2005 RACE TO THE CHASE:  BIFFLE, RUSTY, MARK SHARE JUNE HONORS

 

GREG BIFFLE won two races and took the series lead at the last race of the month, but MARK MARTIN AND RUSTY WALLACE scored the most NASCAR Nextel Cup points in June. MARTIN catapulted seven spots in June and WALLACE gained fifth.

 

As good as it was for those drivers, it was equally as bad for JEFF GORDON, who was 27^th in points in June and dropped nine spots in the standings. DALE EARNHARDT JR. was 29^th in points during the month and dropped three positions back to 18^th.  KEVIN HARVICK dropped six spots in the standings and was 21^st in points scored in the month. Now, it’s Go Time for GORDON, MICHAEL WALTRIP, JEFF BURTON, JOE NEMECHEK, EARNHARDT JR., KYLE BUSCH, MATT KENSETH AND KASEY KAHNE, in 14^th back to 21^st. If you are going to make a run at The Chase, you must improve your position relative to the competition over the next four races. MARK MARTIN was 15^th and 185 points out of 10^th at this time last year, and he made it, in part because he chopped down the deficit to 89 points by the end of July.

 

 

THE HEAT INDEX

(Last 5 Races)

RED HOT                                                                 ICE COLD

1—Greg Biffle                       729                                          1—Sterling Marlin                356

2—Rusty Wallace                 723                                          2—Dale Earnhardt Jr.          374

3—Mark Martin                    678                                          3—Kasey Kahne                   379

4—Carl Edwards                  674                                          4—Jeff Gordon                     398

5—Jimmie Johnson            666                                          5—Dave Blaney                     404

6—Elliott Sadler                    660                                          6—Mike Bliss                       413

7—Tony Stewart                  655                                          7—Scott Wimmer                422

8—Jeremy Mayfield            645                                          8—Kyle Petty                        423

9—Ryan Newman                 624                                          9—Ricky Rudd                      424

10—Joe Nemechek             610                                          10—Ken Schrader                440

                                                                                               

 

THE TURNAROUNDS

(Position in Race to the Chase Versus Last Year at this time)

GOOD TURNS                                                                                         BAD TURNS

Rank-Driver                           05            04            Diff.                         Rank-Driver                           05            04            Diff.

1—Greg Biffle                       1              22            +21                          1—Bobby Labonte               26            7              -19

2—Carl Edwards (99 car)    9              21            +12                          2—Matt Kenseth                 20            3              -17

3—Joe Nemechek               17            28            +11                          3—Dale Earnhardt Jr.          18            2              -16

4—Mark Martin                    5              15            +10                          4—Jeff Gordon                     14            4              -10

4—Rusty Wallace                 6              16            +10                          5—Kasey Kahne                   21            12            -9

 

 

2005 RACE TO THE CHASE
After Race #16 of 26:  Infineon

Races Left to the Chase:  10 (38%)

 

05/LW/04                                Season  Out of     Out of     Out of     LastRce Gain        Last 5     Finishes                                Top         Top                Bottom   Bonus-

Driver                     Pts.         1^st            10^th          11^th          Fin/Pts    11^th          Pts/Gain 1—2—3                   5s            10s          10s          Penalty Pts

 

1/2/22-Biffle           2250        --            +327        +348        14/126     +23          729/+1     5—0—1                   6              10            1              75-0

2/1/1-Johnson       2228        -22           +305        +326        36/55       -48           666/-1      2—2—1                   7              11            2              60-25

3/3/5-ESadler         2073        -177         +150        +171        6/150       +47          660/+1     0—1—0                   1              9              0              25-0

4/6/6-Stewart        2052        -198         +129        +150        1/190       +87          655/+2     1—3—1                   5              8              0              55-0

5/5/15-Martin         2022        -228         +99          +120        15/118     +15          678/+5     0—0—3                   5              8              0              25-0

6/8/16-RWallace     2013        -237         +90          +111        4/165       +62          723/+6     0—0—0                   3              8              1              25-0

7/7/9-Newman       1994        -256         +71          +92          9/138       +35          624/E       0—0—1                   4              8              2              45-0

8/9/8-KuBusch       1978        -272         +55          +76          3/165       +62          571/-3      1—1—3                   5              8              3              50-0

9/4/21-Edwards     1963        -287         +40          +61          38/49       -54           674/+4     2—0—1                   5              7              2              25-0

10/11/11-McMurry1923        -327         --             +21          13/124     +21          572/-1      0—0—0                   3              6              0              5-0

                                                                                                                Gain

                                                                                                                10th

11/13/13-Mayfield 1902        -348         -21           --             7/146       +26          645/+5     0—0—0                   2              3              0              25-0

12/15/14-Jarrett    1870        -380         -53           -32           5/155       +35          606/+2     0—0—0                   2              4              1              5-0

13/10/10-Harvick   1855        -395         -68           -47           37/52       -68           491/-5      1—0—0                   3              5              1              35-0

 

14/12/4-JGordon   1836        -414         -87           -66           33/69       -51           398/-11    3—1—0                   5              6              3              50-0

