StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Homestead-Miami
Two races in, and we have some trends to analyze! Take some of this analysis with a grain of salt, as there isn’t a whole lot of data yet in 2021. However, we’re going to give it a try anyway. This weekend, NASCAR returns to Florida for a trip to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Dixie Vodka 400. Let’s have a look at some data:
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a 1.5-mile oval that opened in 1995. From 2002 to 2019, it hosted NASCAR’s final race of the season – this was changed to Phoenix last year. With two wild-card races (in a super speedway and road course) to start the year, many see this as the first time we’ll be able to take stock of who has a legitimate shot to win it all this year.
The race will be 267 laps (for a total of 400.5 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 80 – 160 – 267. The fuel window is approximately 62-66 laps.
NASCAR has run 752.70 miles so far this year, with only 9 cars having run all of them.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Homestead:
| Kevin Harvick | 7.40 over 20 races |
| Chase Elliott | 8.00 over 5 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 9.94 over 16 races |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 10.31 over 16 races |
| Austin Dillon | 12.57 over 7 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Homestead:
| Joey Gase | 37.50 over 2 races |
| Ross Chastain | 34.00 over 2 races |
| Michael McDowell | 31.70 over 10 races |
| Corey LaJoie | 31.25 over 4 races |
| Ryan Preece | 29.00 over 3 races |
Homestead-Miami is an Intermediate Track.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Intermediate Tracks
| Kevin Harvick | 11.74 over 359 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 12.59 over 211 races |
| Kyle Busch | 12.81 over 290 races |
| Chase Elliott | 13.00 over 95 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 13.25 over 274 races |
There is a three-way tie for winningest driver at Homestead, with Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Denny Hamlin each having 3 wins.
Notable drivers who have not won at Homestead:
| Brad Keselowski | (has won at 17 other tracks) |
| Ryan Newman | (has won at 12 other tracks) |
Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick list Homestead as their BEST track (although Reddick has only had one race at Homestead). William Byron is the only driver to list Homestead as his WORST track.
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 2020
| Michael McDowell | +726 pts |
| Christopher Bell | +628 pts |
| Denny Hamlin | +568 pts |
| Joey Logano | +307 pts |
| Cole Custer | +306 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Matt DiBenedetto | -821 pts |
| Ryan Blaney | -669 pts |
| Tyler Reddick | -581 pts |
| Aric Almirola | -566 pts |
| Kyle Busch | -565 pts |
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 | 75 |
| Toyota | 72 |
| Chevrolet | 68 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Joe Gibbs | 72 |
| Front Row | 69 |
| Stewart-Haas | 64 |
| Chip Ganassi | 63 |
| Hendrick | 62 |
| Penske | 60 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 59 |
| Spire | 42 |
| Richard Childress | 37 |
| Roush Fenway | 32 |
| 23XI | 31 |
| Rick Ware | 31 |
| Richard Petty | 24 |
| Live Fast | 23 |
| Trackhouse | 22 |
| StarCom | 9 |
| Wood Brothers | 5 |
The race begins Sunday, February 28that 3:30 pm EST (12:30 pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone!
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Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!
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