StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Talladega 2
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the second race of the Round of 12. Talladega is the largest oval on the NASCAR circuit, at 2.66 miles long. It was constructed in 1969, and hosted its first NASCAR race the same year.
This weekend’s race is called the “Yellawood 500,” and is set to be 188 laps (500 miles). Stage breaks will occur at 60 – 120 – 188, with a competition caution at lap 25. The fuel window is approximately 40-46 laps.
NASCAR has run 10,559.35 miles so far this year. Denny Hamlin has completed 99.91% of them, the most of any driver.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Talladega:
| Tyler Reddick | 11.33 over 3 races |
| Ryan Preece | 12.00 over 5 races |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 14.00 over 16 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 15.60 over 25 races |
| Chase Elliott | 15.73 over 11 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Talladega:
| Christopher Bell | 28.33 over 3 races |
| Cody Ware | 28.25 over 4 races |
| Michael McDowell | 28.14 over 21 races |
| BJ McLeod | 28.00 over 2 races |
| Quin Houff | 25.67 over 3 races |
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Talladega is a Super Speedway
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Super Speedways:
| Chase Briscoe | 15.50 over 3 races |
| Ryan Preece | 15.67 over 11 races |
| Kevin Harvick | 16.46 over 82 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 16.53 over 63 races |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 16.82 over 35 races |
Dale Earnhardt is the winningest driver at Talladega, having won 10 races. His son Dale Jr., along with Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski are all tied for second with 6 wins each.
Notable drivers who have not won at Talladega:
| Kurt Busch | (has won at 17 other tracks) |
| Martin Truex Jr. | (has won at 15 other tracks) |
| Ryan Newman | (has won at 12 other tracks) |
| Kyle Larson | (has won at 10 other tracks) |
| Alex Bowman | (has won at 5 other tracks) |
Brad Keselowski scored his first Cup Series win at Talladega in his 5th ever start. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also scored his first Cup Series win at Talladega, but it was in his 158thstart.
Ryan Preece and Anthony Alfredo list Talladega as their BEST track on the circuit, though Alfredo has only been here one other time in the Cup Series.
Milestone Watch!
| Tyler Reddick | Looking for his 25th Top 10 |
| Daniel Suarez | This will be his 175th Cup Series Start |
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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 | +270 pts |
| Tyler Reddick | +218 pts |
| William Byron | +210 pts |
| Denny Hamlin | +167 pts |
| Christopher Bell | +152 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Aric Almirola | -336 pts |
| Kevin Harvick | -289 pts |
| Erik Jones | -250 pts |
| Brad Keselowski | -193 pts |
| Matt DiBenedetto | -124 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 | 8.30 |
| Kyle Larson | 9.07 |
| Ryan Blaney | 11.57 |
| Chase Elliott | 11.63 |
| William Byron | 13.80 |
| Austin Dillon | 14.73 |
| Bubba Wallace | 19.43 |
| Michael McDowell | 20.70 |
| Ryan Preece | 21.87 |
| Corey LaJoie | 24.70 |
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Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Ryan Newman | 21.13 |
| Erik Jones | 20.37 |
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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 | 357 pts |
| Kyle Larson | 342 pts |
| Chase Elliott | 231 pts |
| Kyle Busch | 221 pts |
| William Byron | 212 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 | 1,104 |
| Ford | 1,034 |
| Toyota | 1,032 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Hendrick | 1,071 |
| Joe Gibbs | 1,023 |
| Penske | 972 |
| Stewart-Haas | 877 |
| Chip Ganassi | 790 |
| Richard Childress | 776 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 685 |
| Roush-Fenway | 668 |
| Wood Brothers | 609 |
| 23XI | 530 |
| Front Row | 528 |
| Richard Petty | 502 |
| Trackhouse | 499 |
| Spire | 445 |
| Rick Ware | 288 |
| Live Fast | 211 |
| StarCom | 139 |
The race is Saturday, October 3rdat 2:00pm EST (11:00am PST) – Enjoy the races everyone!
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