Showing posts with label All-Star Race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All-Star Race. Show all posts

Thursday, May 15, 2014

2014 All-Star Race Preview

Random Stats on the NASCAR All-Star Race


By Richard Tix

Well I said this week I wouldn't have many articles. Then I released a Power Rankings Review Article. Ok, still under my normal amount of NASCAR coverage. The same day I also released this weeks, This Week in NASCAR: 5/12. Then I released a Danica Partick Driver Spotlight. Up to three articles, didn't I say this was a bye week on the blog? Wait, I released 2014 All-Star Week as well this week? Man, I can not just sit back and relax! 

So, here we are...A week where I wasn't going to have many articles and I'm already long gone, I may as well write up a fast preview to this weekends ASR. All this article is going to contain is some random stats and links for more All-Star Weekend information, so enjoy!


Random Facts:
  • This will be the 30th All-Star Race. First race was held on 1985.
  • In 1986 the race was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is the only All-Star Race not held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
  • Bill Elliott won the 1986 race at Atlanta.
  • Jimmie Johnson has the most All-Star Race wins (2006, 2006, 2012, 2013).
  • In 29 races there have been 19 different winners.
  • Jimmie Johnson (2012 and 2013) and Davie Allison (1991 and 1992) have both won back to back.
  • Jeff Gordon is the youngest to win the ASR at 23 years, 9 months, 18 days (1995).
  • Of current drivers, Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon have run the most races, 20 times.
  • Of current drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr has the most top 10's with 11 in 14 tries. Matt Kenseth has the second most with 10 in 13 tries.
  • Of current drivers Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart have the most top 5's with 8. 
  • Of current drivers 12 drivers have a ASR win. This includes Michael Waltrip and Terry Labonte. 
  • Mark Martin is the oldest driver to win the ASR at 46 years, 4 months, and 12 days (2005).
  • Terry Labonte won the first Pole in 1985.
  • Of current drivers Jimmie Johnson had led the most laps at the ASR (218). Kyle Busch has led the second most 201 in only 8 career tries.
  • 16 drivers have won the Pole for the ASR. Bill Elliott has won a career high 5 Poles.
  • Of current drivers Kyle Busch has the most career Poles with 3. 
  • The All-Star Race has been won from the Pole 4 times, most recently 2010 by Kurt Busch.
  • The furthest back a winner has started was 27th in 2002 (Ryan Newman).
  • Of current drivers Jeff Gordon has logged the most All-Star Race laps (1,624).
  • 9 current drivers gave an average finish of 10 and under. Joey Logano leads with an average finish of 4.3 in 3 career starts. 



So hopefully now you are ready for All Star Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The schedule above should get you by if you are looking for when to catch the action on TV. I will be in Iowa this weekend for the Nationwide race, but I will hopefully be down there in time to catch everything at Charlotte.  I am really pulling for Josh Wise to get in on the fan vote because I think that would be an awesome story and a huge win for him and Dogecoin. The fact that we are even talking about the possibility of him beating out Danica is an accomplishment of its own. 

Normally I hold off on my race winner predictions until after cars hit the track, but this week I will go out on a limb and state it right here on NASCAR Behind the Wall. I am going to take Joey Logano to win the All-Star Race in his 4th try. He has a great track record here in only 3 All Star races and he is off to his best season in his young career.

Jimmie Johnson is the safe bet this weekend to run well and win. He can extend his career leading 4 ASR wins to 5 this year and make it 3 straight. I also will go out on a limb and think Tony Stewart could finally have a bounce back race in a race that gives him no points. In his 15 All-Star starts he has some awesome stats to back that idea up, but 2014 has been a shaky start (which is nothing new to Smoke). Maybe he will start his "Summer run" at Charlotte? 

