StatChat - NASCAR Cup Series @ Texas
The NASCAR Cup Series visits Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. It is a 1.5-mile quad-oval, a layout similar to Atlanta and Charlotte. The track opened in 1996, and hosted its first Cup Series race in 1997 which was won by Jeff Burton.
This weekend’s race is called the “AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500,” and is set to be 334 laps (501 miles). Stage breaks will occur at 105 – 210 – 334, with a competition caution at lap 25. The fuel window is approximately 60-63 laps.
NASCAR has run 11,119.09 miles so far this year. Denny Hamlin has completed 99.92% of them, the most of any driver.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Texas:
| Tyler Reddick | 8.50 over 2 races |
| Erik Jones | 10.33 over 9 races |
| Kevin Harvick | 10.39 over 36 races |
| Kyle Busch | 10.97 over 30 races |
| Chase Elliott | 12.00 over 10 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Texas:
| Timmy Hill | 37.38 over 8 races |
| Joey Gase | 35.43 over 7 races |
| Quin Houff | 33.33 over 3 races |
| BJ McLeod | 32.00 over 2 races |
| Corey LaJoie | 31.14 over 7 races |
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Texas is an Intermediate Track.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Intermediate Tracks:
| Kevin Harvick | 11.15 over 371 races |
| Kyle Larson | 12.36 over 125 races |
| Kyle Busch | 12.44 over 302 races |
| Joey Logano | 13.27 over 232 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 13.31 over 223 races |
Jimmie Johnson is the winningest driver at Texas, having won 7 times. Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch are tied for 2nd, with 4 each, followed by Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin who each have 3.
Notable drivers who have not won at Texas:
| Brad Keselowski | (has won at 17 other tracks) |
| Martin Truex Jr. | (has won at 15 other tracks) |
| Chase Elliott | (has won at 11 other tracks) |
| Kyle Larson | (has won at 11 other tracks) |
| Ryan Blaney | (has won at 6 other tracks) |
No one has won their first Cup Series race at Texas.
Milestone Watch!
| Denny Hamlin | This will be his 575th Cup Start |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | This will be his 325th Cup Start |
| Brad Keselowski | Currently has 224 Top 10s |
| Kyle Larson | Currently has 124 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 | +273 pts |
| Tyler Reddick | +203 pts |
| William Byron | +175 pts |
| Christopher Bell | +175 pts |
| Denny Hamlin | +150 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Aric Almirola | -349 pts |
| Kevin Harvick | -296 pts |
| Erik Jones | -233 pts |
| Brad Keselowski | -176 pts |
| Matt DiBenedetto | -136 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 | 8.16 |
| Kyle Larson | 9.69 |
| Ryan Blaney | 11.59 |
| William Byron | 14.41 |
| Austin Dillon | 14.63 |
| Chris Buescher | 17.38 |
| Ross Chastain | 18.38 |
| Bubba Wallace | 18.69 |
| Michael McDowell | 20.44 |
| Ryan Preece | 22.09 |
| Corey LaJoie | 24.94 |
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Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Ryan Newman | 21.69 |
| Erik Jones | 19.91 |
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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 | 361 pts |
| Kyle Larson | 347 pts |
| Chase Elliott | 254 pts |
| Kyle Busch | 235 pts |
| William Byron | 216 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 | 1,177 |
| Toyota | 1,105 |
| Ford | 1,103 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Hendrick | 1,130 |
| Joe Gibbs | 1,088 |
| Penske | 1,037 |
| Stewart-Haas | 925 |
| Chip Ganassi | 837 |
| Richard Childress | 837 |
| Roush-Fenway | 733 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 724 |
| Wood Brothers | 642 |
| 23XI | 593 |
| Front Row | 576 |
| Richard Petty | 550 |
| Trackhouse | 537 |
| Spire | 462 |
| Rick Ware | 310 |
| Live Fast | 224 |
| StarCom | 164 |
The race is Sunday, October 17that 2:00pm EST (11:00am PST) – Enjoy the races everyone!
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