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Dale Jr. celebrates his 2006 summer victory at Daytona, the 21st of his 22 career series wins.Junior stays hot at Daytona on those summer nights
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There have been 35 races at Daytona International Speedway in the history of the Nationwide Series, but only seven in the summertime. It wasn't until 2002 that the track began hosting two series races a year with Joe Nemechek winning that first Friday night in July under the lights.
That night also produced another first -- a race winner from the pole. Nemechek led four times for 78 laps in his No. 87 Pontiac. The following summer, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was even better. Earnhardt is second to his father in all-time series wins at Daytona with five, and he has had his share of Friday night highlights including a July 4 bang-up performance in 2003. (Note: Two of the seven races have be held on July 4, the other in '08).
1Drivers to win two summer races at Daytona: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003, '06).
3Place of finish for Dale Earnhart Jr. in last July's race, his third top-five in six summer starts and eighth overall in 16 races.
100Laps led by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2003 summer race. It's the only time in series history at Daytona that there were no lead changes.
Tony Stewart is the only other driver to win at Daytona from the pole when he did so in last year's season opener. Speaking of Stewart, who also opened the 2009 season with a win at Daytona, he is one of only two drivers -- Greg Biffle being the other -- to finish in the top 10 this past February not entered in the summer nightcap.
BTN wishes to focus on the summer trends this week, but for a Feb. '09 review: Story | Results
Coverage of the Subway Jalapeno 250 begins at 7:30 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN: Entry List | Tickets
0Starts for Matt Kenseth in the summer race at Daytona. He's made 10 starts there with one win, seven top-fives and nine top-10s. Kenseth, who finished 10th earlier this year in the No. 17 Ford, is entered in the No. 16 Ford this week.
1Top-10s for Carl Edwards in four summer races although he has finished 11th in each of the past two July events following a fifth-place finish in 2006. He finished second there earlier this year, his third top-five and fifth top-10 overall.
2Top-10s for Mike Bliss in 10 starts at Daytona, both coming in the summer races including a 10th-place finish last year.
3DNFs for crashes for Michael Waltrip in four summer races at Daytona. He finished second in his other start, in 2003, the last of his four track-best, runner-up results. Waltrip has crashed out 10 times in 23 overall starts at Daytona.
4Top-10s for Kevin Harvick in five summer races including two runner-up finishes and a third place. He finished 12th last summer. Overall, he has one win, 10 top-fives and 11 top-fives in 14 starts.
4Drivers to score their only Daytona win in the summer race: Mike Wallace (2004), Martin Truex Jr. (2005), Kyle Busch (2007) and Denny Hamlin (2008).
6Place of finish for Kasey Kahne in the past two July races and three times overall in seven summer starts. In 13 starts overall at Daytona, Kahne also has crashed out six times with one top-five and five top-10s.
7Place of finish for Scott Wimmer in last summer's race, his only top-10 in 11 starts overall at Daytona. Since the summer race of 2006, Wimmer has finished 31st or worse in three of the six races including a 32nd-place result earlier this year (crash).
11.6Average finish for Kyle Busch in five summer starts. He has a 20.6 average finish in six February races but hasn't finished worse than fourth in any of the past four races regardless of season.
13Place of finish for Steve Wallace in last summer's race, his best result at Daytona. In four other starts overall he has never finished better than 30th there, with three DNFs (crashes) including earlier this year (42nd).
THE LEFFLER WATCH
Jason Leffler is currently riding a series-best, 11-race, top-10 streak in the No. 38 Toyota of Braun Racing.
4Top-10s in 11 starts at Daytona, the last coming in the 2007 summer race when he started on the pole and finished ninth. He finished 23rd last summer and 33rd earlier this year when he was held five laps for aggressive driving. Both represent his worst results there.
THE WOW FACTOR
10Caution laps in last summer's race at Daytona, fewest in track history. There were only three cautions, tied for fewest.
THE SUPER LOOPER
900Laps in the Top 15, out of 1,014 possible, for Clint Bowyer in the past nine races at Daytona. Bowyer has completed all but one lap during that stretch with six top-fives and seven top-10s.
Driver Rating (since 2005, nine races)
| Pos. | Driver* | Starts | Rating | Pct. Laps / Top 15 | Avg. Run Pos. | Avg. Fin. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Clint Bowyer | 9 | 107.7 | 88.8 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| 2. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 9 | 106.0 | 77.6 | 9.8 | 10.6 |
| 3. | Kevin Harvick | 9 | 104.9 | 75.5 | 10.2 | 6.6 |
| 4. | Kyle Busch | 9 | 104.4 | 78.5 | 10.5 | 16.2 |
| 5. | Matt Kenseth | 3 | 96.3 | 85.0 | 10.3 | 9.0 |
| 6. | Brian Vickers | 7 | 95.5 | 79.6 | 11.4 | 17.9 |
| 7. | Brad Keselowski | 3 | 95.1 | 78.0 | 9.7 | 14.3 |
| 8. | Joey Logano | 1 | 94.7 | 87.5 | 9.1 | 20.0 |
| 9. | Carl Edwards | 9 | 93.9 | 64.1 | 15.1 | 14.1 |
| 10. | Kasey Kahne | 8 | 86.7 | 66.2 | 16.2 | 23.3 |
• Loop Data Statistics: Season-to-Date Box Score | * Entered in this race only
BLAST FROM THE PAST
41Place of finish for Dan Pardus in the first summer race at Daytona in 2002. Pardus started 38th in the No. 49 Ford of owner Jay Robinson and retired after 66 laps (electrical). It remains his only series start at Daytona. Pardus made only three more series starts after that to cap his 18-race career.
Series winners at Daytona (summer races)
| Year | Driver | Make | Year | Driver | Make | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Joe Nemechek | Pontiac | 2006 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | |
| 2003 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 2007 | Kyle Busch | Chevrolet | |
| 2004 | Mike Wallace | Ford | 2008 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | |
| 2005 | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet | ||||
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Nationwide Series
Driver Standings
| Pos. | +/- | Driver | Points | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | -- | Kyle Busch | 2,581 | -- |
| 2. | -- | Carl Edwards | 2,419 | -162 |
| 3. | -- | Brad Keselowski | 2,338 | -243 |
| 4. | -- | Jason Leffler | 2,261 | -320 |
| 5. | -- | Joey Logano | 2,040 | -541 |
| 6. | -- | Mike Bliss | 1,910 | -671 |
| 7. | +1 | Justin Allgaier | 1,864 | -717 |
| 8. | -1 | Brendan Gaughan | 1,844 | -737 |
| 9. | +1 | Steve Wallace | 1,823 | -758 |
| 10. | -1 | Jason Keller | 1,810 | -771 |
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