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Here's what you need to know heading into Homestead for the championship picture:
Kevin Harvick is the fourth-best driver at the 1.5-mile South Florida track, followed by Denny Hamlin (seventh) and Jimmie Johnson (eighth).
That's not a prediction of the actual finishing order, but it does show Harvick is historically strong at Homestead – which could help his chances of overcoming a 46-point deficit.
Unfortunately for him, Hamlin and Johnson are good there as well.
Many of you may have a fantasy racing championship on the line this week, too. The sleeper no one is talking about: Martin Truex Jr., who is third in driver rating.
The final pre-race driver rating of 2010:
Ford 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum:150 points per race.
Number of Races: 5
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 99 Carl Edwards 5.0 147.1 111.0
2 17 Matt Kenseth 9.6 149.8 105.3
3 1 M Truex Jr. 6.8 117.6 103.8
4 29 Kevin Harvick 7.4 126.7 101.1
5 16 Greg Biffle 9.4 133.5 99.0
6 24 Jeff Gordon 9.4 116.0 95.1
7 11 Denny Hamlin 10.6 123.1 94.7
8 48 Jimmie Johnson 15.2 116.0 92.9
9 5 Mark Martin 10.3 113.9 91.9
10 31 Jeff Burton 17.8 121.8 88.7
11 33 Clint Bowyer 16.3 102.5 88.5
12 14 Tony Stewart 18.2 109.3 88.2
13 9 Kasey Kahne 13.4 129.7 88.1
14 07 Casey Mears 16.0 125.8 84.6
15 18 Kyle Busch 25.2 102.9 84.2
16 39 Ryan Newman 18.4 114.4 79.7
17 6 David Ragan 22.7 102.4 79.5
18 00 David Reutimann 20.0 95.0 78.8
19 2 Kurt Busch 23.0 125.1 78.3
20 22 Dave Blaney 16.5 100.3 77.6
21 44 AJ Allmendinger 10.5 86.9 76.9
22 26 Jamie McMurray 17.6 104.5 75.5
23 42 Juan Montoya 26.0 88.3 74.2
24 49 Mike Bliss 25.5 92.7 70.8
25 66 Scott Riggs 19.7 111.4 69.9
26 4 Todd Bodine 20.0 67.9 67.9
27 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 28.6 96.7 66.4
28 40 David Stremme 21.3 81.8 65.2
29 20 Joey Logano 24.0 64.0 64.0
30 02 David Gilliland 30.3 73.8 63.6
31 78 Joe Nemechek 24.3 79.3 61.5
32 82 Scott Speed 21.5 71.2 61.5
33 18 J.J. Yeley 30.5 75.4 57.2
34 21 Bill Elliott 20.3 67.3 54.7
35 43 Reed Sorenson 27.4 70.1 54.1
36 19 Elliott Sadler 33.2 78.4 53.8
37 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 29.0 70.6 53.0
38 70 Johnny Sauter 41.0 52.1 52.1
39 98 Paul Menard 27.0 74.7 52.0
40 7 Robby Gordon 29.2 71.8 51.4
41 12 Brad Keselowski 24.0 58.4 51.2
42 37 Travis Kvapil 25.8 73.7 50.6
43 66 Jeff Green 26.0 51.0 50.4
44 83 Brian Vickers 31.6 67.4 50.0
45 21 Ken Schrader 25.5 61.4 49.8
46 78 Regan Smith 33.0 41.8 41.3
47 71 Bobby Labonte 32.4 50.7 41.0
48 8 Aric Almirola 35.0 41.0 41.0
49 47 Marcos Ambrose 38.5 53.3 40.1
50 70 Tony Raines 28.7 47.1 38.9
51 55 Michael Waltrip 32.3 44.4 36.5
52 66 Kevin Lepage 35.0 36.1 36.1
53 34 John Andretti 33.0 31.9 31.9
54 45 Chad McCumbee 39.0 30.2 30.2
55 10 P Carpentier 40.0 27.6 27.6
56 36 M McDowell 43.0 27.0 27.0
57 08 Terry Labonte 42.0 23.8 23.8
Don't go thinking Jimmie Johnson has been thwarted in an attempt to win his fifth straight championship just yet.
Though Denny Hamlin is the current points leader, NASCAR's driver rating stat tells us the Chase is far from over.
Johnson is by far the best driver at Phoenix, according to the stat, meaning he could very well pick up ground on Hamlin (eighth) and Harvick (10th) on Sunday.
For your fantasy team, sleeper picks include Martin Truex Jr. (11th) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (13th). Avoid Joey Logano (21st) and Jamie McMurray (20th).
Kobalt Tools 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Phoenix International Raceway
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 4.2 149.9 123.7
2 5 Mark Martin 8.7 145.6 102.3
3 24 Jeff Gordon 11.8 133.2 101.1
4 2 Kurt Busch 13.2 150.0 98.7
5 99 Carl Edwards 10.5 117.6 98.6
6 16 Greg Biffle 15.6 144.2 96.2
7 14 Tony Stewart 13.2 130.4 96.2
8 11 Denny Hamlin 11.6 118.2 95.2
9 18 Kyle Busch 13.9 121.3 94.8
10 29 Kevin Harvick 13.9 150.0 94.6
11 56 M Truex Jr. 15.7 121.4 88.5
12 31 Jeff Burton 10.5 101.7 86.2
13 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 20.8 127.3 86.1
14 39 Ryan Newman 21.5 112.5 85.9
15 33 Clint Bowyer 14.9 114.5 84.7
16 17 Matt Kenseth 18.4 120.9 83.3
17 42 Juan Montoya 17.1 128.8 81.6
18 47 Marcos Ambrose 13.5 87.3 79.9
19 43 AJ Allmendinger 19.8 90.6 76.9
20 1 Jamie McMurray 19.7 123.9 76.0
21 20 Joey Logano 17.3 111.0 73.4
22 00 David Reutimann 18.8 107.8 73.3
23 9 Kasey Kahne 22.2 105.2 71.7
24 83 Brian Vickers 23.7 118.4 71.0
25 71 Bobby Labonte 18.0 105.7 70.7
26 66 Jeff Green 22.0 92.7 65.7
27 07 Casey Mears 25.1 85.2 63.1
28 96 J.J. Yeley 24.4 88.1 62.6
29 12 Brad Keselowski 26.5 67.1 61.9
30 6 David Ragan 24.9 78.8 60.6
31 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 21.2 85.5 60.5
32 35 Johnny Sauter 26.7 83.6 60.0
33 43 Reed Sorenson 26.8 71.0 58.6
34 01 Aric Almirola 26.0 55.6 55.6
35 55 Michael Waltrip 30.0 118.0 54.8
36 7 Robby Gordon 27.1 86.4 54.8
37 98 Paul Menard 25.0 64.5 53.5
38 12 David Stremme 25.6 73.0 53.4
39 78 Regan Smith 28.0 68.0 53.2
40 19 Elliott Sadler 27.2 87.1 53.1
41 49 Mike Bliss 30.7 63.2 52.6
42 90 Scott Riggs 31.8 65.4 52.3
43 34 Travis Kvapil 25.7 74.1 50.1
44 55 Dave Blaney 31.4 69.1 50.1
45 37 David Gilliland 28.0 76.7 49.6
46 96 Ken Schrader 27.2 72.6 49.5
47 4 Mike Wallace 27.0 49.5 49.5
48 87 Joe Nemechek 29.4 86.8 48.3
49 37 Tony Raines 29.2 74.4 47.3
50 82 Scott Speed 32.0 64.6 45.1
51 11 Jason Leffler 29.0 43.7 43.7
52 37 Kevin Lepage 28.0 36.9 36.9
53 66 M McDowell 39.3 41.7 35.6
54 10 P Carpentier 33.0 38.3 35.4
55 38 Kevin Conway 33.0 33.8 33.8
56 21 Bill Elliott 31.3 44.1 33.5
57 34 John Andretti 36.0 36.5 32.6
58 13 Max Papis 36.0 35.1 32.5
59 02 Brandon Ash 43.0 29.4 29.4
60 46 Terry Cook 34.0 28.9 28.9
61 27 J Villeneuve 41.0 26.3 26.3
Every year, Tony Stewart holds a fantasy camp of sorts at Texas Motor Speedway called the "Smoke Show."
Well, according to NASCAR's driver rating, Sunday's race at Texas could turn into the "Smoke Show" as well.
Stewart is the top pick for your fantasy team or gambling, according to driver rating, ahead of Matt Kenseth.
Jimmie Johnson leads the three-man Chase battle thanks to his No. 3 spot. Denny Hamlin is sixth, but Kevin Harvick is all the way back in 15th – not a good sign for the current third-place contender.
Here's the full list:
AAA Texas 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Texas Motor Speedway
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 14 Tony Stewart 12.9 149.7 105.7
2 17 Matt Kenseth 7.7 133.8 101.6
3 48 Jimmie Johnson 10.8 130.6 99.0
4 18 Kyle Busch 14.7 135.8 98.3
5 99 Carl Edwards 17.5 146.7 97.8
6 11 Denny Hamlin 9.6 123.1 97.2
7 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 15.5 116.5 96.4
8 16 Greg Biffle 18.4 149.2 95.5
9 2 Kurt Busch 14.1 134.8 94.5
10 24 Jeff Gordon 14.6 136.3 93.7
11 33 Clint Bowyer 15.3 119.5 88.4
12 5 Mark Martin 11.5 123.4 88.1
13 56 M Truex Jr. 13.9 117.8 86.5
14 31 Jeff Burton 12.9 126.8 86.0
15 29 Kevin Harvick 12.1 107.6 83.0
16 00 David Reutimann 26.3 108.6 82.2
17 9 Kasey Kahne 23.2 131.4 81.5
18 42 Juan Montoya 24.7 91.2 78.3
19 07 Casey Mears 16.1 112.1 77.7
20 1 Jamie McMurray 17.7 124.0 77.7
21 47 Marcos Ambrose 23.5 99.7 71.4
22 39 Ryan Newman 20.2 108.4 68.5
23 6 David Ragan 24.1 88.7 68.3
24 83 Brian Vickers 24.9 92.5 63.4
25 43 AJ Allmendinger 24.4 85.1 61.8
26 98 Paul Menard 25.3 84.7 61.4
27 12 David Stremme 22.0 90.4 60.4
28 37 David Gilliland 26.4 77.7 60.3
29 66 Scott Riggs 24.5 91.1 59.6
30 32 Reed Sorenson 31.3 90.7 59.5
31 19 Elliott Sadler 24.5 87.1 59.3
32 96 Tony Raines 19.0 76.7 58.6
33 96 J.J. Yeley 31.4 87.4 57.7
34 66 Jeff Green 23.6 78.6 57.1
35 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 26.2 75.0 57.0
36 71 Bobby Labonte 26.1 92.4 55.7
37 55 Michael Waltrip 27.6 108.8 55.3
38 82 Scott Speed 22.3 62.0 54.3
39 96 Ken Schrader 28.5 66.9 53.4
40 12 Brad Keselowski 22.8 63.3 52.1
41 20 Joey Logano 29.3 66.6 52.0
42 7 Robby Gordon 31.0 75.5 50.7
43 55 Dave Blaney 29.3 61.1 46.8
44 09 Mike Bliss 31.2 82.9 46.3
45 34 Travis Kvapil 26.1 64.9 46.1
46 87 Joe Nemechek 30.5 68.8 44.7
47 21 Bill Elliott 31.6 55.8 42.4
48 70 Johnny Sauter 30.0 59.6 41.8
49 10 P Carpentier 28.0 41.7 41.7
50 78 Regan Smith 30.6 55.9 41.6
51 34 John Andretti 30.0 47.9 40.9
52 36 Boris Said 27.0 40.5 40.5
53 11 Jason Leffler 36.0 40.1 40.1
54 44 Terry Labonte 33.0 51.2 40.0
55 4 Mike Wallace 30.5 48.7 39.0
56 13 Max Papis 28.5 46.7 37.1
57 61 Kevin Lepage 32.5 37.1 34.2
58 38 Kevin Conway 27.0 32.9 32.9
59 66 M McDowell 38.3 33.5 32.0
60 8 Aric Almirola 33.0 31.9 31.9
61 66 Hermie Sadler 29.0 31.4 31.4
62 74 Derrike Cope 41.0 25.8 25.8
Everyone knows predicting restrictor-plate races is risky business. If you threw the top 25 or 30 drivers' names in a hat and pulled one out, you'd have just as good of a chance as picking the winner as trying to made an educated guess.
Still, for those of you who want to try doing research, we present you with this week's driver rating.
For the first time all Chase long, Jimmie Johnson is not No. 1 (in fact, he's not even in the top 10).
But No. 1 isn't Dale Earnhardt Jr., either – it's Denny Hamlin.
Did you see that coming? We didn't.
Here are the full rankings:
AMP Energy Juice 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 11 Denny Hamlin 19.3 125.0 95.9
2 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 20.0 119.0 93.3
3 6 David Ragan 13.3 121.5 92.5
4 83 Brian Vickers 17.6 107.6 89.6
5 14 Tony Stewart 16.1 117.2 89.0
6 31 Jeff Burton 19.6 101.0 87.1
7 24 Jeff Gordon 20.6 135.5 86.0
8 20 Joey Logano 16.0 91.2 85.3
9 2 Kurt Busch 12.6 107.3 85.0
10 1 Jamie McMurray 17.7 110.5 84.4
11 48 Jimmie Johnson 15.4 117.2 83.6
12 42 Juan Montoya 16.4 102.9 82.5
13 12 Brad Keselowski 14.3 98.9 81.8
14 17 Matt Kenseth 18.2 120.1 81.7
15 19 Elliott Sadler 20.4 105.0 80.1
16 18 Kyle Busch 23.2 112.7 79.7
17 39 Ryan Newman 20.7 111.3 76.6
18 29 Kevin Harvick 16.5 101.9 75.3
19 56 M Truex Jr. 26.9 91.9 74.5
20 66 Jeff Green 15.5 86.1 74.3
21 07 Casey Mears 20.9 91.4 73.6
22 8 Aric Almirola 25.3 105.3 73.4
23 34 Travis Kvapil 17.3 91.9 71.5
24 00 M McDowell 26.0 70.9 70.9
25 36 Scott Riggs 20.8 90.6 70.1
26 16 Greg Biffle 21.9 89.7 68.9
27 99 Carl Edwards 20.7 103.4 67.4
28 55 Michael Waltrip 22.2 100.7 66.7
29 9 Kasey Kahne 20.4 98.7 66.3
30 00 David Reutimann 25.3 85.1 66.2
31 98 Paul Menard 26.4 115.4 65.9
32 33 Mike Wallace 22.6 76.7 65.9
33 47 Marcos Ambrose 25.0 81.4 65.1
34 26 David Stremme 25.0 85.0 64.8
35 5 Mark Martin 27.6 85.5 64.7
36 33 Clint Bowyer 21.4 90.7 64.3
37 78 Regan Smith 25.8 79.1 63.7
38 82 Scott Speed 15.7 77.3 63.4
39 71 Bobby Labonte 20.8 81.1 62.9
40 18 J.J. Yeley 21.8 84.0 62.7
41 43 Reed Sorenson 24.1 91.8 61.4
42 87 Joe Nemechek 26.4 85.2 60.9
43 7 Robby Gordon 21.9 98.4 60.7
44 71 David Gilliland 23.5 94.4 60.6
45 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 33.3 73.5 59.0
46 36 Johnny Sauter 24.8 78.8 58.7
47 45 Terry Labonte 17.0 55.7 55.7
48 70 Tony Raines 20.7 81.0 55.2
49 11 Jason Leffler 26.0 53.4 53.4
50 66 Dave Blaney 24.4 87.2 53.2
51 09 Mike Bliss 26.0 72.8 51.9
52 60 Boris Said 31.0 53.5 51.1
53 27 J Villeneuve 21.0 50.5 50.5
54 61 Kevin Lepage 29.0 60.9 49.7
55 43 AJ Allmendinger 29.3 74.7 49.0
56 96 Ken Schrader 27.1 80.2 48.5
57 34 John Andretti 27.7 47.4 46.0
58 37 Richardson Jr. 22.0 48.7 42.2
59 13 Max Papis 29.0 50.0 42.1
60 10 P Carpentier 31.0 36.6 36.6
61 00 Hermie Sadler 36.0 41.0 35.0
62 38 Kevin Conway 30.0 32.4 32.4
63 27 K Shelmerdine 41.0 31.3 31.3
64 74 Derrike Cope 43.0 27.0 27.0
Seeing as how Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin have combined to win the past eight races at Martinsville, it seems foolish to pick against them this weekend.
But NASCAR's Driver Rating stat offers some interesting alternatives.
Jeff Gordon (second) is barely below Johnson and has recorded a whopping 11 straight top-five finishes at the half-mile track. Tony Stewart (fourth) and Kevin Harvick (sixth) are also among the Chase drivers who could be viable alternatives to Johnson and Hamlin.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (fifth) could be a viable second-tier driver (depending on your league), though it would be wise to stay away from Chase drivers like Greg Biffle (29th) and Matt Kenseth (19th).
As a side note, it's no wonder Johnson dominates in the Chase: This is the fifth straight week he has been the top pre-race performer at a track.
