blog Archives : Building Speed

Are Recent Martinsville Winners More Likely to Win Now?

2026-10-30 dr. diandra 0

A lot of statistical analyses emphasize recent Martinsville winners. Most remind us of Hendrick Motorsports’ 31 wins. But I wonder whether people are over-emphasizing the importance of wins — or even recent wins? Is there any data that supports the idea that winning the last Martinsville race (like Chase Elliott) or the last Fall race (William Byron) gives those drivers higher likelihoods of winning this weekend? […]

Leading Laps Matters. Leading the Most Laps Doesn’t

2026-10-16 dr. diandra 0

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. […]

An Alternative Metric for Rainy Days

2026-10-10 dr. diandra 0

I’ve said before that an alternative metric is needed because the current one penalizes drivers too severely for one bad race. The fourth rained-out qualifying session in six Chase races brings home the point. Some […]

Can a Champion Come from Outside the Top-Six Seeds?

2026-09-25 dr. diandra 0

Within weeks of NASCAR announcing a re-formulated version of The Chase for 2026, the word around the garage was that the future champion would have to enter The Chase as one of the top six seeds. […]

Does the Lead-Change Metric Determine a Good Race?

2026-09-11 dr. diandra 0

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. […]

Pit Road and Persistence Determine Darlington Outcome

2026-09-06 dr. diandra 0

Pit road performance always plays a huge role at Darlington Raceway. Equally important is how well a team can recover from a pit-road glitch. The latter played a huge role in Christopher Bell’s win tonight. […]

Will NASCAR’s New Stage-Break Rule Produce Lots More Green-Flag Laps?

2026-08-27 dr. diandra 0

NASCAR has a new stage-break rule after fan frustration over large numbers of caution laps. One reason for that frustration is because the lengths of cautions are going up. That, in part at least, is because softer tires shed more rubber and necessitate more cleanup. […]

2026 New Hampshire: Practice Prospects

2026-08-23 dr. diandra 0

The 2026 New Hampshire practice prospects come from a single 50-minute practice session where all drivers participated and teams had two sets of tires. […]

2026 New Hampshire: What to Watch

2026-08-22 dr. diandra 0

With the threat of rain looming, here are a few things to watch for the 2026 New Hampshire NASCAR race. […]

Elliott Sadler Runs Richmond: A Circle Closes

2026-08-18 dr. diandra 0

If you read my long-ago book The Physics of NASCAR, you know that the team I embedded with was Ray Evernham’s No. 19, driven by Elliott Sadler. Richmond reminded me that it’s almost 20 years since I did the research for that book. Elliott’s homecoming of sorts completed a circle for him — and for me. […]