Monday, June 20, 2011

Sonoma Odds & Ends

At Infineon Raceway:
History
·         The track opened as a 2.52-mile road course and drag strip in 1968.
·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was held in 1989.
·         The first nine races were 300 kilometers and switched to a 350k format in 1998.
·         The track was reconfigured to 1.949 miles in 1998 with the installation of an 890-foot chute between the original Turns 4 and 7.
·         The track was reconfigured to 2.0 miles in 2001 and re-measured at 1.99 miles in 2002.
 
Notebook
·         There have been 22 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Infineon Raceway since the first race there in 1989.
·         Rusty Wallace won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole.
·         Ricky Rudd won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
·         13 different drivers have won poles; only four have won more than one.
·         Jeff Gordon (five) leads all pole winners. Ricky Rudd has four, including three consecutive (1990-92), Rusty Wallace and Kasey Kahne have two apiece.
·         There have been consecutive pole winners three times: Ricky Rudd (1990-92) and Jeff Gordon (1998-99 and 2004-05).
·         14 different drivers have won races; five have multiple victories there – led by Jeff Gordon with five. Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace (all with two) are the other multiple-race winners.
·         Jeff Gordon is also the only driver with consecutive wins, winning in 1998, 1999 and 2000.
·         Five of 22 races have been won by the pole winner, including three times by Jeff Gordon. His victory from the pole in 2004 is the most recent.
·         The lowest starting position by a race winner was 32nd, by Juan Pablo Montoya; it also was his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win.
·         Boris Said posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole.
·         Jeff Gordon is the all-time leader in road-course victories, with nine. Tony Stewart is second, with seven.
NASCAR in California
·         There have been 130 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in California.
·         417 drivers from NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as California.
·         There have been 33 race winners from California in NASCAR three national series:

Driver
 NSCS
 NNS
NCWTS
Jeff Gordon
84
5
0
Jimmie Johnson
54
1
0
Kevin Harvick
17
37
9
Marvin Panch
17
0
0
Ernie Irvan
15
3
0
Dick Rathmann
13
0
0
Dan Gurney
5
0
0
Eddie Gray
4
0
0
Parnelli Jones
4
0
0
Eddie Pagan
4
0
0
Robby Gordon
3
1
0
Ray Elder
2
0
0
Danny Letner
2
0
0
Marvin Porter
2
0
0
Dick Brooks
1
0
0
Marvin Burke
1
0
0
Jim Cook
1
0
0
Lou Figaro
1
0
0
Danny Graves
1
0
0
Johnny Mantz
1
0
0
Casey Mears
1
1
0
Bill Norton
1
0
0
John Soares
1
0
0
Danny Weinberg
1
0
0
Ron Hornaday Jr
0
4
48
Jason Leffler
0
2
1
David Gilliland
0
1
0
Joe Ruttman
0
1
13
Boris Said
0
1
1
Mike Skinner
0
1
28
Matt Crafton
0
0
1
Scott Speed
0
0
1
Brandon Whitt
0
0
1

 
Infineon Raceway Data
Race #: 16 of 36 (6-26-11)
Track Size: 1.99 miles
Race Length: 110 laps/219 miles/352 kilometers

Driver Rating at Infineon Raceway
Tony Stewart                        110.4
Juan Pablo Montoya             108.6
Marcos Ambrose                  108.4
Jeff Gordon                           100.2
Kurt Busch                           100.0
Ryan Newman                        96.3
Jimmie Johnson                      91.7
Kyle Busch                            91.3
Boris Said                              90.0
Robby Gordon                        88.3
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (six total) at Infineon Raceway.
 
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Kasey Kahne (93.893 mph, 76.300 seconds)
2010 race winner: Jimmie Johnson, 74.357 mph, 6-20-10)
Track qualifying record: Jeff Gordon (94.325 mph, 75.950 seconds, 6-24-05)
Track race record: Ricky Rudd (81.007 mph, 6-23-02)
     

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