15/14/18-Waltrip    1827        -423         -96           -75           22/97       -23           592/+2     0—1—1                   3              7              4              40-0

16/16/23-JBurton 1761        -489         -162         -141         30/73       -47           533/+2     0—0—1                   1              2              1              5-0

17/19/28-Nemchek1722       -528         -201         -180         23/94       -26           610/+3     0—1—1                   1              4              2              35-0

18/17/2-ErnhrdtJr 1707        -543         -216         -195         42/37       -83           374/-7      0—0—1                   3              5              2              10-0

19/18/24-KyBusch 1695        -555         -228         -207         40/43       -77           609/+3     0—2—0                   4              6              4              20-25

20/21/3-Kenseth   1652        -598         -271         -250         11/130     +10          555/+1     0—0—0                   1              3              2              30-0

21/20/12-Kahne     1640        -610         -283         -262         41/40       -80           379/-6      1—1—1                   4              4              5              25-0

22/23/31-Riggs      1547        -703         -376         -355         24/91       -29           473/+1     0—0—0                   1              3              2              10-0

23/22/20-Vickers  1545        -705         -378         -357         34/61       -59           511/+3     0—1—0                   2              4              6              35-0

24/24/19-Marlin     1524        -726         -399         -378         26/85       -35           356/-5      0—0—0                   1              3              5              20-0

25/25/17-Mears     1511        -739         -412         -391         20/103     -17           474/E       0—1—0                   1              2              3              15-0

26/26/7-BLabonte 1507        -743         -416         -395         18/109     -11           539/+5     0—1—0                   1              3              5              15-0

27/28/27-Blaney     1456        -784         -467         -446         19/106     -24           404/-3      0—0—0                   0              1              3              10-0

28/27/32-Schrader1420        -830         -503         -482         35/58       -52           440/E       0—0—0                   0              2              5              25-0

29/32/30-Kvapil      1413        -837         -510         -489         21/100     -20           481/+4     0—0—0                   0              1              1              10-0

30/33/27-Rudd       1410        -840         -513         -492         2/175       +55          424/-3      0—1—0                   1              3              4              10-0

31/30/33-JGreen   1409        -841         -514         -493         29/76       -44           446/+1     0—0—0                   0              0              2              10-0

32/31/34-Petty       1401        -849         -522         -501         27/87       -33           423/-2      0—0—0                   0              1              3              35-0

33/29/25-Bliss        1393        -857         -530         -509         39/46       -74           413/-4      0—0—0                   0              0              6              0-0

34/34/26-Wimmer 1292        -958         -631         -696         25/88       -32           422/E       0—0—0                   0              0              3              10-0

35/35/36-MWallace1156        -1094       -767         -746         NA/NA     -80           303/E       0—0—0                   0              0              4              25-0

 

LEADER PACE

(The likelihood of the 400-point Wild Card will be determined by the pace set by the leader after 26 races. Here is the pace after 16 races)

 

2005                                        2004                                        *2003                                                       *2002

1 G Biffle                2250        1 J Johnson      2375            1 M Kenseth    2396                             1 S Marlin              2198

10 J McMurray      -327         10 K Harvick      -401             10 S Marlin      -504                               10 B Elliott              -226

13 teams within 400 pts     9 teams within 400              6 teams within 400                              13 teams within 400

5 teams with 156 of 10^th      3 teams within 156 of 10th 6 teams with 156 of 10^th                      3 teams within 156 of 10th

·          Chase for the Nextel Cup format not in effect

 

JUNE PERFORMANCE (4 Races:  Dover #1, Pocono #1, Michigan #1, Infineon)

Driver                                     Pts.            Start of Month       Month Finish                    Spots Gained/Lost

1—Mark Martiin                   599                          12                            5                                              +7

2—Rusty Wallace                 584                          11                            6                                              +5

3—Greg Biffle                       574                          2                              1                                              +1

4—Tony Stewart                  564                          6                              4                                              +2

5—Kurt Busch                      537                          10                            8                                              +2

6—Michael Waltrip               532                          18                            15                                            +3

7—Elliott Sadler                    531                          3                              3                                              E

8—Kyle Busch                      516                          22                            19                                            +3

9—Carl Edwards                  504                          8                              9                                              -1

10—Matt Kenseth                503                          23                            20                                            +3

11—Joe Nemechek             496                          19                            17                                            +2

12—Jeremy Mayfield          485                          13                            11                                            +2

13—Jimmie Johnson          481                          1                              2                                              -1

14—Jamie McMurray          472                          9                              10                                            -1

15—Ryan Newman               464                          4                              7                                              -3

15—Dale Jarrett                   464                          14                            12                                            +2

17—Jeff Burton                    436                          17                            16                                            +1

18—Brian Vickers                431                          27                            23                                            +4

19—Travis Kvapil                 409                          33                            29                                            +4

20—Casey Mears                408                          28                            25                                            +3
21—Kevin Harvick                370                          7                              13                                            -6

22—Scott Riggs                    367                          21                            22                                            -1

23—Bobby Labonte             364                          24                            26                                            -2

24—Ricky Rudd                    361                          32                            30                                            +2

