At Charlotte Motor Speedway:

History

·         Construction began on Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1959.

·         The track’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on June 19, 1960.

·         The track was repaved midseason in 1994.

·         The track name changed from Charlotte Motor Speedway to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 1999. It changed back to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2010 season.

·         The track was re-paved again before the 2006 season.

Notebook

·         There have been 107 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, two races per year since the track opened in 1960. In 1961, there were two 100-mile qualifying points races held the week before the May race. The first six fall races at Charlotte were 400-mile events (1960-65).

·         40 drivers have posted poles, led by David Pearson with 14.

·         Fireball Roberts won the pole for the first race, in 1960.

·         David Pearson posted 11 straight poles at Charlotte from the fall of 1973 through 1978.

·         Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in poles, with nine. Jeff Gordon has eight.

·         Jeff Gordon won five straight poles for the spring races between 1994 and 1998.

·         44 drivers have won races, led by Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson, with six each.

·         Joe Lee Johnson won the first race, in 1960.

·         There have been 13 back-to-back victories, including three consecutive by Fred Lorenzen (fall 1964 and both 1965) and four straight by Jimmie Johnson (both in 2004 and 2005).

·         A sweep has occurred eight times, including each season from 2004-2007.

·         14 races have been won from the pole, the last by Jimmie Johnson (October, 2009).

·         Jimmie Johnson won the 2003 Coca-Cola 600 from the 37th starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.

·         A number of active drivers earned their first win at CMS: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and David Reutimann. Inactive drivers David Pearson, Buddy Baker and Charlie Glotzbach also got their first series win at Charlotte.

·         Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Charlotte Motor Speedway winner: Jeff Gordon (10/10/1993 – 22 years, 2 months, 6 days).

·         Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Charlotte Motor Speedway winner: Cale Yarborough (10/06/1985 – 46 years, 6 months, 9 days).

 

Charlotte Motor Speedway Data

Chase Race #: 5 of 10

Season Race #: 31 of 36 (10-13-12)

Track Size: 1.5-mile

Banking/Turns: 24 degrees

Banking/Straights: 5 degrees

Frontstretch Length: 1,980 feet

Backstretch Length: 1,500 feet

Race Length: 334 laps / 500 miles

 

Top 12 Driver Rating at Charlotte

Jimmie Johnson........................ 111.0

Kyle Busch............................... 107.5

Kasey Kahne.............................. 97.5

Matt Kenseth.............................. 95.1

Greg Biffle.................................. 92.3

Denny Hamlin............................. 89.3

Carl Edwards.............................. 88.4

Joey Logano.............................. 88.3

Jeff Gordon................................ 87.7

Mark Martin................................. 87.0

Jeff Burton................................. 84.4

Tony Stewart............................... 83.4

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (15 total) among active drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2011 pole winner:

Tony Stewart, Chevrolet (191.959 mph, 28.131 sec., 10-13-11)

 

2011 race winner:

Matt Kenseth, Ford (146.194 mph, 3:25:37, 10-15-11)

 

Track qualifying record:

Elliott Sadler, Ford (193.216 mph, 27.948 sec., 10-13-05)

 

Track race record:

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet (160.306 mph, 3:07:31, 10-11-99)

 

NASCAR in North Carolina

·         There have been 515 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in North Carolina.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Charlotte Motor Speedway	Concord	107
Rockingham Speedway	Rockingham	78
Asheville-Weaverville Speedway	Weaverville	34
Bowman-Gray Stadium	Winston-Salem	29
Champion Speedway	Fayetteville	4
Charlotte Speedway	Charlotte	12
Cleveland County Fairgrounds	Shelby	6
Concord Speedway	Concord	12
Dog Track Speedway	Moyock	7
Forsyth County Fairgrounds	Winston-Salem	2
Gastonia Fairgrounds	Gastonia	1
Greensboro Agriculture Fairgrounds	Greensboro	3
Harnett Speedway	Spring Lake	1
Harris Speedway	Harris	2
Hickory Speedway	Hickory	35
Jacksonville Speedway	Jacksonville	2
McCormick Field	Asheville	1
New Asheville Speedway	Asheville	8
North Carolina State Fairgrounds	Raleigh	3
North Wilkesboro Speedway	North	93
Occoneechee Speedway	Hillsboro	32
Raleigh Speedway	Raleigh	7
Salisbury Super Speedway	Salisbury	1
Southern States Fairgrounds	Charlotte	17
Star Lite Speedway	Monroe	1
Tar Heel Speedway	Randleman	3
Tri-City Speedway	High Point	2
Wilson Speedway	Wilson	12

