Who do you think of when you think of this race? Most think of Jimmie Johnson and his domination on this track. However, he has not won here in the last six races. Kasey Kahne is actually one to watch along with a few others. This will be the biggest stats article to date. Read on as I dish out the stats and shed some light on who’s hot and who’s not at Charlotte.
Track Stats
Superspeedway-1.5-mile quad oval
Race Length-400 laps, 600 miles
Banking Turns-24 degrees
Banking Straights-5 degrees
Frontstretch Lenth-1,952.8 feet
Backstretch Length-1,360 feet
Pit Road Speed-45 mph
Pace Car Speed-55 mph
Opened-1960
Races Ran – 68
Different Drivers – 279
Total Laps – 24,770
Total Cars – 2,851
Total Leaders – 711
Total DNF’s – 933
% of DNF’s – 2.39%
Average Cautions – 11.25
Average Caution Laps – 56.42
Average DNF’s – 9.58
Schedules
Practices;
Thursday, May 21, 3:00 – 4:30pm/et, TV-SPEED
Saturday, May 23, 2:45 – 3:30pm/et, TV-SPEED
Happy Hour ‘Final’ practice;
Saturday, May 23, 6:00 – 6:50pm/et, TV-SPEED
Qualifying Draw:
Thursday, May 21, 2:00pm/et
Coverage of Qualifying for the Coca Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2009 at 7:10pm/et.
TV: SPEED – 7:00pm/et
Radio: PRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Nascar Radio
Winners of Coca-Cola 600 & All-Star race in same season
2008-Kasey Kahne
2003-Jimmie Johnson
1997-Jeff Gordon
1993-Dale Earnhardt Jr.
1991-Davey Allison
1985-Darrell Waltrip
Qualifying Matters (Races Won From Starting Spots)
Top 10 – 78 OF 100 – 78%
Top 5 – 58 OF 100 – 58%
FROM POLE – 13 OF 100 – 13%
Top 10 All-Time Wins At Charlotte
6 – Darrell Waltrip
5 – Dale Earnhardt
5 – Jeff Gordon
5 – Jimmie Johnson
4 – Richard Petty
4 – Mark Martin
3 – Dale Jarrett
3 – Jeff Burton
3 – Kasey Kahne
3 – Bobby Allison
Last 10 Winners At The Track
’08-Jeff Burton
’08-Kasey Kahne
’07-Jeff Gordon
’07-Casey Mears
’06-Kasey Kahne
’06-Kasey Kahne
’05-Jimmie Johnson
’05-Jimmie Johnson
’04-Jimmie Johnson
’04-Jimmie Johnson
Last Year’s Coca-Cola 600 Results (Top Ten)
Kasey Kahne
Greg Biffle
Kyle Busch
Jeff Gordon
Dale Earnhardt Jr
Jeff Burton
Matt Kenseth
Elliot Sadler
Carl Edwards
David Reutimann
Top Charlotte (Active) Driver Career Averages
8.87 – Jimmie Johnson
10.75 – Carl Edwards
12.84 – Bobby Labonte
12.90 – Kasey Kahne
13.05 – Tony Stewart
14.43 – Jeff Burton
15.92 – Mark Martin
16.13 – Jeff Gordon
16.15 – J McMurray
16.29 – Denny Hamlin
16.51 – Ricky Rudd
16.63 – Matt Kenseth
17.29 – Bill Elliot
17.32 – D Earnhardt Jr.
