Autostock
In the last two Lowe's races, Jimmie Johnson has failed to finish in the top 10.By the Numbers: Lowe's
For the first time in the Chase era Johnson leads at LMS
type size: + -
For all his success since the inception of the Chase in 2004, there is an interesting little side note heading into Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET, ABC): Jimmie Johnson has never been the points leader going into the fall race at Charlotte.
In '04 Johnson was ranked ninth more than 240 points back and in '05 he was fifth, 92 points behind eventual champion Tony Stewart. Johnson's first championship season in '06 saw him enter the Charlotte race eighth in the standings, 156 points behind leader Jeff Burton and in '07 he was just nine points behind teammate Jeff Gordon.
In one of those four seasons, '05 , Johnson left Charlotte on top of the point standings. With a 72-point lead going into LMS, Johnson could leave Charlotte with his largest points lead with five races remaining.
Chase Drivers at Charlotte
1. Jimmie JohnsonWith five wins, eight top-fives and 11 top-10s in 14 races, Johnson is clearly the favorite heading into Lowe's. Surprisingly though, his 9.1 average finish is only second-highest among active drivers. The last two races at Charlotte, Johnson has not posted a top-10 with a 14th-place finish in this race last year and a 39th-place finish in the spring race this season.
2. Carl EdwardsEdwards has never won at Lowe's but he holds the best average finish among active drivers at 7.6. Edwards has finished outside the top-10 just once in seven starts and has finished on the lead lap in six of them.
3. Greg BiffleThe Biff has just two top-fives in 11 starts at Lowe's with five finishes of 20th or worse. Things look up for the No. 16 team though, in the spring race this season Biffle came home second, his best finish at the track.
4. Jeff BurtonBurton has two wins at Lowe's but they came in 1999 and 2001 with Roush Racing. Since then it's been up and down for Burton with seven top-10s and seven finishes 14th or worse. Burton's average finish in the last five races at Lowe's is 8.6 with four finishes of sixth or better.
5. Clint BowyerLowe's hasn't been a great track for Bowyer in his short Cup Series career. In five races he's finished on the lead lap once, a second in the fall race last season. Other than that it's been mid-pack finishes with an average finish of 19.6.
6. Kevin HarvickAfter finishing second in his Cup debut at Lowe's, it's been downhill ever since. Harvick has just two top-10s in 14 starts following his second-place finish and while he has just one DNF at the track, Harvick has just five lead-lap finishes.
7. Tony StewartThe last time Stewart won a Cup points race at Charlotte came in 2003 and that is also his last top-five finish at the track. Since that win, Smoke has an average finish of 17.1 with four finishes outside the top 15.
8. Jeff GordonGordon won this race last season with a strong performance that saw him lead 72 of the 337 laps. He followed that up with a fourth here in the spring race this season. But before that Gordon was horrible at Lowe's with five consecutive DNFs, four the result of crashes.
9. Matt KensethIt's been feast or famine for Kenseth in Charlotte. He has eight top-10 finishes including a win, two seconds, a third and a fifth. He also has four DNFs and five finishes of 25th or worse. His average finish of 15.3 puts him fifth among Chase drivers at the track.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.Junior is stronger at Lowe's in the fall race compared to the spring race. In 10 spring races he has an average finish of 18.4 with four top-10s and four finishes below 25th. In the fall he has just one finish outside the top 20 and an average finish of 13.6. One constant between both events -- no wins.
11. Kyle BuschBusch has the worst average finish among Chase drivers at Lowe's with an average finish of 23.3 due to five finishes of 30th or worse in his first seven races at the track. The last two events though, he's put up back-to-back third-place finishes.
12. Denny HamlinIn six races at Lowe's, Denny Hamlin has yet to post a top-five finish. In Hamlin's first four races he had three top-10 finishes with an eighth and two ninths. In the last two, though, he's finished 20th and 24th leading only one lap.
Non-Chase Nugget
0No driver in Cup Series history has swept all three Cup races at Lowe's Motor Speedway in one season. Kasey Kahne has a chance to do just that after winning both the All-Star Showdown and Coca-Cola 600 in May.
Also
- Crashes at Daytona affect battle for Chase position
- When winner is bothered, something clearly wrong
- Stewart survives last-lap crash for Daytona victory
- Mayfield plans a return to the track, just unsure when
- In the Mayfield case, there may be no real winners
- Mayfield: The worst two months of my entire life
| POPULAR ALERTS | ||||
|
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Chase Driver Statistics
| Pos. | Driver | Starts | Wins | Avg. Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jimmie Johnson | 14 | 5 | 9.1 |
| 2. | Carl Edwards | 7 | 0 | 7.6 |
| 3. | Greg Biffle | 11 | 0 | 19.3 |
| 4. | Jeff Burton | 29 | 2 | 14.9 |
| 5. | Clint Bowyer | 5 | 0 | 19.6 |
| 6. | Kevin Harvick | 15 | 0 | 20.7 |
| 7. | Tony Stewart | 19 | 1 | 13.2 |
| 8. | Jeff Gordon | 31 | 5 | 16.4 |
| 9. | Matt Kenseth | 18 | 1 | 15.3 |
| 10. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 18 | 0 | 16.3 |
| 11. | Kyle Busch | 9 | 0 | 23.3 |
| 12. | Denny Hamlin | 6 | 0 | 16.3 |
Sprint Cup Series
Official Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Jimmie Johnson | 5718 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Carl Edwards | 5646 | -72 |
| 3. | -- | Greg Biffle | 5641 | -77 |
| 4. | -- | Jeff Burton | 5619 | -99 |
| 5. | +2 | Clint Bowyer | 5566 | -152 |
| 6. | -1 | Kevin Harvick | 5547 | -171 |
| 7. | +4 | Tony Stewart | 5515 | -203 |
| 8. | -2 | Jeff Gordon | 5486 | -232 |
| 9. | -- | Matt Kenseth | 5473 | -245 |
| 10. | -2 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 5469 | -249 |
| 11. | +1 | Kyle Busch | 5387 | -331 |
| 12. | -2 | Denny Hamlin | 5383 | -335 |
Updated: Sunday 3:40 am
Remember To Check Out
|
All External sites will open in a new browser window. NASCAR.COM does not endorse external sites. |
|
© 2001-2009 NASCAR | Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
|
Turner Entertainment Digital Network NASCAR.COM is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network. |
