Monday, August 13, 2012

2012 Pure Michigan 400 Odds & Ends


At Michigan International Speedway:
History
·         Michigan International Speedway sits on more than 1,400 acres in the “Irish Hills” of Southeastern Michigan. Ground-breaking took place on Sept. 28, 1967.
·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan was held June 15, 1969.
·         The track was known as Michigan Speedway during the time Roger Penske was the primary owner (1996-99).
·         The 2-mile speedway underwent a repave this season.
Notebook
·         There have been 86 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Michigan International Speedway since the first race there in 1969. Other than 1973, which had just one race, there have been two races each season since 1969.
·         The first race was 500 miles in length; the second was scheduled for 600. The track was re-measured to 2.04 miles for the last race in 1970 and both races in 1971 – with the race distance being 402 miles. All other races have been scheduled for 400 miles.
·         Donnie Allison won the first pole.
·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was won by Cale Yarborough.
·         There have been 42 different pole winners, led by David Pearson with 10. Mark Martin has five poles. 
·         34 different drivers have won races, led by David Pearson (nine); 20 drivers have more than one victory at Michigan.
·         The race winner has started from the pole 16 times, the most productive starting position. Brian Vickers (August, 2009) was the last driver to win from the pole.
·         66 of 86 races have been won from a top-10 starting position, including 46 from the first four spots.
·         The deepest in the field a race winner has started was 32nd, by Mark Martin in the June race of 2009.
·         The Wood Brothers and Roush Fenway Racing both have 11 wins, more than any other car owners.
·         Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth are the only drivers to average a top-10 finish. Edwards, who has two Michigan wins, has an average finish of 8.3. Coincidentally, Edwards’ first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start came at Michigan. Kenseth, who also has two victories, has an average finish of 9.2.
·         Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Michigan International Speedway winner: Kurt Busch (06/15/2003 – 24 years, 10 months, 11 days).
·         Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Michigan International Speedway winner: Harry Gant (08/16/1992 – 52 years, 7 months, 6 days).
 
Dale Earnhardt Jr broke a 143-race winless streak the last time at Michigan
Michigan International Speedway Data
Race #: 23 of 36 (08-19-12)
Track Size: 2-miles
Banking/Corners: 18 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
Race Length: 200 laps / 400 miles

Top 12 Driver Rating at Michigan
Greg Biffle108.1
Matt Kenseth105.4
Jimmie Johnson105.0
Carl Edwards104.7
Tony Stewart98.6
Dale Earnhardt Jr.97.2
Jeff Gordon96.7
Denny Hamlin94.3
Kyle Busch94.0
Kurt Busch91.7
Kasey Kahne86.4
Mark Martin.86.3
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2012 races (15 total) at Michigan International Speedway.
 
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 pole winner:
Greg Biffle, Ford (190.345 mph, 37.826 sec., 08-19-11)
 
2011 race winner:
Kyle Busch, Toyota (150.898 mph, 2:41:26, 08-21-11)
 
Track qualifying record:
Marcos Ambrose, Ford (203.241 mph, 35.426 sec., 06-17-12)
 
Track race record:
Dale Jarrett, Ford (173.997 mph, 2:17:56, 08-13-99)
 
NASCAR in Michigan
·         There have been 91 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Michigan:

Track NameCityNSCS
Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn86
Grand River SpeedromeGrand Rapids2
Michigan State FairgroundsDetroit2
Monroe SpeedwayMonroe1
·         96 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Michigan.
·         There have been eight race winners from Michigan in NASCAR’s three national series:

DriverNSCSNNSNCWTS
Paul Goldsmith900
Brad Keselowski7200
Johnny Benson1314
Tim Fedewa040
Butch Miller021
Tracy Leslie010
Jack Sprague0128
Bob Keselowski001

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