2011, A Grand Opening

2011, A Grand Opening


All three of NASCAR’s national series have exploded out of the 2011 gate, and the storylines are aplenty going into an open week for two of those three series.
For the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, check out these stats from the first three events:
• Three different winners – first time since 2007 there hasn’t been a repeat winner in the first three races.
• Two of the first three races (Daytona and Phoenix) broke records for lead changes. Las Vegas featured 21 lead changes, the most since 2007’s track record of 28.
• Two of the three races (Phoenix and Las Vegas) had qualifying records fall.
• There has been an average of 16 leaders per race – most ever through three races.
• There has been an average of 41 lead changes – most ever through three races.
• There has been an average of 4,609 passes and 55 passes for the lead all around the track, second-most through three races since the inception of Loop Data in 2005.
• The average margin of victory is 0.834 seconds, the closest in three years.
On the NASCAR Nationwide Series end…
• The number of average lead changes – 15.3 – is the highest since 2006. And that’s with a Phoenix race that had zero lead changes.
• On that note, Kyle Busch was the dominant one at Phoenix, leading all 200 laps. It was the first time since 2003 that a driver led every single lap en route to victory.
• At Las Vegas, Danica Patrick made history, becoming the highest finishing female in NASCAR national series history with a fourth-place finish.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to the track this weekend, at Darlington Raceway. It will be the sixth running of the alliterative Too Tough To Tame 200, with a series champion winning four of the five events.

Intrigue In The Top 10
The top 10 alone has some interesting nuggets, each position a storyline in itself. Here are a few.

1. Tony Stewart: Though in a points tie with Kurt Busch, Stewart inherits the title of “points leader” due to the tie-breaker of best finish – in this case his runner-up result in Las Vegas. The last time Stewart held the points lead was Sept. 6, 2009 after Atlanta.
2. Kurt Busch: Second in points for the second consecutive week. If he can move up to the top spot, it would be the first time since April 26, 2009 after Talladega.
3. Carl Edwards: A short-lived trip outside the top 10 ended after his a win at Las Vegas, his third victory in the last five races.
4. Juan Pablo Montoya: This is the sixth time Montoya has been fourth or higher in the standings. His previous five trips were in the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
5. Ryan Newman: It has been over a year since Ryan Newman was in the top five in points – June 14, 2009 after Michigan was the last time.
6. Paul Menard: The highest ranking member of Richard Childress Racing, this is the highest Menard has ever been in the points standings. His previous high was eighth after this year’s Daytona 500.
7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex was seventh after the Daytona 500, too. The last time he was this high in the points: 2007, when he made the Chase.
8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin climbs the standings again this week, moving from 19th to 14th to 8th.
9. AJ Allmendinger: Allmendinger holds onto a top-10 spot for the third consecutive week. The last time the No. 43 was in the top 10 for three consecutive weeks was after race Nos. 29-31 in 1998 with driver John Andretti.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt rejoins the top 10 for the first time since April of last season, after Talladega.

Winning, Bonus Points Key To Championship Contention
A month hasn’t yet elapsed since the checkered flag waved at the Daytona 500, but it’s clear there’s little time to waste if your team is going to be a serious contender for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.
The new NASCAR points system – which awards a maximum of 48 points to each race winner and drops from second to 43rd in single-digit increments – coupled with two Chase wild cards have put the focus squarely on high performance in the 2011 Chase. After race No. 26, the top 10 drivers will be locked into the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 will go to the drivers with the most wins, provided they are in the top 20.
The calculus for greatest success is simple: Lead laps and win races.
After winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 6, Carl Edwards concluded that bonus points – for laps led and race wins – will be significant under the new system. Click here to listen to Edwards’ thoughts on winning.
“I hadn't thought of the bonus points in the Chase, but I did think a lot about the wild card position,” Edwards said. “When you look at it from the wild card perspective, the bonus points in the Chase, those two things alone make winning extremely important right now.”

Several keys have emerged after just three races:
• Edwards and Phoenix winner Jeff Gordon got the early jump on a most-wins Chase berth – if each remains among the top 20 in points.
• Staying in the top 20 – never mind making the top 10 – could be problematic for some. Nearly half the drivers who have started all three races are a race-worth of points behind standings leader Tony Stewart.
• Closing the deficit requires not only consistent finishes but bonus points. Thirteen drivers scored bonuses in Las Vegas; along with 12 in Phoenix and 21 from the Daytona 500.
• A single bonus point could be the difference in making or missing the Chase. Five points are the spread from 10th to 14th heading for Bristol Motor Speedway on March 20.
• It’s already hustle time for eight drivers who qualified for last year’s Chase but currently rank outside the top 10. Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson – who currently does not hold a Chase spot – heads the group in 12th.