California: A Saving Grace for Johnson, Kenseth?

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2008) – Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are right where they want to be – sort of.

Johnson and Kenseth have been in this position before – coming off poor Daytona 500 finishes, needing success at California to right the season. The same scenario happened just a season ago. And look how that turned out.

Will Race 2 of 36 steady the ship for the two former series champions like it did last season?

In 2007, Kenseth finished 27th and Johnson finished 39th at Daytona. A week later at California? Kenseth won; Johnson came home third. Below is a statistical tale of the tape for the two drivers in the first two races last season:

Jimmie Johnson at 2007 Daytona 500 and 2007 Auto Club 500
2007 Daytona 500                  Statistic                          2007 Auto Club 500
39                                           Finish                                      3
54.6                                   Driver Rating                                118.2
24.5                         Average Running Position                      7.4
2                                    Fastest Laps Run                             24
0                                          Laps Led                                   31
29                                  Laps in the Top 15                           232
82                                      Quality Passes                              72

Matt Kenseth at 2007 Daytona 500 and 2007 Auto Club 500
2007 Daytona 500                  Statistic                          2007 Auto Club 500
27                                           Finish                                      1
93.5                                  Driver Rating                                 141.5
8.7                         Average Running Position                      3.7
9                                 Fastest Laps Run                               23
13                                      Laps Led                                     133
190                              Laps in the Top 15                            234
40                                    Quality Passes                               36

Both hope for the same fate during this Sunday’s Auto Club 500. Last Sunday, Kenseth finished 36th and Johnson finished 27th – similar results as last season.

But the stats suggest a strong run at California. Below is this season’s tale of the tape, with each driver’s California stats since 2005.

Jimmie Johnson at 2008 Daytona 500 and at California Speedway since 2005
2008 Daytona 500                   Statistic                        California (since 2005)
27                                             Finish                                     5.8
79.9                                     Driver Rating                                111.3
14.6                           Average Running Position                      7.7
3                                   Fastest Laps Run                                99 (16.5)
1                                            Laps Led                                   119 (19.8)
128                                  Laps in the Top 15                           1,381 (230.2)
127                                      Quality Passes                             325 (54.2)

Matt Kenseth at 2008 Daytona 500 and at California Speedway since 2005
2008 Daytona 500                    Statistic                        California (since 2005)
36                                             Finish                                      8.2
81.8                                     Driver Rating                                 113.9
14.4                            Average Running Position                      7.2
4                                     Fastest Laps Run                               89 (14.8 per)
1                                           Laps Led                                     244 (40.7)
143                                Laps in the Top 15                              1,332 (222)
115                                   Quality Passes                                 256 (42.7)
 
The pre-race Driver Rating for Daytona came pretty close to the actual finish. The top-three finishers – Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart – ranked fourth, third and first, respectively, in the pre-race Daytona Driver Rating.