DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 13, 2006) – You couldn’t have scripted a better scenario for the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season finale. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth rank first and second in the series standings and season-to-date Driver Rating, respectively.

Johnson currently holds a 63 point lead over Kenseth heading into the season finale this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The close points race is also reflected in season-to-date Driver Rating. Johnson’s Driver Rating of 102.0 leads over Kenseth’s rating of 101.6.

Current points leader, Johnson, has out-performed every driver in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, including Kenseth.

Johnson’s Chase-specific Driver Rating of 110.3 is nearly five points higher than Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s second-best rating of 105.5. Kenseth’s Driver Rating of 92.5 ranks fifth-best. Helping Johnson amass the highest Chase-specific Driver Rating has been his ability to finish near the front of the pack on a weekly basis. Johnson has one win in the Chase and has the most top-five finishes during the Chase with five. He’s also tied for the second-most top-10 finishes during the Chase with five.

Johnson also has led several other key Loop Data statistical categories during the Chase. He has led the most laps during the Chase (16.3%) and has completed the Fastest Lap 13.1% of the time. Additionally, Johnson’s Average Finish of 11.0 is best among Chase drivers.

Most impressive, Johnson has gained the most points during the Chase of any Chase driver with 1,287. Kenseth has gained the second-most points during the Chase with 1,219. Johnson has averaged 143 points per event compared to Kenseth’s 135.4.

Driver Rating Continues to Predict Strong Finishes…

Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth have combined to lead season-to-date Driver Rating for 27 weeks this season. The season-to-date Driver Rating has been remarkably accurate in predicting strong performance. In fact, a strong statement is that the driver with the top season-to-date Driver Rating going into a race can reasonably be predicted to finish in the top 15 of the upcoming race as long as the driver does not encounter any problems with the car or involved in an on-track incident.

Here are some statistics on the accuracy of season-to-date Driver Rating when using it to predict a driver’s finish:

· The race winner has had a season-to-date Driver Rating ranking in the top 12 in 34 of the first 35 races (97% of the time). The lone exception being Brian Vickers’ win at Talladega in October, he was ranked 16th coming into that event.

· The winning driver has had the top season-to-date Driver Rating four times this season (11%).

· The race winner has had a season-to-date Driver Rating ranking in the top five in 14 of the first 35 races (40%).

· The race winner has had a season-to-date Driver Rating ranking in the top 10 in 25 of the first 35 races (71%).

· No one has ever won a race with a season-to-date Driver Rating ranking lower than 16th.

Top rated season-to-date driver:

As stated above, the driver with the top season-to-date Driver Rating has won four times this season (11%).

The driver with the top season-to-date Driver Rating has recorded a top-five finish 12 times this season (34%).

The driver with the top season-to-date Driver Rating has recorded a top-15 finish 24 times this season (69%).

Average Running Position – Sum of driver position on each lap, divided by the laps run in the race.

Box Score – Key statistics that summarize a driver’s race performance.

Closers – The number of positions a driver improves over the last 10 percent of the race.

Consecutive Laps With A Pass – Number of consecutive laps with at least one pass.

Consecutive Passes Without Being Passed – Number of consecutive passes without being passed.

Fastest Drivers By Straightaway – Ranks each driver by average speed on each straightaway.

Fastest Drivers By Turn – Ranks each driver by average speed in each turn.

Fastest Drivers Early In Run – Ranks each driver during the first 25% of laps run in a typical full green-flag segment.

Fastest Drivers Late In Run – Ranks each driver during the final 25% of laps run in a typical full green-flag segment.

Fastest Laps Run – Number of laps that the driver had the fastest car on the track for that lap.

Fastest On Restarts – Shows average speed on the first two laps under green-flag conditions.

Laps Driver Improved Position – The total number of laps where a driver improved his position during a race.

Passing Breakdowns – For each driver, shows how many and what percentage of passes were made by each turn and each straightaway, including the total number of passes.

Quality Passes – Number of times a driver passes another car running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions.

Speed In Traffic – The speed when there is another vehicle within one car length under green-flag conditions.

Time Trailing At Finish – The time that each driver finished behind the race winner. Average green-flag lap time is used to calculate cumulative time for drivers not on the lead lap.

Top 5 Drivers Performance Graph – Graphic showing the progressive performance of the top-five finishers at different intervals throughout the race.