Monday, July 22, 2013

Indianapolis Motor Speedway History and Notes


At Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
History
· Indianapolis Motor Speedway has existed since 1909, and is the original "Speedway," the first racing facility to incorporate the word into its name.

· With a permanent seating capacity for more than 250,000-plus people and infield seating that raises capacity to an approximate 400,000, it is the largest and highest-capacity sporting facility in history.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was August 6, 1994 – won by Jeff Gordon.

Notebook
· There have been 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; one per year from 1994 through 2012.

· 128 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; 102 in more than one.

· Four drivers have competed in all 19 races at Indianapolis: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.

· Rick Mast won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Indianapolis in 1994 with a speed of 172.414 mph.

· 16 drivers have Coors Light poles at Indianapolis, led by Jeff Gordon with three.

· Two drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Indianapolis: Jeff Gordon (1995 and 1996) and Ernie Irvan (1997 and 1998).

· Youngest Indianapolis Coors Light pole winner: Reed Sorenson (7/29/2007 – 21 years, 5 months, 24 days).

· Oldest Indianapolis Coors Light pole winner: Mark Martin (7/26/2009 – 50 years, 6 months, 17 days).

· 11 different drivers have won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, led by Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson with four each.

· Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to have posted consecutive wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2008 and 2009).

· Youngest Indianapolis winner: Jeff Gordon (8/6/1994 – 23 years, 0 months, 2 days).

· Oldest Indianapolis winner: Bill Elliott (8/4/2002 – 50 years, 8 months, 11 days).

· Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Indianapolis in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with eight; followed by Richard Childress Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing with three each.

· Four different manufacturers have won at Indianapolis; led by Chevrolet with 14 victories; followed by Ford with three, Dodge and Pontiac each have one. Chevrolet has won the last 10 consecutive NSCS races at Indianapolis.

· Only two of the 19 (10.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Indianapolis have been won from the Coors Light pole: Kevin Harvick (2003) and Jimmie Johnson (2008).

· The third starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (three) than any other starting position at Indianapolis.

· Three of the 19 (15.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Indianapolis have been won from the front row: two from the pole and once from second-place.

· 11 of the 19 (57.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· Three of the 19 (15.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Indianapolis was 27th, by Jeff Gordon in 2001.

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace leads the series in runner-up finishes at Indianapolis with three; followed by Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth with two each.

· Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-five finishes at Indianapolis with 11; followed by Tony Stewart and Mark Martin with six each.

· Jeff Gordon leads the series in top-10 finishes at Indianapolis with 15; followed by Mark Martin with 11.

· Juan Pablo Montoya leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Indianapolis with a 6.167.

· Tony Stewart leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Indianapolis with an 8.214.

· Six of the seven active NASCAR Sprint Cup race winners at Indianapolis Motor Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jeff Gordon won the Brickyard 400 in his first start at Indianapolis.

· Jamie McMurray competed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway seven times before winning in 2010; the longest span of any the seven active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.

· Mark Martin and Jeff Burton lead the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Indianapolis without visiting Victory Lane at 19.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the August 3, 1997 race won by Ricky Rudd over Bobby Labonte with a MOV of 0.183 second.

· Only one of the NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis have resulted with a green-white-checkered finish (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): 2004 (160/161).

· None of the 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been shortened due to weather conditions.

· Qualifying has not been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

· Reed Sorenson (07/29/07) is the only driver to post his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

· Paul Menard (07/31/11) is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to have posted his first career win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Indianapolis with 477 laps led in 19 starts.

· Danica Patrick will attempt to become the first female driver to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Patrick does have one start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at IMS; she started 20th and finished 35th (7/28/2012). Shawna Robinson (8/5/01) is the only other female driver to attempt to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Indianapolis, but she failed to qualify for the event.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Data
Season Race #: 20 of 36 (7-21-13)
Track Size: 2.5-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 9 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 9 degrees
Banking/Straights: 0 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 3,330 feet
Backstretch Length: 3,300 feet
Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles

Top 12 Driver Rating at Indianapolis
Jimmie Johnson........................ 106.3
Tony Stewart............................ 102.8
Mark Martin.............................. 102.5
Jeff Gordon.............................. 101.8
Greg Biffle.................................. 98.6
Kyle Busch................................. 96.6
Juan Pablo Montoya................... 95.9
Matt Kenseth.............................. 94.7
Kasey Kahne.............................. 94.0
Kevin Harvick............................. 91.9
Denny Hamlin............................. 89.9
Jeff Burton................................. 87.9
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (eight total) among active drivers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Qualifying/Race Data2012 pole winner: Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 182.763 mph, 49.244 secs. 7-27-12
2012 race winner: Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 137.680 mph, (02:54:19), 7-29-12

Track qualifying record: Casey Mears, Dodge, 186.293 mph, 48.311 secs. 8-7-04

Track race record: Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 155.912 mph, (02:33:56), 8-5-00



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