StatChat - Nascar Cup Series @ Phoenix
It all comes down to this. 35 races have led to this final contest. 16 playoff drivers have been whittled down to the Final Four. There can only be one champion, but who is favoured to take the W? With the final race of the year taking place at Phoenix for the first time, let’s take a closer look:
Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile tri-oval, making it the first time a championship has been crowned at a short track. This weekend’s race will fittingly be called the Season Finale 500. Phoenix was built in 1964, but did not start hosting NASCAR events until 1988.
The race will be 312 laps long (for a total of 312 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 75 – 190 – 312. The fuel window is approximately 90-95 laps, though tire wear may result in drivers pitting sooner than that.
This year, the Cup Series has now raced a total of 13,201.83 miles.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix:
| Kevin Harvick | 8.97 over 35 races |
| Jimmie Johnson | 9.38 over 34 races |
| Kyle Busch | 10.50 over 30 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 11.27 over 30 races |
| Chase Elliott | 13.00 over 9 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix:
| Joey Gase | 34.00 over 6 races |
| Corey LaJoie | 32.33 over 6 races |
| Michael McDowell | 32.21 over 19 races |
| Quin Houff | 32.21 over 2 races |
| Ryan Preece | 28.75 over 4 races |
Phoenix is classified as a short track. A short track is seen as anything under 1 mile in length.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks
| Kyle Busch | 11.61 over 151 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 11.89 over 145 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 12.64 over 108 races |
| Jimmie Johnson | 13.10 over 187 races |
| Chase Elliott | 13.16 over 47 races |
Kevin Harvick is far and away the winningest driver at Phoenix, having won 9 times. Jimmie Johnson is a distant 2nd, with 4 wins, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch who each have 3.
Notable drivers who have not won at Phoenix:
| Brad Keselowski | (has won at 17 other tracks) |
| Martin Truex Jr. | (has won at 14 other tracks) |
Aric Almirola lists Phoenix as his BEST track, with an average finish of 14.89. Tyler Reddick lists Phoenix as his WORST track, though it should be noted that this is only based on the spring race, where he finished P33.
Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at who’s having a better year than last year.
Drivers Faring Better than in 2019
| Matt DiBenedetto | +212 pts |
| Chase Elliott | +188 pts |
| Austin Dillon | +127 pts |
| Bubba Wallace | +115 pts |
| Brad Keselowski | +111 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2019
| Daniel Suarez | -476 pts |
| Kyle Busch | -247 pts |
| William Byron | -89 pts |
| Joey Logano | -88 pts |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | -73 pts |
While some drivers may be doing better this year than they did in 2019, how does this year stack up against their entire career? This statistic does not include rookies, as this is their first full year in the Cup Series.
Drivers Having their BEST Career Year
| Kevin Harvick | 7.34 |
| Denny Hamlin | 9.46 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 14.94 |
| Michael McDowell | 20.86 |
| Bubba Wallace | 21.26 |
| Corey LaJoie | 25.23 |
Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Daniel Suarez | 26.44 |
| Ryan Preece | 24.06 |
| Matt Kenseth | 21.26 |
For those that aren’t aware, the Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position. (40 for 1st, 35 for 2nd, 34 for 3rd, etc.) No stage points or playoff points count.
Manufacturer Standings
| Ford | 1293 |
| Toyota | 1225 |
| Chevrolet | 1192 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Joe Gibbs | 1226 |
| Penske | 1165 |
| Stewart-Haas | 1140 |
| Hendrick | 1121 |
| Chip Ganassi | 926 |
| Richard Childress | 885 |
| Wood Brothers | 772 |
| Roush-Fenway | 752 |
| Front Row | 693 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 655 |
| Leavine Family | 591 |
| Richard Petty | 559 |
| Germain | 527 |
| Go Fas | 416 |
| Rick Ware | 309 |
| Spire | 234 |
| StarCom | 213 |
The race begins Sunday, November 8that 3:00pm EST (12:00pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone, thanks for a great season!
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