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Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are neck-and-neck in Watkins Glen stats.By the Numbers: The Glen
Gordon, Stewart search for No. 5 at WGI, No. 1 for 2008
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For Jeff Gordon, he can point to Martinsville. For Tony Stewart, he can point to Pocono last week.
The common denominator: It was the best finish for each driver, respectively, on the season.
Winless in 2008, both drivers have combined for three second-place finishes this season; Stewart also finished second at Atlanta. Both have also gone through this before -- well into the season before earning victories. It's just that this late wasn't what they anticipated.
"I'm really happy with the way it ended up, obviously. I mean, for us, that's a win," Stewart said last weekend at Pocono when he turned a 10th-place car into a runner-up machine. Not a bad time to get going for the two-time champion.
Sunday's race at Watkins Glen (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) appears to be catered to Stewart and Gordon. Last year Gordon was leading and on his way to his fifth victory of the season when, uncharacteristically, he slipped with two laps remaining and opened the door for Stewart. Gordon finished ninth while Stewart stole his third victory in a four-race stretch.
For Gordon, Watkins Glen was a 1990s track. He won three in a row from 1997-1999 and again in 2001. For Stewart, the success has been more recent as he's won his four races the last six times the series has visited.
The question is: Can either transform past success into their first victory of a strange season.
68Percent of the last 22 road-course races that have been won by either Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart.
Watkins Glen International
Tony Stewart's career statistics
| Year | Start | Finish | Status | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 4 | 6 | running | 0 |
| 2000 | 6 | 6 | running | 0 |
| 2001 | 11 | 26 | running | 0 |
| 2002 | 3 | 1 | running | 34 |
| 2003 | 4 | 11 | running | 0 |
| 2004 | 4 | 1 | running | 46 |
| 2005 | 1 | 1 | running | 83 |
| 2006 | 8 | 2 | running | 7 |
| 2007 | 5 | 1 | running | 20 |
| Averages | 5.1 | 6.1 | 190 |
Jeff Gordon's career statistics
| Year | Start | Finish | Status | Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 11 | 31 | engine | 0 |
| 1994 | 3 | 9 | running | 0 |
| 1995 | 5 | 3 | running | 4 |
| 1996 | 5 | 4 | running | 0 |
| 1997 | 11 | 1 | running | 32 |
| 1998 | 1 | 1 | running | 55 |
| 1999 | 3 | 1 | running | 55 |
| 2000 | 8 | 23 | running | 0 |
| 2001 | 13 | 1 | running | 14 |
| 2002 | 23 | 22 | running | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 | 33 | crash | 0 |
| 2004 | 2 | 21 | running | 13 |
| 2005 | 14 | 14 | running | 2 |
| 2006 | 4 | 13 | running | 1 |
| 2007 | 1 | 9 | running | 51 |
| Averages | 7.0 | 12.4 | 227 |
Back in Time
Aug. 4, 1957Buck Baker starts from the pole and leads all 44 laps in his No. 87 Chevrolet to win The Glen 101.2, the first NASCAR race at Watkins Glen that also happened to go caution-free. The average speed that day was 83.063 mph on the track's 2.3-mile layout. Last year's race, which had eight cautions on the 2.45-mile layout, had an average speed of 77.535 mph.
10 Key Facts
1Victory by a manufacturer other than Chevrolet in the last 11 Watkins Glen races. Tony Stewart's 2002 victory was in a Pontiac.
3Times that Kyle Busch has finished outside the top 10 in consecutive races this season: Bristol (17th) and Martinsville (38th), Pocono (43rd) and Michigan (13th), and Indianapolis (15th) and Pocono (36th).
3Worst finish for Jimmie Johnson in the last three races. He was second at Chicagoland, first at Indianapolis and third at Pocono.
7Top-10 finishes for Robby Gordon in his nine Watkins Glen starts. Gordon's other two finishes were 40th (2001) and 16th (2004). He won the race there in 2003 driving the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
7Watkins Glen winners who started outside the top 10 (25 total races). The worst starting position of a winner was 18th when Steve Park won from there in 2000.
10Top-10 finishes for Carl Edwards in the last 12 races. In each of those, he either finished first, second, seventh or ninth. The other two races in that span resulted in finishes of 17th (New Hampshire) and 32nd (Chicago).
30.2Average finish for Greg Biffle in five starts at Watkins Glen, the worst among drivers ranked in the top 12 in points.
32Percentage of Watkins Glen races that have been won by either Jeff Gordon (4) or Tony Stewart (4).
54Laps led by Jeff Burton at Watkins Glen, the most by a driver who has not won there. Burton's best finish in 14 starts at The Glen is second in 2001.
1,445Points scored by Tony Stewart in the last 10 Watkins Glen races. Jeff Gordon has earned the second-most at 1,313. During that span, Stewart won all four of his WGI races while Gordon won three of his four.
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Watkins Glen International
Active drivers, based on victories
| Driver | Starts | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Gordon | 15 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| Tony Stewart | 9 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
| Kyle Petty | 20 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Kevin Harvick | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Robby Gordon | 9 | 1 | 7 | 7 |
Active drivers, based on average finish
| Driver | Starts | Avg. Start | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | 2 | 6.0 | 6.0 |
| Tony Stewart | 9 | 5.1 | 6.1 |
| Robby Gordon | 9 | 19.3 | 8.8 |
| Carl Edwards | 3 | 12.3 | 10.7 |
| Kevin Harvick | 7 | 9.3 | 12.0 |
* Includes only drivers on entry list.
Sprint Cup Series
Official Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Kyle Busch | 3059 | Leader |
| 2. | -- | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 2883 | -176 |
| 3. | +2 | Carl Edwards | 2874 | -185 |
| 4. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 2859 | -200 |
| 5. | -2 | Jeff Burton | 2833 | -226 |
| 6. | -- | Jeff Gordon | 2678 | -381 |
| 7. | +2 | Kasey Kahne | 2592 | -467 |
| 8. | -1 | Greg Biffle | 2589 | -470 |
| 9. | +1 | Tony Stewart | 2569 | -490 |
| 10. | -2 | Denny Hamlin | 2547 | -512 |
| 11. | +2 | Kevin Harvick | 2520 | -539 |
| 12. | -- | Clint Bowyer | 2512 | -547 |
Cup Series News
- Victory has Hamlin ready to fight for Cup title in 2010
- Martin can't mount charge needed to push Johnson
- Montoya, Stewart let anger get best of them in finale
- For four drivers, '09 finale more than end to season
- Johnson eases to record fourth consecutive title
- Evernham trying to clear way for return to garage
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