17.50 – Sam Hornish Jr. *2 races
Top Charlotte Starting Averages Since Feb 2007
8.3 – Matt Kenseth
8.5 – Jimmie Johnson
9.3 – Kurt Busch
10.0 – Kasey Kahne
10.5 – Kyle Busch
10.5 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
11.0 – Mark Martin
11.3 – Denny Hamlin
12.5 – Elliot Sadler
13.8 – Greg Biffle
13.8 – Bobby Labonte
14.0 – Ryan Newman
15.3 – Brian Vickers
15.5 – Jeff Gordon
15.5 – David Ragan
Top Charlotte Finishing Averages Since Feb 2007
8.50 – Kasey Kahne
8.75 – Jeff Burton
9.00 – Ricky Rudd * 2 races
10.00 – Kyle Busch
10.50 – Tony Stewart
12.75 – Mark Martin
13.00 – David Stremme * 2 races
13.25 – Bobby Labonte
13.50 – Jeff Gordon
15.50 – Carl Edwards
17.00 – D Earnhardt Jr
17.00 – Clint Bowyer
17.00 – Dave Blaney
17.25 – Jimmie Johnson
17.25 – Denny Hamlin
Lap Leaders At Charlotte Last 4 Races
280 – Jimmie Johnson
201 – Brian Vickers
184 – Kurt Busch
120 – Tony Stewart
119 – Jeff Gordon
84 – Matt Kenseth
83 – Kyle Busch
79 – Clint Bowyer
77 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
66 – Kasey Kahne
59 – Jeff Burton
32 – Ryan Newman
27 – Jamie McMurray
18 – Greg Biffle
7 – Casey Mears
Top Lap Leaders This Season To Date
616 – Kyle Busch
496 – Jeff Gordon
479 – Denny Hamlin
322 – Kurt Busch
313 – Jimmie Johnson
267 – Greg Biffle
215 – Mark Martin
171 – Matt Kenseth
135 – Ryan Newman
109 – Martin Truex Jr
90 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
67 – Jeff Burton
54 – Tony Stewart
46 – Kasey Kahne
42 – Carl Edwards
Top Intermediate Track Averages Since Feb 2007
(Wins) / Top 10′s
9.74 – Carl Edwards (9) 29
10.05 – Jimmie Johnson (7) 25
10.44 – Jeff Gordon (3) 28
11.18 – Matt Kenseth (3) 29
11.85 – Jeff Burton (2) 22
13.46 – Kyle Busch (5) 21
14.46 – Greg Biffle (2) 20
14.95 – Tony Stewart (1) 20
15.03 – Kevin Harvick (0) 15
15.82 – Clint Bowyer (0) 16
16.64 – Mark Martin (1) 14
16.85 – Martin Truex Jr (1) 15
16.90 – Denny Hamlin (0) 13
17.72 – D Earnhardt Jr (1) 12
18.05 – Jamie McMurray (0) 13
Top Ten Team Averages At Charlotte Since Feb 2007
11.08 – Joe Gibbs Racing – 0 wins – 6 top 10′s
16.69 – Richard Childress Racing – 1 win – 4 top 10′s
17.31 – Hendrick Motorsports – 2 wins – 8 top 10′s
18.13 – Petty Enterprises – 0 wins – 1 top 10
19.93 – Dale Earnhardt Inc. – 0 wins – 2 top 10′s
20.25 – Roush Fenway Racing – 0 wins – 7 top 10′s
21.92 – Richard Petty Motorsports – 1 win – 4 top 10′s
22.00 – Bill Davis Racing – 0 wins – 1 top 10
22.10 – Penske Championship Racing – 0 wins – 1 top 10
23.33 – Chip Ganassi Racing – 0 wins – 2 top 10′s
Who’s Hot Last Five Races This Season Average Finish
6.80 – Tony Stewart – 0 wins – 4 top 10′s – 36 laps led
8.00 – Greg Biffle – 0 wins – 4 top 10′s – 211 laps led
8.40 – Ryan Newman – 0 wins – 3 top 10′s – 107 laps led
9.00 – Kurt Busch – 0 wins – 3 top 10′s – 85 laps led
9.80 – Jeff Burton – 0 wins – 3 top 10′s – 6 laps led
10.33 – Brad Keselowski – 1 win – 2 top 10′s – 1 lap led
11.20 – Mark Martin – 2 wins – 4 top 10′s – 206 laps led
13.40 – Denny Hamlin – 0 wins – 1 top 10 – 176 laps led
14.40 – Matt Kenseth – 0 wins – 2 top 10′s – 80 laps led
14.80 – Jimmie Johnson – 0 wins – 3 top 10′s – 6 laps led
15.20 – Jeff Gordon – 1 win – 3 top 10′s – 207 laps led
16.20 – J P Montoya – 0 wins – 2 top 10′s – 7 laps led
17.60 – Joey Lagano – 0 wins – 2 top 10′s – 23 laps led
17.80 – Brian Vickers – 0 wins – 1 top 10′s – 26 laps led
18.60 – Martin Truex Jr – 0 wins – 2 top 10′s – 107 laps led
Who’s Not Last Five Races This Season Average Finish
36.80 – David Gilliland
30.20 – Robby Gordon
29.20 – Bobby Labonte
29.20 – Michael Waltrip
28.40 – A J Allmendinger
28.40 – Clint Bowyer
28.00 – Kevin Harvick
26.40 – David Ragan
Who’s Mild Last Five Races This Season Average Finish
19.00 – Kyle Busch
19.20 – Sam Hornish Jr
19.60 – Reed Sorenson
20.40 – David Reutimann
20.40 – Carl Edwards
20.40 – Casey Mears
20.60 – Marcos Ambrose
21.40 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
23.75 – Regan Smith
Average Running Position This Season To Date Through Race 11
9.4 – Jeff Gordon
9.8 – Kurt Busch
10.3 – Denny Hamlin
10.4 – Tony Stewart
10.5 – Jimmie Johnson
12.1 – Kyle Busch
13.8 – Carl Edwards
14.2 – Mark Martin
15.5 – Jeff Burton
15.7 – David Reutimann
16.1 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
17.1 – Brian Vickers
17.5 – Ryan Newman
17.7 – Martin Truex Jr.
