The Sprint Cup Series opened the season last weekend with the highly anticipated running of the Daytona 500 at the Daytona Speedway. The race was the first time that the cars had raced at Daytona without a week of testing and there were a lot of concerns initially on how the lack of testing would affect the teams, especially the newer teams that had not raced at Daytona in the past.  Martin Truex Jr captured the pole on Sunday qualifying while Mark Martin would take the outside pole. The rest of the Daytona 500 was determined on Thursday as Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch captured wins in the Gatorade Duel qualifying races. So with the field set, it looked like this race would boil down to a Hendrick-Gibbs duel and Chevrolet vs Toyota for the win. With the drop of the green flag, it was Kyle Busch eventually working his way to the lead and was dominant in fact that he led 88 laps early on. But a race mix-up between two cars that were non-factors at that time caused a 10-car accident and took Busch out of the race as a result. With rain threatening to halt the race, Matt Kenseth took the lead from Elliott Sadler and one lap later the caution flag would drop for rain, the red flag followed and after just 18 minutes on pit road, the race was called. Matt Kenseth was awarded the victory and while his win was popular in the garage, it wasn’t well accepted by the fans. My mailbox was crammed with fan e-mail stating that they felt NASCAR ripped them off because they did not attempt to restart this race and finish it.  I would agree that I don’t think that NASCAR should have called this race with the overall importance of this race to the sport, especially with a quarter of the race left that was not raced.  I am sure the outcome of the race would have been entirely different and in that way I feel that we all were sort of ripped off also. But the rules are the rules according to NASCAR, the race was officially past the half way mark and they felt that there would be no drying the track in time for a race restart.  So the race is what it was, however disappointed many of us fans are with the non-eventful ending.

The king of the pole this week in the last (10) ten races that have been held at the California Speedway is none other then Kurt Busch who has three poles under his belt, with all three coming in the last six races. Before Busch started his pole tirade, there had never been a driver that had taken more then one pole. The other pole winners in the last 10 races at California include Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and finally the weather took the pole in the 2006 race. Taking the pole at California had never turned into a win for any of these drivers in the last (10) ten races, with just three of them having finished in the Top 10 until Jimmie Johnson finally pulled off that feat in last years falls race.  The pole winner's average finish is just so-so at 11.00.  In just five of the last ten races did the race winner start within the Top 10. In the other five races the winners started and won the race from as far back as 16th, 17th, 24th, 25th and 31st. Carl Edwards won the spring race last year after starting from the 9th position. The starting average of the race winner at California has been a whopping 14.00. Kasey Kahne has the best starting average here, with an 8.10 average start in his ten races there. Jimmie Johnson is next up with a 9.40 average start followed by AJ Allmendinger with a 10.00 average start. Rounding out the Top 5 is Martin Truex Jr with 10.17 average start and finally Jeff Gordon checks in with a 10.30 average start. By looking at the Top 5 here, you know the young guns like this California track a lot, at least in qualifying.

The top driver at California is a Hendrick driver and probably the one you might have thought it was. If you guessed Jimmie Johnson, you would be correct. Jimmie has been in all of the last ten races and in those races he has established a pretty incredible finishing average of 5.40.  He qualifies really well also with a 9.40 starting average so he moves up thru the field well after the green flag has dropped, picking up an average of four positions per race. In his ten races, Jimmie has won two races, including last years fall race. He has seven Top 5 and seven Top 10 finishes overall. All his Top 10 finishes have been in the Top 5, so you could say either he is exceptionally good or just average when it comes to races at California. Jimmie finished the spring race last year in 3rd and you can bet that he will be running in the Top 10 most of this race unless he has some mechanical problems. A win would be huge in his quest for his 4th straight Championship. The next best driver at California is a Roush driver and that guy is Carl Edwards. Edwards has managed to finish in the Top 10 in eight of his nine races at this track. He has finished in 3rd place, 4th place in two, 5th place, 6^th twice, 29th and last year he had his best career finish at California, winning the Auto Club 500. Overall, that gives him a 6.67 average finish and that comes after establishing a starting average of 17.78 so he manages to move forward through the field very well, picking up over eleven positions a race. Carl had a so-so race last week at Daytona and this race will be a test to see if they are going to be real contenders this year. All the Roush cars do very well at California and it would not be any surprise to see Edwards lead the Roush crowd this weekend and considering his past record, it will probably be a Top 5 finish.

