BUSCH: GM Racing performance points 2003-04-11

GM Racing Performance Points
April 11, 2003

* If a Chevrolet Silverado drives to victory lane in tomorrow's Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, it will give NASCAR's most successful manufacturer its 100th win in one of NASCAR's top touring series. Since the inception of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1995, Chevrolet has continually outperformed the competition. With a margin of 41 victories over the second-place manufacturer, Chevy Trucks have won more than 50 percent of all NASCAR Craftsman Truck races.

* Pontiac Grand Prix driver Ricky Craven led 94 laps on the way to scoring his first career win at Martinsville Speedway on Oct. 15, 2001. Proving that win was no fluke, Craven has led 169 of a possible 1,000 laps in the two races since that victory - more than any other driver in the series...Pontiac's Johnny Benson claims he doesn't enjoy racing at Martinsville Speedway. However, in two of his last three starts there, the Grand Rapids, Michigan driver has posted a second (10/20/02) and a sixth (10/15/01). In those events, Benson has also led 21 laps, which is all he has ever lad at the half-mile Virginia-oval.

* Chevrolet Monte Carlo driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., stands as the only driver to post top-five finishes in both Winston Cup races at Martinsville in 2002. Earnhardt, Jr., finished fourth in the April event and fifth in October.

* With eight Winston Cup races in the books and 28 to go, GM drivers are well accounted for near the top of the series point standings. Chevrolet driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., has climbed from 38th to second in the past six races, while Chevy drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon sit fourth and fifth, respectively. Pontiac's Ricky Craven jumped to sixth after last week's fourth place fun, while Chevrolet's Michael Waltrip holds down seventh. GM Goodwrench Chevy driver Kevin Harvick occupies the eighth spot, followed by Monte Carlo pilot Tony Stewart in ninth. Collectively, those seven drivers own three wins (Waltrip, Craven, Earnhardt, Jr.), 18 top fives and 28 top 10s.

* Herb Fishel, the executive director of GM Racing, will drive the Chevy SSR "Official Pace Vehicle" at the start of the 2003 Indianapolis 500. Fishel will lead the 33-car starting field to a green-flag start at 11 a.m. (EST) Sunday, May 25. Fishel is entering the 40th year of his career and has been a powerful behind-the-scenes force in American motorsports.

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