25—Dave Blaney                   328                          25                            27                                            -2

25—Scott Wimmer              328                          35                            34                                            +1

27—Jeff Gordon                   320                          5                              14                                            -9

28—Jeff Green                     316                          31                            31                                            E

29—Dale Earnhardt Jr.        310                          15                            18                                            -3

29—Sterling Marlin              310                          20                            24                                            -4

31—Kyle Petty                      306                          30                            32                                            -2

32—Ken Schrader                297                          26                            28                                            -2

33—Kasey Kahne                 289                          16                            21                                            -5

34—Mike Bliss                     295                          29                            33                                            -4

35—Mike Wallace                *188                          34                            35                                            -1

* Wallace missed the Infineon race

 

MAY PERFORMANCE (4 Races:  Talladega, Darlington, Richmond, Charlotte)

Driver                                     Pts.             Start of Month       Month Finish                   Spots Gained/Lost

1—Greg Biffle                       624                          3                              2                              +1

2—Tony Stewart                  575                          14                            6                              +8

3—Kasey Kahne                   541                          20                            16                            +4

4—Jamie McMurray            539                          15                            9                              +6

5—Ryan Newman                 536                          7                              4                              +3

6—Kevin Harvick                  534                          11                            7                              +4

7—Elliott Sadler                    533                          5                              3                              +2

8—Bobby Labonte               528                          34                            24                            +10

9—Jeremy Mayfield            513                          16                            13                            +3

10—Jeff Gordon                   489                          4                              5                              -1

11—Jimmie Johnson          487                          1                              1                              E

12—Carl Edwards                480                          8                              8                              E

13—Ken Schrader                472                          32                            26                            +6

14—Rusty Wallace               469                          10                            11                            -1

15—Dale Jarrett                   459                          13                            14                            -1

16—Dale Earnhardt Jr.        450                          12                            15                            -3

17—Jeff Burton                    446                          17                            17                            E

18—Joe Nemechek             433                          24                            19                            +5

19—Michael Waltrip             429                          18                            18                            E

20—Mark Martin                  426                          6                              12                            -6

21—Jeff Green                     406                          29                            31                            +2

22—Matt Kenseth                401                          28                            23                            +5

23—Ricky Rudd                    390                          31                            32                            -1

24—Kyle Busch                    387                          25                            22                            +3

25—Mike Wallace                 371                          36                            34                            +2

26—Kurt Busch                    354                          2                              10                            -8

27—Dave Blaney                   340                          21                            25                            -4

28—Travis Kvapil                 336                          30                            33                            -3

29—Scott Wimmer              334                          33                            35                            -2

30—Scott Riggs                    333                          19                            21                            -2

31—Mike Bliss                     331                          27                            29                            -2

32—Brian Vickers                319                          23                            27                            -4

33—Casey Mears                312                          26                            28                            -2

34—Kyle Petty                      299                          22                            30                            -8

35—Sterling Marlin              246                          9                              20                            -11

 

 

 

APRIL PERFORMANCE  (4 Races:  Bristol, Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix)

Driver                                     Pts.              Start of Month       Month Finish                  Spots Gained/Lost

1—Earnhardt Jr.                   582                          26                            12                            +14

2—Jimmie Johnson            580                          1                              1                              E

3—Jeff Gordon                     563                          12                            4                              +8

4—Sterling Marlin                530                          16                            9                              +7

5—Elliott Sadler                    527                          8                              5                              +3

6—Michael Waltrip               514                          27                            18                            +9

7—Kurt Busch                      510                          4                              2                              +2

8—Jeremy Mayfield            494                          21                            16                            +5

9—Dale Jarrett                     491                          15                            13                            +2

10—Rusty Wallace               483                          9                              10                            -1

11—Kevin Harvick                482                          11                            11                            E

12—Ryan Newman               479                          6                              7                              -1

13—Jeff Burton                    462                          20                            17                            +3

14—Kasey Kahne                 461                          28                            20                            +8

15—Mark Martin                  458                          5                              6                              -1

16—Greg Biffle                     454                          2                              3                              -1

17—Joe Nemechek             444                          29                            24                            +5

18—Jamie McMurray          437                          10                            15                            -5

18—Ricky Rudd                    437                          39                            31                            +8

20—Kyle Petty                      417                          24                            22                            +2

21—Scott Riggs                    415                          18                            19                            -1

22—Brian Vickers                406                          22                            23                            -1

22—Matt Kenseth                406                          31                            28                            +3

24—Tony Stewart                399                          7                              14                            -7

25—Carl Edwards                386                          3                              8                              -5

26—Kyle Busch                    372                          19                            25                            -6

27—Bobby Labonte             365                          37                            34                            +3

28—Casey Mears                357                          17                            26                            -9

29—Travis Kvapil                 344                          32                            30                            +2

30—Dave Blaney                   340                          14                            21                            -7

31—Ken Schrader                338                          33                            32                            +1

32—Mike Bliss                     307                          13                            27                            -14

32—Jeff Green                     307                          23                            29                            -6

32—Jason Leffler                307                          34                            35                            -1

35—Scott Wimmer              261                          25                            33                            -8