StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Martinsville 2

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The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Martinsville Speedway this weekend, the only track that has been consistently run since NASCAR’s inception.  It is 0.526 miles long, making it the shortest track currently on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.  The track is often called “The Paperclip,” due to it’s squished-oval layout.

 

This weekend’s race is called the “Xfinity 500,” and is set to be 500 laps (263 miles).  Stage breaks will occur at 130 – 260 – 500, with a competition caution at lap 60.  The fuel window is approximately 145-155 laps, though tire wear may be more of a factor in pit strategy.

 

NASCAR has run 12,020.59 miles so far this year.  Denny Hamlin has completed 99.92% of them, the most of any driver.

 

Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Martinsville:

Denny Hamlin

9.71 over 31 races

Ryan Blaney

10.73 over 11 races

Brad Keselowski

11.17 over 23 races

Joey Logano

12.12 over 25 races

Kyle Busch

12.13 over 32 races

 

Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Martinsville:

Joey Gase

35.00 over 4 races

Timmy Hill

34.83 over 6 races

Cody Ware

32.00 over 2 races

Quin Houff

30.33 over 3 races

Michael McDowell

29.81 over 21 races

 

 

Martinsville is a Short Track

 

Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks:

Denny Hamlin

11.55 over 153 races

Kyle Busch

11.95 over 159 races

Brad Keselowski

12.53 over 116 races

Chase Elliott

12.64 over 55 races

Joey Logano

12.94 over 124 races

 

Richard Petty is the winningest driver at Martinsville, having won 15 races.  Darrell Waltrip is second with 11 wins, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon who each have 9.  Denny Hamlin has the most of current drivers with 5 wins.

 

Notable drivers who have not won at Martinsville:

Kyle Larson

(has won at 13 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 Martinsville.

 

 

 

 

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

+287 pts

William Byron

+217 pts

Tyler Reddick

+201 pts

Christopher Bell

+191 pts

Denny Hamlin

+143 pts

 

Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020

Aric Almirola

-354 pts

Kevin Harvick

-272 pts

Erik Jones

-235 pts

Brad Keselowski

-175 pts

Matt DiBenedetto

-141 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

8.15

Kyle Larson

9.18

Chase Elliott

11.41

Ryan Blaney

12.18

William Byron

13.79

Austin Dillon

14.47

Chris Buescher

17.32

Ross Chastain

18.50

Bubba Wallace

18.94

Michael McDowell

20.21

Ryan Preece

22.47

Corey LaJoie

24.79

 

Drivers Having their WORST Career Year

Ryan Newman

22.24

Erik Jones

19.94

 

 

 

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:

Kyle Larson

383 pts

Denny Hamlin

378 pts

Chase Elliott

274 pts

William Byron

250 pts

Kyle Busch

248 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

1,257

Toyota

1,171

Ford

1,170

 

Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:

 

Chartered Team Standings

Hendrick

1,210

Joe Gibbs

1,154

Penske

1,098

Stewart-Haas

991

Richard Childress

892

Chip Ganassi

891

Roush-Fenway

774

JTG-Daugherty

743

Wood Brothers

680

23XI

621

Front Row

617

Trackhouse

586

Richard Petty

583

Spire

491

Rick Ware

329

Live Fast

246

StarCom

172

 

 

 

The race is Sunday, October 31stat 2:00pm EST (11:00am PST) – Enjoy the races 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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