·         427 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as North Carolina.

·         There have been 46 race winners from North Carolina in NASCAR’s three national series; 28 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series:

 

Driver	NSCS	NNS	NCWTS
Richard Petty	200	0	0
Dale Earnhardt	76	21	0
Lee Petty	54	0	0
Ned Jarrett	50	0	0
Junior Johnson	50	0	0
Herb Thomas	48	0	0
Buck Baker	46	0	0
Bobby Isaac	37	0	0
Dale Jarrett	32	11	0
Jim Paschal	25	0	0
Benny Parsons	21	0	0
Speedy Thompson	20	0	0
Buddy Baker	19	0	0
Dale Earnhardt Jr	19	23	0
Harry Gant	18	21	0
Bob Welborn	9	0	0
Kyle Petty	8	0	0
Morgan Shepherd	4	15	0
Bill Blair	3	0	0
Gwyn Staley	3	0	0
Billy Myers	2	0	0
Jimmy Pardue	2	0	0
Brian Vickers	2	3	0
Richard Brickhouse	1	0	0
Phil Parsons	1	2	0
Leon Sales	1	0	0
Buddy Shuman	1	0	0
Donald Thomas	1	0	0
Jack Ingram	0	31	0
Tommy Houston	0	24	0
Sam Ard	0	22	0
Robert Pressley	0	10	2
Scott Riggs	0	4	5
Austin Dillon	0	2	4
Hank Parker Jr	0	2	0
Johnny Rumley	0	2	0
Dennis Setzer	0	2	18
Ed Berrier	0	1	0
Justin Labonte	0	1	0
Stephen Leicht	0	1	0
Timothy Peters	0	0	5
Andy Houston	0	0	3
Ryan Blaney	0	0	1
Ty Dillon	0	0	1
Ricky Hendrick	0	0	1
Shane Hmiel	0	0	1

 

DRIVER-SPECIFIC STATISTICS at Charlotte

 

1 - Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.5

2012 Rundown

·         Five wins, 12 top fives, 19 top 10s

·         Average finish of 10.5

·         Led 17 races for 503 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         One top five, one top 10; one pole

·         Average finish of 16.5 in six races

·         Average Running Position of 17.4, 15th-best

·         Driver Rating of 76.8, 21st-best

 

2 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 MyLowe's Chevrolet)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 108.6

2012 Rundown

·         Three wins, 15 top fives, 20 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 10.7

·         Led 21 races for 1,261 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Six wins, 10 top fives, 14 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 11.8 in 22 races

·         Series-best Average Running Position of 8.2

·         Series-best Driver Rating of 111.0

·         Series-high 488 Fastest Laps Run

·         1,095 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most

·         Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 176.468 mph

·         Series-high 4,599 Laps in the Top 15 (85.6%)

·         Series-high 772 Quality Passes

 

3 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 102.1

2012 Rundown

·         Five wins, 12 top fives, 15 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 12.2

·         Led 21 races for 1,132 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Two top fives, seven top 10s

·         Average finish of 15.0 in 14 races

·         Average Running Position of 13.5, fifth-best

·         Driver Rating of 89.3, sixth-best

·         142 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 175.376 mph, 10th-fastest

·         3,446 Laps in the Top 15 (69.3%), fifth-most

·         565 Quality Passes, sixth-most

 

