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Greg Biffle and Jack Roush popped champagne at Dover in 2008. Loop Data shows it wouldn't be an upset for them to do it again Sunday.Roushketeers have the numbers to win at Dover
Loop Data says Biffle, Kenseth, Edwards among favorites
By Official Release
May 12, 2010
04:53 PM EDT
May 12, 2010
04:53 PM EDT
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With competition being what it is in the Cup Series, most teams go through a series of ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys.
Roush Fenway Racing knows this all too well.
The team won the first two races of the 2009 season, both by Matt Kenseth. Since then, it has just one victory -- by a driver who is not with the team anymore (Jamie McMurray at Talladega last November).
Despite a winless first 11 races, Roush Fenway has run well in 2010. It has scored 19 top-10 finishes, and three of its drivers -- Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle -- are in the top 12 of the series points standings.
But the lack of victories is a sticking point.
The team has come close a few times. At Atlanta, Kenseth scored a runner-up finish, the team's best finish this season. In that event, he posted a Driver Rating of 107.9.
At Bristol, Biffle finished fourth, leading 78 laps, the most by an RFR driver this season. In that race, Biffle had a Driver Rating of 119.7, the team's highest this season.
In that Bristol race, Roush drivers finished fourth, fifth and sixth. That might be a foreshadow of this weekend.
Dover is sometimes called "Bristol on steroids" because of its similar concrete surface and steep banking.
Roush Fenway, with eight Dover victories, might find the one-mile track a perfect spot for its first victory in 14 races.
One of three RFR drivers currently in the top 12 is the best bet for a Dover win.
Greg Biffle: Biffle has been slumping of late, with two consecutive finishes outside the top 20. But the slump should end there. Statistically, he is the top driver at Dover with series-best stats in Driver Rating (114.7) and average running position (6.9).
| Date | Finish | Driver Rating | Avg. Run. Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/5/2005 | 1 | 137.4 | 4.9 |
| 9/25/2005 | 13 | 109.3 | 8.1 |
| 6/4/2006 | 8 | 103.6 | 7.2 |
| 9/24/2006 | 5 | 118.6 | 7.7 |
| 6/4/2007 | 6 | 95.7 | 9.5 |
| 9/23/2007 | 2 | 117.4 | 4.7 |
| 6/1/2008 | 3 | 130.6 | 2.3 |
| 9/21/2008 | 1 | 120.2 | 6.9 |
| 5/31/2009 | 3 | 120.5 | 8.1 |
| 9/27/2009 | 13 | 93.7 | 9.4 |
Carl Edwards: Edwards, nicknamed "Concrete Carl," earns the tag when he hits Dover. Edwards has finished in the top three in five of the past seven races, and has scored a Driver Rating of at least 114.3 in six of the past seven. Edwards is looking to end a personal 47-race winless drought.
| Date | Finish | Driver Rating | Avg. Run. Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/5/2005 | 16 | 80.3 | 15.7 |
| 9/25/2005 | 9 | 72.6 | 19.9 |
| 6/4/2006 | 15 | 75.9 | 16.9 |
| 9/24/2006 | 2 | 115.5 | 8 |
| 6/4/2007 | 3 | 122.7 | 2.8 |
| 9/23/2007 | 1 | 126.2 | 6.8 |
| 6/1/2008 | 2 | 126.8 | 2.9 |
| 9/21/2008 | 3 | 125.5 | 4.5 |
| 5/31/2009 | 7 | 114.3 | 6.1 |
| 9/27/2009 | 11 | 76.7 | 19.2 |
Matt Kenseth: Kenseth has finished in the top five in each of the past four Dover races, and has scored a Driver Rating of at least 100.1 in nine of the last 10. Since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, at Dover, Kenseth has a Driver Rating of 112.6, an average running position of 7.1, 306 fastest laps run, 634 laps led and a laps in the top 15 percentage of 89.4 percent.
| Date | Finish | Driver Rating | Avg. Run. Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6/5/2005 | 7 | 100.1 | 9 |
| 9/25/2005 | 35 | 84.6 | 14.3 |
| 6/4/2006 | 1 | 132.5 | 4.2 |
| 9/24/2006 | 10 | 132.1 | 3.2 |
| 6/4/2007 | 5 | 101.7 | 7.9 |
| 9/23/2007 | 35 | 120.5 | 4.7 |
| 6/1/2008 | 4 | 114.5 | 5.4 |
| 9/21/2008 | 2 | 130 | 3.3 |
| 5/31/2009 | 4 | 109.5 | 8.8 |
| 9/27/2009 | 3 | 100.5 | 9.8 |
Related:
• Fantasy Preview: Dover
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