NASCAR Cup

Top-12 - and beyond 2007-07-02

Week 18: The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12 - And Beyond DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2007) -- Below is a look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12 along with some other notable drivers, going into the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International ...

Published: Jul 3, 2007, 4:21 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Week 18: The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12 - And Beyond

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 2, 2007) -- Below is a look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12 along with some other notable drivers, going into the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7.

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

The File:
* 35-years-old, Vallejo, Calif., 79 career wins
* Four wins, 11 top fives, 15 top 10s
* Five poles
* Average finish of 6.5 this season
* Led 13 of 17 races for 755 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* Six wins, 10 top fives, 16 top 10s; three poles
* Average finish of 14.2
* Finished 10th in the Daytona 500
* Led 21 of 29 races for 497 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-best Closer -- 78 positions improved over the last 10% of races

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

The File:
* 26-years-old, Chesterfield, Va., three career wins
* One win, seven top fives, 11 top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 9.4
* Led 11 of 17 races for 711 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* Average finish of 25.0 in three races
* Finished 28th in the Daytona 500

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* Average Running Position of 10.9, third-best

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

The File:
* 35-years-old from Cambridge, Wis., 15 career wins
* One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
* Average finish of 12.1
* Led 11 of 17 races for 255 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* One top five, five top 10s
* Average finish of 20.1
* Finished 27th at the Daytona 500
* Led eight of 15 races for 58 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 4,925 laps run on the lead lap, second-most

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

The File:
* 31-years-old from El Cajon, Calif., 27 career wins
* Four wins, nine top fives, 10 top 10s
* Average finish of 12.8
* Led 11 of 17 races for 681 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* One win, five top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 12.2
* Finished 39th at the Daytona 500
* Led five of 11 races for 54 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-best Average Running Position of 8.8

5 -- Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet)

The File:
* 40-years-old from South Boston, Va., 19 career wins
* One win, six top fives, nine top 10s
* Average finish of 12.8
* Led in five of 17 races for 27 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* One win, six top fives, eight top 10s; one
* Average finish of 17.0
* Finished third at the Daytona 500
* Led five of 27 races for 91 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 972 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green flag conditions), second-most

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

The File:
* 36-years-old from Columbus, Ind., 29 career wins
* Four top fives, 11 top 10s
* Average finish of 14.3
* Led 12 of 17 races for 658 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* Two wins, five top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 17.2
* Finished 43rd at the Daytona 500
* Led nine of 17 races for 515 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 343 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

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

The File:
* 27-years-old from Columbia, Mo., five career wins
* One win, three top fives, five top 10s
* Average finish of 14.1
* Led eight of 17 races for 136 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* Average finish of 30.0
* Finished 23rd at the Daytona 500
* Led one of five races for two laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 3,907 Laps in the Top 15, fifth-best

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

The File:
* 31-years-old from Bakersfield, Calif., 11 career victories
* One win, three top fives, eight top 10s
* Average finish of 14.9 this season
* Led in six of 17 races for 176 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* One win, three top fives, five top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 14.9
* Won the Daytona 500
* Led nine of 12 for 85 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-high 1,635 Green Flag Passes

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

The File:
* 22-years-old from Las Vegas, Nev., four career wins
* One win, three top fives, nine top 10s
* Average finish of 16.4
* Led in eight of 17 races for 135 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* One top five
* Average finish of 23.6
* Finished 24th at the Daytona 500
* Led two of five races for nine laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 188 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best

10 -- Martin Truex Jr. (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet)

The File:
* 27-years-old from Mayetta, N.J., 1 career win
* One win, four top fives, seven top 10s
* Average finish of 16.6
* Led seven of 17 races for 333 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* Average finish of 27.0
* Finished 29th at the Daytona 500
* Led two of four races for 16 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 254 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best

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

The File:
* 28-years-old from Emporia, Kan.
* One top five, eight top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 16.5
* Led five of 17 races for 23 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* Two top 10s
* Average finish of 11.3 in three races
* Finished 18th at the Daytona 500

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* Second-best Closer -- 43 positions improved over the last 10% of races

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

The File:
* 32-years-old from Kannapolis, N.C., 17 career wins
* Three top five, seven top 10s
* Average finish of 15.1
* Led seven of 17 races for 302 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* Two wins, six top fives, nine top 10s
* Average finish of 12.8
* Finished 32nd at the Daytona 500
* Led 10 of 15 races for 319 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 4,006 Laps in the Top 15, third-most

13-- Ryan Newman (No. 12 Alltel Dodge)

The File:
* 29-years-old from South Bend, Ind., 12 career wins
* Three top fives, seven top 10s; four poles
* Average finish of 19.6
* Led eight of 17 races for 210 laps

Daytona International Speedway Outlook:
* One top five, two top 10s
* Average finish of 20.7
* Finished 38th at the Daytona 500
* Led four of 11 races for 27 laps

Season-to-Date Loop Data Highlight:
* 866 Quality Passes, seventh-most

-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 Standings after Loudon

Next article Loudon: Goodyear Racing race report

Top Comments

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

View More & Comment

Latest news

GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

1 h

GTA VI 'Vice City' blimp to appear at NASCAR championship weekend

Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance

WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 2 h

Verstappen Racing struggles to 15th as Porsche takes emotional Portimao pole

Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Singapore GP

6 h

Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”

Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Indonesian GP

7 h

Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams

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