Chart Link:
I've been casually following NASCAR for a bit now, and always liked diving into numbers. One of the things I am trying to get a better handle on is which drivers specialize on certain tracks/types of tracks, and if teams or even manufacturers have similar trends.
I'm aware driver averages has a lot if not all of what I did, and with more history and detail, but I wanted to have my own go of it so I could note trends and relationships and hopefully come up with other fun insights.
The chart above shows each race team's average place in points rankings vs their average finish at intermediate tracks so far this year (Atlanta, Miami, Texas, Las Vegas, Kansas). I chose to start there since the upcoming race (Charlotte) is in the same category. I'm aware that total points to average finish isn't a true 1:1 since the former includes bonus points that I haven't subtracted. While this is a problem now, it will go away once I've put in the data for the other tracks, and can compare track type finish to all average finishes.
Some outliers:
Riley Herbst (32nd in points) has an average finish of 22nd at intermediates so far.
Denny Hamlin has an average finish of 22nd at intermediates, despite being 7th in points. It's worth noting that he's had two DNFs due to equipment failure.
Hendrick as a whole is KILLING it this year, but not at 1.5s. All 4 drivers have an average intermediate finish worse than their current points rank, despite every Hendrick car finishing every intermediate race. Interestingly, every other Chevy team is better at intermediates than on season total.
However, I suspect that the bonus points are the likely reason for this, as the worst teams by this counting are Hendrick, Gibbs, Penske, and 23XI, who account for every driver in the top 10 of points. I also want to start comparing start v finish on drivers and teams as well. So yeah, I've got some work to do.
Let me know what you think!
I've been casually following NASCAR for a bit now, and always liked diving into numbers. One of the things I am trying to get a better handle on is which drivers specialize on certain tracks/types of tracks, and if teams or even manufacturers have similar trends.
I'm aware driver averages has a lot if not all of what I did, and with more history and detail, but I wanted to have my own go of it so I could note trends and relationships and hopefully come up with other fun insights.
The chart above shows each race team's average place in points rankings vs their average finish at intermediate tracks so far this year (Atlanta, Miami, Texas, Las Vegas, Kansas). I chose to start there since the upcoming race (Charlotte) is in the same category. I'm aware that total points to average finish isn't a true 1:1 since the former includes bonus points that I haven't subtracted. While this is a problem now, it will go away once I've put in the data for the other tracks, and can compare track type finish to all average finishes.
Some outliers:
Riley Herbst (32nd in points) has an average finish of 22nd at intermediates so far.
Denny Hamlin has an average finish of 22nd at intermediates, despite being 7th in points. It's worth noting that he's had two DNFs due to equipment failure.
Hendrick as a whole is KILLING it this year, but not at 1.5s. All 4 drivers have an average intermediate finish worse than their current points rank, despite every Hendrick car finishing every intermediate race. Interestingly, every other Chevy team is better at intermediates than on season total.
However, I suspect that the bonus points are the likely reason for this, as the worst teams by this counting are Hendrick, Gibbs, Penske, and 23XI, who account for every driver in the top 10 of points. I also want to start comparing start v finish on drivers and teams as well. So yeah, I've got some work to do.
Let me know what you think!
