Cautions
2024 Iowa Race Report
The 2024 Iowa race report has some edgy tires, a disaster for both Kyles and the first win of the season for defending champion Ryan Blaney. So let’s get to it! Caution- and Lead-O-Gram We […]
math
Lead Changes
Counting Lead Changes Through the First ‘x’ Races is Meaningless
The hoo-rah being made over the large number of lead changes in the NASCAR Cup Series through the first 11 races of the 2024 season is artificial. It’s an accident of schedule changes and tire weirdness at Bristol. Counting lead change numbers by themselves doesn’t mean anything unless you consider where the numbers come from. […]
Aerodynamics
2024 Spring Martinsville Lead Change Preview
The 2024 spring Martinsville lead change preview shows lead-change variations throughout the last three generations of the NASCAR race car. This information provides necessary perspective for understanding this week’s race results. […]
2023
2023 Stats Overview: Penalty Numbers
The 2023 Stats Overview: Penalty Numbers summarizes the overall number and types of penalties incurred in NASCAR’s 2023 season. Teams generated a total of 741 total penalties, but not all were accidental. Last year, I […]
2023
2023 Stats Overview: Days Raced
The first entry in the 2023 Stats Overview is Days Raced, which surveys the days races started. Note that races delayed a day by weather aren’t included here. Also, I only include points races in this survey. […]
Drivers
Elite Drivers After Their Last Wins
@KudzuCarl read my article for NBC Sports about how many races elite drivers ran after their last win. He suggested using finishing position as a metric, which is a great idea. […]
2022
More-Experienced Drivers Fared Worse with the Next Gen Car: Season Rankings
From the start of the 2022 season, veteran NASCAR Cup Series drivers fared worse with the Next Gen car much more than their less-experienced counterparts. Some drivers, like Denny Hamlin, seemed to come to grips with the car in the later portions of the season. Others didn’t. […]
Statistics
What Does the Number of Drivers Earning Top Tens in the First Three Races Really Mean?
Twenty-five different drivers earned top tens in the first three races of the year. But what does that stat really mean? […]
Penalties
2021 Penalties
2021 penalties were down, but let’s take a deep dive into how and why, including how the change in schedule impacted penalties. […]
Statistics
Early-Season Predictions: Don’t Believe Anything You Read — Yet
Don’t believe early-season predictions. There is nothing in a 36-race season that can be predicted on the basis of three races. […]