Doc, I just went back too, and I count 10 times the pole winner won the race, and not a single one of them was on a road course. But still, I wouldn't call a 1 in 11 shot a jinx...
For the record, here's what I came up with for pole winners by year: 2002 - 4 wins, 2001 - 3 wins, 2000 - 3 wins, 1999 - 4 wins, 1998 - 7 wins, 1997 - 4 wins, 1996 - 5 wins.
Here's the # of back to back winners by year: 2002 - 3, 2001 - 3, 2000 - 3, 1999 - 2, 1998 - 5, 1997 - 3, 1996 - 4.
The 1998 and earlier #'s are probably a little skewed because those were back in the day that only 5 or 10 cars had a chance of winning (and about a quarter of the time it was Gordon). But from say, 1999 on it's actually kind of surprising how consistent it is... |