Monday, October 4, 2010

PEPSI MAX 400 Odds & Ends - California Auto Club Speedway

Complied by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services

History
·         Groundbreaking for California Speedway, as Auto Club Speedway was originally known, took place in November 1995.
·         The first race at Auto Club Speedway was a NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West race won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997.
·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 22, 1997, won by Jeff Gordon.
·         September 2004 was the first night race at Auto Club Speedway and that also was the first year both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series ran two races in a season there.
·         The track name was changed to Auto Club Speedway in February 2008.
Notebook
·         There have been 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Auto Club Speedway since the track opened in 1997.
·         Four drivers have competed in all 20 races: Jeff BurtonJeff GordonBobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek.
·         Joe Nemechek won the pole for the inaugural race in 1997.
·         There have been 14 different pole winners, led by Kurt Busch (three). Brian Vickers and Jeff Gordon each have two poles.
·         Twelve different drivers have posted victories. Jimmie Johnson leads all drivers with five wins. Jeff Gordon andMatt Kenseth each have won three races.
·         Hendrick Motorsports has won nine races, more than any other team.
·         Nine of the 20 races were won from starting positions outside the top 10; only one has been won from the pole (Jimmie Johnson in 2008). The most prolific starting position is third, with three victories.
·         Matt Kenseth won the 2006 spring race from the 31st starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started.
·         Three active drivers have averaged a top-10 finish: Carl Edwards (7.2), Jimmie Johnson (5.5) and Matt Kenseth(9.1).
·         Kyle Busch won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole (2/05) and first race (9/05) at Auto Club Speedway.
·         Jimmie Johnson won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at ASC on April 28, 2002.
Auto Club Speedway Data
Race # 30 of 36 (10-10-10)
Track Size: 2 miles
·     Race Length: 200 laps/400 miles
·     Banking/Corners: 14 degrees
·     Banking/Frontstretch: 11 degrees
·     Banking/Backstretch: 3 degrees


Driver Rating at Auto Club Speedway
Jimmie Johnson            124.0
Matt Kenseth                108.3
Kyle Busch                   102.4
Carl Edwards                102.3
Mark Martin                   99.7
Jeff Gordon                    99.0
Greg Biffle                     99.0
Tony Stewart                 96.8
Kurt Busch                    94.2
Kasey Kahne                 92.8
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (11 total) at Auto Club Speedway.
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: Denny Hamlin (183.870 mph, 39.158 secs.)
2009 race winner: Jimmie Johnson (143.908 mph, 10-11-09)
Track qualifying record: Kyle Busch (188.425 mph, 38.248 seconds,
2-27-05)
Track race record: Jeff Gordon (155.012 mph, 6-22-97)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 40-44 laps, based on fuel mileage
NASCAR in California
·         There have been 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in California, the most held at Riverside International Raceway (48).
·         416 drivers (all-time) in NASCAR’s three national series have their home state recorded as California.
·         There have been 33 race winners from California in NASCAR’s three national series. Below are those winners, and a breakdown of wins by national series:
Driver
NCSC
 NNS
NCWTS
Jeff Gordon
82
5
0
Jimmie Johnson
53
1
0
Marvin Panch
17
0
0
Ernie Irvan
15
3
0
Kevin Harvick
14
37
9
Dick Rathmann
13
0
0
Dan Gurney
5
0
0
Eddie Gray
4
0
0
Eddie Pagan
4
0
0
Parnelli Jones
4
0
0
Robby Gordon
3
1
0
Danny Letner
2
0
0
Marvin Porter
2
0
0
Ray Elder
2
0
0
Casey Mears
1
1
0
Bill Norton
1
0
0
Danny Graves
1
0
0
Danny Weinberg
1
0
0
Dick Brooks
1
0
0
Jim Cook
1
0
0
John Soares
1
0
0
Johnny Mantz
1
0
0
Lou Figaro
1
0
0
Marvin Burke
1
0
0
Ron Hornaday Jr.
0
4
46
Jason Leffler
0
2
1
Mike Skinner
0
1
28
Joe Ruttman
0
1
13
Boris Said
0
1
1
David Gilliland
0
1
0
Brandon Whitt
0
0
1
Matt Crafton
0
0
1
Scott Speed
0
0
1

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