The full standings:
TUMS Fast Relief 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Martinsville Speedway
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 3.1 149.1 123.8
2 24 Jeff Gordon 2.9 132.2 123.0
3 11 Denny Hamlin 6.6 141.1 111.4
4 14 Tony Stewart 11.1 147.5 108.4
5 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 13.2 133.1 98.1
6 29 Kevin Harvick 17.2 108.9 90.1
7 18 Kyle Busch 17.8 121.9 89.9
8 5 Mark Martin 15.7 113.5 89.1
9 39 Ryan Newman 10.9 109.6 87.8
10 31 Jeff Burton 16.7 121.4 87.8
11 11 Jason Leffler 12.0 87.5 87.5
12 1 Jamie McMurray 17.5 114.4 86.0
13 33 Clint Bowyer 12.8 112.7 85.8
14 42 Juan Montoya 14.6 122.7 83.7
15 2 Kurt Busch 21.2 101.6 81.8
16 99 Carl Edwards 16.9 121.1 81.0
17 83 Brian Vickers 20.0 92.0 77.0
18 20 Joey Logano 15.3 100.7 75.8
19 17 Matt Kenseth 15.1 96.9 75.7
20 9 Kasey Kahne 19.9 102.4 73.6
21 12 Brad Keselowski 12.0 72.7 72.7
22 6 David Ragan 19.4 100.0 70.2
23 07 Casey Mears 18.6 97.4 69.2
24 71 Bobby Labonte 23.4 104.3 68.5
25 56 M Truex Jr. 21.8 93.1 67.2
26 19 Elliott Sadler 25.3 108.4 67.1
27 96 Ken Schrader 28.9 81.7 65.6
28 70 Tony Raines 20.0 88.8 65.3
29 16 Greg Biffle 22.4 91.9 64.6
30 00 David Reutimann 25.3 89.8 64.1
31 47 Marcos Ambrose 17.3 81.5 63.6
32 66 Jeff Green 26.0 98.7 62.8
33 43 Reed Sorenson 27.3 88.4 62.6
34 96 J.J. Yeley 28.6 77.7 58.7
35 36 Scott Riggs 22.3 77.7 55.4
36 34 Travis Kvapil 28.6 84.4 54.6
37 43 AJ Allmendinger 28.2 90.4 54.4
38 98 Paul Menard 21.5 74.1 53.4
39 70 Johnny Sauter 33.7 60.8 51.9
40 26 David Stremme 31.0 70.1 51.7
41 87 Joe Nemechek 29.3 83.8 50.5
42 78 Regan Smith 28.5 74.9 50.0
43 09 Aric Almirola 36.6 82.5 49.0
44 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 29.0 65.7 48.8
45 66 Dave Blaney 32.9 68.0 48.0
46 55 Michael Waltrip 26.0 69.4 47.3
47 36 Mike Bliss 34.2 77.9 45.4
48 21 Bill Elliott 28.0 57.4 43.4
49 4 Mike Wallace 29.0 44.7 43.4
50 37 David Gilliland 30.3 51.5 42.5
51 34 John Andretti 31.3 47.5 40.8
52 82 Scott Speed 33.3 48.7 40.1
53 10 P Carpentier 29.0 39.9 39.9
54 7 Robby Gordon 36.9 56.7 38.4
55 45 Chad McCumbee 25.0 35.0 35.0
56 55 M McDowell 36.7 47.7 34.9
57 38 Kevin Conway 31.0 34.3 34.3
58 13 Max Papis 40.0 32.5 32.5
59 66 Hermie Sadler 34.5 31.4 31.1
60 64 Derrike Cope 37.5 34.2 30.3
61 34 Kevin Lepage 35.5 34.9 29.6
62 64 Todd Bodine 43.0 25.8 25.8
I suppose if you wanted to be different, you could pick Kyle Busch or Kasey Kahne. Maybe you could even go with darkhorse Joey Logano.
But the bottom line is, for yet ANOTHER Chase race (the fourth week in a row), Jimmie Johnson is the best pick at Charlotte.
Don't blame us. That's just what NASCAR's Driver Rating formula says. Like him or not, the smart pick is JJ based on past performance.
The full lineup:
Bank of America 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 11.5 139.1 115.3
2 18 Kyle Busch 15.0 139.4 104.9
3 9 Kasey Kahne 9.7 143.6 100.4
4 20 Joey Logano 9.0 106.0 100.2
5 5 Mark Martin 14.2 114.0 91.1
6 24 Jeff Gordon 18.7 128.2 89.1
6 17 Matt Kenseth 18.0 122.3 89.1
8 31 Jeff Burton 13.1 127.7 88.4
9 83 Brian Vickers 21.6 121.6 88.0
10 2 Kurt Busch 21.6 147.8 87.6
11 16 Greg Biffle 18.2 116.5 85.5
12 14 Tony Stewart 17.5 115.4 84.5
13 99 Carl Edwards 13.2 104.0 84.0
14 11 Denny Hamlin 18.5 102.1 81.5
15 39 Ryan Newman 18.6 103.1 81.3
16 33 Clint Bowyer 17.7 124.7 79.6
17 00 David Reutimann 16.3 119.7 77.5
18 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 23.5 117.5 77.4
19 1 Jamie McMurray 20.1 118.5 75.9
20 12 Brad Keselowski 16.0 80.3 73.2
21 71 Bobby Labonte 15.4 98.6 72.7
22 56 M Truex Jr. 19.5 95.6 71.0
23 6 David Ragan 23.9 99.8 69.1
24 83 Casey Mears 20.4 110.8 68.5
25 12 David Stremme 21.3 80.1 67.1
26 29 Kevin Harvick 22.3 92.5 67.1
27 19 Elliott Sadler 26.2 110.2 65.9
28 36 Scott Riggs 24.8 117.2 65.7
29 46 JJ Yeley 22.7 103.6 64.1
30 98 Paul Menard 23.9 95.3 60.5
31 43 Reed Sorenson 21.6 86.0 60.0
32 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 21.6 82.6 59.3
33 42 Juan Montoya 30.0 106.2 58.6
34 78 Regan Smith 20.3 64.9 58.6
35 47 Marcos Ambrose 28.0 64.6 57.3
36 66 Jeff Green 22.0 96.3 57.1
37 43 AJ Allmendinger 25.4 78.2 55.7
38 66 Dave Blaney 23.9 86.4 55.6
39 66 Kevin Lepage 16.5 56.1 55.1
40 82 Scott Speed 25.3 69.2 54.8
41 37 David Gilliland 29.5 84.9 54.4
42 7 Robby Gordon 27.2 72.5 53.2
43 87 Joe Nemechek 25.7 99.9 53.1
44 38 Travis Kvapil 26.7 77.5 53.1
45 55 Michael Waltrip 29.7 97.5 51.1
46 21 Bill Elliott 27.4 68.0 49.2
47 36 Johnny Sauter 29.4 79.0 48.8
48 08 Terry Labonte 32.3 60.6 47.1
49 34 Tony Raines 28.5 97.0 47.0
50 71 Mike Bliss 31.8 63.5 44.8
51 64 Todd Bodine 29.5 50.9 39.1
52 10 Mike Wallace 30.0 49.4 37.3
53 55 M McDowell 37.0 35.0 33.3
54 34 Kevin Conway 35.0 32.4 32.4
55 34 John Andretti 39.0 34.0 31.5
56 10 P Carpentier 37.0 29.9 29.9
57 45 Chad McCumbee 35.0 29.4 29.4
58 13 Max Papis 41.5 27.8 27.2
Jimmie Johnson, Jimmie Johnson, Jimmie Johnson.
Sensing a trend here? When it comes to the Chase, you might as well pick Jimmie Johnson – especially at Auto Club Speedway, where he's won four of the last six races. Oh, and he's won the fall Fontana race for three straight years.
