Found an article with some interesting stats.

All Eyes on Kasey Kahne at Richmond


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 6, 2006) – The 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season has come down to the race at Richmond International Raceway that determines the field for the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup. And 725,760 possible point outcomes for the top 11 drivers following this weekend’s race Richmond is sure to be a wild event.


Kasey Kahne currently sits 30 points out of the 10th and final spot in the Chase. His prospects couldn’t be any better at Richmond – the track where he scored his first career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory last May. His Driver Rating of 109.3 ranks sixth-best at Richmond. Kahne has led the second-most laps at the famed .75-mile track, leading 20.7% of the laps run over the past two years.

Kahne’s potential to make the Chase will vary depending on the success of other drivers vying for a spot. Five other Chase contenders currently in the top 10 rank worse than Kahne in Driver Rating. Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon all have lower Driver Ratings than Kahne. Busch is the highest ranked at seventh with a rating of 108.8, while Gordon ranks the lowest with the 23rd-best Driver Rating of 65.0.

Burton (16.3) and Gordon (36.3) also have a lower Average Finish than Kahne’s 14.3 at Richmond.

Additionally, Kahne’s Percentage of Laps in the Top 15 of 69.1% ranks higher than Martin (59.3%), Earnhardt (36.3%), Burton (66.1%) and Gordon (29.1%). Kahne also has led twice as may laps at Richmond as those five drivers combined. Kahne has led 167 laps while Busch, Martin, Earnhardt, Burton and Gordon have combined to lead only 65 laps.

SPEED STATS: Where does speed matter at Richmond?
Kevin Harvick leads the Driver Rating category at Richmond with a rating of 125.5, but is winless at the D-shaped oval. Harvick has impressive speed stats there and leads three speed-related categories, including Fastest Drivers Early in a Run, Fastest Drivers on the Frontstretch and Fastest Green Flag Speed.

One area where Harvick’s speed has been conspicuously low is Late in a Run. Harvick ranks ninth in this category with a speed of 119.393 mph.

Speed Late in a Run may be one of the most important stats at Richmond. Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch all rank higher than Harvick in that category and have accounted for a combined five wins while Harvick has none.

PASSING ZONES
The unique racing surface at Richmond International Raceway generates some of the best racing on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup circuit. The Frontstretch is where the most passing happens. Turn 1 ranks second. Here is the breakdown of the 3,983 green-flag passes that have taken place over the past two seasons at Richmond:

Segment Passes Percentage
Frontstretch 1,476 37.06
Turn 1 628 15.77
Backstretch 573 14.39
Turn 4 505 12.68
Turn 2 426 10.70
Turn 3 375 9.42

Passing Thoughts …


Dale Earnhardt Jr. has completed the most Green Flag Passes at Richmond with 171. Earnhardt has been passed 129 times, giving him a Passing Differential of 42.
Jeff Burton leads the Quality Passes category with 63 passes coming over a car running in the top 15. Burton is averaging 21 Quality Passes each time he races at Richmond.
All of Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman’s passes have been completed over a car running in the top 15, giving each driver Quality Passes Percentage of 100%.
LOOP LOGIC
Others Drivers to Watch … In addition to Kahne the Loop Data reveals other notables:

Denny Hamlin: Had the second best Driver Rating. … Has completed 100% of his Laps in the Top 15. … Finished second to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his first start at Richmond.
Tony Stewart: Ranked fifth in Driver Rating 109.9. … Has three career wins at Richmond. … Has an Average Finish of 5.0. … Has completed 90.7% of his Laps in the Top 15. … Has led 11.9% of the laps run at Richmond over the past two seasons.
From STATS LLC (the company that compiles NASCAR’s Loop Data) …
“Kasey Kahne is coming back to one of his best tracks exactly when he needs a great run. Kahne is 30 points out of the Chase and within 95 points of fifth place. Beginning with third place, all drivers ranked above him are within his reach if they falter. Kahne has averaged the sixth-best Driver Rating at Richmond (109.3), with his lowest Driver Rating occurring this spring (80.6 despite his 34th-place finish). Kahne has been the fourth-fastest Early in a Run (122.099 mph) and the second-best among active drivers Late in a Run (119.609 mph). Kahne also has scored the most Fastest Laps (167) over the past three races at Richmond.

“Kahne’s greatest obstacle is how well the drivers ahead of him perform at Richmond. Denny Hamlin finished second in his only Cup race with a stellar 118.5 Driver Rating, never falling below 10th place. Tony Stewart has top 10s in his past three races on his way to the fastest active driver Late in a Run (119.616 mph). Jeff Burton and Mark Martin haven’t been as strong at Richmond, neither scoring a top 10 in any of the races in 2005 or 2006.” – Stefan Kretschmann, STATS LLC.







Didn't see this posted anywhere.

intresting read - thanks for posting

Thanks for posting that. By the way, he'll be running a special paint scheme this weekend, which is the winning design from Dodge’s “Design you own Charger” contest. I found it on race2win.net.

We have flames..........that def means we'll be fast :)

Wooohoo I like that car!

I love the look of that car -whoever designed it must be pretty proud (and talented). That makes me look forward to seeing it in the race Saturday -thanks for the pics!

Ooooh, I like that car! Can't wait to see it out on the track!!

I love that paint scheme!

And those stats are definitely nice. B) Thanks for posting!

That car is awesome! I can't wait to see it on the track!

that car is gonna look awesome on the track!

I am so excited to see that car in action!! :nan2

Great paint scheme!

And I agree, cars with flames are definitely fast :)

I'm really liking that paint scheme.

I love that paint scheme. Kasey will definately be fire on raceday!

you mean someone actually won that game. I had my car like that almost but I kept losing

Fan Designs Kahne's scheme for Richmond: Race fans had a chance to leave a lasting impression on Kasey Kahne and the whole #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge team in a national contest put on by Dodge Motorsports. Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Brandon Reinders’ did just that. He came up with the winning paint scheme design that will run on Kasey Kahne’s #9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. The scheme, which incorporates the classic Dodge red and traditional Dodge logos, integrates a bold white flame job with fluorescent-yellow highlighting. It was an original design by Reinders, who was basing his design off of a paint scheme that Kahne ran last season. As the grand prize winner, Reinders will receive a three day, two night trip for two to Richmond, Va. this weekend; tickets for two to the Nextel Cup series race on Saturday night and a 2006 Dodge Charger SXT. Reinders and other entrants visited www.designachargerracecar.com to register for the contest and develop a design for Kahne’s Dodge Charger using the online design tools. The winning entry was selected based on: originality (50%), creativity (25%) and Dodge themed (25%). Contest entries were accepted through July 16th. The winning entry was selected shortly thereafter. In addition to the grand prize, there were a number of instant winners that received prizes just for registering in the contest.(Evernham Motorsports/Clear!Blue PR)(9-8-2006)

That's sick. He's gonna win.

NICE car!!