If you need more, check out those links above. 2014 All Star Week has a lot of great links for all the ASR info you need. It also has some past video's of some cool ASR moment's. ThisSportz also has early fantasy advice for Charlotte next week so check that out. Also, if you are in the mood to watch some old NASCAR races, check out Avery Hage's new blog! He is making finding old race footage easy by giving fans easy year by year links to YouTube videos on NASCAR Video Archive. I have also added a link to his blog and ThisSportz on the left NASCAR Sites/Blogs.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

2014 All-Star Week


By Richard Tix

All-Star week is my week off. This week there will be no race previews, or reviews, or after race power rankings. So to get you through the week NASCAR Behind the Wall will dedicate a All-Star Week Article with some interesting notes and some past photos and video clips.


Articles:




Tweets, Photos, and Videos:


2013: Race Highlights
I figured we would start with a video of some race highlights from last years All-Star Race won by Jimmie Johnson.


1987
Cool interview video on the 1987 All-Star Race where Dale Earnhardt won. Cool footage of the race as well.


Top 5
Top 5 All-Star moments video.

Jimmie Johnson wins the 2013 All Star Race, his 4th.

Carl Edwards wins the 20011 All Star Race, His first and only.

Tony Stewart wins in 2009.

Announced April 29th

BG goes for a ride with Harvick



BG and Kevin Harvick April 29th in Charlotte



Rookie Press Conf.



For full explanation visit NASCAR.com 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Power Rankings Review: All-Star Week


By Richard Tix

NASCAR is heading to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race and that means one thing on NASCAR Behind the Wall, bye week. Well, only a by week from Race Previews and Reviews. So, instead of the normal articles, this week I will pass the time with a Power Rankings Review. Also coming this week is an 2014 All-Star Week article with photo's, videos, and articles from the past and present.

Lets take a look at the Power Ranking Review. NASCAR Behind the Wall will take this weeks rankings (Week 11) and take a look at how each driver has ranked in the Power Rankings from week to week. Some guys have not fallen out of the rankings all year (Gordon, Kenseth, and Dale Jr) while others just got into the ranking for the first time (Kasey Kahne). Each driver has had a different season so far so lets start off by looking at who has held the top spot each week and then dive into each driver.

Who's Number 1?
Week
Driver
Race
Finish That Week
Week 1
Dale Earnhard Jr
Daytona
1st
Week 2
Dale Earnhard Jr
Phoenix
2nd
Week 3
Dale Earnhard Jr
Las Vegas
2nd
Week 4
Brad Keselowski
Bristol
14th
Week 5
Carl Edwards
Auto Club
10th
Week 6
Dale Earnhard Jr
Martinsville
3rd
Week 7
Jeff Gordon
Texas
2nd
Week 8
Jeff Gordon
Darlington
7th
Week 9
Jeff Gordon
Richmond
2nd
Week 10
Kyle Busch
Talladega
12th
Week 11
Jeff Gordon
Kansas
1st



1. Jeff Gordon

#24 Jeff Gordon
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
7
5
4
2
3
5
1
1
1
3
1

Well Jeff Gordon heads into the All-Star Race at Charlotte as our Power Rankings leader and NASCAR's Points leader. Gordon has had a great 2014 start after an offseason that had rumors of retirement swirling. On NASCAR Behind the Wall Gordon has been no slouch either as he has held the top spot in the rankings 4 weeks (4 of the last 5). He also hasn't left the top 5 since starting off the year in 7th after Daytona.

2. Kevin Harvick

#4 Kevin Harvick
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
8
4
11
NR
NR
NR
NR
8
7
2
2

From week to week Harvick has been a contender to win but he has yet to hold the top spot in the Power Rankings. Consistency will still be key to winning a Championship in 2014, but as of last "Happy" has turned it on. He has been a runner up the past two weeks (to Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon).

3. Matt Kenseth

#20 Matt Kenseth
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
2
6
7
5
2
3
2
2
2
4
3

Matt Kenseth has had a very good 2014 season, but we have yet to see that greatness that he had in 2013. In the Power Rankings we see the same thing. He has held a 2nd or 3rd spot 7 times in 11 weeks yet he has yet to hold the #1 spot. Kenseth is also still in the no win category on the season, but I am sure we will see a change in that soon.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr

#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
1
1
1
3
4
1
7
4
5
4
6

Our early season Power Rankings leader, Dale Jr has held the #1 spot 4 weeks, including the first 3 weeks of the 2014 season. He and Jeff Gordon has held the top spot in 8 of the first 11 weeks and are the #1 spot week leaders (both held it 4 weeks total). Both drivers also are tied for the longest stretch of holding the #1 spot (3 weeks). As of late Jr has looked human in the rankings and just can't get back over the hump.

