StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Kansas 2

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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

 

 

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)

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

Drivers Having their WORST Career Year

Ryan Newman

22.09

Erik Jones

19.67

 

 

 

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!

 

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @StatChat_RR

Or you can email directly: acarabine@racingrefresh.com

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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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