KURT BUSCH - WINNER
#78 Furniture Row Racing / Serta Chevrolet
·         Two wins, three top fives, eight top 10s; two poles
·         Average finish of 21.4
·         Average Running Position of 15.1, 10th-best
·         Driver Rating of 89.5, 11th-best
·         1,941 Laps in the Top 15 (61.8%), ninth-most
 

KYLE BUSCH
#18 M&M's Toyota
·         One win, three top fives, five top 10s
·         Average finish of 16.4
·         Average Running Position of 14.2, ninth-best
·         Driver Rating of 92.9, ninth-best
·         Average Green Flag Speed of 175.625 mph, seventh-fastest
·         2,089 Laps in the Top 15 (66.5%), seventh-most
 

 
CARL EDWARDS
#99 Fastenal Ford
·         Two wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s
·         Average finish of 8.2
·         Average Running Position of 10.3, second-best
·         Driver Rating of 105.2, third-best
·         185 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
·         1,162 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
·         Average Green Flag Speed of 176.172 mph, fourth-fastest
·         2,573 Laps in the Top 15 (82.0%), second-most
·         Series-high 790 Quality Passes
 

 
JIMMIE JOHNSON
#48 Lowe's Chevrolet
·         Four top fives, nine top 10s
·         Average finish of 15.2
·         Average Running Position of 10.3, third-best
·         Driver Rating of 104.2, fourth-best
·         Series-high 318 Fastest Laps Run
·         Average Green Flag Speed of 176.274 mph, second-fastest
·         2,392 Laps in the Top 15 (76.2%), fourth-most
·         614 Quality Passes, sixth-most
 

 
MATT KENSETH
#20 Home Depot Husky Toyota
·         Two wins, 12 top fives, 17 top 10s
·         Average finish of 9.6
·         Average Running Position of 10.4, fourth-best
·         Driver Rating of 105.5, second-best
·         157 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-most
·         1,112 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
·         Average Green Flag Speed of 176.178 mph, third-fastest
·         2,512 Laps in the Top 15 (80.0%), third-most
·         716 Quality Passes, third-most

SLEEPER PICK

(always outside the top-20 in Sprint Cup points)

AUSTIN DILLON

Comments from Director of Ford Racing Jamie Allison:

ARE YOU FINDING THAT FANS ARE MAKING THE CONNECTION OF THE GEN6 CAR TO THE SHOWROOM?

“Yes. We sat down with NASCAR and did fan research. I don’t have the numbers in front of me but I know directionally what I am going to tell you is directionally accurate. There is certainly higher awareness among the fans that there is a new car being raced.

The next level is that there is higher awareness that the product being raced is relevant to the cars on the street.

The third and most important to us at Ford Motor Company and I am sure all the OEM’s is that because of the showcase of relevant product on the track there is now higher intent to purchase the cars that they see being raced on the track.

We have other data that corroborates this and those familiar with the data I just shared with you can confirm there is a lift from past years with the COT. The delta is higher and it shows that the Gen6 move was the right one for NASCAR, the manufacturer and fans. Now we need to do our job at Ford Motor Company to go win races so that when we win on Sunday we can sell on Monday.” - ford racing pr

Comments from Director of Ford Racing Jamie Allison:

WHERE TO DO YOU EXPECT PENSKE AND ROUSH TO WORK TOGETHER AND WHERE YOU EXPECT THEM TO WORK SEPERATELY?

“If you generalize it we kind of say that Monday through Friday is a lot of the preparation and analytical modeling that goes into understand and preparing for what happens on Saturday and Sunday. That is a place where there could be a joint effort.

I can maybe give a couple layers of detail on that. When it comes to aerodynamics, obviously the cars have a common body and all the teams run the Ford Fusion. When it comes to some of the aero models that exist and some of the aero work that exists, those are opportunities for collaboration.

When it comes to engine development, they all have the same engines and we are all powered by the Roush Yates Ford engines. When it comes to the development and input and feedback and some of the advance work that is another area for collaboration.

I think the area that stays for teams to manage on their own is the racing, making the calls, the setups that are prescribed by crew chiefs and things like that along the way. What happens on Saturday and Sunday are the responsibility and the autonomy of the teams.

The third part – I talked about engine and aero – one of the core foundation technical tools that is a critical need for all the teams is in simulation. That is an area that Ford Motor Company leads in offering to the teams the tools and software to develop analysis that guides them in establishing what setup to run in various conditions. That is another area for collaboration. So, aerodynamics, engine development and simulation are three common areas.” - ford racing pr