Thursday, May 16, 2013

NASCAR Driver Statistics - All Star Weekend


Not all teams announce their weekly race previews'. Here is a list of those teams that do reveal the information in the teams race preview: 

#1- Jamie McMurray - McMurray has made six starts in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.  In his six starts, McMurray has an average starting position of 12.8 and an average finishing position of 17.1.  His best start of fourth came in 2010, and his best finish of ninth occurred in the 2009 edition of the race. In 2009, a second place finish in the preliminary event earned McMurray a spot in the All-Star Race.

#2- Brad Keselowski -  Keselowski locked himself into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race by winning the Quaker State 400 - his first victory after the 2012 All-Star event - at Kentucky Speedway last summer. 2012: In the closest finish of the night, Keselowski edged Kasey Kahne by inches to win the third segment of the 2012 All-Star Race. He parlayed that into a second-place finish in the final segment, marking his best-ever result in the event.  In 2011 Keselowski raced his way into the All-Star Race by finishing second in the All-Star Showdown qualifying race. Since his rookie season of 2009, Keselowski has not missed the All-Star Race. 

#5- Kasey Kahne -  In nine NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Kasey Kahne has one win and three top-10 finishes. In 2008, Kahne became the first driver to win the event after being voted into the race by the fans. The 33-year-old driver has competed in the race every year since joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit in 2004 and earned the pole position for the 2006 exhibition event. Kahne and six other drivers have won the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and have gone on to win the 600-mile race at Charlotte the following weekend: Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison (1991), Dale Earnhardt (1993), Jeff Gordon (1997), Jimmie Johnson (2003), Kasey Kahne (2008) and Kurt Busch (2010).

#9- Marcos Ambrose - Marcos Ambrose earned a spot in this weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race with his dramatic win at Watkins Glen International last season. In his eight starts at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, the Australian native has collected one top-five and two top-10 finishes, all with the No. 9 team. He posted his best start of second last spring and best finish of fifth in the fall of 2011. In his only start in the Showdown, Ambrose finished 7th in 2012. 

#10-Danica Patrick - The Sprint Showdown will be the fifth stock-car start for Patrick at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. She competed in three NASCAR Nationwide Series races at the 1.5-mile oval and scored two top-15 finishes. Her only Sprint Cup Series start at Charlotte came in the 2012 Coca-Cola 600, where she started 40th and finished 30th.

#11- Denny Hamlin - Denny Hamlin will climb into the #11 FedEx Express Toyota in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the seventh start for Hamlin in the non-points exhibition event. One year ago, Hamlin started third and led 16 laps in the five segment, 90-lap race, but fell to 20th in the final 10-lap run won by Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin has recorded three top-10 finishes in six previous All-Star races, including career-best fourth-place runs in 2009 and 2010. He has qualified for the All-Star Race in every season after his 2006 rookie campaign (2007-2012) by virtue of race wins.

#14-Tony Stewart - This is Stewart’s 15th year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and his 15th year in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stewart is the winner of the 2009 All-Star Race. He led only once for two laps in the non-points event, but they were the most important ones. He paced the final two circuits around the 1.5-mile oval after getting by Matt Kenseth for the lead on lap 98 of the 100-lap event. Stewart’s margin of victory over the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion was .971 of a second. The 2009 All-Star Race was Stewart’s first victory as a driver/owner with Stewart-Haas Racing, the team he co-owns with Gene Haas. The win made Stewart the first driver/owner to win a Sprint Cup-sanctioned event since Ricky Rudd won a point-paying race in October 1998 at Martinsville Speedway. It was also the first All Star Race win for Stewart, who had six top-10 finishes in 10 previous starts in the event. Stewart became the second driver/owner to win the All Star Race, joining Geoff Bodine, who accomplished the feat in 1994. Stewart has eight top-five finishes in 14 career starts in the All-Star Race. Stewart won The Winston Open during his rookie year in 1999 to advance into The Winston, where he finished second in the non-points event. Up until his win in 2009, Stewart’s best finish since 1999 had been a pair of third-place efforts (2001 and 2004). Stewart won the first segment of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Challenge in 2004 and the second segment of The Winston in 2001.

#15- Clint Bowyer - Bowyer will make his fifth career All-Star start at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. In four previous starts, his best finish is 12th in 2009. Last year Bowyer started 12th and finished 14th. Bowyer averages a 10th place start and 15th place finish. Bowyer gained entry to the Sprint All-Star race by winning three races in 2012 (Sonoma, fall Richmond, fall Charlotte). 

#16- Greg Biffle - With the help of a fast pit stop by his 3M Pit Bulls, Biffle started last year’s All-Star race in fourth place.  Unfortunately a mechanical issue ended his night early, resulting in a 22nd-place finish. Biffle has 9 starts in the All Star race earning 2 top 5's, 3 top 10's with 5 DNF's. He has led 57 laps with an average finish of 13.333.

