StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Martinsville
After an off-weekend for Easter, NASCAR is back with a Saturday night race. Seven races and seven different winners have already taken up seven playoff spots. With nine spots left, and many of the big championship contenders still left winless on the season, it might be time for the usual suspects to up their games.
This weekend marks a return to “The Paperclip,” otherwise known as Martinsville Speedway. It is both the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit (0.526 miles long), and the track with the longest tenure – being the only track that remains on the schedule from NASCAR’s inception in 1948. It is known for its distinctive low-banked corners, and compared to the previous race in Atlanta, tire wear will likely not be a big factor.
The race will be 500 laps (for a total of 263 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 130 – 260 – 500, and a competition caution at lap 60. The fuel window is approximately 145-155 laps.
NASCAR has run 2,501.05 miles so far this year, and the only driver who has driven 100% of them is Denny Hamlin.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Martinsville:
| Denny Hamlin | 9.93 over 30 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 10.18 over 22 races |
| Ryan Blaney | 10.70 over 10 races |
| Kyle Busch | 12.19 over 31 races |
| Joey Logano | 12.38 over 24 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Martinsville:
| Quin Houff | 33.50 over 2 races |
| Ross Chastain | 30.25 over 4 races |
| Michael McDowell | 29.75 over 20 races |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 26.42 over 12 races |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 26.19 over 16 races |
Martinsville Speedway is a Short Track.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks:
| Kyle Busch | 11.71 over 154 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 11.75 over 148 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 12.45 over 111 races |
| Chase Elliott | 12.82 over 50 races |
| Kevin Harvick | 13.23 over 200 races |
Richard Petty has the most wins by a landslide at Martinsville, with 15. Darrell Waltrip has 11, and both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson each have 9. Denny Hamlin leads current drivers with 5 wins.
Notable drivers who have not won at Martinsville:
| Kyle Larson | (has won at 5 other tracks) |
| Ryan Blaney | (has won at 4 other tracks) |
No current driver has Martinsville listed as either their BEST or WORST track.
No current drivers have ever scored their first Cup Series win at Martinsville – will that change this weekend?
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
| Denny Hamlin | +378 pts |
| Daniel Suarez | +360 pts |
| Michael McDowell | +343 pts |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +335 pts |
| William Byron | +267 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Aric Almirola | -579 pts |
| Matt DiBenedetto | -309 pts |
| Kevin Harvick | -279 pts |
| Erik Jones | -240 pts |
| Tyler Reddick | -203 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
| Denny Hamlin | 4.71 |
| Kyle Larson | 11.86 |
| Michael McDowell | 12.29 |
| William Byron | 12.86 |
| Austin Dillon | 15.00 |
| Chris Buescher | 16.29 |
Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Tyler Reddick | 21.57 |
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In 2017, NASCAR introduced the concept of Stage Racing, which pauses the race at certain intervals and awards bonus points for the top 10 at that moment. Here are the Top-5 Stage Point earners so far this year:
Stage Point Leaders:
| Denny Hamlin | 101 pts |
| Brad Keselowski | 52 pts |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 50 pts |
| Joey Logano | 50 pts |
| Kyle Larson | 48 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 | 257 |
| Chevrolet | 250 |
| Toyota | 247 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Joe Gibbs | 246 |
| Hendrick | 240 |
| Penske | 231 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 194 |
| Stewart-Haas | 193 |
| Richard Childress | 178 |
| Front Row | 177 |
| Chip Ganassi | 176 |
| Roush-Fenway | 166 |
| Trackhouse | 124 |
| Richard Petty | 119 |
| Wood Brothers | 108 |
| 23XI | 107 |
| Spire | 96 |
| Rick Ware | 62 |
| Live Fast | 44 |
| StarCom | 36 |
The race begins Saturday, April 10that 7:30 pm EST (4:30 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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