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| Kenseth has won twice at Texas; he's 6/1 co-favorite to win Saturday |
At Texas Motor Speedway:
History
· Construction on Texas Motor Speedway began in 1995.
· The first NASCAR national series race at TMS was a NASCAR Nationwide Series event on April 5, 1997 – won by Mark Martin.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was on April 6, 1997 – won by Jeff Burton.
· The track underwent a repave between the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
· In 2011, the spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race was moved from Sunday to Saturday night under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway.
Notebook
· There have been 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, one NSCS event from 1997 - 2004 and two races per year since 2005.
· 129 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas; 105 in more than one.
· Four drivers have made all 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Texas Motor Speedway – Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin.
· Jeremy Mayfield was the first Coors Light pole winner, in 1998. The inaugural Coors Light pole at Texas Motor Speedway in 1997 was cancelled due to weather conditions.
· 17 drivers have Coors Light poles at Texas, led by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. with two each.
· Two drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Texas Motor Speedway: Bobby Labonte (2003 and 2004) and Ryan Newman (2005 sweep).
· Youngest Texas pole winner: Brian Vickers (11/5/2006 – 23 years, 0 months, 12 days).
· Oldest Texas pole winner: Bill Elliott (4/8/2002 – 46 years, 6 months, 0 days).
· 16 different drivers have won at Texas Motor Speedway, led by Carl Edwards (three).
· Seven drivers have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway: Carl Edwards (three), Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart each have two.
· Roush Fenway Racing leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the most wins at Texas Motor Speedway (nine); followed by Hendrick Motorsports (four).
· Two of the 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from the Coors Light pole;Kasey Kahne (2006) and Jimmie Johnson (2012).
· The third-place starting position is the most proficient starting spot in the field at Texas Motor Speedway producing four wins - more wins than any other starting position in the field.
· Five NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from the front row: two from the pole and three from second-place.
· 18 of the 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from a top 10 starting position.
· Four of the 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Texas Motor Speedway was 31st, by Matt Kenseth in 2002.
· Youngest Texas winner: Ryan Newman (3/30/2003 – 25 years, 3 months, 22 days).
· Oldest Texas winner: Dale Jarrett (4/1/2001 – 44 years, 4 months, 6 days).
· Jimmie Johnson leads the series in runner-up finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with five; followed by Matt Kenseth with four.
· Matt Kenseth leads the series in top-five finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with 12; followed by Jimmie Johnson with nine.
· Matt Kenseth leads the series in top-10 finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with 15; followed by Jimmie Johnson (14) and Mark Martin (13).
· Jimmie Johnson leads active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Texas Motor Speedway with an 8.842. Jimmie Johnson is the only active driver with an average starting position at Texas in the top 10.
· Two active drivers have a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series average finish in the top 10 at Texas: Matt Kenseth (8.333) and Jimmie Johnson (9.263).
· There have been three NSCS green-white-checkered finishes at Texas Motor Speedway: fall 2006 (334/339), spring 2008 (334/339), and fall 2012 (334/335).
· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions twice in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Texas Motor Speedway; the inaugural event in 1997 and spring 2007. The race has never been rain shortened.
· Kevin Harvick has participated in the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway without posting a DNF (20).
· Jeff Burton (4/06/1997) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (4/02/2000) won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup career race at Texas Motor Speedway.
· David Ragan (4/09/2011) and Martin Truex Jr. (11/04/2007) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Coors Light poles at Texas Motor Speedway.
· 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski (11/02/2008) and Trevor Bayne (11/07/2010) made their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts at Texas Motor Speedway.
· Two NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have posted consecutive wins at Texas Motor Speedway: Carl Edwards (2008 sweep) and Denny Hamlin (2010 sweep).
· Nine of the 14 active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have won at Texas Motor Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Texas in their first appearance; Carl Edwards, Mark Martin and Ryan Newman all won in their second appearance at TMS.
· Jeff Gordon competed at Texas Motor Speedway 16 times before winning in the spring of 2009; the longest span of any the 14 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.
· Only two of the 14 winning drivers have made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Texas: Jeff Gordon(16) and Kurt Busch (13).
· Bobby Labonte leads the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Texas Motor Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 24.
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing at Texas was the (4/4/2004) race won by Elliott Sadler with a MOV of 0.028 second.
· Two female drivers have made starts at Texas Motor Speedway (each only making one start): Shawna Robinson (4/08/2002) – starting 16th and finishing 36th; Danica Patrick (11/4/2012) – starting 32nd and finishing 24th.
· Only one car number has produced three or more Texas Motor Speedway NSCS wins:
Car Number – Drivers – (Years)
o No. 99 – Jeff Burton (1997); Carl Edwards (2005 and 2008 sweep)
· Matt Kenseth leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup in laps led at Texas with 772 laps led in 21 starts.
· One NASCAR Sprint Cup driver has won at Texas Motor Speedway in two different manufacturers: Jeff Burton(1997 – Ford; 2007 – Chevrolet).
Texas Motor Speedway Data
Season Race #: 7 of 36 (04-13-13)
Track Size: 1.5-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 24 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 24 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 2,250 feet
Backstretch Length: 1,330 feet
Race Length: 334 laps / 500 miles
Top 12 Driver Rating at Texas
Matt Kenseth............................ 106.6
Jimmie Johnson........................ 103.5
Greg Biffle................................ 103.4
Tony Stewart............................ 101.4
Kyle Busch................................ 98.7
Carl Edwards............................. 98.3
Denny Hamlin............................ 93.3
Dale Earnhardt Jr....................... 92.7
Clint Bowyer.............................. 92.5
Jeff Gordon................................ 91.9
Kurt Busch................................ 89.0
Mark Martin............................... 88.6
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (16 total) among active drivers at Texas Motor Speedway
Qualifying/Race Data
2012 pole winner: Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 190.369 mph, 28.366 secs. 4-12-12
2012 race winner: Greg Biffle, Ford, 160.577 mph, (03:07:12), 4-14-12
Track qualifying record: Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 196.235 mph, 27.518 secs. 11-3-06
Track race record: Greg Biffle, Ford, 160.577 mph, (03:07:12), 4-14-12
NASCAR in Texas
· There have been 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Texas.
Track Name
|
City
|
NSCS
|
Texas Motor Speedway
|
Fort Worth
|
24
|
Meyer Speedway
|
Houston
|
1
|
Texas World Speedway
|
College Station
|
8
|
· 79 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Texas.
· Nine drivers from Texas have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series. Six of the nine Texas native NASCAR winners have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Driver
|
NSCS
|
NNS
|
NCWTS
|
Terry Labonte
|
22
|
11
|
1
|
Bobby Labonte
|
21
|
10
|
1
|
A.J. Foyt
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
Billy Wade
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
Bobby Hillin Jr.
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
Johnny Rutherford
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
James Buescher
|
0
|
1
|
4
|
David Starr
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
Colin Braun
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
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