Statistically speaking: a look at Bristol
This weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Bristol (Ten.) Motor Speedway for Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night race. The Busch brothers — Kurt and Kyle — have dominated the East Tennessee track in recent years, with each drivers posting five wins apiece there. But they’re not the only active drivers with five trips to Bristol’s victory lane on on their racing resume. Jeff Gordon is also a five-time Bristol winner.
With the Race to the Chase winding down, as there are only three more races, including Bristol, until the cutoff to get to the Chase, positive results are of paramount importance, especially for Kurt Busch and Gordon. Busch is in the top-10 of the championship points standings, but not by much. He heads into Bristol ninth in points, just six points ahead of 11th-place Kasey Kahne. Gordon, meanwhile, heads to Bristol on the outside looking in, as he’s 14th in points, 26 points behind 10th-place driver Greg Biffle. Neither Busch nor Gordon have a win, yet, this season.
Here’s a statistical look at how some of the top current drivers have performed at Bristol Motor Speedway (statistics provided by NASCAR Media Group):
Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford)
· Six top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 12.1
· Average Running Position of 12.4, third-best
· Driver Rating of 95.8, fifth-best
· 315 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.807 mph, fourth-fastest
· 6,230 Laps in the Top 15 (73.2%), third-most
· 447 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), fifth-most
Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet)
· Five wins, seven top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 13.4
· Average Running Position of 13.2, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 92.8, seventh-best
· 301 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 838 Green Flag Passes, third-most
· Laps in the Top 15 (65.5%), sixth-most
· 478 Quality Passes, third-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
· Five wins, eight top fives, 12 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 9.8
· Average Running Position of 12.7, sixth-best
· Series-best Driver Rating of 103.0
· Series-high 581 Fastest Laps Run
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.862 mph, third-fastest
· 5,760 Laps in the Top 15 (67.7%), fifth-most
· 440 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· One win, seven top fives, 13 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.6
· Average Running Position of 14.0, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 87.9, 10th-best
· Series-high 954 Green Flag Passes
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.668 mph, ninth-fastest
· 5,161 Laps in the Top 15 (60.6%), 10th-most
· 440 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford)
· Two wins, four top fives, seven top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 14.6
· Average Running Position of 15.4, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 86.5, 13th-best
· 292 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· 5,208 Laps in the Top 15 (61.2%), eighth-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· Five wins, 16 top fives, 22 top 10s; five poles
· Average finish of 12.4
· Series-best Average Running Position of 9.6
· Driver Rating of 100.6, second-best
· 372 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.863 mph, second-fastest
· Series-high 6,974 Laps in the Top 15 (81.9%)
· 475 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
· One win, four top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 15.3
· Average Running Position of 15.2, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 90.8, eighth-best
· 371 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· 759 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.672 mph, eighth-fastest
· 4,327 Laps in the Top 15 (57.6%), 12th-most
Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet)
· One win, nine top fives, 12 top 10s
· Average finish of 12.6
· Average Running Position of 13.6, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 90.3, ninth-best
· 817 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.756 mph, sixth-fastest
· 5,163 Laps in the Top 15 (60.6%), ninth-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· One win, seven top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.3
· Average Running Position of 12.5, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.8, sixth-best
· 468 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.633 mph, 12th-fastest
· 6,135 Laps in the Top 15 (72.1%), fourth-most
· 374 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)
· One win, four top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 18.2
· Driver Rating of 86.8, 11th-best
· 365 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
· 750 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
· 4,317 Laps in the Top 15 (50.7%), 13th-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
· Two wins, 10 top fives, 17 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 12.9
· Average Running Position of 10.8, second-best
· Driver Rating of 99.9, third-best
· 412 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 114.866 mph
· 6,801 Laps in the Top 15 (79.9%), second-most
· 491 Quality Passes, second-most
Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Penske Racing Ford)
· Two wins, three top fives, three top 10s
· Average finish of 12.1
· Average Running Position of 12.6, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 99.0, fourth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.761 mph, fifth-fastest
Ryan Newman (No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet)
· One top five, 13 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 16.9
· Average Running Position of 15.4, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 86.7, 12th-best
· 716 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 114.582 mph, 13th-fastest
· 5,460 Laps in the Top 15 (64.1%), seventh-most
· 401 Quality Passes, ninth-most
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