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. […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 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. […]
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. […]
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. […]
With the threat of rain looming, here are a few things to watch for the 2026 New Hampshire NASCAR race. […]
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. […]
Much talk this week about lack of passing at Indy and whether NASCAR a) should be racing there only with a different car and b) should be racing there at all. Let’s insert some actual data into the discussion. […]
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