#17- Ricky Stenhouse Jr - The driver of the No. 17 Best Buy Ford will try to race his way in to his first Sprint All-Star race. If he doesn’t race his way in then he will rely on the fan vote to get in to the All-Star race.

#18- Kyle Busch - The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race will mark Busch’s eighth appearance as an All-Star Race invitee in his ninth season as a Sprint Cup regular.  Busch has led 152 laps in his seven previous All-Star Race starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway with 2011 featuring his best career finish of second in the non-points event.

#20- Matt Kenseth - In 12 career All-Star Race starts, Kenseth has begun the race from the pole twice, and has claimed one victory in the non-points event.  Kenseth has competed in every All-Star Race since his sophomore season (2001).  He has an average finish of 6.250 and has a driver rating of 91.1 in All-Star competition. Matt has 5 top 5's,  9 top 10's and only 1 DNF.

#22- Joey Logano - Joey Logano will race in his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. Logano qualified for the event by winning his second-career Sprint Cup Series race last season at Pocono Raceway. Logano won the pole, led the most laps and passed his childhood idol, Mark Martin, to grab the victory. Of all drivers entered and eligible for this weekend's All-Star race, Logano has the best career average finish in the event. In his two previous starts, Logano owns finishes of eighth (2009) and third (2010), giving him a 5.5 average finish in the special event.

#24- Jeff Gordon - Gordon has 19 previous starts in the All Star Race and has scored 1 pole, 3 wins, 6 top 5's, 9 top 10'sand has led 165 laps with an average finish of 9.526. His last win was the crash marred race in 2001. 

#27- Paul Menard - Menard has five-career Sprint Showdown starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway. His best start of third came in 2011 and best finish of fourth came in 2010. The Wisconsin native has completed 160 of 200 laps attempted (80 percent) in the NASCAR All-Star Race qualifying event.

#29- Kevin Harvick -  Saturday night's event marks Harvick's 13th appearance in the NASCAR exhibition race, dating back to 2001. In 2007, the RCR veteran visited Victory Lane following the marquee event. Harvick has collected a total of two top-five and seven top-10 finishes throughout the years, and is credited with 62 lap led.

#31- Jeff Burton - Burton has made eight appearances in the Sprint Showdown and qualified 12 times for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race during his 19-year career. Burton won the 2003 Sprint Showdown and finished eighth in last year's event. His best qualifying effort of fourth-place for the two-segment, 40-lap event came in 1995.

#42- Juan Pablo Montoya -  Montoya has appeared in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race two times during his NSCS career (2008, 2011).  He has an average start of 11.5 and an average finish of 13.  His best start and finish came in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star race when he started eighth and finished 12th.

#43- Aric Almirola -  Aric Almirola will compete in Saturday’s Sprint Showdown looking for a win to gain a spot in the headline Sprint All-Star Race. To qualify for the All-Star Race, the No. 43 Smithfield Ford team will have to finish first or second in the Sprint Showdown 40-lap qualifier race. He has made two starts in his Sprint Cup career at Charlotte, both with Richard Petty Motorsports. He won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 last May. In the fall event, he started 17th with the Todd Parrott-led team and finished 12th.

#48- Jimmie Johnson -  All-Star Race Quick Stats: Three wins (May 2012, 2006 and 2003) in 11 starts. One pole (2009). Seven top-five finishes (63.6 percent) and seven top-10s (63.6 percent) in 11 starts. Average start of 9.1. Average finish of 6.6. One DNF (did not finish) – May 2004. 984 of 1,020 laps completed (96 percent) and 209 laps led. Sprint Cup’s fourth-best driver rating (104.9 average of a possible 150 points).

#55- Mark Martin - In 23 All-Star Races, Martin owns two victories (1998 & 2005) and six top-five finishes. He’s led 66 laps and has never started on the pole. He ran in the Winston Open in 1988 & ’89. 

#88- Dale Earnhardt Jr -  Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified for the All-Star Race by winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup event during the 2012 season. Earnhardt led five times for 95 laps to win at Michigan International Speedway on June 17, 2012. Earnhardt made history on May 20, 2000, when he became the first rookie to win the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Earnhardt led two laps and beat veteran Dale Jarrett to the finish line by 1.295 seconds. In 13 appearances in the non-points all-star event, Earnhardt has scored one win, four top-five finishes and 10 top-10s. His average finish in the exhibition race is 8.38. Last year, Earnhardt earned a spot in the All-Star Race by winning the Sprint Showdown. He lined up 21st for the 90-lap shootout and led 18 laps before crossing the finish line fifth.

#99- Carl Edwards - Carl Edwards will make his eighth appearance in the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. In his previous starts he has one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes.

- Reported in Team News/Press Releases

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