STATS WEEK: Surprises in enduro points

Toll Holden Racing Team was the clear winner of this year’s V8 Supercar ‘season of endurance’ but there were some other surprises that you may not have noticed.

In the next instalment of Speedcafe.com.au’s week of statistical mayhem, we can reveal some of the unsung heroes of this year’s L&H 500 at Phillip Island and Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama.

Will Davison and Garth Tander won both endurance races in 2009 and clearly sit on top of the points tally when only those two events are taken into account. Their only blemish from a points perspective is not winning the qualifying races on the Saturday at Phillip Island, which were won by Todd Kelly in the Jack Daniel’s Commodore he shared with brother Rick, and Mark Winterbottom in he and Steven Richards’ Orrcon and Castrol-backed Ford Performance Racing Falcon.

Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes sit second on the tally for Team Vodafone, while the Kelly brothers are third for their own Jack Daniel’s Racing team, having shown strong pace at both endures in 2009.

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While the Speedcafe.com.au stats only show drivers who competed at every event in 2009, it should be noted that while Sprint Gas Racing’s Greg Murphy sits seventh on the ladder, his co-driver for those events, Seven Network commentator and V8 Supercars Australia board member Mark Skaife, should also be sitting alongside ‘Murph’ after a great comeback performance.

In eighth on our endurance event ladder is none other than Tim Slade, who made his debut – yes, DEBUT – at the V8 Supercar endurance races in 2009.

Slade was partnered with Russell Ingall at Phillip Island before switching to the sister Supercheap Auto Commodore alongside team boss Paul Morris for Bathurst. In the end, Slade was the best performed driver in his team in terms of points scored in ‘enduro-time’.

If you are a Ford fan, don’t look now, but other than Holden-bound Whincup and Lowndes, there is not one Falcon driver in the top 13 positions on this ladder … some work to do for FPR, DJR and SBR come 2010 for the endurance races.

Check back tomorrow for the next instalment of STATS WEEK – only on Speedcafe.com.au … the place to get your racing stats fix!

2009 Endurance Races
Two Races
Actual 2009 Championship position in brackets
1. (2) Will Davison 559
1. (3) Garth Tander 559
3. (1) Jamie Whincup 469
3. (4) Craig Lowndes 469
5. (8) Rick Kelly 383
5. (18) Todd Kelly 383
7. (21) Greg Murphy 372
8. (23) Tim Slade 369
9. (14) Jason Richards 321
9. (20) Cameron McConville 321
11. (10) Lee Holdsworth 299
11. (11) Michael Caruso 299
13. (9) Russell Ingall 297
14. (12) Shane van Gisbergen 291
14. (17) Alex Davison 291
16. (6) Steven Johnson 282
16. (7) James Courtney 282
18. (22) David Reynolds 253
19. (15) Paul Dumbrell 249
20. (5) Mark Winterbottom 242
20. (13) Steven Richards 242
22. (24) Tony D’Alberto 277
23. (25) Jason Bargwanna 248
24. (26) Jack Perkins 245
25. (19) Jason Bright 192
26. (16) Fabian Coulthard 57
27. (27) Michael Patrizi 57
28. (28) Dean Fiore 27