Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Talladega Superspeedway Track Facts: 2015 CampingWorld.com 500

Cars will be bunched up in plate racing this week and playing it a little safe early on.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Contender 12 at Talladega Superspeedway
Rank
Driver
Races
Poles
Wins
Top Fives
Top 10s
DNFs
Average Finish
Driver Rating
 
 
1
Joey Logano
13
0
0
2
4
4
20.9
79.3
 
2
Denny Hamlin
19
0
1
4
7
3
18.5
83.5
 
3
Kurt Busch
29
0
0
6
14
7
16.8
88.3
 
4
Carl Edwards
22
0
0
2
5
6
21.5
66.4
 
5
Kevin Harvick
29
1
1
6
13
2
15.3
79.9
 
6
Jeff Gordon
45
4
6
15
19
9
17.3
79.2
 
7
Brad Keselowski
13
0
3
4
7
1
15.6
83.2
 
8
Martin Truex Jr
21
0
0
2
7
9
20.5
79.6
 
9
Kyle Busch
20
0
1
4
5
5
22.4
78.6
 
10
Ryan Newman
27
0
0
5
11
8
20.4
68.1
 
11
Dale Earnhardt Jr
31
0
6
11
15
5
15.1
92.8
 
12
Matt Kenseth
31
0
1
6
10
4
18
89.2
 
* – Based on last 21 races at Talladega Superspeedway (2005 – 2015).


Talladega Superspeedway Data
Season Race #: 32 of 36 (05-03-15)
Track Size: 2.66-miles
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 33 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 33 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
Frontstretch Length:  4,300 feet
Backstretch Length:  4,000 feet
Race Length: 188 laps / 500 miles

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Talladega
Dale Earnhardt Jr. ...................... 92.8
Matt Kenseth.............................. 89.2
Jimmie Johnson.......................... 89.0
Ryan Blaney............................... 88.5
Kurt Busch.................................. 88.3
Denny Hamlin............................. 83.5
Brad Keselowski......................... 83.2
Kyle Larson................................ 80.5
Jamie McMurray.......................... 80.1
Kevin Harvick.............................. 79.9
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (21 total) among active drivers at Talladega Superspeedway.

Qualifying/Race Data
2014 pole winner:
Brian Vickers, Toyota
196.129 mph, 48.825 secs. 10-17-14

2014 race winner:
Brad Keselowski, Ford
160.302 mph, (03:13:09), 10-19-14

Track qualifying record:
Bill Elliott, Ford
212.809 mph, 44.998 secs. 04-30-87

Track race record:
Mark Martin, Ford
188.354 mph, (02:39:18), 05-10-97

Talladega Superspeedway:
History
·         Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.
·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969 – won by Richard Brickhouse.
·         The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.
·         Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.
Starts
·         There have been 92 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, one NSCS event in 1969 and two races per year since 1970.
·         Talladega Superspeedway is tied with Michigan International Speedway for holding the ninth most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points paying races (92).  
·         441 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega; 304 in more than one.
·         Dave Marcis and Terry Labonte lead the series in starts at Talladega with 61 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 45 starts; followed by Tony Stewart with 32.
·         Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Talladega with a 10.0.
·         Jamie McMurray (10/06/2002) made his series debut at Talladega Superspeedway.

Poles
·         Bobby Isaac won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Talladega in 1969 with a speed of 199.466 mph.  Isaac won the first three poles at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.
·         38 drivers have Coors Light poles at Talladega, led by Bill Elliott with eight. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with four.
·         10 drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Talladega. Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive poles at Talladega with six (1985 - 1987).

Poles
·         Youngest Talladega pole winner: Brian Scott (05/04/2014 – 26 years, 3 months, 22 days).
·         Oldest Talladega pole winner: Mark Martin (10/23/2011 – 52 years, 9 months, 14 days).
·         Brian Scott (05/04/2014), David Gilliland (10/08/2006) and Travis Kvapil (10/05/2008) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Talladega.   

Wins
·         44 different drivers have won at Talladega Superspeedway, led by Dale Earnhardt with 10. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. lead all active drivers with six.
·         Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports for the most wins at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 12.  
·         Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Talladega; led by Chevrolet with 40 victories; followed by Ford with 21 and Toyota with three.
·         13 of the 92 (14.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from the Coors Light pole.Jeff Gordon (2007) is the only active driver to be able to accomplish the feat.  
·         The outside front row (second-place) starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Talladega. 
·         33 of the 92 (35.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 20 from second-place.
·         64 of the 92 (69.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been won from a top-10 starting position.
·         8 of the 92 (8.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Talladega was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in the spring of 2000.
·         Youngest Talladega winner: Bobby Hillin Jr. (07/27/1986 – 22 years, 1 month, 22 days).
·         Oldest Talladega winner: Harry Gant (05/06/1991 – 51 years, 3 months, 26 days).
·         2012 series champion Brad Keselowski (04/26/2009) and Brian Vickers (10/08/2006) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Talladega.   
·         Nine drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Talladega; Dale Earnhardt Jr.leads the series in consecutive wins at Talladega after posting four straight from the fall of 2001 – 2003.  
·         Brad Keselowski is the only active series driver to win at Talladega in his first appearance.   
·         Matt Kenseth competed at Talladega Superspeedway 25 times before winning the fall of 2012; the longest span of any the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

Wins
·         Matt Kenseth (25), Tony Stewart (19), Kevin Harvick (18), and David Ragan (12) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Talladega.
·         Kurt Busch leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Talladega without visiting Victory Lane at 29; followed by Ryan Newman with 27.

Additional Finishing Positions
·         Buddy Baker and Tony Stewart are tied for the series’ most runner-up finishes at Talladega with six each.
·         NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-five finishes at Talladega with 23. Jeff Gordonleads all active drivers with 15. 
·         Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-10 finishes at Talladega with 27. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 19.
·         Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Talladega with a 15.065.

Track / Event Specific Stats
·         There have been eight NSCS races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Talladega Superspeedway: spring of 2005 (188/194), fall of 2005 (188/190), spring of 2007 (188/192), fall of 2008 (188/190) spring of 2010 (188/200), fall of 2012 (188/189), spring of 2013 (188/192) and fall of 2014 (188/194).
·         Only two of the 92 races at Talladega Superspeedway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1987 and fall of 1996.
·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway five times; most recently fall of 2013. 
·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway was the (04/17/2011) race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.002 second – the MOV is tied with the 2003 Darlington race as the closest finishes in the NSCS using electronic scoring. 
·         Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Talladega with 899 laps led in 31 starts.


Female Competitor Stats
·         Three female drivers have competed at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie, Patty Moise and Danica Patrick.
Driver
Starting Position
Finishing Position
Date
Danica Patrick
25
21
5/3/2015
Danica Patrick
27
19
10/19/2014
Danica Patrick
7
22
5/4/2014
Danica Patrick
23
33
10/20/2013
Danica Patrick
23
33
5/5/2013
Averages
21.0
25.6
 
Inactive Female Competitors
  
Driver
Starting Position
Finishing Position
Date
Patty Moise
36
33
7/30/1989
Janet Guthrie
12
29
8/6/1978
Janet Guthrie
9
34
8/7/1977
Janet Guthrie
13
32
5/1/1977

NASCAR in Alabama
·         There have been 111 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among seven different tracks in Alabama.
Track Name
City
NSCS
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega
92
Birmingham International Raceway
Birmingham
8
Montgomery Motor Speedway
Montgomery
6
Lakeview Speedway
Mobile
2
Chisholm Speedway
Montgomery
1
Dixie Speedway
Birmingham
1
Huntsville Speedway
Huntsville
1



·         70 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Alabama.
·         Nine drivers from Alabama have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; five have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Driver
NSCS
NXS
NCWTS
Bobby Allison
84
2
0
Davey Allison
19
0
0
Neil Bonnett
18
1
0
Donnie Allison
10
0
0
Red Byron
2
0
0
Steve Grissom
0
11
0
Rick Crawford
0
0
5
Darrell Wallace Jr
0
0
5
Cale Gale
0
0
1


NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES MILESTONES – TALLADEGA
DRIVER
HAS
NEEDS
MILESTONE
DESCRIPTION
Jimmie Johnson
499
1
500th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Consecutive Start
Johnson will attempt to post his 500th consecutive NSCS start this weekend, he is tied with Newman for third on the active consecutive starts list.
Ryan Newman
499
1
500th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Consecutive Start
Newman will attempt to post his 500th consecutive NSCS start this weekend, he is tied with Johnson for third on the active consecutive starts list.
Casey Mears
174
1
175th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Consecutive Start
Mear will attempt to post his 175th consecutive NSCS start this weekend, he is tied with Johnson for third on the active consecutive starts list.
Jimmie Johnson
74
2
76th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win
Jimmie Johnson is eighth on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt in seventh (76 wins).
Tony Stewart
48
2
50th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Win
Stewart is 12th on the all-time NSCS wins list, two wins behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett in 10th (50 wins).
Jeff Gordon
323
2
325th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top-Five Finish
Gordon needs just two more top-five finishes in the NSCS to reach 325 NSCS top-five finishes all-time. Gordon is third on the all-time list; 13 top fives behind NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison (336) in second.
Tony Stewart
299
1
300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top-10 Finish
Stewart is 17th on the all-time NSCS top-10 finishes list, two top 10s behind James Hylton in 16th (301 top 10s).
Jeff Gordon
24,873
127
25,000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Laps Led
Gordon can become the sixth driver in NSCS history to lead 25,000 laps; joining Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, David Pearson and Bobby Allison.
Kevin Harvick
2,052
186
Most Laps Led in a Single Season During Chase Era (2004-2015)
Harvick can lead the most laps in a single season in the NSCS during the Chase Era if he leads 207 or more laps in the final seven races. If he accomplishes the feat he will surpass current record holder Jimmie Johnson (2,238 laps led in a single Chase Era season).
#43 car
199
1
200 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wins
The No. 43 car is second on the all-time NSCS wins list, five wins behind the No. 11 car in first (205). The last win for the No. 43 car came at Daytona (July) last season.
#20 Car
48
2
50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Wins
The No. 20 car is 19th on the NSCS all-time wins list, four wins behind the No. 27 and 18 cars in 17th/18th (with 52 each).


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