Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Coca-Cola 600 Odds and Ends: Charlotte Motor Speedway

compiled by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services


History
·         Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1959.
·         The track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 19, 1960.
·         The track was repaved midseason in 1994.
·         The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999. It changed back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2010 season.
·         The track was re-paved again before the 2006 season.
 
Notebook
·         There have been 102 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, two races per yearsince the track opened in 1960. In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying points races held the week beforethe May race. The first six fall races at Charlotte were 400-mile events (1960-65).
·         37 drivers have posted poles, led by David Pearson with 14.
·         Fireball Roberts won the pole for the first race, in 1960.
·         David Pearson posted 11 straight poles at Charlotte from the fall of 1973 through 1978.
·         Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in poles, with eight. Jeff Gordon has seven.
·         Jeff Gordon won five straight poles for the spring races between 1994 and 1998.
·         42 drivers have won races, led by Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson, with six each. David Reutimann became a first-time series winner last May after winning the Coca-Cola 600.
·         Joe Lee Johnson won the first race, in 1960.
·         There have been 13 back-to-back victories, including three consecutive by Fred Lorenzen (fall 1964 and both 1965) and four straight by Jimmie Johnson (both in 2004 and 2005).
·         A sweep has occurred eight times, including each season from 2004-2007.
·         14 races have been won from the pole, the last by Jimmie Johnson last October.
·         Jimmie Johnson won the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 from the 37th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.
·         Jimmie Johnson is the only driver with more than two Charlotte races to average top-10 finishes (8.6). He has the all-time best average finish among drivers with at least five races.
·         A number of active drivers earned their first win at CMS: Jeff GordonMatt KensethBobby LabonteJamie McMurrayCasey Mears and David Reutimann. Inactive drivers David Pearson, Buddy Baker and Charlie Glotzbach also got their first series win at Charlotte.
 
NASCAR in North Carolina
  • There have been 510 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in North Carolina.
  • 419 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as North Carolina.
  • There have been 43 race winners from North Carolina in NASCAR’s three national series; 28 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
Driver
NSCS
NNS
NCWTS
Richard Petty
200
0
0
Dale Earnhardt
76
21
0
Lee Petty
54
0
0
Ned Jarrett
50
0
0
Junior Johnson
50
0
0
Herb Thomas
48
0
0
Buck Baker
46
0
0
Bobby Isaac
37
0
0
Dale Jarrett
32
11
0
Jim Paschal
25
0
0
Benny Parsons
21
0
0
Speedy Thompson
20
0
0
Buddy Baker
19
0
0
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
18
22
0
Harry Gant
18
21
0
Bob Welborn
9
0
0
Kyle Petty
8
0
0
Morgan Shepherd
4
15
0
Bill Blair
3
0
0
Gwyn Staley
3
0
0
Brian Vickers
2
3
0
Jimmy Pardue
2
0
0
Billy Myers
2
0
0
Phil Parsons
1
2
0
Donald Thomas
1
0
0
Richard Brickhouse
1
0
0
Buddy Shuman
1
0
0
Leon Sales
1
0
0
Jack Ingram
0
31
0
Tommy Houston
0
24
0
Sam Ard
0
22
0
Robert Pressley
0
10
2
Scott Riggs
0
4
5
Dennis Setzer
0
2
18
Hank Parker Jr.
0
2
0
Johnny Rumley
0
2
0
Ed Berrier
0
1
0
Stephen Leicht
0
1
0
Justin Labonte
0
1
0
Andy Houston
0
0
3
Timothy Peters
0
0
2
Shane Hmiel
0
0
1
Ricky Hendrick
0
0
1
 
Charlotte Motor Speedway Data
Race #: 13 of 36 (5-30-10)
Track Size: 1.5 miles
·     Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
·     Banking/Straights: 5 degrees
·     Frontstretch: 1,980 feet
·     Backstretch: 1,500 feet
 
Driver Rating at CharlotteJimmie Johnson            118.9
Kyle Busch                   104.4
Kasey Kahne                102.1
Joey Logano*                101.0
Mark Martin                    91.2
Jeff Gordon                     88.5
Matt Kenseth                  88.5
Brian Vickers                  88.0
Greg Biffle                      87.6
Jeff Burton                      87.5
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2009 races (10 total) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
* - Logano has run only one CMS race.
 
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Ryan Newman (188.475 mph, 28.651 secs.)
2009 race winner: David Reutimann (120.899 mph, 5-25-09)
Qualifying record: Elliott Sadler (193.216 mph, 27.948 secs., 10-13-05)
600-mile race record: Bobby Labonte (151.952 mph, 5-28-95)
 
Estimated Pit Window: Every 50-55 laps, based on fuel mileage.
 

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