The Chase/The Playoffs

Talladega Superspeedway

Does Winning the Regular-Season Championship Help Win the Playoffs?

2021-09-02 dr. diandra 1

Kyle Larson snatched the regular-season championship right out of Denny Hamlin’s hand. What — if anything — does that mean for his chances in the playoffs? […]

A pie chart showing that 50% of the drivers who get into the playoffs having only won road courses and/or superspeedway races don't make it out of the top 16.
Road Courses

Will Unexpected Winners Change the NASCAR Playoffs?

2021-03-12 dr. diandra 3

The 2021 season started out with two first-time, unexpected winners. How will they impact the NASCAR Playoffs? […]

Drivers

Do Winless NASCAR Drivers Win in the Playoffs?

2019-09-13 dr. diandra 1

NASCAR drivers who didn’t make the playoffs now just want to win. But how likely is a driver who didn’t win in the regular season wins in the playoffs? […]

Road Courses

Which NASCAR Tracks Are Most Accident Prone?

2019-08-16 dr. diandra 7

With Bristol this weekend, thoughts turn naturally to carnage. Short track racing means accidents. Given the greater-than-usual level of aggression among drivers this year, we can expect there to be at least a few collisions.

But does short-track mayhem hold a candle to Daytona and Talladega? Let’s see. […]

Busch, Kyle

NASCAR’s Final Four’s Performance on 1.5-Mile Tracks

2018-11-16 dr. diandra 0

A lot of sites have overall statistics about the championship contenders for the season, or their performance at Homestead. Given that the final race is at a 1.5-mile track, it’s worth looking at how the […]

Busch, Kurt

Winning vs. Consistency: The Delicate Balance of the NASCAR Playoffs

2018-10-26 dr. diandra 6

The NASCAR playoffs determine the season’s champion. Is the champion the guy who wins the most races? Or the guy who runs up front the most?

There’s no scientific way to answer this question, but there is data. NASCAR has modified their playoffs to try to create a suitable balance between winning and consistency. Have they succeeded?

[…]

Drivers

The NASCAR Playoffs and Preordination

2018-09-14 dr. diandra 1

Preordination (n): The action of determining an outcome or course of action in advance; The fact of being determined in advance. The Oxford Living Dictionary You’d think with my interest in data that I’d be the […]

Road Courses

Do Road Courses (Like Superspeedways) Level the Playing Field?

2018-08-03 dr. diandra 4

Are road courses, like superspeedways, where drivers with little chance of winning the championship can ‘luck’ into a playoff berth? […]

A History of Toyota Wins: 2008-2017
Aerodynamics

NASCAR: Did Toyota’s New Car Give them the Advantage in 2017?

2018-01-26 dr. diandra 1

Advantage Toyota? NASCAR’s perennial challenge is keeping manufacturers’ cars even so that no one has an unfair advantage. There is no denying that Toyota had a great 2017. Some people would say that’s because Martin […]

Building Cars

NASCAR’s Laser Inspection Process: Confidence and Accuracy

2016-09-23 dr. diandra 4

There Will Be Rules… The last time I was at the R&D Center, I was given a copy of the official NASCAR rule book for 1948. It was about a quarter of a page. Now there’s […]