drivers can call this speedway their home track, as most teams house their base operations in the greater Charlotte area. So when the traveling bands of pit crews and race drivers return home, they hang their helmets in Charlotte.
The following drivers have the best odds of pulling out a top finish this weekend. The rankings are based on drivers’ history at this track including practice & qualifying runs, key in-race stats and final results. Drivers’ history at tracks of similar size and layout are included. Then by factoring in results from the last month of racing, the ever-powerful momentum is captured. Finally, drivers get a mulligan. The occasional “off” race won’t unduly harm them in the rankings.
TOP TWENTY-FIVE
1)
48Jimmie Johnson
2)17Matt Kenseth
3)22Kurt Busch
4)99Carl Edwards
5)18Kyle Busch
6)14Tony Stewart
7)29Kevin Harvick
8)11Denny Hamlin
9)2Brad Keselowski
10)16Greg Biffle
11)24Jeff Gordon
12)4Kasey Kahne
13)5Mark Martin
14)20Joey Logano
15)33Clint Bowyer
16)6David Ragan
17)31Jeff Burton
18)00David Reutimann
19)88Dale Earnhardt Jr.
20)39Ryan Newman
21)1Jamie McMurray
22)9Marcos Ambrose
23)56Martin Truex Jr.
24)83Brian Vickers
25)42Juan Pablo Montoya
SELECT DRIVER STATS
1 - Carl Edwards (No. 99 AFLAC Ford)
• Four top fives, seven top 10s
• Average finish of 13.3 in 13 races
• Average Running Position of 16.7, 12th-best
• Driver Rating of 86.1, 11th-best
• 99 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-most
• 1,019 Green Flag Passes, third-most
• 2,445 Laps in the Top 15 (52.7%), 11th-most
• 479 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), eighth-most
2 - Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet)
• One win, two top fives, five top 10s
• Average finish of 19.1 in 21 races
• Average Running Position of 21.0, 22nd-best
• Driver Rating of 71.7, 24th-best
• 973 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
3 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's / Chevrolet 100th Anniversary Chevrolet)
• Six wins, 10 top fives, 14 top 10s; three poles
• Average finish of 10.8 in 20 races
• Series-best Average Running Position of 8.2
• Series-best Driver Rating of 112.8
• Series-high 428 Fastest Laps Run
• 950 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
• Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 176.082 mph
• Series-high 3,917 Laps in the Top 15 (84.5%)
• Series-high 676 Quality Passes
4 - Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• One pole
• Average finish of 19.5 in four races
• Average Running Position of 17.9, 15th-best
• Driver Rating of 74.2, 21st-best
5 - Matt Kenseth (No. 17 FLUIDMASTER Ford)
• One win, six top fives, 12 top 10s
• Average finish of 14.9 in 24 races
• Average Running Position of 15.3, eighth-best
• Driver Rating of 92.1, fifth-best
• 217 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
• 941 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 175.044 mph, ninth-fastest
• 2,892 Laps in the Top 15 (62.4%), fourth-most
• 550 Quality Passes, third-most
6 - Kurt Busch (No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ultra Dodge)
• One win, five top fives, six top 10s
• Average finish of 19.7 in 22 races
• Average Running Position of 17.4, 14th-best
• Driver Rating of 85.1, 13th-best
• 171 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
• 2,487 Laps in the Top 15 (53.6%), 10th-most
• 450 Quality Passes, 12th-most
7 - Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
• One win, six top fives, 11 top 10s
• Average finish of 13.8 in 25 races
• Average Running Position of 16.3, 11th-best
• Driver Rating of 82.2, 14th-best
• 147 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
• 957 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 175.135 mph, seventh-fastest
8 - Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M's Toyota)
• Five top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 17.7 in 15 races
• Average Running Position of 10.4, second-best
• Driver Rating of 106.5, second-best
• 362 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• 879 Green Flag Passes, 13th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 175.935 mph, second-fastest
• 3,601 Laps in the Top 15 (77.6%), second-most
• 658 Quality Passes, second-most
9 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy / National Guard / Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet)
• Five top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
• Average finish of 19.4 in 24 races
• Average Running Position of 21.1, 23rd-best
• Driver Rating of 77.8, 18th-best
• 135 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
• 1,026 Green Flag Passes, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 174.825 mph, 13th-fastest
• 1,962 Laps in the Top 15 (42.3%), 13th-most
• 404 Quality Passes, 13th-most
10 - Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger / Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet)
• Five wins, 16 top fives, 20 top 10s; eight poles
• Average finish of 15.8 in 37 races
• Average Running Position of 16.1, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 88.3, seventh-best
• 164 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 175.141 mph, sixth-fastest
• 2,573 Laps in the Top 15 (55.5%), ninth-most
• 456 Quality Passes, 11th-most
11 - Ryan Newman (No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet)
• Four top fives, seven top 10s; nine poles
• Average finish of 20.9 in 21 races
• Average Running Position of 19.1, 21st-best
• Driver Rating of 74.8, 20th-best
12 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota)
• One top five, five top 10s
• Average finish of 16.6 in 12 races
• Average Running Position of 14.4, seventh-best
• Driver Rating of 87.2, ninth-best
• 118 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 174.869 mph, 12th-fastest
• 2,786 Laps in the Top 15 (65.7%), sixth-most
• 473 Quality Passes, ninth-most
HIGHLIGHTS
• Joe Lee Johnson won the first race, in 1960.
• Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in poles, with nine. Jeff Gordon has eight.
• Jeff Gordon won five straight poles for the spring races between 1994 and 1998.
• 44 drivers have won races, led by Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and Jimmie Johnson, with six each.
• There have been 13 back-to-back victories, and four straight by Jimmie Johnson from 2004-2005.
• A sweep has occurred eight times, including each season from 2004-2007.
• 14 races have been won from the pole, the last by Jimmie Johnson (October, 2009).
• Joey Logano is the only driver with more than two starts at Charlotte to average a top-10 finish (7.4).
• A number of active drivers earned their first win at CMS: Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and David Reutimann.
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