Atlanta by the numbers

Last year, Kyle Busch made history in March 2008 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

He became the first driver to win a Sprint Cup race for a foreign manufacturer since 1954.

Let’s run down the numbers at Atlanta and see who’s hot statistically speaking.

Track Numbers/Info:
Race-Sunday, March 8, 2009 in Hampton, GA
Scheduled Green Flag (Approx)-2:15 pm
Track Size-1.54 miles
Race Length-325 laps or 500.5 miles
Banking/Corners-24 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch-5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch-5 degrees
Frontstretch Length-2,332 feet
Backstretch Length-1,800 feet
Total Acreage-887
Pit Road Length-1,320 feet
Pit Road Speed-45 mph
Pace Car Speed-55 mph
Grandstand Seating-124,000
Track Opened-1960
Track Qualifying Record-Geoffrey Bodine (197.478 mph, 28.074 secs, 11-15-97)
Track Race Record-Bobby Labonte (159.904 mph, 11-16-97)
Estimated Pit Window-Every 48-52 laps, based on fuel mileage
43 drivers have won a pole (Buddy Baker & Ryan Newman lead with 7)
42 drivers have won a race at Atlanta (20 more than once)
9 victories were won by Dale Earnhardt, more than any other driver
14 races at Atlanta have been won from the pole
56 races have been won from top 5 starting positions
39th is the worst starting position for a winner (Bobby Labonte 2001)
7 season sweeps have occurred here (most recent Jimmie Johnson 2007)
1 green-white checkered finish has occurred here (2007 Pep Boys Auto Parts 500, 329 laps)
2 of the 7 closest finishes (since electronic timing was introduced) have occurred at Atlanta.
Dale Earnhardt over Bobby Labonte (0.010 seconds on 3-12-2000)
Kevin Harvick over Jeff Gordon (0.006 seconds on 3-11-2001)
Most Winnings For Atlanta-Jeff Gordon-$3,249,155 (Atlanta Career)
March ‘08 winner-Kyle Busch
October ‘08 winner-Carl Edwards
March ‘08 pole sitter-Jeff Gordon (finished 5th)
Most Wins (Active Driver)-Bobby Labonte 6
Most Top 5’s-Dale Earnhardt-26
Most Top 10’s-Richard Petty-33
Most Cautions-11-(11/93)
Fewest Cautions-1-(7-9-61)
Most Caution Laps-99-(11-6-77)
Fewest Caution Laps-7-(11-2-86)
Most Running At Finish-41-(3-20-06, 3-18-07 & 3-9-08)
Fewest Running At Finish-10-(4/64)
Most Lead Changes-45-(11-82)
Fewest Lead Changes-6-three times (6-1963 is the most recent)
Most Leaders-17-(3-12-2000)
Least Leaders-3-(6-30-63)
Most Wins By Manufacturer-35-Chevrolet
Fewest Laps Led By Race Winner-1-David Pearson (9-17-61)
Most Laps Led By Race Winner-308-Cale Yarborough (3-30-69)
Races Won From Top 5-56 of 99
Races Won from Top 10-78 of 99

Top Atlanta Track Averages - (Including last 3 races);
Jimmie Johnson-9.1/ 1st, 13th & 2nd
Jeff Gordon-10.7 / 7th, 5th & 9th
Carl Edwards-11.6 / 2nd , 42nd & 1st
Dale Earnhardt Jr.-11.7 / 25th, 3rd & 11th
Tony Stewart-12.3 / 30th, 2nd & 17th
Matt Kenseth-13.9 / 4th, 8th & 4th
Greg Biffle-14.4 / 22nd, 4th & 10th
Clint Bowyer-15.0 / 6th, 6th & 20th
AJ Allmendinger-15.0 / 16th, N/A, 14th
Jeff Burton-15.9 / 5th, 10th & 18th
Denny Hamlin-17.0 / 24th, 15th 7 3rd
Bobby Labonte-17.8 / 41st, 12th & 26th
Kyle Busch-18.2 / 20th, 1st & 5th

