September 5, 2008
By Rebecca Gladden
With just one race to go in the 26-race regular season, most pundits have already declared the NASCAR Chase for the Championship a two, at most a three-man race.
The "two" would be Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, currently first and second in the point standings, who've combined to win 14 of 25 races this season - eight by Busch and six by Edwards. Some include Jimmie Johnson in the mix, who's won three races, including last week's Pepsi 500, and ranks third in points.
Those race wins will be particularly important once the Chase starts just over a week from now. The top 12 drivers in points will be the only ones competing for the Sprint Cup during the final 10-race period. They will start the Chase with an equal number of points, with an additional ten bonus points for each regular season race win. That gives Busch, Edwards and Johnson an advantage right out of the gate.
But before we inscribe one of their names on the Sprint Cup trophy, I thought I would point up some intriguing statistics from the '08 season that might surprise you, as we look ahead to the Chase kickoff after this weekend's Richmond race:
Q. Who has completed the most laps this season?
A. Travis Kvapil = 7057.
Q. Who leads the series in quality passes (passing a car in the top 15 under green)?
A. David Ragan = 1147.
Q. Who leads the series in passes in the frontstretch?
A. Kasey Kahne = 728.
Q. Who leads the series in passes in the backstretch?
A. Elliott Sadler = 405.
Q. Who leads the series in the total number of completed passes this year?
A. Jeff Burton = 2091.
Q. Who is tied with Carl Edwards for top-10 finishes over the last five races?
A. Kevin Harvick = five top-10s.
Q. Who has the best starting position over the last ten races?
A. Jeff Gordon = 8.2.
Q. Who is the only driver to finish on the lead lap in all of the last ten races?
A. Tony Stewart.
Q. Who completed the most miles over the last ten races?
A. Tony Stewart = 3615.85.
Q. Who has the best driver rating at the ten Chase tracks in points-paying races from '05-'08?
A. Kevin Harvick = 118.9.
Of course, there are plenty of statistical categories led by Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson - though statistically, I believe Edwards is the leading contender for the title.
But I did want to point out that there are many other great drivers out there - not just in the Chase, but throughout the series - including several past champions (Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte), Daytona 500 winners, rookies of the year, and drivers who've been successful in other forms of racing.
I suspect most fans already realize this.
I just hope the TV and print media will remember this during the Chase, and avoid the temptation to cover it as the Kyle-versus-Carl show to the exclusion of everyone else.
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