Vegas Odds: Analyzing The UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
March 6, 2007
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series has tons in common with its next stop.
Think about it: brilliant colors, edge-of-your-seat thrills, thundering excitement, the cathartic highs and lows of victory and heartache.
It certainly seems as if Las Vegas and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing are a perfect match.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, fresh off a complete renovation that added banking and gave a major facelift to the infield, holds its 10th NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race Sunday.
And the timing for the event couldn’t be better. The season is very young and each team is still filled with that fresh optimism.
But anyone who’s ever taken a trip to Las Vegas knows the deal. You always go in optimistic. But it’s how you come out that counts.
Who will hit the jackpot Sunday?
Who will roll craps?
Here’s a preview of what to expect…
Driver Rating at Las Vegas
Jimmie Johnson 131.4
Kyle Busch 115.2
Matt Kenseth 114.9
Greg Biffle 113.4
Jeff Gordon 106.1
Tony Stewart 105.7
Kurt Busch 101.2
Kevin Harvick 98.0
Denny Hamlin 90.8
Joe Nemechek 88.3
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005 and 2006 races (2 total) at Las Vegas.
Selected Driver Highlights
Note: NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005. That is why the Loop Data statistics in this release cover the last two races at Las Vegas.
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• Two straight wins and three top fives
• NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series-best average finish at Las Vegas of 7.0
• Has led in each of his five races for 121 laps, sixth-most
• Average Running Position of 4.564, best of any driver over the past two races
• Top Driver Rating of 131.4 (maximum is 150.0) over the past two Las Vegas races
• Fastest Driver on the Frontstretch, Backstretch, Turn 2 and Turn 4
• Highest number of Fastest Laps Run (89)
• Fastest Green Flag Speed
• Highest Speed in Traffic
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)
• Two wins, three top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 8.143
• Has led 367 laps, most all-time
• Average Running Position of 9.770
• Third-highest Driver Rating of 114.9 over the previous two Las Vegas races
• Fifth-fastest Green Flag Speed
Jeff Burton (No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet)
• Two wins, three top fives and six top 10s
• Average finish of 10.566
• 205 laps led at Las Vegas, third most
• Driver Rating of 86.4 at Las Vegas, 11th-best
• 100 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
Mark Martin (No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet)
• One win, four top fives and seven top 10s
• Average finish of 11.889
• 243 laps led at Vegas, second most
• Fourth-fastest Driver in Turn 2
• Fifth-fastest Driver in Turn 4
Kyle Busch (No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet)
• Two top fives (finished second and third last two years)
• Average finish of 15.333
• Second-highest Driver Rating (115.2)
• Third-best Average Running Position of 5.237
• Fastest Driver in Turn 1 and Turn 3
• Second-fastest Green Flag Speed
• Tied for most Laps in the Top 15 (537)
Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ameriquest Ford)
• Two top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 18.0
• Second-best Average Running Position of 5.086
• Fourth-highest Driver Rating of 113.4
• Third-fastest Green Flag Speed
• Tied for most Laps in the Top 15 (537)
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• One win, four top fives
• Two straight top five finishes
• Average finish of 14.111
• Fifth-best Average Running Position of 8.820
• Fifth-highest Driver Rating of 106.1
• Most Quality Passes – passing of a car running in the Top 15 while under green
Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge)
• Two top fives
• 44 laps led (has led in two of the three Las Vegas races he has run)
• One pole; started in the top 10 in all three races he has run
Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet)
• Four top fives and five top 10s
• Average finish of 11.75
• 179 laps led, fourth-most
• Started second last year
• Sixth-highest Driver Rating of 105.7
• Fourth-best Average Running Position of 7.913
• Third-fastest Driver on the Frontstretch; second-fastest on Backstretch
• Tied for second in number of Fastest Laps Run (38)
• Second fastest Speed in Traffic
Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• One top five, two top 10s
• Started inside the top 10 in each of his six visits to Las Vegas
• Average finish of 16.167
• Seventh-highest Driver Rating of 101.2
• Average Running Position of 9.120
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• One top fives, two top 10s
• Average finish of 13.833
• Average Running Position of 10.628
• Eighth-highest Driver Rating of 98.0
Season Nuggets
• Mark Martin and Jeff Burton are the only drivers to score top-five finishes in each of the first two races this season.
• Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon are the only drivers to score top-10 finishes in each of the first two races this season.
• Matt Kenseth leads all drivers with 15 bonus points.
• Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart have led laps in both races this year.
Las Vegas Tidbits
• There have been nine NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway since the track opened in 1997.
• Jimmie Johnson is the defending UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 champion, and the winner of the last two Las Vegas races.
• Ten drivers have competed in all nine Las Vegas races.
• Only Jeff Burton and Joe Nemechek have finished all nine Las Vegas races.
• There are three different two-time winners at Las Vegas, all of them back-to-back: Jeff Burton, 1999-2000; Matt Kenseth, 2003-2004; Jimmie Johnson, 2005-2006.
• There have been six different winners in the nine races at Las Vegas.
• Only three of the nine Las Vegas races have been won from a starting position inside the Top 10.
• No Las Vegas race has ever been won from the pole position (the highest starting position of a race winner was third – Jimmie Johnson in 2006.)
• The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Las Vegas was 25th by Matt Kenseth in 2004.
• Dale Jarrett (1998 and 2001) and Bobby Labonte (1999 and 2003) are the only repeat Bud Pole winners at Las Vegas.
