Texas Motor Speedway History and Notes

At Texas Motor Speedway:
History
· Construction began in 1995.

· The first NASCAR race was a NASCAR Nationwide Series event on April 5, 1997.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on April 6, 1997.

Notebook
· There have been 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, one per season from 1997 through 2004 and two races per year since 2005.

· Four drivers have competed in all 22 Texas races: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin.

· Jeremy Mayfield was the first pole winner, in 1998. Qualifying for the inaugural race in 1997 was canceled.

· Jeff Burton won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

· 16 drivers have scored poles, led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr. with two.

· 16 drivers have won races, led by Carl Edwards, with three. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle each have two wins.

· 17 of 23 races have been won from a top-10 starting position. Only one has been won from the pole - Kasey Kahne in 2006.

· Matt Kenseth started 31st en route to his victory at Texas in 2002, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.

· Both Jeff Burton (1999) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2000) scored their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Texas, and 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne made his first series start at Texas (11/07/10).

· Martin Truex Jr. (11/04/07) and David Ragan (04/09/11) scored their first series poles at Texas.

· Matt Kenseth (8.6) and Jimmie Johnson (9.7) are the only active drivers to average a top-10 finish at Texas.

· Jimmie Johnson (9.2) is the only active driver to average a top-10 starting position at Texas.

· Roush Fenway Racing leads all owners in victories, with nine. Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have three wins each.

· There has been two season sweeps, by Carl Edwards in 2008 and Denny Hamlin in 2010.

· Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Texas Motor Speedway winner: Ryan Newman (3/30/2003 – 25 years, 3 months, 22 days). Oldest NSCS Texas Motor Speedway winner: Dale Jarrett (4/1/2001 – 44 years, 4 months, 6 days).

· Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Texas Motor Speedway pole winner: Brian Vickers (11/5/2006 – 23 years, 0 months, 12 days). Oldest NSCS Texas Motor Speedway pole winner: Bill Elliott (4/8/2002 – 46 years, 6 months, 0 days).

Texas Motor Speedway Data
Chase Race #: 8 of 10
Season Race #: 34 of 36 (11-04-12)
Track Size: 1.5-mile
Banking/Turns: 24 degrees
Banking/Straights: 5 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 2,250 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,330 feet
Race Length: 334 laps / 501 miles

Top 12 Driver Rating at Texas
Matt Kenseth............................. 107.2
Greg Biffle................................ 103.3
Tony Stewart............................. 102.5
Jimmie Johnson........................ 100.6
Carl Edwards.............................. 99.2
Kyle Busch................................. 96.8
Denny Hamlin............................. 94.6
Dale Earnhardt Jr........................ 92.8
Jeff Gordon................................ 91.3
Clint Bowyer............................... 90.9
Mark Martin................................. 89.0
Kurt Busch.................................. 89.0
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (15 total) among active drivers at Texas Motor Speedway

- NASCAR Statistics