StatChat: NASCAR Cup Series Championship @ Phoenix
The NASCAR Cup Series makes its final stop of 2021, crowning a new champion at Phoenix Raceway this weekend. Phoenix is a 1-mile tri-oval track with a distinctive dog-leg that sets it apart from other oval tracks.
This weekend’s race is called the “Season Finale 500,” and is set to be 312 laps (312 miles). Stage breaks will occur at 75 – 190 – 312. The fuel window is approximately 90-95 laps.
NASCAR has run 12,284.11 miles so far this year. Denny Hamlin has completed 99.92% of them, the most of any driver.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix:
| Kevin Harvick | 8.84 over 37 races |
| Denny Hamlin | 10.78 over 32 races |
| Kyle Busch | 10.97 over 32 races |
| Chase Elliott | 11.18 over 11 races |
| Kyle Larson | 11.64 over 14 races |
Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix:
| Timmy Hill | 35.78 over 9 races |
| Josh Bilicki | 35.00 over 2 races |
| Quin Houff | 33.75 over 4 races |
| Joey Gase | 33.71 over 7 races |
| Corey LaJoie | 32.38 over 8 races |
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For the purposes of this article, Phoenix is being considered a “Short Track” – in other words, tracks shorter than 1.5 miles.
Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks:
| Denny Hamlin | 11.63 over 154 races |
| Kyle Busch | 11.90 over 160 races |
| Brad Keselowski | 12.47 over 117 races |
| Chase Elliott | 12.67 over 56 races |
| Joey Logano | 12.93 over 125 races |
Kevin Harvick is the winningest driver at Phoenix, having scored 9 victories over his career. Jimmie Johnson earned 4, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch each have 3.
Notable drivers who have not won at Phoenix:
| Brad Keselowski | (has won at 17 other tracks) |
| Kyle Larson | (has won at 13 other tracks) |
| Ryan Blaney | (has won at 6 other tracks) |
| Alex Bowman | (has won at 6 other tracks) |
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No one has won their first Cup Series race at Phoenix.
Milestone Watch!
| Brad Keselowski | This will be his 25th Career Start @ Phoenix |
| Cole Custer | This will be his 75th Career Cup Series Start |
| Alex Bowman | This will be his 225th Career Cup Series Start |
| Austin Dillon | This will be his 300th Career Cup Series Start |
| Ryan Newman | This will be his 725th Career Cup Series Start |
| Alex Bowman | Looking for his 25th Top-5 Finish |
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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 | +278 pts |
| William Byron | +234 pts |
| Tyler Reddick | +193 pts |
| Christopher Bell | +190 pts |
| Denny Hamlin | +122 pts |
Drivers Faring Worse than in 2020
| Aric Almirola | -334 pts |
| Kevin Harvick | -278 pts |
| Erik Jones | -223 pts |
| Brad Keselowski | -161 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 | 8.60 |
| Kyle Larson | 9.31 |
| Chase Elliott | 11.54 |
| Ryan Blaney | 12.14 |
| William Byron | 13.54 |
| Austin Dillon | 14.43 |
| Chris Buescher | 17.09 |
| Ross Chastain | 18.74 |
| Bubba Wallace | 19.11 |
| Michael McDowell | 20.37 |
| Ryan Preece | 22.86 |
| Corey LaJoie | 24.69 |
Drivers Having their WORST Career Year
| Ryan Newman | 22.51 |
| Erik Jones | 19.60 |
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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:
| Kyle Larson | 392 pts |
| Denny Hamlin | 384 pts |
| Chase Elliott | 294 pts |
| William Byron | 265 pts |
| Kyle Busch | 255 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 | 1,297 |
| Toyota | 1,206 |
| Ford | 1,204 |
Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis:
Chartered Team Standings
| Hendrick | 1,250 |
| Joe Gibbs | 1,189 |
| Penske | 1,132 |
| Stewart-Haas | 1,022 |
| Chip Ganassi | 921 |
| Richard Childress | 916 |
| Roush-Fenway | 802 |
| JTG-Daugherty | 761 |
| Wood Brothers | 702 |
| Front Row | 634 |
| 23XI | 633 |
| Richard Petty | 612 |
| Trackhouse | 595 |
| Spire | 507 |
| Rick Ware | 336 |
| Live Fast | 254 |
| StarCom | 175 |
The race is Sunday, November 7that 3:00pm EST (12:00pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone!
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