Top Atlanta Driver Ratings High Rating / (Average Rating):
Jimmie Johnson-143.2 – (112.9)
Carl Edwards-142.3 – (107.4)
Dale Earnhardt Jr.-131.6 – (103.7)
Tony Stewart-143.9 – (101.1)
Greg Biffle-135.1 – (100.2)
Matt Kenseth-130.5 – (98.6)
Jeff Gordon-116.1 – (98.4)
Jeff Burton-101.6 – (91.0)
Kyle Busch-143.9 – (90.2
Kurt Busch-124.2 – (88.7)
Denny Hamlin-118.0 – (88.4)
Martin Truex Jr.-119.0 – (87.1)
Clint Bowyer-115.9 – (87.0)
Mark Martin-121.1 – (85.1)

Similar Track Stats (Speedways)Average Start / (Avg Finish):
Jimmie Johnson-10.7 – (10.4)
Carl Edwards-17.2 – (11.3)
Jeff Gordon-11.0 – (11.7)
Tony Stewart-16.4 – (12.6)
Mark Martin-13.4 – (12.9)
Jeff Burton-21.6 – (13.6)
Denny Hamlin-14.5 – (14.0)
Matt Kenseth-19.9 – (14.1)
Greg Biffle-14.9 – (15.9)
Bobby Labonte-16.2 – (15.9)
Kevin Harvick-18.1 – (16.0)
Clint Bowyer-18.6 – (16.5)
Kyle Busch-15.5 – (16.8)
Dale Earnhardt Jr.-15.3 – (17.1)
Martin truex Jr.-17.7 – (17.6)
Ryan Newman-9.6 – (17.9)
Kurt Busch-15.4 – (17.9)

Atlanta Laps Led (Top 15):
Jeff Gordon-1,051
Bill Elliot-1,016
Bobby Labonte-959
Mark Martin-924
Tony Stewart-790
Dale Jr.-632
Geoffry Bodine-391
Jimmie Johnson-374
Kurt Busch-292
Mike Skinner-289
Carl Edwards-271
Kyle Busch-254
Terry Labonte-245
Matt Kenseth-188
Ken Schrader-172

Drivers To Watch:
Jeff Gordon-Current points leader and looking like the championship caliber he once was, he has finished the last 3 races here in the top 10. As a matter of fact, out of his last 7 here, 6 were top 10.

Jimmie Johnson-Always a good pick cause he’s Jimmie! Last 11 races here, 9 top 10’s. The last six go something like this; 6th, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 13th & 2nd. He would not be a bad choice for a winner.

Carl Edwards-Another good choice. Out of 9 races here, he has finished 7th or better 7 times. The other two were 40th and 42nd. The good finishes were; 3rd, 1st, 1st, 7th, 7th, 2nd & 1st. You might say Cousin Carl has a handle on this track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr- He has had some bad luck here lately, but he does tend to do well here. In the last 15 races here, Jr. has collected 10 top 10 finishes. The last 2 races produced 3rd and 11th place finishes.

Matt Kenseth- He has the 6th best finishing average at Atlanta. This is probably due to some bad finishes in years past. Recently, Kenseth has been on a tear and has stacked up some nice finishes. In the last 7 races here, he has collected 6 top 10’s and 5 were top 5’s. His last 5 races were; 4th, 3rd, 4th, 8th and 4th.

Tony Stewart-He has a yo-yo record. Hot spots and low spots. In his last 15 races at Atlanta, he has recorded 12 top 10’s, 2 were wins and 8 were top 5’s. However, his last 3 finishes were 30th, 2nd and 17th. He maybe a gamble, but overall he looks good here.

Clint Bowyer-While he don’t have a ton of experience here, he does have some decent finishes. His average finish is 15th and his last 3 races were 6th, 6th, 6th and 20th.

Greg Biffle-14.4 is his average finish at Atlanta. In 12 races, he has 7 top 10’s and 3 top 5’s. Biffle’s last two races were 4th and 10th. He may not be your pick for the winner but he should bring a top 15.

Others To Watch;
Jeff Burton-Last 4 races here; 4th, 5th, 10th & 18th.
Kyle Busch-Last 2 races here; 1st & 5th. But the 3 before them were; 27th, 32nd and 20th.
Denny Hamlin-Last 2 races here;15th & 3rd.
Kurt Busch-Last 4 races here;11th, 8th, 11th & 6th.
Kevin Harvick-Last 3 races here;15th, 7th & 13th.