For a look at everyone else:
Pepsi MAX 400 Pre-Race For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track. Auto Club Speedway Sunday, October 10, 2010 Driver Rating Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING 1 48 Jimmie Johnson 4.5 150.0 124.0 2 17 Matt Kenseth 7.3 141.5 108.3 3 18 Kyle Busch 9.6 136.8 102.4 4 99 Carl Edwards 7.3 135.4 102.3 5 5 Mark Martin 12.0 118.0 99.7 6 24 Jeff Gordon 12.3 133.7 99.0 7 16 Greg Biffle 13.8 123.0 99.0 8 14 Tony Stewart 13.3 128.2 96.8 9 2 Kurt Busch 13.2 111.0 94.2 10 9 Kasey Kahne 17.8 144.1 92.8 11 29 Kevin Harvick 14.3 117.0 91.5 12 11 Denny Hamlin 18.2 117.9 87.6 13 33 Clint Bowyer 12.0 114.6 86.8 14 31 Jeff Burton 16.1 120.1 86.7 15 83 Brian Vickers 15.9 108.1 85.1 16 42 Juan Montoya 21.4 128.6 80.0 17 6 David Ragan 14.6 86.2 77.2 18 39 Ryan Newman 21.5 91.7 74.7 19 56 M Truex Jr. 21.6 108.6 73.7 20 00 David Reutimann 20.6 101.8 73.5 21 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 25.0 119.1 72.8 22 1 Jamie McMurray 18.7 104.0 70.4 23 20 Joey Logano 15.0 85.9 68.9 24 07 Casey Mears 22.4 94.2 68.5 25 43 AJ Allmendinger 23.8 95.9 66.1 26 12 Brad Keselowski 21.0 66.0 66.0 27 10 P Carpentier 18.0 65.8 65.8 28 96 J.J. Yeley 22.8 91.9 62.0 29 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 25.0 74.2 60.7 30 71 Bobby Labonte 22.5 75.9 60.3 31 36 Scott Riggs 28.5 76.2 58.6 32 19 Elliott Sadler 23.5 81.2 57.5 33 43 Reed Sorenson 27.8 80.9 56.2 34 82 Scott Speed 24.3 74.0 55.5 35 12 David Stremme 25.2 78.6 55.0 36 47 Marcos Ambrose 28.0 68.4 54.4 37 36 Mike Bliss 26.0 82.4 53.4 38 87 Joe Nemechek 32.5 113.4 52.5 39 66 Jeff Green 25.2 60.4 52.3 40 98 Paul Menard 27.1 68.6 52.2 41 55 Michael Waltrip 28.1 82.6 51.2 42 7 Robby Gordon 32.6 73.1 50.9 43 38 David Gilliland 27.9 69.4 49.7 44 34 Travis Kvapil 29.0 67.0 47.9 45 66 Dave Blaney 34.0 67.9 47.9 46 44 Terry Labonte 36.7 55.1 45.1 47 78 Regan Smith 28.5 59.9 44.5 48 96 Tony Raines 28.8 54.6 43.2 49 09 Aric Almirola 34.8 53.0 41.4 50 34 John Andretti 30.8 48.7 40.4 51 08 Johnny Sauter 30.0 61.0 39.2 52 21 Bill Elliott 35.4 54.0 38.9 53 4 Mike Wallace 25.0 37.4 37.4 54 49 Kevin Lepage 34.7 40.7 36.0 55 13 Max Papis 31.5 36.6 33.2 56 37 Kevin Conway 31.0 32.9 32.9 57 11 Jason Leffler 37.0 32.5 32.5 58 55 M McDowell 41.0 34.6 31.3 59 26 Boris Said 34.0 36.5 31.2
Who would be a smart pick at Kansas? Well, there are two drivers who are head and shoulders above the rest: Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle.
Look at their average driver rating numbers: Both drivers are outstanding. And Johnson nearly had a perfect rating once (145 out of 150).
Meanwhile, stay away from Chase guys like Denny Hamlin (16th) and Kyle Busch (18th), who have yet to figure out what it takes to run up front at Kansas.
Price Chopper 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 5
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 6.6 145.6 122.6
2 16 Greg Biffle 4.2 132.3 119.6
3 24 Jeff Gordon 12.0 117.3 104.7
4 5 Mark Martin 8.2 135.7 100.1
5 14 Tony Stewart 17.0 129.8 99.0
6 99 Carl Edwards 11.6 113.6 94.2
7 17 Matt Kenseth 21.4 116.8 93.7
8 25 Brad Keselowski 13.0 93.4 93.4
9 33 Clint Bowyer 11.0 107.0 93.4
10 07 Casey Mears 8.6 101.0 88.4
11 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 20.6 115.1 87.6
12 1 M Truex Jr. 27.0 94.3 84.7
13 9 Kasey Kahne 17.6 101.9 83.9
14 2 Kurt Busch 18.2 129.1 82.0
15 29 Kevin Harvick 15.0 105.8 81.2
16 11 Denny Hamlin 19.0 105.2 80.9
17 44 AJ Allmendinger 13.0 89.3 80.1
18 18 Kyle Busch 21.8 114.7 74.4
19 19 Elliott Sadler 18.0 98.6 74.4
20 83 Brian Vickers 17.8 87.0 73.2
21 31 Jeff Burton 19.8 117.8 73.0
22 42 Juan Montoya 17.3 111.3 72.6
23 18 J.J. Yeley 27.5 75.7 72.4
24 00 David Reutimann 19.3 96.4 71.9
25 26 Jamie McMurray 26.4 77.6 66.1
26 6 David Ragan 19.7 93.2 65.7
27 38 David Gilliland 26.0 70.9 64.7
28 43 Reed Sorenson 25.5 94.2 60.8
29 66 Scott Riggs 29.8 83.0 60.6
30 12 David Stremme 22.7 66.8 59.3
31 47 Marcos Ambrose 25.0 78.9 59.1
32 21 Bill Elliott 20.0 67.6 59.1
33 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 25.5 66.1 57.9
34 66 Dave Blaney 26.4 82.7 57.1
35 09 Mike Bliss 28.0 79.0 54.5
36 39 Ryan Newman 25.6 69.2 54.3
37 98 Paul Menard 28.0 59.8 53.0
38 66 Jeff Green 25.3 56.5 52.3
39 82 Scott Speed 27.0 51.8 51.8
40 28 Travis Kvapil 25.0 65.8 50.4
41 71 Bobby Labonte 33.0 71.5 50.4
42 70 Tony Raines 23.0 56.7 50.0
43 70 Johnny Sauter 23.0 45.7 45.7
44 66 Kevin Lepage 36.0 44.6 44.6
45 44 Terry Labonte 35.5 51.8 44.3
46 55 Michael Waltrip 35.6 57.8 44.2
47 87 Joe Nemechek 30.4 69.1 42.6
48 10 P Carpentier 29.0 42.3 42.3
49 7 Robby Gordon 31.5 48.7 39.6
50 20 Joey Logano 33.5 45.4 38.5
51 36 Boris Said 31.0 38.1 38.1
52 13 Max Papis 32.0 37.2 37.2
53 01 Regan Smith 32.0 37.0 37.0
54 34 John Andretti 33.0 39.7 36.8
55 4 Mike Wallace 35.0 35.3 35.3
56 02 Brandon Ash 42.0 29.0 29.0
57 92 P.J. Jones 41.0 24.8 24.8
Take your pick: Jimmie Johnson or a Roush Fenway Racing driver.
That pretty much covers the best choices for your fantasy team or driver pool at Dover: Johnson leads, followed closely by Roush's Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth, with Carl Edwards a distant fourth.
Kyle Busch, who won at Dover in the spring, is fifth.
Among the Chase drivers to avoid at Dover: Surprisingly, Tony Stewart is the worst (20th) and Kevin Harvick is 18th. All of the other Chasers are in the top 15.
AAA 400 Pre-Race For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track. Dover International Speedway Sunday, September 26, 2010 Driver Rating Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING 1 48 Jimmie Johnson 7.5 150.0 113.8 2 16 Greg Biffle 5.5 137.4 112.2 3 17 Matt Kenseth 9.9 132.5 111.8 4 99 Carl Edwards 7.0 126.8 102.2 5 18 Kyle Busch 15.5 139.5 101.6 6 5 Mark Martin 8.6 117.0 100.0 7 39 Ryan Newman 12.6 129.7 96.8 8 2 Kurt Busch 18.7 120.6 95.4 9 24 Jeff Gordon 15.1 112.9 90.0 10 33 Clint Bowyer 14.7 109.3 89.5 11 31 Jeff Burton 8.9 125.6 89.3 12 56 M Truex Jr. 14.9 140.2 87.5 13 00 David Reutimann 17.7 110.2 81.4 14 1 Jamie McMurray 20.5 99.5 79.7 15 11 Denny Hamlin 22.8 108.3 77.5 16 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 20.9 108.5 75.9 17 42 Juan Montoya 23.0 120.8 75.4 18 29 Kevin Harvick 18.1 107.4 75.2 19 9 Kasey Kahne 20.9 101.6 74.4 20 14 Tony Stewart 19.3 99.1 73.2 21 83 Casey Mears 16.0 95.4 71.9 22 83 Brian Vickers 19.4 97.0 70.5 23 20 Joey Logano 22.3 95.1 70.0 24 12 Brad Keselowski 18.0 67.3 67.3 25 19 Elliott Sadler 24.5 124.7 66.7 26 43 AJ Allmendinger 25.6 97.3 66.6 27 47 Marcos Ambrose 25.5 79.5 63.3 28 43 Reed Sorenson 24.6 112.5 62.5 29 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 26.6 89.3 61.5 30 66 Scott Riggs 26.3 81.3 61.0 31 71 Bobby Labonte 24.6 83.5 59.4 32 98 Paul Menard 22.7 74.4 58.2 33 66 Dave Blaney 26.2 92.5 57.1 34 6 David Ragan 23.5 82.4 56.5 35 34 Travis Kvapil 24.1 87.0 53.7 36 7 Robby Gordon 28.5 74.5 52.7 37 55 Michael Waltrip 25.1 81.3 52.5 38 11 Jason Leffler 20.0 52.4 52.4 39 46 J.J. Yeley 32.6 68.5 52.0 40 78 Regan Smith 27.2 59.7 50.5 41 66 Jeff Green 27.7 69.1 50.4 42 26 David Stremme 31.6 69.8 50.0 43 38 David Gilliland 27.8 77.0 49.0 44 87 Joe Nemechek 30.7 81.3 46.6 45 82 Scott Speed 28.3 58.0 44.6 46 37 Tony Raines 33.0 68.6 44.5 47 4 Mike Wallace 25.0 43.7 41.7 48 09 Mike Bliss 33.6 61.0 37.5 49 21 Bill Elliott 34.0 39.4 37.5 50 55 M McDowell 34.8 45.1 36.3 51 10 P Carpentier 35.0 40.0 35.1 52 49 Kevin Lepage 37.3 35.2 33.9 53 34 John Andretti 32.7 36.4 33.7 54 37 Kevin Conway 33.0 32.3 32.3 55 36 Johnny Sauter 39.0 37.3 30.6 56 74 Derrike Cope 40.0 31.9 29.2 57 34 Jeff Fuller 43.0 26.8 26.8
OK, let's face it: If you're a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan these days, watching races is pretty miserable. In fact, it probably flat-out sucks.
So this week, we bring you a bit of good news (since you'll probably take even the smallest morsels right now): NASCAR's pre-race driver rating says Earnhardt Jr. is the fourth-best driver at New Hampshire.
Can he parlay that into a win? No, probably not (just being honest the way the team has been running lately). But at least he might have a good day on Sunday.
The favorites are Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Among the lower-performing Chase drivers: Matt Kenseth (19th) and Carl Edwards (16th).
Here's the full list:
Sylvania 300 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 14 Tony Stewart 9.0 149.2 114.1
2 24 Jeff Gordon 9.7 130.9 107.9
2 48 Jimmie Johnson 9.5 134.8 107.9
4 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 15.9 131.6 99.8
5 11 Denny Hamlin 8.2 121.0 99.8
6 5 Mark Martin 10.4 120.9 95.5
7 31 Jeff Burton 12.5 118.9 94.0
8 2 Kurt Busch 14.5 123.2 93.6
9 29 Kevin Harvick 14.4 148.9 93.0
10 39 Ryan Newman 15.5 133.3 91.2
11 18 Kyle Busch 15.2 141.1 91.1
12 33 Clint Bowyer 17.8 150.0 90.7
13 56 M Truex Jr. 15.2 122.5 87.5
14 16 Greg Biffle 12.3 130.0 86.8
15 42 Juan Montoya 20.0 134.6 86.3
16 99 Carl Edwards 14.3 120.3 85.9
17 9 Kasey Kahne 21.6 104.8 83.4
18 83 Brian Vickers 20.7 114.6 79.9
19 17 Matt Kenseth 15.7 116.7 79.6
20 00 David Reutimann 18.4 94.1 74.8
21 83 Reed Sorenson 20.7 106.1 73.0
22 36 Casey Mears 20.5 93.9 69.2
23 7 Bobby Labonte 20.5 121.4 68.9
24 47 Marcos Ambrose 18.7 74.1 67.4
25 20 Joey Logano 15.8 87.1 65.6
26 19 Elliott Sadler 23.0 86.9 65.3
27 46 J.J. Yeley 18.1 81.6 63.1
28 26 David Stremme 26.7 77.6 63.0
29 12 Brad Keselowski 16.0 67.9 62.6
30 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 27.4 93.8 58.7
31 1 Jamie McMurray 26.4 85.2 58.5
32 43 AJ Allmendinger 30.2 97.8 57.7
33 11 Jason Leffler 24.0 57.6 57.6
34 6 David Ragan 27.6 71.1 57.4
35 7 Robby Gordon 25.0 76.8 57.4
36 55 Michael Waltrip 21.1 70.8 57.1
37 66 Scott Riggs 27.1 82.3 56.2
38 0 Mike Bliss 28.5 56.1 54.8
39 66 Jeff Green 25.0 87.1 53.6
40 09 Aric Almirola 23.3 69.0 52.5
41 70 Johnny Sauter 24.8 76.0 51.7
42 66 Dave Blaney 30.1 85.2 51.0
43 37 Tony Raines 28.8 69.9 49.6
44 87 Joe Nemechek 33.4 72.3 47.7
45 28 Travis Kvapil 30.3 75.6 47.4
46 98 Paul Menard 29.3 64.4 46.6
47 78 Regan Smith 29.7 49.2 45.4
48 34 John Andretti 28.0 50.6 44.4
49 37 David Gilliland 35.3 57.7 43.8
50 82 Scott Speed 31.3 53.7 42.6
51 36 P Carpentier 35.0 54.5 40.4
52 64 Mike Wallace 33.0 48.4 39.5
53 45 Terry Labonte 35.0 34.6 34.6
54 34 Kevin Conway 32.0 33.8 33.8
55 21 Bill Elliott 31.7 35.9 33.6
56 71 Andy Lally 37.0 33.5 33.5
57 55 M McDowell 37.8 42.4 33.2
58 37 Kevin Lepage 33.0 38.8 32.3
59 45 Chad McCumbee 42.0 30.3 30.3
60 64 Todd Bodine 40.0 30.1 30.1
61 13 Max Papis 43.0 28.3 28.3
62 98 Boris Said 40.0 24.9 24.9
Richmond International Raceway isn't just Denny Hamlin's home track; it's one of his best tracks.
Hamlin, who grew up in nearby Chesterfield, tops all drivers in NASCAR's Driver Rating statistic – just ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick.
Most of the top 10 are the usual suspects, but there's one very surprising name: Terry Labonte, who is 10th.
Will Clint Bowyer stumble and allow Ryan Newman, Jamie McMurray or Mark Martin into the Chase?
Not likely. Bowyer is ninth in driver rating, indicating he should have a good night.
Air Guard 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Richmond International Raceway
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 11 Denny Hamlin 8.8 150.0 117.4
2 18 Kyle Busch 5.5 140.6 114.1
3 29 Kevin Harvick 8.5 142.4 114.0
4 24 Jeff Gordon 16.2 135.2 99.5
5 14 Tony Stewart 8.3 129.4 98.2
6 2 Kurt Busch 15.6 144.2 95.4
7 5 Mark Martin 11.3 120.2 93.9
8 39 Ryan Newman 11.0 117.1 93.8
9 33 Clint Bowyer 10.2 110.8 93.7
10 11 Terry Labonte 9.0 91.6 91.6
11 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 17.6 129.5 88.8
12 9 Kasey Kahne 16.8 147.9 88.4
13 48 Jimmie Johnson 17.3 134.1 87.0
14 31 Jeff Burton 14.6 114.7 86.8
15 16 Greg Biffle 14.3 116.0 83.6
16 56 M Truex Jr. 23.7 113.1 81.9
17 99 Carl Edwards 18.5 96.6 79.5
18 17 Matt Kenseth 19.3 115.5 78.2
19 47 Marcos Ambrose 14.0 82.8 75.7
20 00 David Reutimann 19.4 98.7 75.1
21 42 Juan Montoya 23.4 105.5 74.8
22 20 Joey Logano 16.3 76.4 70.1
23 1 Jamie McMurray 26.4 101.1 68.6
24 36 Casey Mears 20.5 86.1 67.4
25 6 David Ragan 21.7 90.7 64.6
26 66 Dave Blaney 25.5 108.7 63.7
27 96 J.J. Yeley 18.6 80.9 63.3
28 12 Brad Keselowski 26.0 82.6 63.3
29 83 Brian Vickers 26.0 99.2 63.1
30 66 Jeff Green 26.0 86.9 62.4
31 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 22.2 94.0 61.6
32 71 Bobby Labonte 21.5 83.2 61.4
33 32 Reed Sorenson 22.8 90.3 61.0
34 19 Elliott Sadler 23.7 93.6 59.7
35 34 Travis Kvapil 22.1 89.6 56.3
36 70 Johnny Sauter 30.7 92.8 55.8
37 43 AJ Allmendinger 28.3 77.0 55.7
38 55 Michael Waltrip 27.4 83.7 55.1
39 49 Mike Wallace 26.0 70.7 52.8
40 36 Scott Riggs 26.8 74.9 52.7
41 26 David Stremme 31.4 68.4 51.3
42 78 Regan Smith 28.5 66.7 50.6
43 10 P Carpentier 34.0 53.8 50.0
44 09 Mike Bliss 34.2 70.4 49.9
45 37 David Gilliland 31.6 61.2 48.5
46 36 M McDowell 33.7 68.0 48.1
47 98 Paul Menard 27.4 60.5 47.4
48 7 Robby Gordon 30.6 66.6 46.3
49 11 Jason Leffler 25.0 46.2 46.2
50 87 Joe Nemechek 33.4 64.8 39.1
51 82 Scott Speed 34.7 46.2 39.0
52 64 Tony Raines 34.8 77.5 38.6
53 34 John Andretti 32.7 39.6 36.8
54 21 Bill Elliott 32.0 37.0 36.2
55 49 Kevin Lepage 37.5 37.4 31.7
56 46 Terry Cook 39.0 31.0 31.0
57 38 Kevin Conway 37.0 29.4 29.4
58 13 Max Papis 37.0 26.5 26.5
59 74 Derrike Cope 43.0 24.8 24.8
Jimmie Johnson has tumbled to ninth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, which has made some people wonder if he's in a slump.
Ryan Newman even told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Johnson's team is the weakest it's been in the last five years or so.
So is Johnson really slumping?
We think not, and that it's more a case that Johnson is running well but has had some bad finishes. And NASCAR's season-long driver rating has backed that up (see last week's entry).
But Atlanta will help determine which side of the debate is correct, since Johnson heads to the 1.5-mile oval as the No. 1 driver in the pre-race rating.
Johnson is ahead of teammate Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart rounding out the top five.
Among the big names who aren't impressive at Atlanta: Jamie McMurray, who is 13th in points and trying to catch Clint Bowyer for the final Chase spot, is only 20th in driver rating.
Bowyer is 16th and Mark Martin is 14th.
Emory Healthcare 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 9.1 143.2 109.5
2 24 Jeff Gordon 10.2 125.0 101.8
3 99 Carl Edwards 16.4 142.3 99.4
4 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 11.8 131.6 98.7
5 14 Tony Stewart 10.5 143.9 98.7
6 2 Kurt Busch 17.7 150.0 97.0
7 17 Matt Kenseth 8.9 130.5 96.5
8 16 Greg Biffle 14.5 135.1 95.0
9 11 Denny Hamlin 15.9 121.1 94.5
10 9 Kasey Kahne 18.2 138.1 93.3
11 18 Kyle Busch 16.1 143.9 88.7
12 56 M Truex Jr. 23.4 119.0 87.6
13 42 Juan Montoya 18.3 118.0 86.8
14 5 Mark Martin 19.2 121.1 85.7
15 31 Jeff Burton 15.1 101.6 84.9
16 33 Clint Bowyer 16.4 115.9 81.8
17 29 Kevin Harvick 17.1 116.5 81.1
18 83 Brian Vickers 14.9 108.9 80.5
19 12 Brad Keselowski 36.0 76.5 76.5
20 1 Jamie McMurray 21.0 98.6 71.6
21 39 Ryan Newman 20.3 88.7 71.0
22 43 AJ Allmendinger 14.6 99.9 69.2
23 19 Elliott Sadler 20.9 95.8 65.3
24 07 Casey Mears 19.9 86.6 65.2
25 43 Reed Sorenson 24.7 101.4 64.2
26 00 David Reutimann 27.3 95.5 61.0
27 66 Scott Riggs 26.0 101.5 61.0
28 71 Bobby Labonte 27.1 86.2 60.6
29 7 Robby Gordon 24.1 85.5 60.6
30 98 Paul Menard 20.4 88.7 60.6
31 38 David Gilliland 26.9 71.8 59.6
32 12 David Stremme 26.8 84.0 59.4
33 55 Michael Waltrip 22.9 93.6 58.0
34 47 Marcos Ambrose 25.3 84.9 57.6
35 8 Aric Almirola 21.0 57.4 57.4
36 11 Jason Leffler 25.0 57.0 57.0
37 96 J.J. Yeley 25.0 89.6 56.7
38 6 David Ragan 26.6 83.5 55.1
39 36 Mike Bliss 26.6 87.4 54.4
40 87 Joe Nemechek 29.9 87.7 52.3
41 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 29.8 62.7 51.8
42 20 Joey Logano 29.0 68.9 50.7
43 66 Dave Blaney 31.5 102.7 49.1
44 82 Scott Speed 25.8 73.2 48.9
45 66 Jeff Green 28.2 61.7 48.7
46 21 Bill Elliott 28.5 60.7 43.8
47 78 Regan Smith 27.3 54.0 41.6
48 34 Travis Kvapil 32.0 59.2 40.8
49 34 John Andretti 29.3 46.1 39.3
50 70 Tony Raines 31.8 49.2 38.9
51 4 Mike Wallace 40.0 37.0 37.0
52 70 Johnny Sauter 30.5 43.5 36.4
53 61 Kevin Lepage 37.5 40.0 33.9
54 10 P Carpentier 35.0 33.6 33.6
55 26 Boris Said 32.0 32.5 32.5
56 37 Kevin Conway 31.0 31.5 31.5
57 13 Max Papis 37.0 34.2 31.2
58 45 Chad McCumbee 36.0 29.3 29.3
59 55 Mi McDowell 42.0 26.4 26.4
60 4 Todd Bodine 42.0 23.8 23.8
With two races before the Chase cutoff, can Mark Martin overcome a 101-point deficit to make NASCAR's playoff?
Not if you trust NASCAR's driver rating stat.
Martin, according to the numbers, is having a very mediocre season – 19th in the driver rating. The fact that he's 14th in points means he's overachieved considering his average running position during races, his average speed and some of the other factors the formula uses.
Clint Bowyer sits 12th in points, but is 10th in the driver rating, meaning he likely belongs in the top 12 and will stay there.
The most surprising underachiever is Juan Pablo Montoya, who is seventh among all drivers – ahead of even Denny Hamlin – but is only 19th in points.
Another underachiever – which is a relative term for him – is Jimmie Johnson, who is tops in driver rating but ninth in points. That indicates he's had some strong runs that turned into poor finishes.
Matt Kenseth is the biggest overachiever, sitting eighth in points while only running 16th in the driver rating.
Will the driver rating be able to predict this year's champion? We'll know if Johnson wins his fifth straight title in a few months.
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. Must have raced in 75 percent of scheduled point-paying races.
Rank Car Driver Points Pos. Driver Rating
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 9 106.5
2 24 Jeff Gordon 2 104.4
3 31 Jeff Burton 7 100.3
4 18 Kyle Busch 3 97.3
5 29 Kevin Harvick 1 96.6
6 2 Kurt Busch 10 96.4
7 42 Juan Montoya 19 94.6
8 11 Denny Hamlin 5 91.8
9 14 Tony Stewart 6 90.9
10 33 Clint Bowyer 12 90.1
11 16 Greg Biffle 11 88.3
12 9 Kasey Kahne 16 87.0
13 99 Carl Edwards 4 86.9
14 1 Jamie McMurray 13 86.2
15 00 David Reutimann 17 84.1
16 17 Matt Kenseth 8 83.4
17 56 M Truex Jr. 20 81.1
18 39 Ryan Newman 15 80.8
19 5 Mark Martin 14 80.4
20 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 18 78.3
21 43 AJ Allmendinger 22 76.9
22 20 Joey Logano 21 76.9
23 47 Marcos Ambrose 26 69.3
24 98 Paul Menard 23 68.4
25 12 Brad Keselowski 25 66.3
26 6 David Ragan 24 65.3
27 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 28 63.0
28 82 Scott Speed 27 58.2
29 19 Elliott Sadler 29 57.3
30 78 Regan Smith 30 55.0
31 07 Robby Gordon 34 47.1
32 09 Bobby Labonte 31 46.8
33 34 Travis Kvapil 32 44.5
34 38 David Gilliland 33 43.3
35 13 Max Papis 38 34.4
36 7 Kevin Conway 35 33.5
37 87 Joe Nemechek 37 32.9
You can't go wrong with Busch at Bristol...at least according to NASCAR's driver rating formula.
Kyle Busch, who won the Truck race on Wednesday night at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile," is the No. 1 selection; brother Kurt, a multi-time Bristol winner, is fifth.
Drivers who you may not have considered? Look at Matt Kenseth (third) or Marcos Ambrose (eighth) .
If you trust the formula, some big names to avoid this week include AJ Allmendinger (31st) and Jamie McMurray (23rd).
Irwin Tools Night Race Pre-Race For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track. Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday, August 21, 2010 Driver Rating Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING 1 18 Kyle Busch 10.1 149.2 103.0 2 16 Greg Biffle 10.5 119.7 101.2 3 24 Jeff Gordon 11.5 116.4 99.4 4 17 Matt Kenseth 12.5 149.8 97.5 5 2 Kurt Busch 15.1 140.3 96.1 6 14 Tony Stewart 14.4 130.2 95.9 7 11 Denny Hamlin 12.4 119.6 95.0 8 47 Marcos Ambrose 15.3 108.4 93.4 9 29 Kevin Harvick 14.2 127.4 91.5 10 5 Mark Martin 17.7 139.6 89.9 11 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 8.4 114.0 89.1 12 12 Brad Keselowski 13.0 88.7 88.7 13 31 Jeff Burton 15.8 132.1 88.3 14 99 Carl Edwards 11.6 134.2 88.2 15 48 Jimmie Johnson 16.5 132.4 87.0 16 39 Ryan Newman 18.2 112.5 85.8 17 9 Kasey Kahne 19.4 141.1 84.6 18 33 Clint Bowyer 18.0 121.0 79.9 19 00 David Reutimann 22.4 97.4 78.9 20 19 Elliott Sadler 21.8 120.1 78.1 21 42 Juan Montoya 20.4 95.2 76.0 22 56 M Truex Jr. 23.6 91.5 72.5 23 1 Jamie McMurray 23.6 108.9 70.5 24 71 Bobby Labonte 21.9 102.1 66.5 25 66 Scott Riggs 24.1 104.4 65.2 26 6 David Ragan 24.0 80.7 61.7 27 83 Brian Vickers 23.2 80.4 60.6 28 21 Bill Elliott 25.5 71.5 60.4 29 98 Paul Menard 23.2 83.6 60.3 30 96 J.J. Yeley 27.6 82.1 60.2 31 43 AJ Allmendinger 29.8 85.9 60.1 32 49 Mike Bliss 20.3 71.1 59.8 33 78 Regan Smith 25.6 83.7 58.0 34 82 Scott Speed 24.7 68.5 57.8 35 26 David Stremme 23.0 79.0 56.8 36 09 Aric Almirola 26.2 90.6 56.2 37 34 Travis Kvapil 22.5 79.9 56.0 38 55 Michael Waltrip 26.2 81.8 55.6 39 90 Casey Mears 27.4 75.0 54.5 40 43 Reed Sorenson 28.1 65.3 54.4 41 4 Mike Wallace 25.5 55.6 53.8 42 66 Dave Blaney 30.4 81.7 53.7 43 38 David Gilliland 30.0 80.9 52.2 44 20 Joey Logano 33.0 74.7 51.5 45 7 Robby Gordon 28.2 63.9 49.2 46 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 32.8 56.0 47.7 47 37 Tony Raines 27.2 61.0 47.2 48 64 Todd Bodine 42.0 45.4 45.4 49 70 Johnny Sauter 42.0 44.9 44.9 50 87 Joe Nemechek 32.0 59.3 38.1 51 37 Kevin Conway 28.0 35.8 35.8 52 34 John Andretti 34.7 36.1 30.8 53 46 Terry Cook 37.0 30.0 30.0 54 74 Derrike Cope 43.0 24.8 24.8
We've heard it for years: Michigan is a Roush track.
And according to NASCAR's driver rating, that's true. Roush drivers make up three of the top four spots in the pre-race driver rating formula, which is like racing's version of the NFL's quarterback rating.
Carl Edwards leads all drivers, with Greg Biffle (third) and Matt Kenseth (fourth) also among the top picks.
Jimmie Johnson breaks up the trio in second place, and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. (sixth) and Jeff Gordon (eighth) are also in the top 10.
Among the surprises: None of the three Richard Childress Racing drivers are in the top 15.
Carfax 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Michigan International Speedway
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 99 Carl Edwards 6.3 137.8 111.2
2 48 Jimmie Johnson 14.0 131.2 110.7
3 16 Greg Biffle 12.1 135.5 102.8
4 17 Matt Kenseth 11.2 139.7 101.2
5 2 Kurt Busch 18.0 140.7 99.5
6 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 9.9 121.5 98.6
7 11 Denny Hamlin 11.9 145.5 98.4
8 24 Jeff Gordon 14.6 125.7 97.9
9 14 Tony Stewart 10.0 136.1 95.7
10 83 Brian Vickers 15.2 126.8 93.6
11 18 Kyle Busch 17.7 130.3 91.2
12 5 Mark Martin 18.4 113.7 86.9
13 9 Kasey Kahne 17.4 122.9 84.9
14 20 Joey Logano 14.0 101.9 83.5
15 56 M Truex Jr. 17.4 129.2 79.9
16 29 Kevin Harvick 14.5 96.2 78.7
17 6 David Ragan 18.4 106.1 77.7
18 31 Jeff Burton 18.7 106.2 75.2
19 83 Casey Mears 17.0 109.9 75.1
20 33 Clint Bowyer 21.2 101.5 72.8
21 39 Ryan Newman 23.0 101.6 71.0
22 00 David Reutimann 19.0 88.5 70.5
23 1 Jamie McMurray 18.0 83.2 69.8
24 42 Juan Montoya 24.3 112.0 68.9
25 19 Elliott Sadler 20.2 98.2 68.9
26 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 20.8 84.5 65.6
27 12 Brad Keselowski 25.5 68.4 61.6
28 43 AJ Allmendinger 25.0 85.6 61.2
29 55 Michael Waltrip 23.1 91.6 61.0
30 10 P Carpentier 27.0 68.9 60.7
31 38 Travis Kvapil 23.7 74.1 57.0
32 7 Robby Gordon 27.3 69.2 56.9
33 71 Bobby Labonte 26.4 87.7 56.7
34 26 David Stremme 27.0 80.8 54.1
35 43 Reed Sorenson 24.6 95.4 53.9
36 66 Scott Riggs 23.1 77.4 53.6
37 09 Mike Bliss 34.0 75.9 53.3
38 87 Joe Nemechek 29.0 98.5 52.7
39 98 Paul Menard 23.9 72.4 52.3
40 78 Regan Smith 28.0 58.6 50.6
41 66 Dave Blaney 30.1 93.9 50.5
42 46 J.J. Yeley 35.0 63.2 50.5
43 21 Bill Elliott 23.6 73.1 50.3
44 37 David Gilliland 30.4 64.5 48.1
45 47 Marcos Ambrose 31.0 72.4 46.6
46 70 Johnny Sauter 27.5 51.0 45.6
47 82 Scott Speed 33.0 47.9 42.8
48 34 John Andretti 30.6 52.0 41.2
49 37 Tony Raines 35.4 54.2 40.4
50 00 M McDowell 37.0 30.4 30.4
51 4 Mike Wallace 43.0 29.8 29.8
52 64 Todd Bodine 42.0 29.6 29.6
53 09 Landon Cassill 38.0 29.4 29.4
54 34 Kevin Conway 40.0 29.0 29.0
55 13 Max Papis 39.0 28.4 27.9
56 74 Derrike Cope 38.5 30.3 27.6
57 45 Chad McCumbee 41.0 24.9 24.9
Can Marcos Ambrose find redemption from the blunder that cost him the race in Sonoma earlier this year?
According to NASCAR's driver rating, there's a pretty good chance. Ambrose ranks second among all drivers at Watkins Glen International, behind only last year's winner Tony Stewart.
Jimmie Johnson ranks third despite never having won at the Glen, and Kyle Busch (who swept the road courses in 2008) is fourth.
Among the surprises: Denny Hamlin is ranked higher than Juan Pablo Montoya, and Carl Edwards is ahead of both Robby Gordon and Jeff Gordon.
Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Watkins Glen International
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 5
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 14 Tony Stewart 1.4 150.0 135.0
2 47 Marcos Ambrose 2.5 119.2 106.9
3 48 Jimmie Johnson 8.8 117.7 106.5
4 18 Kyle Busch 10.8 145.1 104.9
5 11 Denny Hamlin 7.5 123.8 104.6
6 42 Juan Montoya 16.3 110.4 101.4
7 2 Kurt Busch 17.2 116.5 99.4
8 99 Carl Edwards 8.8 105.2 91.4
9 7 Robby Gordon 11.2 119.0 89.2
10 24 Jeff Gordon 20.4 131.6 88.9
11 29 Kevin Harvick 18.6 126.4 88.7
12 1 M Truex Jr. 16.8 110.4 83.1
13 26 Jamie McMurray 21.2 103.6 80.4
14 44 AJ Allmendinger 12.0 86.0 79.4
15 33 Clint Bowyer 15.5 86.9 77.7
16 08 Boris Said 21.2 113.6 77.6
17 39 Ryan Newman 19.6 114.0 76.7
18 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 26.2 99.3 75.2
19 17 Matt Kenseth 15.4 81.2 74.5
20 16 Greg Biffle 22.4 111.9 73.7
21 31 Jeff Burton 29.8 95.0 72.5
21 07 Casey Mears 21.4 87.8 72.5
23 83 Brian Vickers 18.8 92.6 72.1
24 13 Max Papis 25.5 102.6 72.0
25 19 Elliott Sadler 16.6 83.7 71.3
26 9 Kasey Kahne 19.2 85.5 71.3
27 5 Mark Martin 16.7 107.4 70.8
28 09 Ron Fellows 20.6 96.2 69.5
29 00 M McDowell 25.0 63.2 63.2
30 98 Paul Menard 24.4 78.6 60.7
31 55 Patrick Carpentier 25.0 71.9 60.4
32 20 Joey Logano 16.0 58.9 58.9
33 78 Joe Nemechek 29.7 93.6 57.9
33 18 J.J. Yeley 25.5 65.1 57.9
35 12 David Stremme 23.5 61.1 56.0
36 01 Regan Smith 37.0 54.6 54.6
37 71 Andy Lally 27.0 54.0 54.0
38 82 Scott Speed 22.0 52.5 52.5
39 96 Bobby Labonte 29.2 63.0 52.0
40 55 Michael Waltrip 38.7 70.1 51.1
41 38 David Gilliland 36.5 58.8 50.1
42 0 Mike Bliss 26.0 45.7 45.7
43 70 Johnny Sauter 23.0 45.5 45.5
44 43 Reed Sorenson 25.5 60.5 45.3
45 19 Bill Elliott 27.0 44.2 44.2
46 00 David Reutimann 29.0 55.7 42.8
47 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 34.0 45.5 42.2
48 34 Brian Simo 41.0 41.6 41.6
49 04 P.J. Jones 36.3 53.7 41.2
50 8 Aric Almirola 35.0 40.6 40.6
51 28 Travis Kvapil 38.0 47.4 39.6
52 6 David Ragan 28.7 41.4 38.7
53 66 Dave Blaney 38.4 41.4 36.8
54 66 Scott Riggs 29.3 46.9 36.6
55 34 John Andretti 30.0 34.1 34.1
56 37 Tony Ave 43.0 27.8 27.8
Typically, NASCAR's prerace driver rating can help provide some insight into your fantasy picks that you may not have realized otherwise.
