The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
August 13th, 2008
Volume II, Edition CLIII“We’ve asked Mike Skinner to evaluate areas where we can improve our on-track performance,” added Waltrip. “I thought he did a really nice job of working with Red Bull and A.J. Allmendinger earlier this year and our #00 Champion Mortgage team could use the same experienced insight.”
“We feel the same way about Michael McDowell as we did when we signed him,” he added. “But this is the toughest, most competitive form of racing in the world and I know Michael and MWR can benefit from Skinner’s input.”
In seventeen starts so far this season, McDowell has yet to score a Top 20 finish.
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Today’s Featured Commentary
Full Throttle
Kyle Busch may break the unbreakable record
by Mike Neff
Kyle Busch is having what many people are already considering a dream season. So far this year, he has scored sixteen victories — and counting — in the top three national touring series sanctioned by NASCAR. Early in the year, there was talk that Busch even might try and run for the championship in all three divisions, but he has since cut back on his schedule and focused most of his energies on the biggest prize, the Sprint Cup championship. And once that hardware looks like an achievable feat, inevitably, the discussions turn towards Busch’s place in history. and one of those discussions will center on breaking the record that most people, including this writer, have thought for years would be unbreakable: Jeff Gordon’s single season victory record of 13 races in a single NASCAR Cup season. And after scoring his eighth Cup victory this weekend, it seems like an appropriate time to take a milestone check and see where Busch ranks in comparison to Gordon’s miraculous 1998 season.
In looking back at Gordon’s finest season, the first thing that comes abundantly clear is that this season for Busch will never come close to the overall domination that Gordon poured on his competition. Gordon started the year unceremoniously with four finishes of 16th or worse in the first seven races, but scored two wins and a second in the other three. In the next six races, Gordon started off with an eighth place finish at Martinsville, four straight Top 5 finishes at Talladega, California, Charlotte and Dover — including a win at Charlotte — and a 37th place finish at Richmond. But after that point in time, Gordon was simply unbelievable. In the next 20 races, he finished outside of the Top 5 only — once,_ and that was a seventh place finish at Phoenix in the 31st race of the season. His final totals in 33 races included 13 victories, six second place finishes, 26 Top 5 finishes and 28 Top 10s. 39% of the time that Gordon took the green flag that season, he was the first driver to see the checkered flag. 79% of the time he came home in the Top 5 and 85% of his races were Top 10 efforts.
In the modern era of NASCAR Cup racing — 1972 through the present day — there have only been two drivers who have had better numbers than Gordon, but they didn’t have the total package. In 1972, Bobby Allison scored 25 Top 5 and 27 Top 10 finishes during a 31 race season which translates to an 81% and 87% Top 5 and 10 finishing percentage. However, he was only able to win 10 races that season which was a 32% winning percentage. The following year, Richard Petty posted the modern era victory record, which was equaled by Gordon, of 13 victories in a season, and did that in three fewer races. That meant that Petty won 43% of the races he entered that season. However, he only scored 21 Top 5s and 24 Top 10s, so his percentages were 70% and 80%, which both fall short of Gordon’s numbers.
Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip also had seasons in the modern era that were close to Gordon’s level of proficiency, but both fell short of Gordon’s impressive numbers. The only other driver who would have had a shot at Gordon’s results was David Pearson. Pearson only ran 18 races in 1973, but won 11 of them, which is a remarkable 61% of the races he entered. He scored 14 Top 5s and Top 10s for a 78% clip, but Pearson didn’t run all of the races for that season, so his numbers are more for speculation of what might have been versus what actually was.
While he has not been mathematically eliminated from equaling Gordon’s Top 5 numbers, Busch would have to finish in the Top 5 for all of the remaining 14 races on the schedule and that would still leave him short of the Top 10 percentage. However, Busch is on pace, at this point in the season, to surpass Gordon’s victory numbers. In 1998 Gordon won his eighth race of the season the week after Watkins Glen at Michigan, which happened to be his fourth win in a sequence of four consecutive victories in the middle of the season. It was the 21st race of that season versus the 22nd race of the season that Busch just won this past weekend at the Glen. Under that scenario, Busch would need to win six of the remaining 14 races on the schedule to surpass Gordon’s single season record. To save you from pulling out your calculator, that is 42.8% of the races left to be run. So far this year, Busch has won 36.4% of the races, which roughly means if he can slightly increase the pace that he has established already this year, he will indeed beat Gordon’s record by a single victory.
Throughout NASCAR history there have been historic runs and record breaking seasons. This season it is Kyle Busch that is on the run that everyone else is envious of and, if he can add just a bit more to his pace, he’ll write his name in the record book alone next to the title for most victories in a single season.
