NASCAR Cup

Top 10 drivers - and beyond 2007-03-19

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 19, 2007) -- Below is a look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10 along with some other notable drivers, going into the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25. *** 1 -- Mark Martin (No. 01 U.S. Army ...

Edited: Mar 27, 2007, 4:34 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 19, 2007) -- Below is a look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 10 along with some other notable drivers, going into the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25.

***

1 -- Mark Martin (No. 01 U.S. Army Chevrolet)

The File:
* 48-years-old from Batesville, Ark., 35 career wins
* Four consecutive top 10s; three top fives
* Average finish of 5.5 this season
* Led in three of four races for 42 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* Two wins, 15 top fives and 21 top 10s; seven poles
* 12.825 average finish
* Finished sixth and 28th, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in 18 of his 40 Bristol races for a total of 957 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Average Running Position of 9.517; second best

***

2 -- Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)

The File:
* 35-years-old from Vallejo, Calif., 75 career wins
* Two top fives, three top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 6.5 this season
* Led in three of four races for 143 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* Five wins, 11 top fives, 17 top 10s; four poles
* 11.786 average finish
* Finished 21st and fifth, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in 22 of his 28 Bristol races for a total of 2,429 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 542 passes, most of any driver; 76 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

***

3 -- Jeff Burton (No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet)

The File:
* 39-years-old from South Boston, Va., 18 career wins
* Three top fives, four top 15s this season
* Average finish of 6.5 this season
* Led in three of four races for 24 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* Six top fives, 10 top 10s
* 19.192 average finish
* Finished 34th and ninth, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in five of his 26 Bristol races for a total of 318 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Average Running Position of 8.079, best of any driver; 403 Quality Passes, most of any driver

***

4 -- Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet)

The File:
* 31-years-old from El Cajon, Calif., 25 career wins
* Two wins, three top fives this season
* Eight top fives in last 10 races
* Average finish of 11.0
* Led in three of four races for 255 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* Two top fives, six top 10s
* 15.5 average finish
* Finished 30th and 10th, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in three of his 10 Bristol races for a total of 29 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-leading Driver Rating of 113.6

***

5 -- Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford)

The File:
* 35-years-old from Cambridge, Wis., 15 career wins
* One win, three top fives; Average finish of 8.75
* Led in all four races for 151 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* Two wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
* 10.714 average finish
* Finished third and first, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in seven of his 14 Bristol races for a total of 742 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Third-best Driver Rating of 107.8

***

6 -- Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet)

The File:
* 35-years-old from Columbus, Ind., 29 career wins
* One top five, two top 10s
* Average finish of 15.0
* Led three of four races for 184 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* One win, four top fives, five top 10s
* 16.625 average finish
* Finish 12th and 22nd, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led seven of his 16 Bristol races for 828 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Pass Differential of 132, best of any driver (number of cars passed compared to the number of times passed under green flag conditions)

***

7 -- Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)

The File:
* 31-years-old from Bakersfield, Calif., 11 career victories
* One win
* Average finish of 17.5 this season
* Led in three of four races for eight laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* One win, six top fives, eight top 10s
* 10.583 average finish
* Finished second and 11th, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in seven of his 12 Bristol events for a total of 349 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 31 Fastest Laps Run, eighth most

***

8 -- Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet)

The File
* 26-years-old from Chesterfield, Va., two career wins
* One top five; two top 20s
* Average finish of 15.25

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* One top 10 in two starts
* 10.0 average finish
* Finished 14th and sixth, respectively, last season at Bristol

Loop Data Highlight:
* 16 positions improved in last 10% of laps run, making him the fifth best Closer

***

9 -- Clint Bowyer (No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet)

The File:
* 27-years-old from Emporia, Kan., zero career wins
* Two top 10s; Average finish of 16.5; Led in three of four races for five laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* Two starts; 33.5 average finish
* Finished 29th and 38th, respectively, last season at Bristol

Loop Data Highlight:
* Average Running Position of 13.671, eighth best

***

10 -- Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford)

The File:
* 27-years-old from Columbia, Mo., four career wins
* Two consecutive top 10s
* Average finish of 16.25
* Led in one race for three laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* One top five, two top 10s
* 18.8 average finish
* Finished fourth and seventh, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in one of his five Bristol races for 16 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 339 Quality Passes, second most

***

14 -- Kyle Busch (No. 5 Kellogg's/CARQUEST Chevrolet)

The File:
* 21-years-old from Las Vegas, Nev., three career wins
* Two top 10s
* Average finish of 18.5
* Led in three of four races for 17 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* One top five, two top 10s
* 17.75 average finish
* Finished eighth and second, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in two of his four Bristol races for 35 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 302 Quality Passes, fourth best

***

20 -- Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Ford)

The File:
* 28-years-old from Las Vegas, Nev., 15 career wins
* One top 10, two top 15s
* Average finish of 21.25
* Led two of four races for 109 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* Five wins, eight top 10s
* 14.0 average finish
* Finish first and 37th, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Led in seven of his 12 Bristol races for 550 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Driver Rating of 91.7, seventh best

***

26 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet)

The File:
* 32-years-old from Kannapolis, N.C., 17 career wins
* Two top 15s
* Average finish of 24.25
* Led in one of four races for one lap

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* One win, five top fives, seven top 10s
* 12.5 average finish
* Finish 11th and third, respectively, last season at Bristol
* Has led in five of his 14 Bristol races for 742 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Fastest on the Straightaways; 279 Quality Passes, fifth most

***

36 -- Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge)

The File:
* 26-years-old from Enumclaw, Wash., seven career wins
* One top 10; one pole
* 29.75 average finish
* Led in two of four races for 33 laps

Bristol Motor Speedway Outlook:
* One top 10
* 23.167 average finish
* Finish 10th and 12th, respectively, last season at Bristol

-credit: nascar

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Top 10 drivers - and beyond 2007-03-12

Next article Bristol: GM Racing pre-race notes

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

22 min

McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"

2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Indonesian GP

2 h

2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more

Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

10 h

Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race

FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

14 h

FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts