People often cite leading laps as one requirement for a good driver. Laps led is one of the few stats that goes way back in terms of record keeping. Before loop data and transponders, races offered a limited number of things your could count. But who lead each lap was one of them. […]
People often cite the number of lead changes in a race — the lead change metric — and suggest that a big number means a good race. The metric is simple, easy to get and elegant in a fundamental way.
It’s also misleading. […]
The 2024 points-per-race report compares drivers on a more level playing field. NASCAR’s shift to a playoff system complicates comparing driver performance. In some years, a playoff driver couldn’t finish lower than 16th — even when he deserved to. […]
The NASCAR championship format doesn’t necessarily reward the driver who wins the most races in a season. It’s far more important WHEN a driver wins, as Joey Logano showed this year. […]
The total NASCAR schedule, including overtimes and shortened races, added up to 126,449.9 miles and 9,744 laps. But no driver actually ran every mile or every lap. […]
Building Speed’s 2024 By The Numbers feature starts with a look at the Laps and Miles run in 2024. The big story in that department this year was the weather. Despite Mother Nature dissing stock cars, we managed to get in a surprising portion of the scheduled racing. […]
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 […]
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. […]
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. […]
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 […]
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