Stats Advance: Watkins Glen

Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota)

· Two wins, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 11.300, fourth-best

· Average Running Position of 12.453, fifth-best

· Driver Rating of 108.4, second-best

· 74 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 120.360, second-fastest

· 638 Laps in the Top 15 (70.6), fourth-most

· 183 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)

· Two top fives, six top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 16.900, 10th-best

· Average Running Position of 15.864, 10th-best

· Driver Rating of 94.3, seventh-best

· 51 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 120.288, fifth-fastest

· 564 Laps in the Top 15 (62.4), eighth-most

· 190 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 STANLEY Toyota)

· Five top fives, seven top 10s; one pole

· Average finish of 8.400, third-best

· Average Running Position of 12.370, fourth-best

· Driver Rating of 95.0, sixth-best

· 15 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 119.959, sixth-fastest

· 666 Laps in the Top 15 (73.7), third-most

· 203 Quality Passes, second-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet)

· Four wins, six top fives, nine top 10s; three poles

· Average finish of 21.600, 13th-best

· Average Running Position of 17.075, 12th-best

· Driver Rating of 85.7, 10th-best

· 42 Fastest Laps Run, series-best

· Average Green Flag Speed of 119.314, 13th-fastest

· 479 Laps in the Top 15 (53.0), 11th-most

· 164 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Watkins Glen International Data

Season Race #: 22 of 36 (08-09-15)

Track Size: 2.45-miles

Number of Turns: 7

Race Length: 90 laps / 220.5 miles

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Watkins Glen

Tony Stewart……………………….. 120.4

Kyle Busch…………………………. 108.4

AJ Allmendinger…………………… 100.5

Jimmie Johnson…………………… 100.1

Brad Keselowski……………………. 97.5

Carl Edwards………………………… 95.0

Kurt Busch……………………………. 94.3

Martin Truex Jr………………………. 90.7

Kevin Harvick………………………… 89.0

Jeff Gordon………………………….. 85.7

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2014 races (10 total) among active drivers at Watkins Glen International.

Qualifying/Race Data

2014 pole winner:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

129.466 mph, 68.126 secs. 08-09-14

2014 race winner:

AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet

90.123 mph, (02:26:48), 08-10-14

Track qualifying record:

Marcos Ambrose, Ford

129.491 mph, 68.113 secs. 08-09-14

(Set in Round 1 of 3)

Track race record:

Mark Martin, Ford

103.030 mph, (02:11:54), 08-13-95

At Watkins Glen International:
History
· After several events were held on the streets of Watkins Glen, a permanent facility was opened in 1956.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was in 1957, won by Buck Baker (83.064 mph, 08/04/1957).
· After a six-year absence, NASCAR returned to The Glen in 1964 and 1965.
· After a 21-year absence, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to The Glen, and has run one race a year there since 1986.
· The first NSCS race at Watkins Glen was scheduled for 101.2-miles in 1957, the second race was 161.7-miles (1964) and the third race was 151.8-miles (1965). Every race since has been scheduled for 220.5-miles.

Starts
· There have been 32 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen International, one race per season.
· 252 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen; 152 in more than one.
· Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip and Terry Labonte lead the series in starts at Watkins Glen with 22 each.

Poles
· Buck Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Watkins Glen in 1957 with a speed of 87.071 mph. Driver/owner Buck Baker went on to win the inaugural race from the pole.
· 19 drivers have Coors Light poles at Watkins Glen, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon with three each.
· Mark Martin is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to post consecutive Coors Light poles at Watkins Glen (three) – 1993, 1994, and 1995.
· Youngest Watkins Glen pole winner: Kyle Busch (08/15/2011 – 26 years, 3 months, 13 days).
· Oldest Watkins Glen pole winner: Morgan Shepherd (08/13/1989 – 47 years, 10 months, 1 day).
· Tony Stewart leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Watkins Glen with a 6.286 – Stewart has made 14 starts at WGI.

Wins
· 19 different drivers have won at Watkins Glen International in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, led by Tony Stewart with five wins; followed by Jeff Gordon with four.
· Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in road course wins with nine (Sonoma, five; Watkins Glen, four); Tony Stewart has the second most road course wins all-time with seven (Watkins Glen, five; Sonoma, two).
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison holds the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record for the most wins at a single road course track with six – Riverside International Raceway.
· Four drivers have posted consecutive wins at Watkins Glen, including three consecutive by Mark Martin (1993, ’94, ‘95) and Jeff Gordon (1997, ’98, ‘99). The other two drivers to win consecutive races at Watkins Glen are Tony Stewart (2004, ’05) and Marcos Ambrose (2011, ’12).
· Youngest Watkins Glen winner: Kyle Busch (08/10/2008 – 23 years, 3 months, 8 days).
· Oldest Watkins Glen winner: Geoff Bodine (08/11/1996 – 47 years, 3 months, 24 days).
· Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing are tied for the most wins at Watkins Glen in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with six each:
—Hendrick Motorsports: Jeff Gordon (four), Tim Richmond (one) and Ricky Rudd (one).
—Joe Gibbs Racing: Tony Stewart (four) and Kyle Busch (two).
· Six different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Watkins Glen; led by Chevrolet with 17 victories; followed by Ford with seven, Pontiac with four, Toyota with two and Buick and Mercury each have one.
· Nine of the 32 (28.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Kyle Busch in 2008.
· The Coors Light pole position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (nine) than any other starting position at Watkins Glen.
· 11 of the 32 (34.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen have been won from the front row: nine from the pole and two from second-place.
· 21 of the 32 (65.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from a top-five starting position.
· 23 of the 32 (71.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from a top-10 starting position.
· None of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Watkins Glen is 18th, by Steve Park in 2000.
· All five of the active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Watkins Glen participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. 


· Kevin Harvick (2006) and AJ Allmendinger (2014) both competed at Watkins Glen five times each before winning; the longest span of any of the five active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
· Three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Watkins Glen: Steve Park (08/13/2000), Marcos Ambrose (08/15/11) and AJ Allmendinger (08/11/14).

Additional Finishing Position Stats
· Brad Keselowski and Mark Martin lead the series in runner-up finishes at Watkins Glen with three each.
· Mark Martin leads the series in top-five finishes at Watkins Glen with 12; followed by Ricky Rudd with eight. Tony Stewart leads all active drivers with seven.
· Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Watkins Glen with 16; followed by Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace and Tony Stewart with 10 each.
· AJ Allmendinger leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Watkins Glen with a 7.833.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth lead the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen without visiting Victory Lane at 14 each.

Track/Event Specific Stats
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen is the 2001 race won by Jeff Gordon over Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.172 second.
· There have been two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Watkins Glen (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): 2005 (90/92) and 2011 (90/92).
· Only one of the 32 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen has been shortened due to weather conditions – the 1992 race – only 51 of the scheduled 90 laps were completed.
· The 8/14/2011 race was the only NSCS race at Watkins Glen that has been postponed to another date due to weather (8/15/2011).
· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen six times: 1965, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Watkins Glen with 262 laps led in 22 starts.

Female Competitor Stats
· Danica Patrick and Patty Moise are the only two female NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers to compete at Watkins Glen International.