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Carl Edwards hasn't finished better than Kyle Busch in a race at Fontana since February 2006.Record-setting Busch goes for another at Fontana
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As the season winds down -- only six races remain, starting this week at Auto Club Speedway -- the 2009 Nationwide Series has been all about Kyle Busch.
Busch holds a commanding lead in the point standings, and seemingly on a weekly basis sets or ties records. One in particular -- matching Jack Ingram for most runner-up finishes in a season with 10 -- he doesn't even want. "I'm looking for wins," he says.
Of course, Busch made history at Fontana in February when he won the Truck Series and Nationwide races on the same day. In the first October race at the track since the inaugural event in 1997, Busch is going for another first: three consecutive wins.
Only two other drivers have won two in a row: Matt Kenseth in 1999 and 2000, when the track hosted just one race a year; and Greg Biffle, who pulled the sweep in 2004, the first year Fontana had two races in a season.
287Laps led, out of 300 possible, by Kyle Busch in the past two races at Fontana.
1,139Points accumulated by Kyle Busch in the past seven races at Fontana, most of any driver.
As for the championship battle, Busch has a 245-point lead on second place Carl Edwards. The two drivers have similar numbers at Fontana.
6Top-fives for Carl Edwards at Fontana, one more than Kyle Busch. They are the only drivers to post top-five finishes in each of the past three races, yet Edwards has finished behind Busch each time.
7Top-10s for both Kyle Busch (6.6 average finish) and Carl Edwards (7.0). Edwards has one win, in September 2005.
The interesting points battle is shaping up between Justin Allgaier and Steve Wallace, who are fighting for a top-five finish and a podium spot in the year-end awards banquet. They have traded positions the past three races, with Allgaier currently holding a 13-point lead.
10Place of finish for Steve Wallace earlier this year at Fontana, his first top-10 in five starts. He has two top-15 finishes, both in February races.
14Place of finish for Justin Allgaier in his first start at Fontana earlier this year.
The best driver without a win at Fontana? That could be California native Kevin Harvick.
7Top-fives for Kevin harvick, tied with Most Kenseth for most in track history. Harvick's 5.7 average finish is the best among drivers with more than two starts. He finished second in the race earlier this year.
11Top-10s for Kevin Harvick, most of any driver. One of his non-top-10s among 13 starts was an 11th-place finish in last year's August race. He finished 14th in his first start at Fontana in 2000.
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2DNFs (crashes) for Greg Biffle in the past two races he has started at Fontana, including a 34th-place result earlier this year. Since winning for the third time in February 2002 -- in his first seven starts also included a runner-up finish and two other top-10s -- Biffle has only one top-20 finish (fifth in February '06) in four subsequent races.
2Top-10s for Jason Leffler in 11 starts, the last coming in 2005. His 21.5 average finish is the third-worst among active tracks for the California native. He has finished 11th in the past two February races at Fontana, however.
3Consecutive wins for Toyota, the longest streak at Fontana since Ford won seven in a row from April 2002-Feb. '06. Chevrolet won four in a row from 1998-2001.
6Wins for team owner Jack Roush, most in track history: Greg Biffle (three); and Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin (one each). Roush cars won five in a row and six of seven from May 2004-Feb. '07.
9Consecutive races won from a top-five starting position. Four of the past five races has been won from the front row, but only one from the pole: Kyle Busch in August 2008.
THE BUSCH WATCH
Last week, Kyle Busch set a series record for laps led in a season, now at 2,226. With six victories, Busch needs to win five of the next six races to break the mark of 10 wins in a season he matched (Sam Ard) last year. Busch is only four top-fives away from tying Jeff Green's season mark of 25 in 2000.
5Top-five finishes for Kyle Busch at Fontana, all in the past five races. Included in that run are two wins and two runner-up finishes.
THE WOW FACTOR
32.7Average finish for Brad Keselowski in six starts at Fontana. He finished 27th there earlier this year. He hasn't fared better than 32nd any other time.
THE SUPER LOOPER
76.9Percentage of Laps Run in the Top 15 for Greg Biffle in the past seven races at Fontana. Percentage of those races he has a top-15 finish: 43 (three DNFs).
Driver Rating (since 2005, nine races)
| Pos. | Driver* | Starts | Rating | Pct. Laps / Top 15 | Avg. Run Pos. | Avg. Fin. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kyle Busch | 7 | 119.9 | 83.8 | 6.7 | 6.1 |
| 2. | Carl Edwards | 9 | 110.4 | 87.0 | 7.6 | 7.0 |
| 3. | Brian Vickers | 4 | 106.3 | 90.8 | 8.0 | 11.8 |
| 4. | Joey Logano | 2 | 106.0 | 99.7 | 7.1 | 4.5 |
| 5. | Kevin Harvick | 8 | 105.3 | 85.2 | 9.3 | 5.1 |
| 6. | Greg Biffle | 7 | 103.4 | 76.9 | 11.8 | 19.6 |
| 7. | Clint Bowyer | 7 | 102.4 | 96.4 | 8.1 | 8.1 |
| 8. | Brendan Gaughan | 1 | 90.7 | 100.0 | 11.4 | 9.0 |
| 9. | Justin Allgaier | 1 | 88.4 | 98.7 | 12.0 | 14.0 |
| 10. | David Ragan | 6 | 82.2 | 59.3 | 15.8 | 15.8 |
• Loop Data Statistics: Season-to-Date Box Score | * Entered in this race only
BLAST FROM THE PAST
5Drivers to finish on the lead lap in the first series race at Fontana, in 1997, the only other time it has been held in October. Todd Bodine won in a Pontiac, starting 28th, still the farthest back of any winner.
Related
• Nationwide win caps dominating performance at Fontana
Also
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Nationwide Series
Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Kyle Busch | 4,729 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Carl Edwards | 4,484 | -245 |
| 3. | -- | Brad Keselowski | 4,422 | -307 |
| 4. | -- | Jason Leffler | 3,879 | -850 |
| 5. | +1 | Justin Allgaier | 3,390 | -1,339 |
| 6. | -1 | Steve Wallace | 3,377 | -1,352 |
| 7. | -- | Jason Keller | 3,249 | -1,480 |
| 8. | -- | Mike Bliss | 3,220 | -1,509 |
| 9. | -- | Brendan Gaughan | 3,139 | -1,590 |
| 10. | -- | Michael McDowell | 3,024 | -1,705 |
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