StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Las Vegas
Three races down, 33 to go. As with last week, take some of this analysis with a grain of salt, as there isn’t a whole lot of data yet in 2021. Is William Byron for sure our 2021 Champion? Is Matt DiBenedetto going to finish outside the Top 30? The answer to these questions are likely no – but there are some things worth noting. This weekend, NASCAR heads west for a trip to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400. Let’s get the StatChat started:
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile tri-oval. While the actual site has been used for various forms of racing since 1972, the 1.5-mile oval opened in 1996 and began hosting the NASCAR Cup Series two years later. It may be the same length as last week’s race at Homestead-Miami, however the tracks are quite different. Tire wear will be much less of a factor, the banking in the corners is completely different, and the overall layout (including the tri-oval) is a different shape than Homestead.
The race will be 267 laps (for a total of 400.5 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 80 – 160 – 267, and a competition caution at lap 25. The fuel window is approximately 58-62 laps.
NASCAR has run 1,153.20 miles so far this year, with only 7 cars having run all of them.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Las Vegas:
| Joey Logano | 8.40 over 15 races |
| Ryan Blaney | 9.67 over 9 races |
| Kyle Larson | 10.78 over 9 races |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 11.00 over 18 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 11.40 over 15 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Las Vegas:
| Joey Gase | 34.80 over 5 races |
| Quin Houff | 33.00 over 2 races |
| Michael McDowell | 32.93 over 14 races |
| Christopher Bell | 28.50 over 2 races |
| Ross Chastain | 28.00 over 5 races |
Las Vegas is an Intermediate Track.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Intermediate Tracks
| Kevin Harvick | 11.73 over 360 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 12.60 over 212 races |
| Kyle Busch | 12.78 over 291 races |
| Chase Elliott | 13.08 over 96 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 13.26 over 275 races |
Jimmie Johnson has the most all-time wins at Las Vegas, with 4. Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski each have 3, and then a group of 5 drivers all have 2.
Notable drivers who have not won at Las Vegas:
| Denny Hamlin | (has won at 17 other tracks) |
| Ryan Newman | (has won at 12 other tracks) |
No current driver has Las Vegas listed as their BEST track. Strangely enough, the only driver who has it listed as their WORST track is the most recent driver to win there – Kurt Busch.
Kevin Harvick is the only current driver to have scored his first Cup Series win at Las Vegas – he managed this feat in only his 3rd ever Cup race.
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 | +660 pts |
| Christopher Bell | +394 pts |
| Denny Hamlin | +364 pts |
| Kurt Busch | +235 pts |
| Daniel Suarez | +163 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Matt DiBenedetto | -743 pts |
| Ryan Blaney | -711 pts |
| Aric Almirola | -620 pts |
| Erik Jones | -459 pts |
| Kyle Busch | -409 pts |
While some drivers may be doing better this year than they did in 2020, 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 | 5.00 |
| Michael McDowell | 5.00 |
| Denny Hamlin | 6.33 |
| Christopher Bell | 12.33 |
| Cole Custer | 15.67 |
| Corey LaJoie | 25.33 |
Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Quin Houff | 34.67 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 32.67 |
| Erik Jones | 26.67 |
| Tyler Reddick | 22.33 |
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
| Chevrolet | 108 |
| Ford | 107 |
| Toyota | 106 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Joe Gibbs | 106 |
| Hendrick | 102 |
| Front Row | 100 |
| Stewart-Haas | 96 |
| Chip Ganassi | 92 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 83 |
| Penske | 81 |
| Richard Childress | 72 |
| Roush-Fenway | 62 |
| Spire | 53 |
| 23XI | 46 |
| Trackhouse | 46 |
| Rick Ware | 37 |
| Richard Petty | 34 |
| Live Fast | 26 |
| Wood Brothers | 14 |
| StarCom | 11 |
The race begins Sunday, March 7that 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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