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
1	Jimmie Johnson	10	9.40	1	2	7	7	5.40
2	Carl Edwards	9	17.78	1	1	6	8	6.67

 

The 3rd best driver at California is none other then Matt Kenseth, last week’s winner of the Daytona 500. Matt checks in with the 3rd best average finish of 8.50 average finish in his last ten races at California. Matt as he is on most tracks, isn't one of the best in qualifying here checking in with an average start of 22.85, so he picks up about fourteen positions per race. In the last ten races here, Matt has finished in the Top 10 in eight of them and has five Top 5 finishes, including winning this same race in two of the last three years at California. His best races here seem to come in the spring races here so I would look for Matt to make some noise this Sunday in the Auto Club 500.  Matt would like nothing better then to notch another win here on Sunday for the Roush crowd and start the 2009 season out with two straight wins.  Next up is another Hendrick driver, Mark Martin, who checks in here with a 9.25 finishing average. Mark qualifies so-so at California with a 15.50 starting average so he moves forward by six positions per race. Mark has been in all but two of the last ten races that have been held at California and has always run this track well.  In the last ten races here, he has nabbed two top 5 finishes and four Top 10 finishes. He has won a race at this track in the past so you know he can get the job done at California. He has been excited about his cars at Hendrick so far and I am sure he is looking forward to being able to finish his first race in his new Hendrick digs to see how he stacks up against the rest of the field. He never really got that chance last week at Daytona so keep an eye on him this weekend.

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
3	Matt Kenseth	10	22.80	0	2	5	8	8.50
4	Mark Martin	8	15.50	0	0	2	4	9.25

 

The 5th place guy in the Top 10 this week is Kyle Busch.  Busch has looked outstanding at California after looking just pretty ordinary in his first two races here, when he finished 23rd and 24th. In his next race, he broke thru and picked up a win. He hasn't finished outside the Top 10 since, with a 10th place, an 8th, a 9^th, a 3rd and last year he finished 4th in the spring race and then 7th in the fall race. Overall then, Kyle has a 9.89 finishing average in his nine races at the California track. He has a starting average of 12.33. So he is a guy who doesn't pick up or lose too many positions a race and finishes about three positions better then where he starts. Gibbs cars do pretty well on this track and Busch had a great debut in at Daytona last week, dominating that race before getting taken out in the Dale Jr – Vickers accident. Considering his past record here, it looks like he may be a Top 10 lock on Sunday. Clint Bowyer has the 6th best average at California, checking in with a 12.00 average finish and that comes after just six races. He has been a pretty good qualifier in those six races, checking in with a 16.50 average start. So Clint has been able to move forward as well as anybody, picking up four positions on average in those six races. In his six races here, Clint has finished in the Top 10 in half of then and also has picked up one Top 5 finish. He finished 19th in last years spring race and then came home 10th in the fall race. Clint looked good in the first race at Daytona, so that may be a sign that he is not letting up after another great year last season.  It would not surprise me at all if he pulled out of California with a win but I am looking for him to have a respectable Top 10 type of race on Sunday. 

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
5	Kyle Busch	9	12.33	1	1	3	7	9.89
6	Clint Bowyer	6	16.50	0	0	1	3	12.00

 

 

 

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Our next driver this week is Kasey Kahne, who checks in with the 7th best average of 13.10 average finish in his last ten races here. Kasey also is a great qualifier here, checking in with a Top 5 starting average of 8.10. Kasey finishes five spots worst then where he starts a race but that is somewhat tainted by the two bad races that he has had here where he finished 40th and 38th.  Then outside a 13th place finish, the rest of his races all have resulted in Top 10 finishes.  Kasey is one of the past race winners here, winning the fall race back in 2006. Overall, including the win Kasey has three other Top 5 finishes here in the last ten races. Kasey is one of those drivers whom seem to be up and down all year and after a so-so race last week at Daytona, he may be up for this one and it would not surprise me to see Kahne running at the front of the pack most of the day on Sunday.  David Ragan, checks in here as the 8th best driver in this group with a 13.75 finishing average in his four races he has been in at this track. This is a track that Ragan is a horrible qualifier with a 29.50 average start. Once the green flag drops, Ragan picks up an incredible 16 positions a race. In his four races here, he has finished 12th, 13th, 14th and 16th. Considering his relative success on this type of track in the past, a Top 15 finish looks like it will be in the cards for David at California this weekend.

 

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
7	Kasey Kahne	10	8.10	1	1	3	7	13.10
8	David Ragan	4	29.50	0	0	0	0	13.75

 

The final two drivers to crack the Top 10 list are two big time guys and they are none other then Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon. Pulling up with the 9th best average at California is Kevin Harvick. Kevin checks in with a 14.40 finishing average. He doesn't qualify real well here with a 18.90 starting average so once the race starts, Harvick picks his way to the front, picking up an average of just about five positions a race. That is just pretty good. In the last ten races, Harvick has a Top 5 finish to go along with four Top 10 finishes. He finished in the Top 10 in both races last year and had his career best finish of 4th in the fall race last year.  In looking at his record at this track and considering that he is in a Childress car, I would have to consider him as a real dark horse favorite to sneak in another Top 5 finish in the Auto Club 500 on Sunday. Finally the last guy in this weeks Top 10 list is Jeff Gordon, who checks in with the 10th best average of 14.90 average finish in his last ten races here. Jeff also is a great qualifier here, checking in with a Top 5 starting average of 10.30. Jeff finishes on average of four spots worst then where he starts a race. Jeff is one of the past race winners here, winning the spring race back in 2004. Prior to the last 10 races, he also had another two wins in there also. So overall, including the win Jeff has four other Top 5 finishes here in the last ten races. Jeff didn’t crack victory lane last year but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him follow up as did Kenseth last week, with his first win in over a year. I would look for Jeff to be running at the front of the pack most of the day on Sunday. 