Mike Neff is a Senior Writer at Frontstretch.com. You can reach him at mike.neff@frontstretch.com and don’t forget to check out his weekly Power Rankings on Wednesdays and Picks N Pans column on Thursdays!
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
No “Mind Games” Intended Towards Kyle Busch — Just The Truth
by Tommy Thompson
Did You Notice? Junior Stressed Out? Said Rained Out? And Why Did McDowell Pout?
by Tom Bowles
Mirror Driving : Road Ringers Lose, Mears On The Move, And Young Guns Get The Boot
by the Frontstretch Staff
Frontstretch Sprint Cup Power Rankings : Top 15 After Watkins Glen
as compiled by Mike Neff
Kyle Busch May Break The Unbreakable Record
by Mike Neff
Top Ten Foreseeable Problems With NASCAR In China
by Jeff Meyer
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA
Q. When and where was the first Grand National race run with restrictor plates?
Check back Thursday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Tuesday’s Answer
Q. He was the first two time Grand National Champion. Who is he?
A.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them Matt Taliaferro’s way at matt.taliaferro@frontstretch.com ; and if you’re lucky, you’ll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Fanning The Flames returns Thursday with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
TOMORROW IN THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
- Find out What’s Vexing Vito this week, as he rants and raves about pop culture … and NASCAR, too.
TOMORROW ON THE FRONTSTRETCH
by Matt McLaughlin
It’s the week after a road course, a Toyota won and the Chase is four races away. Some of the Editors think Matt’s going to treat us to a “What’s right about NASCAR” column this week. This Editor thinks they are sadly mistaken…
Fanning the Flames
by Matt Taliaferro
Once again, Matt’s out to answer questions and comments directed at him by you – our loyal fans! If you’ve got something to say, don’t hesitate to email him at matt.taliaferro@frontstretch.com.
Voices From the Heartland
by Jeff Meyer
Better get your fill of Voices this week, because next week Jeff will be on his way to Bristol and, well… let’s just say it’s a whole celebratory week, and Tennessee is known for their tasty beverages.
Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo
By Bryan Keith & Mike Neff
With only four weeks left until the Chase, Bryan and Mike are here to make sure your team is in shape to take the checkers at Homestead this season.
Side-by-Side : NASCAR / Discrimination
By Bryan Keith & Doug Turnbull
A spirited debate as to whether the latest race and gender revelations have made the Mauricia Grant lawsuit will reach the national consciousness — or simply die on the vine.
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Today’s Top News
Joey Logano to Make Sprint Cup Debut at Richmond
Joey Logano, the hottest phenom on the NASCAR Nationwide Series circuit, has been scheduled to make his Sprint Cup Series debut at the Richmond International Raceway on September 6th. Logano will then run a total of 6-7 Cup races during the balance of the 2008 season, with further race dates to be hammered out within the next few weeks. Gatorade will provide primary sponsorship for Logano’s Cup entry.
In the meantime, Logano has been scheduled to run the ARCA Re/MAX Series event at Talladega with the Venturini Motorsports team (who fielded Logano’s winning car in the ARCA race at Rockingham) in an effort to gain certification from NASCAR to run on superspeedways. Logano was unable to run the Nationwide race at Daytona in July because he had never run a restrictor plate event.
While no announcement has been made as to Logano’s ride for 2009, fellow Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin drove a nearly identical schedule the season prior to his being named the full-time driver of the No. 11 Cup car. Logano is currently the front-runner for JGR’s No. 20 ride now that Ryan Newman and Martin Truex, Jr. will not be taking the seat.
Baker Curb Racing Lays Off 15 Employees, Shuts Down No. 37 Team
Effective Monday, Baker Curb Racing has reduced itself to a one-car team, laying off 15 employees and shutting down its No. 37 Nationwide Series car until a sponsor can be secured. The No. 37 has been fielded in a part-time effort by the organization, but has run all season without primary sponsorship.
“I’m not crazy about layoffs, but that’s what we had to do,” said team co-owner Gary Baker. “We just temporarily cut back from a two-car team to a one-car team.”
The team is actively seeking sponsorship for its No. 37, and hopes to have the car back on track before the season opener at Daytona in 2009.
In other news with the team, the position of crew chief of Brad Coleman’s No. 27Ford car has been filled by team engineer Jeff White, replacing the outgoing Shawn Parker. Coleman also plans to make his Sprint Cup debut this week behind the wheel of Hall of Fame Racing’s No. 96.
MWR announced today what you already knew: Michael McDowell was out of his No. 00 Cup car for the foreseeable future. The rookie will miss races at Michigan, Bristol, and Fontana in favor of veteran Mike Skinner, who will provide the team with feedback designed to get their team back under control.
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