4 - Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 94.5

2012 Rundown

·         Two wins, nine top fives, 15 top 10s; three poles

·         Average finish of 13.6

·         Led 9 races for 262 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Four wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s

·         Average finish of 12.7 in 17 races

·         Average Running Position of 12.7, fourth-best

·         Driver Rating of 97.5, third-best

·         453 Fastest Laps Run, second-most

·         1,206 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 175.443 mph, eighth-fastest

·         3,402 Laps in the Top 15 (63.3%), sixth-most

·         651 Quality Passes, fourth-most

 

5 - Clint Bowyer (No. 15 5-hour Energy Benefiting Avon Foundation for Women Toyota)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 93.3

2012 Rundown

·         Two wins, seven top fives, 18 top 10s

·         Average finish of 11.5

·         Led 10 races for 200 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         One top five, three top 10s

·         Average finish of 17.5 in 13 races

·         Average Running Position of 18.5, 20th-best

·         Driver Rating of 77.4, 18th-best

 

6 - Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.4

2012 Rundown

·         One win, 10 top fives, 15 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 14.3

·         Led 19 races for 458 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Five wins, 16 top fives, 21 top 10s; eight poles

·         Average finish of 15.7 in 39 races

·         Average Running Position of 16.0, 12th-best

·         Driver Rating of 87.7, ninth-best

·         176 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 175.523 mph, sixth-fastest

·         3,001 Laps in the Top 15 (55.9%), eighth-most

·         551 Quality Passes, ninth-most

 

7 - Tony Stewart (No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 87.7

2012 Rundown

·         Three wins, 10 top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 13.5

·         Led 14 races for 420 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         One win, six top fives, 12 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 14.0 in 27 races

·         Average Running Position of 16.0, 13th-best

·         Driver Rating of 83.4, 12th-best

·         182 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most

·         1,121 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 175.515 mph, seventh-fastest

·         2,730 Laps in the Top 15 (50.8%), 11th-most

·         508 Quality Passes, 11th-most

 

8 - Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 96.8

2012 Rundown

·         Six top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 11.3

·         Led 11 races for 423 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Two top 10s

·         Average finish of 19.4 in 14 races

·         Average Running Position of 18.0, 17th-best

·         Driver Rating of 73.3, 25th-best

·         1,079 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most

 

9 - Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M/IDG Ford)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 101.0

2012 Rundown

·         Two wins, 10 top fives, 16 top 10s; two poles

·         Average finish of 10.1

·         Led 15 races for 650 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Four top fives, seven top 10s

·         Average finish of 17.1 in 19 races

·         Average Running Position of 14.5, eighth-best

·         Driver Rating of 92.3, fifth-best

·         282 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most

·         1,061 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 175.669 mph, third-fastest

·         3,385 Laps in the Top 15 (63.0%), seventh-most

·         576 Quality Passes, fifth-most

 

10 - Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 92.1

2012 Rundown

·         Four top fives, 11 top 10s

·         Average finish of 11.9

·         Led 8 races for 241 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         One win, two top fives, seven top 10s

·         Average finish of 18.1 in 23 races

·         Average Running Position of 19.5, 24th-best

·         Driver Rating of 74.9, 24th-best

·         1,153 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most

·         2,508 Laps in the Top 15 (46.7%), 13th-most

 

11 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 97.6

2012 Rundown

·         One win, 10 top fives, 18 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 10.3

·         Led 13 races for 358 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Five top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 18.8 in 26 races

·         Average Running Position of 20.3, 25th-best

·         Driver Rating of 78.8, 17th-best

·         146 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most

·         1,228 Green Flag Passes, second-most

·         487 Quality Passes, 12th-most

 

12 - Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Best Buy Ford)

·         Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 100.8

2012 Rundown

·         Two wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole

·         Average finish of 11.2

·         Led 19 races for 398 laps

Charlotte Motor Speedway Outlook:

