LAS VEGAS – The 2019 season has started off with a lot of unknowns, a new performance package, some controversy and small names making big moves.
The old saying goes that “numbers don’t lie,” so I’ll be sharing more in-depth information on what the statistics are showing regarding the drivers’ performances every race. Aside from stage points, the only thing that matters is the end result. Knowing how you get to the end is just as important as the result, but can easily be overlooked. What this new series of statistics will do is create a unique comparison between all the statistics as we progress through the 2019 season.
Why Keep Statistics?
Just like any sport, teams and individual athletes use the extra numbers of statistics to examine where they are falling behind, where they are performing strong and cross-referencing themselves against the competition. There also are instances where some drivers, especially those young in a series or new to a team, may set personal goals gauged on those statistics.
In the sport of NASCAR, we track much more than just wins, poles, DNFs and top-10 finishes. Laps led, average start/finish, lead lap finishes and even running-at-finish can give a driver or team’s resume that extra lift for a contract or a sponsor. There are many great sites that help keep track of more in-depth statistics, such as Racing Reference, Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet and FOX Sports (Jayski was discontinued by ESPN at the end of the 2018 season).
So with that said, let’s roll the dice here in Vegas and see what numbers come up for us.
3 – Matt DiBenedetto is third in the list of total laps led, only behind Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney. He also has led more laps this season than his entire Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (23 total previously).
7 – Only seven drivers have completed all 532 total laps between Daytona and Atlanta in the MENCS. Three of those drivers are from Joe Gibbs Racing. Those seven drivers are Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin, last week’s Atlanta winner Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson and Erik Jones.
9 – Only nine drivers have officially DNF’d a race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series between Daytona and Atlanta. Nine drivers suffered a DNF in last year’s Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Veags Motor Speedway.
17 – There were 17 caution flags thrown among the first two races of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series at Daytona (11) and Atlanta (6).
2,048 – Between the top three touring series in NASCAR, 2,048 miles have been completed in the races, including overtime laps.
2.5 – Grant Enfinger’s average finish in both truck races, second at Daytona and third at Atlanta.
