Schedules
The NASCAR 2021 Schedule
The NASCAR Cup Series will run at a very different distribution of tracks in 2021 than in any year past. Here’s the first in a series of posts looking at schedule changes and how they […]
Racing
Racing
Laps Led and Lead Changes: All Laps are Not Created Equal
NASCAR provides lots of statistics, but beware: the numbers can be deceiving. That’s especially true for laps led and lead changes Laps Led The box score for each race always includes statistics like how many […]
Practice
Which Drivers Improve their Finishing Positions in Doubleheaders?
How has eliminating practices affected finishing positions in NASCAR races? Unfortunately, we can’t create a parallel, COVID-free universe as a control system to answer the question. However, COVID has forced NASCAR to run four weekends […]
Qualifying
Why NASCAR Quarantine Qualifying Had To Change
My return to the unique problems posed by quarantine qualifying is in part because Clint Bowyer tweeted that the pseudo-random draw was really messing him up and it wasn’t fair. I wanted to know if […]
Qualifying
Does NASCAR Need Qualifying?
I’ve made the argument that NASCAR needs at least a little practice. But what about qualifying? Does it have a place in post-pandemic NASCAR? The Problem Racing with the coronavirus forced NASCAR to cancel everything […]
Racing
Does the Driver Who Leads the Most Laps Usually Win?
We all remember at least a couple of times when a driver led the most laps without winning the race. But how often does that actually happen? As always, thanks to racing-reference.info for providing such […]
Climate Change
Why Use LED Lights at Martinsville?
Martinsville is the first motorsport facility in the US to install LED lighting. Let’s look at their system and see why they chose LEDs. […]
Practice
Does NASCAR Need Practices?
The COVID crisis has forced us to think outside the box. Three months ago, we wouldn’t have considered midweek races, racing without fans or racing without qualifying or practice. Now, those things are not only […]
Graph of the Day
Who’s Working the Garage at Darlington?
NASCAR is finally back, albeit with no fans and many fewer people than usual on site. So who occupies the most valuable garage positions? NASCAR has limited teams to a total of 16 people. That […]
2020 Rules Package
Did NASCAR’s Short-Track Package Solve its Short-Track Problem?
Although Sunday’s race at Phoenix was encouraging, one data point is not enough evidence to prove that NASCAR’s short-track package has solved its short-track problem. I guarantee you that the engineers at the NASCAR R&D […]