·         Two wins, seven top fives, 14 top 10s

·         Average finish of 14.2 in 26 races

·         Average Running Position of 14.4, seventh-best

·         Driver Rating of 95.1, fourth-best

·         294 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most

·         1,126 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most

·         Average Green Flag Speed of 175.586 mph, fourth-fastest

·         3,482 Laps in the Top 15 (64.8%), fourth-most

·         655 Quality Passes, third-most

 

Chase Contenders

The Top 12

Following Race 30 of 36

                                                                                Rank        Season

                                                                                Last          Driver

Driver                             Points   Wins      Poles        Week        Rating

1. Brad Keselowski     2,179       5           0              1             97.5

2. Jimmie Johnson    2,165       3           2              2           108.6

3. Denny Hamlin         2,156       5           3              3           102.1

4. Kasey Kahne           2,143       2           3               6             94.5

5. Clint Bowyer           2,139       2           0               4             93.3

6. Jeff Gordon            2,137       1           2             10             97.4

7. Tony Stewart           2,133       3           1               5             87.7

8. Martin Truex Jr.      2,131       0           1              8             96.8

9. Greg Biffle               2,130       2           2            11           101.0

10. Kevin Harvick         2,130       0           0               9             92.1

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  2,128       1           1               7             97.6

12. Matt Kenseth           2,117       2           1             12           100.8

_______________________________________________________

 

ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

13. Kyle Busch                     912         36. David Stremme          209

14. Ryan Newman                865         37. Michael McDowell      153

15. Carl Edwards                  844         38. J.J. Yeley                  151

16. Paul Menard                   830         39. Josh Wise                 123

17. Marcos Ambrose             816         40. Ken Schrader             111

18. Joey Logano                   797         41. Stephen Leicht           107

19. Jeff Burton                     748         42. Michael Waltrip            94

20. Jamie McMurray             714         43. Terry Labonte              94

21. Aric Almirola                   686         44. Scott Speed               89

22. Juan Pablo Montoya        675         45. Tony Raines               71

23. Regan Smith                   670         46. Scott Riggs                52

24. Bobby Labonte                655         47. Brendan Gaughan         50

25. Mark Martin                    563         48. Boris Said                   34

26. Kurt Busch                     557         49. Bill Elliott                     14

27. David Ragan                   530         50. Hermie Sadler III          13

28. David Gilliland                 520         51. Mike Olsen                  11

29. Travis Kvapil                   512         52. Robby Gordon             11

30. Casey Mears                  511         53. Mike Skinner               10

31. Landon Cassill                475         54. Tomy Drissi                  6

32. AJ Allmendinger              400         55. Stacy Compton             5

33. Dave Blaney                   367         56. David Mayhew              4

34. David Reutimann             337         57. Kelly Bires                    3

35. Brian Vickers                  213         58. Patrick Long                  2

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season. After race No. 26, the top 10 earn a berth in the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 – the Wild Cards – will go to those drivers outside the top 10 with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.

 

 

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2012 Top 12 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Brad Keselowski	6	1	0	1	1	0	16.5	76.8
2	Jimmie Johnson	22	3	6	10	14	4	11.8	111.0
3	Denny Hamlin	14	0	0	2	7	1	15.0	89.3
4	Kasey Kahne	17	0	4	7	9	1	12.7	97.5
5	Clint Bowyer	13	0	0	1	3	0	17.5	77.4
6	Jeff Gordon	39	8	5	16	21	9	15.7	87.7
7	Tony Stewart	27	1	1	6	12	1	14.0	83.4
8	Martin Truex Jr.	14	0	0	0	2	0	19.4	73.3
9	Greg Biffle	19	0	0	4	7	2	17.1	92.3
10	Kevin Harvick	23	0	1	2	7	1	18.1	74.9
11	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	26	1	0	5	11	3	18.8	78.8
12	Matt Kenseth	26	0	2	7	14	5	14.2	95.1

* – Based on last 15 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway