Thursday, September 1, 2016

Darlington Raceway Track Facts: 2016 Southern 500

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The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2016 Top 10 at Darlington Raceway
Rank
Driver
Races
Poles
Wins
Top Fives
Top 10s
DNFs
Average Finish
Driver Rating
 
 
1
Kevin Harvick
19
1
1
5
8
1
16.4
95.9
 
2
Brad Keselowski
7
1
0
2
3
0
12.6
92.2
 
3
Carl Edwards
12
0
1
4
8
1
11.6
92.4
 
4
Kurt Busch
19
2
0
2
6
1
17.3
84.8
 
5
Joey Logano
7
0
0
1
3
1
20.3
83.6
 
6
Kyle Busch
11
0
1
2
7
0
13.0
105.2
 
7
Denny Hamlin
10
0
1
5
8
0
6.5
107.8
 
8
Martin Truex Jr
10
0
0
1
4
0
12.7
93.6
 
9
Jimmie Johnson
17
0
3
9
12
1
9.1
104.4
 
10
Matt Kenseth
22
1
1
3
10
1
16.3
91.4
 
* – Based on last 11 races at Darlington Raceway (2005 – 2015).

Darlington Raceway Data
Season Race #: 25 of 36 (09-04-15)
Track Size: 1.366-miles
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 25 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 23 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 6 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 6 degrees
Frontstretch Length:  1,229 feet
Backstretch Length:  1,229 feet
Race Length: 367 laps / 501.3 miles

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Darlington
Jeff Gordon............................... 111.2
Denny Hamlin........................... 107.8
Kyle Busch............................... 105.2
Jimmie Johnson........................ 104.4
Greg Biffle................................ 102.9
Kasey Kahne.............................. 96.1
Kevin Harvick.............................. 95.9
Ryan Newman............................ 94.2
Martin Truex Jr............................ 93.6
Carl Edwards.............................. 92.4
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (11 total) among active drivers at Darlington Raceway.

Qualifying/Race Data
2015 pole winner:
Brad Keselowski, Ford
178.874 mph, 27.492 secs. 08-05-15

2015 race winner:
Carl Edwards, Toyota
111.993 mph, (04:28:35), 08-06-15

Track qualifying record:
Aric Almirola, Ford
184.145 mph, 26.705 secs. 04-11-14

Track race record:
Matt Kenseth, Toyota
141.383 mph, (03:32:45), 05-11-13

At Darlington Raceway:
History
·         Darlington Raceway was built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-1950.
·         Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history and the first on asphalt on Sept. 4, 1950 – 75 cars competed in the event - Curtis Turner won the pole at 82.034 mph, and the race was won by Johnny Mantz (Plymouth, 75.250 mph, 6:38:40).
·         The track was re-measured to 1.375 miles in 1953.
·         The track was re-configured to 1.366 miles following the spring race in 1970.
·         The track was repaved in 1995.
·         The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at Darlington.
·         The track was repaved again prior to the 2008 season.
Starts
·         There have been 112 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway. The 1.366-mile track has hosted the fifth-most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points paying races.   
·         715 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway; 434 in more than one.
·         NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Darlington with 65. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 35 starts; followed by Tony Stewart with 23.
·         Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Darlington with a 6.771.
·         Jeff Gordon (6.8), Ryan Blaney (9.0), Ryan Newman (9.5), Kasey Kahne (9.6) and Denny Hamlin (9.7) all have an average starting position inside the top 10.  
·         124 different drivers have made their NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career debut at Darlington Raceway.

·         Curtis Turner won the inaugural Coors Light Pole Award at Darlington in 1950 in an Oldsmobile with a speed of 82.034 mph.  
·         49 drivers have won at least one Coors Light pole at Darlington, led by David Pearson with 12. Kasey Kahneleads all active drivers with four.
·         Nine drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Darlington. Kasey Kahne is the only active driver with consecutive poles (2005-2006).
·         David Pearson holds the record for most consecutive poles at Darlington with five (1975 - 1977).
·         Youngest Darlington pole winner: Kurt Busch (09/02/2001 – 23 years, 0 months, 29 days).
·         Oldest Darlington pole winner: David Pearson (09/06/1982 – 47 years, 8 months, 15 days).
·         Eight drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup pole at Darlington Raceway: Cotton Owens(1957), Fred Lorenzen (1961), Bill Elliott (1981), Ken Schrader (1987), John Andretti (1995), Kurt Busch(2001), Elliott Sadler (2003) and Clint Bowyer (2007).
Wins
·         48 different drivers have won at Darlington Raceway, led by David Pearson with 10. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven wins; followed by his teammate Jimmie Johnson with three.
·         Six drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Darlington Raceway: Johnny Mantz (1950), Nelson Stacy (1961), Larry Frank (1962), Terry Labonte (1980), Lake Speed (1988) and Regan Smith (2011).
·         Youngest Darlington winner: Kyle Busch (05/10/2008 – 23 years, 0 months, 8 days).
·         Oldest Darlington winner: Harry Gant (09/01/1991 – 51 years, 7 months, 22 days).
·        
Manufacturer
Wins
Chevrolet
41
Ford
28
Mercury
10
Oldsmobile
6
Dodge
5
Pontiac
5
Toyota
4
Buick
4
Plymouth
4
Hudson
3
American Motors Company
2

Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Darlington in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 14.
·         11 different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Darlington; led by Chevrolet with 41 victories; followed byFord with 28 and Toyota has four.
·         20 of the 112 (17.8%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Darlington have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Kevin Harvick in 2015.
·         NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson has won from the pole four times at Darlington – the series-most. 
·         The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Darlington. The outside front row (second-place) has produced the second-most wins (17).   
·         37 of the 112 (33%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Darlington have been won from the front row: 20 from first-place and 17 from second-place.
·         96 of the 112 (85.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Darlington have been won from a top-10 starting position.
·         Six of the 112 (5.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Darlington have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.
·         The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Darlington is 43rd by Johnny Mantz in 1950 – the inaugural NSCS event.
·         13 drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Darlington; Dale Earnhardt(1989-1990) and Jeff Gordon (1995-1996) are tied for the series-most in consecutive wins at Darlington with three each. 
·         All nine active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Darlington Raceway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Among active drivers, Kyle Busch won at Darlington in the fewest previous appearances (three). 
·         Matt Kenseth competed at Darlington Raceway 19 times before winning in 2013; the longest span of any the nine active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
·         Tony Stewart leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Darlington without visiting Victory Lane at 23.
Additional Finishing Position Stats
·         Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty are tied for the series most runner-up finishes at Darlington with eight each.Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in second-place finishes at Darlington with four.
·         Richard Petty leads the series in top-five finishes at Darlington with 25. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 19; followed by Jimmie Johnson with nine.  
·         Bill Elliott leads the series in top-10 finishes at Darlington with 35. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 23; followed by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart with 12 each.
·         Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Darlington with a 6.500.
·         Three active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have an average finish in the top 10 at Darlington: Denny Hamlin(6.5), Kyle Larson (9.0) and Jimmie Johnson (9.1).   
Track/Event Specific Stats
·         Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Darlington Raceway is the (03/16/2003) race won by Ricky Craven with a MOV of 0.002 second over Kurt Busch – the MOV is tied with the 2011 Talladega race as the closest finishes in the NSCS using electronic scoring. 
·         There have been four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Darlington Raceway: 2005 (367/370), 2011 (367/370), 2012 (367/368) and 2014 (367/374).

Additional Finishing Position Stats
·         Eight of the 112 races at Darlington Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the fall race of 2000.  
·         Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Darlington Raceway five times; most recently was the fall race of 2004.  
·         Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Darlington with 1,744 laps led in 35 starts.
Female Competitor Stats
·         Three female drivers have competed at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:
Active Drivers
Starting Position
Finishing Position
Date
Danica Patrick
38
31
5/12/2012
Danica Patrick
40
28
5/11/2013
Danica Patrick
33
22
4/12/2014
Danica Patrick
30
42
9/6/2015
Averages
35.3
30.8
 
Inactive Drivers
Starting Position
Finishing Position
Date
Janet Guthrie
26
16
9/5/1977
Shawna Robinson
42
42
3/17/2002
NASCAR in South Carolina
·         There have been 222 NASCAR Sprint Cup races among 10 tracks in South Carolina.
Track Name
City
NSCS
Darlington Raceway
Darlington
112
Columbia Speedway
Columbia
43
Greenville-Pickens Speedway
Greenville
29
Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds
Spartanburg
22
Rambi Race Track
Myrtle Beach
9
Coastal Speedway
Myrtle Beach
2
Lancaster Speedway
Lancaster
2
Gamecock Speedway
Sumter
1
Hartsville Speedway
Hartsville
1
Newberry Speedway
Newberry
1

·         The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held in the state of South Carolina was at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 4, 1950 – the event was won by Johnny Mantz in a Plymouth.  

NASCAR In South Carolina
·         134 drivers that have made at least one NASCAR national series start have their home state recorded as South Carolina.
·         117 of the 134 (87.3%) South Carolina drivers have competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  
·         10 drivers from South Carolina have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; seven have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Driver
NSCS
NXS
NCWTS
David Pearson
105
1
0
Cale Yarborough
83
0
0
Cotton Owens
9
0
0
Tiny Lund
5
0
0
James Hylton
2
0
0
Johnny Allen
1
0
0
Joe Eubanks
1
0
0
Larry Pearson
0
15
0
Jason Keller
0
10
0
Butch Lindley
0
6
0

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Milestones
Active Full-Time and Part-Time Drivers this Season
Drivers
Has
Needs
Milestones
Josh Wise
149
1
Become the 161st driver in series history to make 150 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts.
Kyle Larson
99
1
Become the 196th driver in series history to make 100 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career starts.
Tony Stewart
49
1
Tie NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 11th on all-time NSCS wins list
Kyle Busch
38
1
Tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock for 18th on all-time NSCS wins list
Matt Kenseth
38
1
Tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Tim Flock for 18th on all-time NSCS wins list
Kevin Harvick
33
1
Break tie with Fireball Roberts to become solely 22nd on all-time wins list
Kurt Busch
28
1
Break the tie with Rex White and Denny Hamlin to become solely 25th on all-time NSCS wins list
Denny Hamlin
28
1
Break the tie with Rex White and Denny Hamlin to become solely 25th on all-time NSCS wins list
Carl Edwards
27
1
Tie Rex White, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin for 25th on all-time NSCS wins list
Jimmie Johnson
35
1
Tie Rusty Wallace and Rex White for 17th on all-time NSCS poles list
Kasey Kahne
27
1
Break the tie with Terry Labonte to become solely 25th on all-time NSCS poles list
Denny Hamlin
23
1
Tie Alan Kulwicki for 28th on all-time NSCS poles list
Kevin Harvick
47
1
Tie Lee Petty (48) for 10th on all-time NSCS second-place finishes list
Jimmie Johnson
46
1
Tie Kevin Harvick for 11th on all-time NSCS second-place finishes list
Dale Earnhardt Jr
148
1
Tie Jim Paschal for 22nd on the all-time NSCS top-five finishes list.
Kevin Harvick
148
1
Tie Jim Paschal for 22nd on the all-time NSCS top-five finishes list.
Matt Kenseth
300
1
Tie James Hylton (301) for 18th on all-time NSCS top-10 finishes list
Kurt Busch
238
1
Tie NASCAR HOFer Ned Jarrett for 25th on the all-time NSCS top-10 finishes list
Jimmie Johnson
324
1
Become the 13th driver in the NSCS to post 325 or more top-10 finishes
Jimmie Johnson
17,975
25
To become ninth NSCS driver all-time to lead 18,000 laps
Tony Stewart
12,818
182
To become 11th NSCS driver all-time to lead 13,000 laps
Matt Kenseth
10,859
141
To become 16th NSCS driver all-time to lead 11,000 laps
Kevin Harvick
9,854
146
To become 17th NSCS driver all-time to lead 10,000 laps
Kurt Busch
8,857
143
To become 20th NSCS driver all-time to lead 9,000 laps
    
Track Specific Milestones

Active Full-Time and Part-Time Drivers this Season
Drivers
Has
Needs
Milestones
Jimmie Johnson
3
1
Tie Harry Gant for eighth on the NSCS all-time wins list at Darlington Raceway
Kasey Kahne
4
1
Tie Bill Elliott for fourth on the NSCS all-time pole winners list at Darlington Raceway
Richard Childress
8
1
Tie Junior Johnson for second-most NSCS car owner wins at Darlington Raceway


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