18.3 – Matt Kenseth
Top Driver Ratings For Current Season
109.8 – Jeff Gordon
104.1 – Kyle Busch
100.9 – Tony Stewart
100.7 – Jimmie Johnson
100.7 – Kurt Busch
100.3 – Denny Hamlin
97.1 – Mark Martin
90.7 – Greg Biffle
88.4 – Carl Edwards
84.9 – Jeff Burton
81.7 – Ryan Newman
80.7 – Matt Kenseth
80.5 – J P Montoya
80.5 – David Reutimann
80.5 – Brian Vickers
80.3 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
Laps Run On The Lead Lap This Season
3,536 – Kurt Busch – 97.65%
3,410 – Denny Hamlin – 94.17%
3,310 – Jimmie Johnson – 91.41%
3,274 – Carl Edwards – 90.42%
3,237 – Jeff Gordon – 89.40%
3,229 – Dale Earnhardt Jr – 89.17%
3,113 – Tony Stewart – 85.97%
3,089 – Mark Martin – 85.31%
3,087 – Jeff Burton – 85.25%
3,035 – D Reutimann – 83.82%
2,861 – J P Montoya – 79.01%
2,855 – Clint Bowyer – 78.85%
2,797 – Ryan Newman – 77.24%
2,789 – Greg Biffle – 77.02%
2,769 – Brian Vickers – 76.47%
Fastest Early In A Run This Season
4.60 – Jeff Gordon
6.43 – Mark Martin
7.00 – Kurt Busch
7.12 – Kyle Busch
8.45 – Jimmie Johnson
8.55 – Tony Stewart
10.10 – Carl Edwards
11.58 – Jamie McMurray
11.64 – Denny Hamlin
12.00 – Greg Biffle
12.45 – D Reutimann
14.00 – Matt Kenseth
14.10 – Kasey Kahne
15.10 – Ryan Newman
15.90 – Martin Truex Jr
Fastest In Traffic This Season
6.91 – Tony Stewart
10.10 – Kyle Busch
10.91 – Denny Hamlin
11.19 – Jimmie Johnson
11.46 – Mark Martin
11.64 – Carl Edwards
12.37 – Jeff Gordon
12.55 – Jeff Burton
13.82 – Jamie McMurray
14.19 – Kurt Busch
14.46 – Clint Bowyer
15.55 – J P Montoya
16.28 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
17.50 – Matt Kenseth
17.64 – Greg Biffle
Quality Passes This Season
(Passing a car while in top 15 under green)
725 – Kurt Busch
714 – Jimmie Johnson
667 – J P Montoya
660 – Denny Hamlin
634 – Matt Kenseth
619 – David Ragan
563 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
560 – Jeff Burton
546 – Brian Vickers
515 – Tony Stewart
497 – Carl Edwards
487 – Kyle Busch
416 – David Stremme
385 – Martin Truex Jr
378 – D Reutimann
Fastest Late In A Run This Season
5.58 – Mark Martin
8.10 – Tony Stewart
8.34 – Jimmie Johnson
8.40 – Jeff Gordon
8.70 – Carl Edwards
9.10 – Denny Hamlin
9.91 – Kurt Busch
10.78 – Kyle Busch
11.72 – Jamie McMurray
13.10 – Jeff Burton
14.00 – Greg Biffle
14.00 – D Reutimann
14.12 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
14.34 – Matt Kenseth
15.00 – Clint Bowyer
Top 20 Finishers This Season After 11 Races
10 – Kurt Busch
9 – Tony Stewart
9 – Jeff Gordon
9 – Jeff Burton
8 – J P Montoya
8 – Greg Biffle
8 – Denny Hamlin
7 – Ambrose, Newman, Martin, Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Johnson, Edwards, Kahne,
Vickers, Bowyer and Reutimann
Manufacturer Wins At Charlotte Since 2004
7 – Chevrolet
3 – Dodge
Manufacturer Wins This Season
5 – Chevrolet
3 – Toyota
2 – Ford
1 – Dodge
Manufacturer Laps Led This Season
1,516 – Chevrolet
1,210 – Toyota
491 – Ford
441 – Dodge
Driver Bonus Point Leaders Current Season
50 – Jimmie Johnson
50 – Kyle Busch
45 – Jeff Gordon
40 – Mark Martin
40 – Kurt Busch
30 – Ryan Newman
30 – Denny Hamlin
30 – Matt Kenseth
30 – Greg Biffle
25 – Tony Stewart
25 – Martin Truex Jr.
