NASCAR Cup

Top 12 drivers - and beyond 2007-05-30

Week 13: The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12 -- And Beyond DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 28, 2007) -- Below is a look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12, along with some other notable drivers, going into the Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa on ...

Edited: May 31, 2007, 2:04 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Week 13: The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12 -- And Beyond

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 28, 2007) -- Below is a look at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Top 12, along with some other notable drivers, going into the Autism Speaks 400 presented by Visa on June 3 at Dover International Speedway.

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

The File:
* 35-years-old from Vallejo, Calif., 78 career wins
* Three wins, nine top fives, 10 top 10s
* Five poles
* Average finish of 6.9 this season
* Led in 10 of 12 races for 674 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* Four wins, 13 top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
* 12.5 average finish
* Finished 12th and third, respectively, last season
* Led in 17 of 28 races for 2,198 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Average Running Position of 9.598, second-best

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

The File:
* 31-years-old from El Cajon, Calif., 27 career wins
* Four wins, eight top fives, nine top 10s
* Average finish of 9.9
* Led in eight of 12 races for 612 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* Three wins, four top fives, seven top 10s
* 11.4 average finish
* Finished sixth and 13th, respectively, last season
* Led in six of 10 races for a total of 553 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-high 405 Fastest Laps Run

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

The File:
* 35-years-old from Cambridge, Wis., 15 career wins
* One win, five top fives, eight top 10s
* Average finish of 8.8
* Led in 11 of 12 races for 253 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* One win, four top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
* 14.75 average finish
* Finished first and 10th, respectively, last season
* Led in 10 of 16 races for a total of 357 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-high 3,949 laps run on the lead lap

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

The File:
* 26-years-old from Chesterfield, Va., two career wins
* Five top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 10.4
* Led in seven of 12 races for 612 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* One top 10
* 10.0 average finish in two races
* Finished 11th and ninth, respectively, last season

Loop Data Highlight:
* Average Running Position of 10.618, third-best

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

The File:
* 39-years-old from S. Boston, Va., 19 career wins
* One win, five top fives, seven top 10s
* Average finish of 13.2 this season
* Led in five of 12 races for 27 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* One win, six top fives, 10 top 10s
* 17.462 average finish
* Finished fourth and first, respectively, last season
* Led in eight of 26 races for 127 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-high 829 Quality Passes -- passes of cars in the top 15 under green flag conditions

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

The File:
* 36-years-old from Columbus, Ind., 29 career wins
* Two top fives, eight top 10s
* Average finish of 14.8
* Led nine of 12 races for 647 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* Two wins, nine top fives, 11 top 10s
* 8.875 average finish
* Finished 25th and 33rd, respectively, last season
* Led 10 of 16 races for 1,066 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 295 Fastest Laps Run, third-most

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

The File:
* 31-years-old from Bakersfield, Calif., 11 career victories
* One win, two top fives, five top 10s
* Average finish of 17.1 this season
* Led in six of 12 races for 176 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* Two top fives, five top 10s
* 17.583 average finish
* Finished third and 32nd, respectively, last season
* Led in one of 12 races for a total of 133 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* Series-high 1,325 Green Flag Passes

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

The File:
* 27-years-old from Columbia, Mo., four career wins
* One top five, three top 10s
* Average finish of 15.9
* Led in three of 12 races for 37 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* One top five, two top 10s
* 12.0 average finish
* Finished 15th and second, respectively, last season
* Led in two of five races for 23 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 2,975 Laps in the Top 15, seventh-best

9 -- Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)

The File:
* 28-years-old from Las Vegas, Nev., 15 career victories
* Two top fives, three top 10s
* Average finish of 17.2 this season
* Led in seven of 12 races for 302 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* Two top fives, four top 10s
* 18.385 average finish
* Finished 16th and fourth, respectively, last season
* Led in three of 13 races for a total of 205 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 799 Quality Passes, second-most

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

The File:
* 27-years-old from Emporia, Kan., zero career wins
* Five top 10s; one pole
* Average finish of 17.1
* Led in four of 12 races for 21 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* One top 10
* 12.5 average finish in two races
* Finished 17th and eighth, respectively, last season

Loop Data Highlight:
* 2,194 Laps in the Top 15, 11th-best

11 -- 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, six top 10s
* Average finish of 19.1
* Led in seven of 12 races for 87 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* Three top fives
* 12.25 average finish
* Finished fifth and 40th, respectively, last season
* Led in two of four races for 112 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 162 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most

12 -- Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Crown Royal/IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford)

The File:
* 30-years-old from Joplin, Mo., one career win
* Two top fives, five top 10s; 18.3 average finish
* Led one of 12 races for two laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* One top five, three top 10s
* 14.5 average finish
* Finished second and 17th, respectively, last season
* Led one of eight races for 95 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 16th-fastest Green Flag Speed

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

The File:
* 32-years-old from Kannapolis, N.C., 17 career wins
* One top five, five top 10s
* Average finish of 16.7
* Led five of 12 races for 237 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* One win, three top fives, six top 10s
* 16.286 average finish
* Finished 10th and 21st, respectively, last season
* Has led in eight of 14 races for 366 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 3,270 Laps in the Top 15, second-most

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

The File:
* 30-years-old from South Bend, Ind., 12 career wins
* One top five, four top 10s; two poles
* 21.8 average finish; Led five of 12 races for 52 laps

Dover International Speedway Outlook:
* Three wins, five top fives, seven top 10s; three poles
* 9.0 average finish
* Finished 14th and 24th, respectively, last season
* Led seven of 10 races for 672 laps

Loop Data Highlight:
* 750 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Note: The first 26 races of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season determine which 12 drivers qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season.

-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 VIRginia Int'l COT test Tuesday summary

Next article Charlotte: Pit Crew Challenge winner

Top Comments

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

View More & Comment

Latest news

Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Phoenix II

28 min

Winners and losers from a Chase-altering NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix

Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 32 min

Heart of Racing rules Valkyrie GTP step next year ‘too soon’ for IMSA standout Barrichello

Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

43 min

Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"

McLaren to use final 2026 developments to test 2027 F1 car concepts

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 1 h

McLaren to use final 2026 developments to test 2027 F1 car concepts

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