won his first Cup race in his 156th career start. It was Mears' third top-10 in nine LMS starts, but first in an HMS Chevrolet. Average finish: 20.0.

2J.J. Yeley posted his best career finish, and only top-five to date. In two previous LMS starts, Yeley finished 20th and 29th with one DNF (crash). Average finish: 17.0.

3Kyle Petty posted his best finish since 1997 and his best finish at LMS since finishing third in both races in 1992. In 51 starts at LMS, Petty has one win, six top-fives and 12 top-10s. Average finish: 18.6.

4Reed Sorenson posted his second top-10 in three LMS starts, and one of three top-fives in his career. Average finish: 16.7.

5Brian Vickers posted his second consecutive top-10 at LMS and only top-five in the No. 83 Toyota. His 76 laps led were third-most in the May race. Average finish (eight starts): 22.9.

6Tony Stewart posted his 10th top-10 in 17 LMS starts, but first since Oct. 2004. Stewart's only victory at LMS was in Oct. 2003, when he led a race-high and a track personal-best 149 laps. Average finish: 13.2

7Ricky Rudd made his 60th career start at LMS, second only to the 64 of Richard Petty. He posted his first top-10 since Oct. 2005, at Charlotte. His 27 top-10s at LMS are third-most behind Petty (31) and Darrell Waltrip (29). Average finish: 16.6.

8Dale Earnhardt Jr. has eight top-10s in 16 starts at LMS, five in the October races that also account for three of his four top-fives there. Average finish: 16.8.

9Denny Hamlin posted his third top-10 in four LMS starts. He finished 28th in Oct. 2006. Average finish: 13.5.

10Jimmie Johnson posted his 11th consecutive top-10 at LMS, but it represented his worst finish since crashing out in his first start there in Oct. 2001. Average finish: 6.2.

11Mark Martin finished where he started, and where he usually lines up at LMS with an 11.0 average start in 45 starts. Average finish: 16.1.

12Matt Kenseth has finished 12th or better in 10 of 16 starts at LMS. He led 50 laps in May, the second-most in his career there. Average finish: 14.6.

13Bobby Labonte has a 12.8 average finish at LMS, his best at any track. In 29 career starts Labonte has finished worse than 18th only six times. His 12 top-fives and 17 top-10s at LMS are the most of any driver with the least amount of starts. Labonte finished fifth in the Oct. 2006 race, one of three top-fives in the 43 car.

14Tony Raines posted his second top-15 in a row at LMS after having never finished better than 25th in his first four starts there. Raines finished seventh at LMS last October, just his second career top-10 and his only one in 2006, and the 28 laps he led represented a career-best and the only laps he led last year.

15Carl Edwards finished outside the top 10 for the first time in five LMS starts. Average finish: 7.8

16Martin Truex Jr. posted his best finish at LMS since his first start there, when in May 2005 his seventh-place result was his first top-10. Truex has made only one October start in four LMS races, finishing 31st last year. Average finish: 18.8

17David Stremme has never finished on the lead lap in four starts at LMS. His best result there was last October, when he finish 15th. Average finish: 24.8.

18Dave Blaney posted his fifth-best finish in 13 LMS starts, and best in three starts there in the 22 car. Average finish: 25.5.

19Jamie McMurray has five top-10s in 10 LMS starts, but only one in the past five races there. Average finish: 15.8.

20Scott Riggs has led 124 laps in seven races at LMS, 98 more than his second-best track (Michigan). Riggs swept the pole last year and has a 13.1 average starting position. Average finish: 23.6.

All the Facts (Notables at Lowe's, May '07)

21Kevin Harvick has only three top-10s in 13 starts at LMS, and none since Oct. 2003. He has only led two laps, second-worst among active tracks (Pocono). Average finish: 20.2.

24Jeff Burton had his worst finish in the 31 car at LMS. His third-place finish last October was his best at LMS since his last of his two wins in May 2001. Average finish (27 starts): 15.6.

29Clint Bowyer has gotten a little worse each time in his three LMS starts: 19th, 23rd and 29th. Average finish: 23.7.

30Kyle Busch has finished 30th or higher five times in seven LMS starts. He has crashed out three times. He finished sixth last October, the only time he has finished better than 25th. Average finish: 29.1.

32Kurt Busch has finished 39th, 32nd and 32nd in three starts at LMS in the 2 car. He led a race-high 107 laps in May before crashing out for the third time in 14 LMS starts. He finished fourth and second in the two October races prior to last year, which represent his only top-10s in 14 starts. Average finish: 22.1.

41Jeff Gordon suffered his worst finish of the season and in 29 starts at LMS. Still, he has four wins, 13 top-fives and 15 top-10s. Average finish: 17.3.

Also

Lowe's Motor Speedway

October Winners

Year	Driver	Year	Driver

1960	Speedy Thompson	1984	Bill Elliott
1961	Joe Weatherly	1985	Cale Yarborough
1962	Junior Johnson	1986	Dale Earnhardt
1963	Junior Johnson	1987	Bill Elliott
1964	Fred Lorenzen	1988	Rusty Wallace
1965	Fred Lorenzen	1989	Ken Schrader
1966	LeeRoy Yarbrough	1990	Davey Allison
1967	Buddy Baker	1991	Geoffrey Bodine
1968	Charlie Glotzbach	1992	Mark Martin
1969	Donnie Allison	1993	Ernie Irvan
1970	LeeRoy Yarbrough	1994	Dale Jarrett
1971	Bobby Allison	1995	Mark Martin
1972	Bobby Allison	1996	Terry Labonte
1973	Cale Yarborough	1997	Dale Jarrett
1974	David Pearson	1998	Mark Martin
1975	Richard Petty	1999	Jeff Gordon
1976	Donnie Allison	2000	Bobby Labonte
1977	Benny Parsons	2001	Sterling Marlin
1978	Bobby Allison	2002	Jamie McMurray
1979	Cale Yarborough	2003	Tony Stewart
1980	Dale Earnhardt	2004	Jimmie Johnson
1981	Darrell Waltrip	2005	Jimmie Johnson
1982	Harry Gant	2006	Kasey Kahne
1983	Richard Petty	2007

• Lowe's: Modern Era Winners | Shop Talk

2007 Chase Drivers at LMS

Pos.	Driver	No.	W	T-5	T-10	Avg. Fin.

1.	J. Gordon	29	4	13	15	17.3
2.	J. Johnson	12	5	8	11	6.2
3.	C. Bowyer	3	0	0	0	23.7
4.	T. Stewart	17	1	6	10	13.2
5.	K. Harvick	13	0	1	3	20.2
6.	C. Edwards	5	0	2	4	7.8
7.	Ku. Busch	14	0	2	2	22.1
8.	Ky. Busch	7	0	0	1	29.1
9.	D. Hamlin	4	0	0	3	13.5
10.	M. Truex Jr.	4	0	0	1	18.8
11.	M. Kenseth	16	1	5	7	14.6
12.	J. Burton	27	2	6	12	15.6