25 – Carl Edwards
20 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
20 – Brian Vickers
20 – Bobby Labonte
Drivers To Watch At Charlotte
Kasey Kahne – Johnson don’t rule the roost quite like he did in years past. Kahne’s 1.5 mile track performances have not been impressive, his numbers here have. Since getting a handle on the track in 2006, Kahne has recorded solid finishes. His last six at bat were 1st, 1st, 23rd, 8th, 1st and 2nd. He has not made many waves this season but I would still keep an eye on him.
Tony Stewart – What a season this guy is having. Not a bad finisher at Charlotte either. Out of the last ten races here, he has a 16.9 average finish. His last four finishes here were ;6th, 7th, 18th & 11th. These past stats don’t mean as much since Stewart is in a different car in a different world. This season so far, Stewart 6th fastest early in the run, fastest in traffic and 2nd fastest late in the run. He currently has a 100.9 driver rating 3rd best. His average running position this season so far is 10.4 and that’s 4th best. Stewart is also one of the hottest drivers right now as far as hot streaks go. He has managed to score a 6.80 average finish in the last 5 season races along with 4 top 10′s. Watch out for Smoke this week.
Jimmie Johnson – Last ten races here, he leads with a 7.7 finishing average. It don’t get much better than the #48 team at Charlotte. His last three races here was a little off his mark placing 14th, 39th and 6th. He also has stumbled this season in the last 5 races with a 14.80 finishing average. He has led the most laps here since 2007 with 280. He don’t quite have it together yet, but we all know this is Team # 48′s way of operating. They normally warm up as the season moves on, so Johnson will be one to watch.
Jeff Gordon – They had his car dialed in for the long runs in the All-Star race. I would keep an eye on this team. In the last five years here, he has not had the best finishes. His average finish is 21.4 with 4 of them top 10′s. The others were; 30th, 30th, 38th, 36th, 24th and 41st. Now don’t let those numbers scare you, he has his head on straight this year and is looking like the Jeff Gordon of old. He has won here recently in the fall of 2007. His finishes since then were 4th and 8th.
Jeff Burton – He has found something that works here to in recent years. In the last 10 races here, he has a 11.1 average finish with 6 of them being top 10′s. His last six races here were; 6th, 3rd, 24th, 4th, 6th and 1st. I’d say those nunbers are pretty solid. His last 5 races this season have produced 3 top 10′s. Since 2007, Burton has the 2nd best finishing average here next the Kahne at 8.75. Don’t count him out of this one.
Kyle Busch – Not crazy about M&M’s but that boy can sure drive. If a race was based on restarts alone he would never lose. Like him or not, he always seems to find a way to the front. He’ll take the high side, the low side and even pry himself in between two cars like we seen in the All-Star event. Aggressive is his style of driving, sometimes it gets him to the front and other times into the wall (or another driver into the wall). Gambling on what kind of day he will have will be up to you. In the last ten races here, he has a 21.4 average finish. In the last 5 races here, he has gotten better placing 6th, 30th, 3rd, 3rd and 4th.
Others To Watch
Carl Edwards – 8 races with 6 top 10′s
Dale Earnhardt Jr – Last 10 races with 5 top 10′s
Jamie McMurray – Last 10 races / 5 top 10′s
Denny Hamlin – Last 7 races / 3 top 10′s
Greg Biffle – Last 10 races / 5 top 10′s
Dark Horse Pick
Sam Hornish Jr – 2 races – 13th & 22nd
Based on hot streaks I would also consider Mark Martin, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch & Brian Vickers, but these would not be my top picks. Good luck and enjoy the race!
