NASCAR Winston Cup Series Notes of Interest
10 November 1997
NASCAR Winston Cup Series Notes of Interest Week of November 10, 1997 DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Dale Earnhardt's team has been running at the finish in the last 44 races. - With the win at Phoenix, Dale Jarrett has finished 11th or better there in the last four races after posting only one top-10 in the first six races at Phoenix International Raceway. - Going into Phoenix, Mark Martin was the all-time NASCAR Winston Cup lap leader at Phoenix leading 448 of 2,808 laps raced there. Martin failed to lead a lap during Sunday's Dura-Lube 500 for only the second time in the last seven races at Phoenix International raceway. There have been nine different winners in the 10 NASCAR Winston Cup Series races at Phoenix. Davey Allison is the only multiple winner at Phoenix, winning back-to-back races in 1991 and 1992. - Only four of the 43 cars that started the race were not running at the end. The 39 cars that were running at the end was the most ever in the 10 previous NASCAR Winston Cup Series events at Phoenix International Raceway. - Through 31 races, Bill Elliott has the greatest improvement (+23) in the point standings compared to his final spot in the 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup point standings. Elliott, who finished 31st last year, is currently eighth in 1997. - Terry Labonte, who finished 11th in Sunday's Dura-Lube 500, has never finished lower than 16th in 10 races at Phoenix International Raceway. His average finishing position in those 10 races is 8th. - After 31 races, Dale Jarrett, Ken Schrader, Bobby Labonte, and Jeff Burton are the only four drivers with only one DNF for the season. - Ford has dominated victory lane at Phoenix since the NASCAR Winston Cup Series began racing there in 1998, scoring seven victories in 10 races. - Ken Schrader has five top-10's in his last 10 races. He has two top-five finishes in his last three races. TOP 10: - TENTH: With a 22nd-place finish at Phoenix, Ted Musgrave dropped from ninth to 10th in the point standings. Musgrave has been in the top-10 for the last 11 races. - NINTH: With a second-place finish in Phoenix, Rusty Wallace jumped from 10th to ninth in the point standings. - EIGHTH: Bill Elliott has finished 13th or better in 12 of the last 14 races. - SEVENTH: Bobby Labonte has finished 11th or better in four of his last six races. He's remained in the seventh spot for the last 20 races. - SIXTH: Terry Labonte has completed all but four of the 3,308 laps run at Phoenix. - FIFTH: Dale Earnhardt has finished 8th or better in six of his last seven races. - FOURTH: Jeff Burton has nine top-10 finishes, including two victories, in his last 16 races. - THIRD: Mark Martin has finished in the top-10 in eight of the 10 races at Phoenix. - SECOND: Dale Jarrett has finished sixth or better in nine of his last 11 races. He also trails Jeff Gordon by 77 points with one race remaining. - FIRST: Jeff Gordon has spent the last 19 races in first place in the point standings. He's never been lower than fourth all season. TURNING TO ATLANTA AND THE NAPA 500: - Going into the final event of the 1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season, four drivers (Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin and Geoff Bodine) who won in 1996 are still without a victory in 1997. - If Jeff Gordon finishes 18th or better in the NAPA 500, he'll win his second NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship regardless of where Dale Jarrett or Mark Martin finish. - If the same thing happens in the NAPA 500 that did in this spring's PRIMESTAR 500, Dale Jarrett would win the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship. Jarrett finished first, while Jeff Gordon finished 42nd. - Dale Jarrett finished second in last year's NAPA 500 while Jeff Gordon finished third. - In the last five fall races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon's average finishing position is 22nd, while Dale Jarrett's is 11th. That's a difference of 33 points. - Only once in the last 22 years has the second place driver in the point standings overtaken the first place driver in the final race of the season. Richard Petty won his seventh NASCAR Winston Cup title in 1979 over Darrell Waltrip, after trailing Waltrip by two points going into the final race at Ontario, Calif. STAT OF THE WEEK Even though the second place drivers in the point standings have only overtaken the points leader once in the last 22 season-ending races, they haven't given up without a fight. In eight of the last 12 NASCAR Winston Cup season-ending races, the driver who was in second-place in the point standings has won the race. In seven of those eight races, he's also lead the most laps. By NASCAR Public Relations