• The 2000 Las Vegas race was the only one shortened by rain – 148 laps/222 miles were run.
• There has been one extended race at Las Vegas: 2006 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 (270 laps).
• Jack Roush has posted five wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the most of any car owner. Those five wins were scored by Mark Martin (one), Jeff Burton (two) and Matt Kenseth (two).
• Hendrick Motorsports has posted three victories here: Jeff Gordon (one), Jimmie Johnson (two).
• Thirty-seven drivers have posted at least one top-10 finish at Las Vegas.
• Four of the top-10 drivers in the current championship point standings have competed in all nine races at Las Vegas. Four of the other six have completed there one time or less.
• All nine races at Las Vegas have had at least one car owner post multiple top-10 finishes, most notably when Roush scored five top 10s in the inaugural race in 1998.
Las Vegas Streaks
• Greg Biffle has three consecutive starts in the top 10.
• Kurt Busch has started in the top 10 in each of his six Las Vegas races.
• Kyle Busch has two straight top-five finishes.
• Jeff Gordon has two straight top-five finishes.
• Matt Kenseth has four straight top-10 finishes
• Prior to last year’s starting position of 11th, Ryan Newman had four straight starts in the top five
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Data
Race # 3 of 36 (3-11-07) Number of laps: 267
Track Size: 1.5 miles Length of Event: 400.5 miles
• This is the first race at the newly renovated Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• 1.5-mile oval
• Banking is 20 degrees in the turns
• Frontstretch is 2,275 feet long and is banked nine degrees
• Backstretch is 1,572 feet long with nine degrees banking
Qualifying/Race Data
Last year’s pole winner: Greg Biffle (172.403 mph, 31.322 seconds)
Last year’s race winner: Jimmie Johnson (133.358 mph, 3 hours, 2 minutes, 13 seconds, 3-12-07)
Track qualifying record: Kasey Kahne (174.904 mph, 30.874 seconds, 3-5-04)
Track race record: Mark Martin (146.554 mph, 2 hours, 43 minutes, 58 seconds, 3-1-98)
Money
Purse: $6,381,100
NASCAR NEXTEL Leader Bonus: $30,000
History
Races won from the pole: 0 of 9 events
Races won from inside the top 10: 3 of 9 (33%)
Races won from outside the top 10: 6 of 9 (67%)
• Dale Jarrett won the inaugural Bud Pole at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Feb. 27, 1998).
• Mark Martin won the inaugural NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race at Las Vegas (March 1, 1998).
Last Five Winners at Las Vegas
2006 – Jimmie Johnson
2005 – Jimmie Johnson
2004 – Matt Kenseth
2003 – Matt Kenseth
2002 – Sterling Marlin
Margin of Victory – Last Five Races
2006 – 0.045 seconds
2005 – 1.661
2004 – 3.426
2003 – 9.104
2002 – 1.163
Active Drivers – Wins at Las Vegas
Jimmie Johnson – 2 Sterling Marlin – 1
Matt Kenseth – 2 Jeff Gordon – 1
Jeff Burton – 2 Mark Martin – 1
Active Drivers – Poles at Las Vegas
Dale Jarrett – 2 Kasey Kahne – 1
Bobby Labonte – 2 Ryan Newman – 1
Ricky Rudd – 1 Greg Biffle – 1
Todd Bodine – 1
Active Drivers – Laps Led at This Track
Matt Kenseth – 367 Jimmie Johnson – 121
Mark Martin – 243 Ryan Newman – 97
Jeff Burton – 205 Jeff Gordon – 87
Tony Stewart – 179 Dale Jarrett – 82
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 144 Ward Burton – 81
The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Top 10 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Driver Races Poles Wins Top 5s Top 10s DNFs Avg. Fin.
1 Mark Martin 9 0 1 4 7 1 11.888
2 Jeff Burton 9 0 2 3 6 0 10.555
3 Jeff Gordon 9 0 1 4 4 1 14.111
4 Kevin Harvick 6 0 0 1 2 0 13.833
5 David Ragan 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
6 Clint Bowyer 1 0 0 0 0 0 15.000
7 Joe Nemechek 9 0 0 0 2 0 21.666
8 J.J. Yeley 1 0 0 0 0 0 17.000
9 Kyle Busch 3 0 0 2 2 1 15.333
10 David Stremme 1 0 0 0 0 0 33.000
Quick Facts
Driver Highlights
Most Wins: 2 – Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth
Most top 5s: 4 – Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon
Most top 10s: 7 – Mark Martin
Best Average Starting Position: Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle (4.333)
Best Average Finish: Jimmie Johnson (7.000)
Oldest Winner: Sterling Marlin – 44 years, 8 months, 1 day (3/3/02)
Youngest Winner: Jimmie Johnson – 29 years, 6 months, 24 days (3/13/05)
Most Laps Led by a Race Winner: 123 (Matt Kenseth, 3/7/04)
Fewest Laps Led by a Race Winner: 1 (Jimmie Johnson, 3/12/06)
Prior Race Statistics Most Fewest
Leaders 13 (3/02) 7 (3/00)
Lead Changes 25 (3/05) 13 (3/00)
Cautions 10 (3/05) 2 (3/00)
Caution Laps 46 (3/05) 9 (3/98)
Cars on Lead Lap 30 (3/06) 10 (3/99) |
