StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Kansas 2
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Kansas Speedway this weekend. It is a 1.5-mile tri-oval with progressive banking in the corners. The track opened in 2001, with the inaugural race being won by Jeff Gordon.
This weekend’s race is called the “Hollywood Casino 400,” and is set to be 267 laps (400.5 miles). Stage breaks will occur at 80 – 160 - 267, with a competition caution at lap 25. The fuel window is approximately 57-60 laps.
NASCAR has run 11,620.09 miles so far this year. Denny Hamlin has completed 99.92% of them, the most of any driver.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Kansas:
| Kevin Harvick | 9.10 over 31 races |
| Chase Elliott | 10.45 over 11 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 11.26 over 23 races |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 12.96 over 26 races |
| Tyler Reddick | 13.50 over 4 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Kansas:
| Cody Ware | 38.00 over 2 races |
| Joey Gase | 35.75 over 8 races |
| Timmy Hill | 33.91 over 11 races |
| Josh Bilicki | 33.91 over 4 races |
| BJ McLeod | 33.60 over 5 raes |
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Kansas is an Intermediate Track.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Intermediate Tracks:
| Kevin Harvick | 11.14 over 372 races |
| Kyle Larson | 12.26 over 126 races |
| Kyle Busch | 12.43 over 303 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 13.27 over 224 races |
| Joey Logano | 13.32 over 233 races |
There is no clear winningest driver at Kansas. Five drivers share the lead - Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano all each have 3 wins at Kansas.
Notable drivers who have not won at Kansas:
| Kurt Busch | (has won at 17 other tracks) |
| Kyle Larson | (has won at 12 other tracks) |
| Ryan Blaney | (has won at 6 other tracks) |
| Alex Bowman | (has won at 5 other tracks) |
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No one has won their first Cup Series race at Kansas.
Milestone Watch!
| Joey Logano | This will be his 25th start at Kansas |
| Kyle Larson | Currently has 74 Top 5s |
| William Byron | Currently has 49 Top 10s |
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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
| Daniel Suarez | +283 pts |
| Tyler Reddick | +208 pts |
| William Byron | +197 pts |
| Christopher Bell | +186 pts |
| Denny Hamlin | +143 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Aric Almirola | -347 pts |
| Kevin Harvick | -287 pts |
| Erik Jones | -224 pts |
| Brad Keselowski | -164 pts |
| Matt DiBenedetto | -133 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 | 8.24 |
| Kyle Larson | 9.42 |
| Ryan Blaney | 11.42 |
| William Byron | 14.03 |
| Austin Dillon | 14.61 |
| Chris Buescher | 17.48 |
| Ross Chastain | 18.67 |
| Bubba Wallace | 19.09 |
| Michael McDowell | 20.33 |
| Ryan Preece | 22.52 |
| Corey LaJoie | 24.79 |
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Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Ryan Newman | 22.09 |
| Erik Jones | 19.67 |
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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 | 369 pts |
| Kyle Larson | 365 pts |
| Chase Elliott | 257 pts |
| Kyle Busch | 246 pts |
| William Byron | 231 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
| Chevrolet | 1,217 |
| Toyota | 1,139 |
| Ford | 1,136 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Hendrick | 1,170 |
| Joe Gibbs | 1,122 |
| Penske | 1,070 |
| Stewart-Haas | 957 |
| Richard Childress | 865 |
| Chip Ganassi | 858 |
| Roush-Fenway | 749 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 727 |
| Wood Brothers | 666 |
| 23XI | 598 |
| Front Row | 596 |
| Richard Petty | 575 |
| Trackhouse | 564 |
| Spire | 479 |
| Rick Ware | 323 |
| Live Fast | 239 |
| StarCom | 170 |
The race is Sunday, October 24that 3:00pm EST (12:00pm PST) – Enjoy the races everyone!
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