Statistically Speaking: Road warriors

This weekend's stop at Watkins Glen is just the latest in a long history of NASCAR road racing events, which have been a part of NASCAR as long as the sanctioning body has been in existence. In fact, the second-ever NASCAR race was run on a combination beach and road course in Daytona Beach. While that track was truly unique – with a two-mile stretch on the sand and a two-mile return on Highway A1A – it nevertheless was an oval.

The first multi-turn road course race was run at the Linden, N.J., airport in 1954 on a temporary two-mile circuit. Not counting the Daytona Beach road course, 103 of NASCAR's 2,123 races have been run on 10 different road courses at the rate of about two per year since 1970. And rumors abound that NASCAR could expand into Canada with a twisty-track race.

The first NASCAR road race was open to foreign manufacturers in addition to the big American iron. Race winner Al Keller ditched his usual Hudson that day for a Jaguar and was one of only two drivers to finish on the lead lap. Joe Eubanks finished second in a Hudson and Buck Baker came home third in his Olds 88, but the next three spots were all taken by Jaguar drivers.

The International 100 was an eclectic affair, and in addition to the Jaguars at the head of the pack, there was a Morgan, a Porsche, an Austin Healy and five MGs in the race.

Foreign manufacturers weren't limited to this race. In 1958, a Renault and a pair of Citroens competed at Riverside International Raceway and earned a pair of top-20s.

But it wasn't just the different cars that made road races unique. In terms of distinctiveness, no track was comparable to Willow Springs Speedway in Lancaster, Calif. This track not only was a road course, but a dirt track as well, and former moonshiners who cut their teeth trying to outrun revenuers on twisty back-country roads in the Deep South were right at home there.

Chuck Stevenson – in one of only two senior series starts – won in 1956 over Marvin Panch, but the NASCAR regular came back in 1957 to exact his revenge by besting his teammate Fireball Roberts. Those were the only two NASCAR races run on this track.

NASCAR's road forays often have showcased stock car's elite competing against the best from the road racing ranks. Mark Donohue is the only specialist to ever win a NASCAR top-level road race, as he lapped the field in the 1973 Winston Western 500 in a Roger Penske-owned AMC Matador. That feat was made even more impressive by the fact that "500" in those days stood for 500 miles, which equaled 191 laps around the 2.62-mile nine-turn facility. Donohue led 138 circuits, taking the lead for the final time on lap 117.

Modern masters

A total of 40 drivers have won at least one race on the road courses, but only 14 have taken more than two trophies home from these tricky tracks.

Because so few drivers have won multiple times on the road courses, the ones who have managed to repeat are in a class of their own. Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and Rusty Wallace were all tied at six victories apiece and seemed destined to share this record for a long time until Jeff Gordon came along.

Gordon won his sixth road race in 2000 in the SaveMart/Kragen 350 at Sonoma to tie those legendary drivers. What made it more impressive is that all six of his first-place finishes came in consecutive races, launching Gordon like a rocket from the status of unknown entity on road courses to the best in the history of NASCAR.

It didn't take long for Gordon to break the tie. He won his seventh road course race the following season at Watkins Glen in the Global Crossing at the Glen. No record is safe in NASCAR, and Gordon watched with curiosity as Ricky Rudd posted a sixth victory in 2002 and wondered if he would be able to catch up. Rudd retired without another road course victory – though he came close at Sonoma last season – and for the moment, Gordon's record is safe.

In 2004 and then again earlier this season, Gordon padded his lead in the record books with two more victories at Infineon, bringing his total to nine road course wins. While nine victories to the competition's six may appear to be a comfortable lead, Gordon is watching another driver close the gap.

Tony Stewart scored his first road course win in 2001 at Infineon after rolling off the grid third. He added a second victory at the Glen the following year, but he really started to challenge Gordon's reputation for supremacy in 2004 when he scored the first of three consecutive road course victories. He was running with the leaders this June at Infineon when his engine began to sour, causing him to drop like a stone through the pack.

Gordon's rapid ascent through the road course record book in the late 1990s, however, has proven that once a driver gets his rhythm on this type of course, he can dominate thoroughly – meaning Stewart continues to be a major threat.