Thursday, April 17, 2014

Competition in Sprint Cup Series is off to a strong start

  
   The first eight races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season certainly have given the impression the season is off to a very competitive start, but there are some statistics from NASCAR's Loop Data, which provide some strong evidence to back up the claim.

   Among them:

   - All three manufacturers have won races thus far, led by Chevrolet's four victories.
   - An average of 12 different leaders per race, compared to 8.6 at this point last year.
   - An average of 25.6 lead changes per race, compared to 17.4 in 2013.
   - A total of 29,541 green flag passes, compared to 23,178 in 2013.
   - A total of 346 green flag passes for the lead, compared to 181 in 2013.
   - An average margin of victory of 0.588 seconds, the smallest since the start of the 2008 season.
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1 comment:

  1. MonkeesfanApril 20, 2014 at 7:13 PM

    Here's what stands out overall on top of the Loop Data stats -


    Daytona broke 40 lead changes, while Fontana and Martinsville back-to-back combined for an eye-popping 68. Suddenly it's not implausible to think this season will see more races breaking 40, especially given Talladega and also that last August Pocono and Michigan saw promising racing.

    Chevrolet - as always - is in charge, but this time it's NOT Hendrick Motorsports. Stewart-Haas' surge despite mediocre efforts by Tony Stewart and a noticeable (and to be expected) relapse of Danica Patrick is surprising given the reality Hendrick controls that group's racecars and engines - outside of cost issues it remains baffling why the manufacturers do not help teams like SHR build their own engine shops and thus control their own engines.

    As expected Penske has taken control of Ford's program. The wildcard for Ford is Petty's team, showing real improvement with Trent Owens (Randy's son) crew chiefing Aric Almirola';s #43.

    Toyota's program more and more looks in disarray. JGR is the only Toyota force showing any kind of muscle.

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