5. Kyle Busch

#18 Kyle Busch
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
5
7
9
NR
7
6
3
3
4
1
5

Kyle Busch's 2014 season got off to a slow start and it showed in the Power Rankings (Even dropping out in week 4). But in the last 5 weeks Rowdy has turned it around with a bit more consistency, including staying out of trouble at Talladega and taking the #1 spot for a week. Kyle has still yet to be dominant from week to week so there is still more to be desired on the season.

6. Joey Logano

#22 Joey Logano
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
9
8
5
NR
NR
9
4
9
3
7
6

Logano has been one of the fastest cars on the track all season, but the problem has been staying away from bad luck or problems. When he is on he is on, but the rankings will never show that unless you stay hot for periods of time. One thing is for sure, JoLo has been having his best season of his young career. If he keeps it up he may just contend for a title in 2014.

7. Carl Edwards

#99 Carl Edwards
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
NR
11
6
4
1
4
5
5
6
10
7

Carl Edwards has had a quiet season in 2014 but he has been hanging around. Just like 2013, Carl has an early season win which helped him take the top spot in the Power Rankings for one week (Week 5). Hopefully for Carl's sake, the end of his season doesnt go like 2013 where he completely fell off. Also to note, still no word on his contract talk for 2015 and on.

8. Greg Biffle

#16 Greg Biffle
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
11
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
11
11
5
8

Greg Biffle started the season off with an 8th place finish at Daytona and entered the season off in the Power Rankings, but he then hit a 5 race skid where he had one top 15 (12th at Bristol). Currently though, the Biff is on a 5 race stretch where he has finishes of 6, 5, 15, 2, and 16th and it shows in the Rankings. He now has been back in the Power Rankings for four straight weeks.

9. Kyle Larson

#42 Kyle Larson
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
NR
NR
NR
NR
11
NR
12
10
12
8
9

Kyle Larson is having a pretty good Rookie Campaign in 2014 and it shows. He has held the most weeks in the Rankings of any rookie. He also has been in the rankings the past 5 weeks and 6 or 7 weeks. Not too bad for just a kid. Not to mention he is 13th in the Sprint Cup Standings.

10. Kasey Kahne

#5 Kasey Kahne
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
10

Well, this is a boring Power Rankings stat line to look at. To say Kahne has had a rough start to 2014 is an understatement. Finally, after 11 races Kasey Kahne has broke through and into the NASCAR Behind the Wall Power Rankings after a 3rd place finish at Kansas. Lucky for him, NASCAR is hitting some track that Kasey should do well at including Charlotte.

11. Brian Vickers

#55 Brian Vickers
Week 1
Week 2
 Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
 Week 11
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
11
NA
NA
11
11

Brian Vickers has had a nice bounce back season since his health battles the past few seasons. When it comes to the Power Rankings he has finally broke through as of late, but hasn't moved from that 11th place spot. His last few races have been up and down but he is still 10th in the Sprint Cup Standings.

12. Jimmie Johnson

#48 Jimmie Johnson
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
4
2
3
6
5
2
9
6
10
NR
12

Can you believe we are 11 races into the 2014 season and JJ still doesn't have a win? How about the fact that JJ hasn't reached my #1 spot yet? Or the fact that just last week (Week 10) JJ fell out of the Power Rankings? Some fans maybe fretting, but JJ is still 7th in the Sprint Cup Standings even though all those statements are true. Which can only mean one thing, JJ still has something left to give in the 2014 season and other drivers may have to watch out when the #48 team gets it going.



That's it for the Power Rankings Review. I will most likely come back to this Power Ranking Review style of looking at the rankings again later this year. Until then, check out the weekly Pit Road which is a race review and current Power Rankings. Also, come back for weekly TV/Race Schedules, Driver Entry Lists, NASCAR News and Links, and Race Previews.