 

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
9	Kevin Harvick	10	18.90	0	0	1	4	14.40
10	Jeff Gordon	10	10.30	1	1	4	4	14.90

 

Now that was the 10 best drivers at California in the last 10 races at the California Speedway, now lets look at the bottom of the 10 drivers, who just don't have real good records there. 

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I normally don't spend a lot of time going over the drivers who don't do real well at certain tracks and you can pretty much see for yourself who the are. Some make the list every week and other make a rare appearance in the Bottom 10. Lets hope all of these guys that are entered in the race this Sunday can change their California luck this weekend.

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THE 10 WORST DRIVERS AT THE CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
50	Kyle Petty	10	33.50	0	0	0	0	31.90
51	Dario Franchitti	1	26.00	0	0	0	0	32.00
52	Marcos Ambrose	1	40.00	0	0	0	0	32.00
53	Regan Smith	2	21.00	0	0	0	0	33.50
54	Bill Elliott	6	23.67	0	0	0	0	33.67
55	John Andretti	4	35.25	0	0	0	0	33.75
56	Mike Skinner	1	35.00	0	0	0	0	35.00
58	Sam Hornish Jr.	2	19.50	0	0	0	0	37.00
57	Jason Leffler	1	39.00	0	0	0	0	37.00
59	Kenny Wallace	2	38.00	0	0	0	0	40.00

 

So there you have the best and the worst drivers at the California Speedway. How well they do in this race is anybodies guess but this is a good barometer. I hope all these drivers will have better luck in the Auto Club 500 on Sunday afternoon.

 

THE REST OF THE DRIVERS AT CALIFORNIA

Rank	Driver	Races	Avg Start	Poles	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Avg Finish
11	Jeff Burton	10	18.30	0	0	3	3	15.30
12	Denny Hamlin	6	12.00	0	0	1	2	15.33
13	Jamie McMurray	10	25.00	0	0	2	4	15.60
14	Tony Stewart	10	17.40	0	0	1	4	15.80
15	A.J. Allmendinger	2	10.00	0	0	0	0	16.00
16	Kurt Busch	10	11.40	3	0	1	3	16.00
17	Ryan Newman	10	13.40	0	0	2	4	16.50
18	Brian Vickers	10	13.80	1	0	1	3	16.60
19	Martin Truex Jr.	6	10.17	0	0	0	2	17.67
20	Patrick Carpentier	1	5.00	0	0	0	0	18.00
21	Greg Biffle	10	10.90	0	1	3	3	18.70
22	Mike Bliss	2	24.00	0	0	0	0	19.50
23	Dale Jarrett	8	29.38	0	0	0	2	19.88
24	Bobby Labonte	10	25.70	0	0	1	1	20.00
25	Elliott Sadler	10	19.80	0	1	1	2	20.10
26	Casey Mears	10	16.50	0	0	0	2	22.60
27	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	10	17.20	0	0	2	2	23.20
28	David Reutimann	4	28.25	0	0	0	1	24.25
29	David Gilliland	5	29.60	0	0	0	0	24.40
30	Juan Montoya	4	23.75	0	0	0	0	24.75
31	Scott Riggs	9	17.00	0	0	0	1	24.89
32	Mike Wallace	1	33.00	0	0	0	0	25.00
33	J.J. Yeley	7	20.00	0	0	0	1	25.43
34	Jeremy Mayfield	7	17.00	0	0	0	0	25.86
35	Sterling Marlin	7	19.29	0	0	0	0	26.14
36	Paul Menard	4	25.00	0	0	0	0	27.00
37	Terry Labonte	5	24.80	0	0	0	1	27.20
38	Joe Nemechek	10	17.70	0	0	0	1	27.50
39	Johnny Sauter	4	38.00	0	0	0	0	27.75
40	Robby Gordon	10	30.70	0	0	0	1	27.90
41	Kenny Schrader	8	34.38	0	0	0	0	28.00
42	Reed Sorenson	6	29.67	0	0	0	0	28.33
43	Tony Raines	4	37.25	0	0	0	0	28.75
44	Boris Said	2	31.00	0	0	0	0	30.00
45	Aric Almirola	2	25.00	0	0	0	0	30.50
46	David Stremme	4	29.25	0	0	0	0	30.50
47	Michael Waltrip	9	28.11	0	0	0	0	30.67
48	Travis Kvapil	5	34.20	0	0	0	0	31.00
49	Dave Blaney	8	26.75	0	0	0	0	31.25

 

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