At Pocono, though, it's pretty obvious.
Denny Hamlin is by far the best choice. Kurt Busch isn't bad either. And you probably can't go wrong with Jimmie Johnson.
Here's the driver rating anyway, in case you have a deeper fantasy league or driver pool at home.
Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 11 Denny Hamlin 8.6 149.0 119.1
2 2 Kurt Busch 12.9 150.0 103.7
2 48 Jimmie Johnson 10.5 125.3 103.7
4 14 Tony Stewart 9.8 123.8 101.4
5 99 Carl Edwards 13.3 138.5 98.5
6 24 Jeff Gordon 12.0 117.7 96.1
7 5 Mark Martin 12.3 123.7 95.8
8 39 Ryan Newman 12.9 124.9 94.5
9 83 Brian Vickers 14.5 142.1 93.9
10 9 Kasey Kahne 17.8 145.2 92.0
11 29 Kevin Harvick 10.6 113.2 90.1
12 17 Matt Kenseth 15.6 106.1 89.6
13 31 Jeff Burton 14.6 113.4 89.1
14 16 Greg Biffle 19.3 117.3 85.3
15 18 Kyle Busch 19.6 124.7 83.1
16 56 M Truex Jr. 17.0 121.0 82.6
17 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 20.5 112.9 80.1
18 33 Clint Bowyer 16.6 119.7 78.1
19 42 Juan Montoya 18.9 104.3 74.6
20 20 Joey Logano 21.0 94.0 74.3
21 47 Marcos Ambrose 23.3 85.4 71.6
22 43 AJ Allmendinger 21.2 95.2 70.3
23 1 Jamie McMurray 20.5 97.5 69.6
24 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 18.6 84.2 67.7
25 00 David Reutimann 25.0 99.6 64.7
26 66 Scott Riggs 24.0 79.2 63.9
27 71 Bobby Labonte 22.6 92.5 63.8
28 83 Casey Mears 20.8 105.4 63.3
29 12 Brad Keselowski 21.0 61.7 61.7
30 19 Elliott Sadler 25.7 78.7 59.9
31 6 David Ragan 23.1 92.5 58.2
32 46 J.J. Yeley 25.7 83.5 57.8
33 87 Joe Nemechek 27.9 96.1 55.6
34 0 Mike Bliss 22.0 61.7 55.5
35 37 Tony Raines 24.7 80.1 54.3
36 78 Regan Smith 26.0 67.6 53.9
37 26 David Stremme 27.6 63.1 52.9
38 82 Scott Speed 25.0 61.2 52.7
39 43 Reed Sorenson 29.6 66.4 51.3
40 55 Michael Waltrip 29.4 114.6 50.7
41 66 Dave Blaney 29.4 73.1 50.5
42 38 Travis Kvapil 23.1 65.1 50.4
43 7 Robby Gordon 33.9 74.2 49.2
44 98 Paul Menard 27.4 60.7 49.0
45 37 David Gilliland 34.1 81.6 48.6
46 21 Bill Elliott 26.5 66.6 45.8
47 64 Chad McCumbee 28.0 54.3 44.3
48 55 M McDowell 30.0 42.2 37.9
49 13 Max Papis 34.0 36.7 36.7
50 34 John Andretti 32.5 38.3 36.5
51 34 Kevin Conway 35.0 34.4 34.4
52 64 Mike Wallace 34.3 40.4 34.3
53 36 Geoff Bodine 41.0 31.5 31.5
54 7 P.J. Jones 39.0 30.4 29.4
55 70 Johnny Sauter 38.0 32.9 28.9
56 27 K Shelmerdine 42.0 25.9 25.9
Who should you pick for the Brickyard? If you listen to NASCAR's driver rating, past winners Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya look pretty good.
What's that you say? Montoya didn't win the Brickyard?
That's true, he didn't win – he sped on pit road after looking like the dominant car last year and lost the race. But that's just a technicality.
So go ahead and pick one of those three, or perhaps Jeff Gordon (fifth).
But you may want to avoid drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr. (20th), Ryan Newman (26th) and Kurt Busch (27th), even though they may be tempting picks.
The complete list:
Brickyard 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 5
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 14 Tony Stewart 7.2 146.0 111.8
2 48 Jimmie Johnson 16.0 147.3 104.9
3 5 Mark Martin 6.2 128.9 104.8
4 42 Juan Montoya 17.3 131.7 102.0
5 24 Jeff Gordon 8.2 120.1 96.2
6 17 Matt Kenseth 13.0 117.7 93.6
7 0 Mike Bliss 11.0 93.4 93.4
8 11 Denny Hamlin 17.3 119.5 93.3
9 31 Jeff Burton 15.4 121.7 93.1
10 18 Kyle Busch 14.8 115.5 92.8
11 29 Kevin Harvick 14.4 128.0 91.9
12 9 Kasey Kahne 18.4 130.4 91.4
13 16 Greg Biffle 16.2 108.4 90.7
14 99 Carl Edwards 11.2 121.9 87.4
15 33 Clint Bowyer 13.5 100.9 83.4
16 83 Brian Vickers 17.6 114.9 81.9
17 44 A J Allmendinger 15.0 98.4 80.2
18 20 Joey Logano 12.0 79.0 79.0
19 43 Reed Sorenson 16.3 108.5 77.5
20 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 26.2 100.5 75.1
21 26 Jamie McMurray 20.6 102.1 73.3
22 12 David Stremme 20.0 77.2 72.5
23 07 Casey Mears 21.8 90.9 69.7
24 6 David Ragan 18.0 89.7 68.9
25 1 M Truex Jr. 22.8 83.2 68.4
26 39 Ryan Newman 23.2 85.6 68.0
27 2 Kurt Busch 21.6 83.4 66.4
28 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 29.0 65.0 63.7
29 96 Tony Raines 26.0 75.6 62.2
30 96 J.J. Yeley 32.7 74.5 61.6
31 71 David Gilliland 22.3 72.5 61.0
32 19 Elliott Sadler 29.4 107.2 60.7
33 00 David Reutimann 25.3 98.8 60.3
34 47 Marcos Ambrose 22.0 67.7 59.8
35 96 Bobby Labonte 27.6 74.4 58.8
36 21 Bill Elliott 23.5 79.7 57.8
37 66 Scott Riggs 27.5 80.1 56.4
38 55 Michael Waltrip 31.3 85.8 53.6
39 66 Dave Blaney 29.0 88.0 53.4
40 87 Joe Nemechek 31.0 64.7 49.0
41 7 Robby Gordon 29.4 64.7 46.3
42 82 Scott Speed 31.0 42.1 42.1
43 28 Travis Kvapil 32.7 59.5 40.9
44 98 Paul Menard 30.0 56.4 40.8
45 00 M McDowell 34.0 39.4 39.4
46 34 John Andretti 32.0 38.1 38.1
47 60 Boris Said 36.5 34.1 31.0
48 78 Regan Smith 35.0 34.8 31.0
49 70 Johnny Sauter 37.0 26.3 26.3
There are four tracks remaining where Jimmie Johnson has never won: Michigan, Homestead, Watkins Glen and...Chicagoland.
But that doesn't mean you should avoid the new dad for your fantasy picks on Saturday night.
Johnson is No. 1 in NASCAR's pre-race driver rating, just ahead of Tony Stewart.
Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch each have driver ratings of over 100 at the Illinois track as well.
Here is the complete pre-race driver rating to help you with your picks:
LifeLock.com 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Chicagoland Speedway
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 5
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 11.2 126.8 112.8
2 14 Tony Stewart 9.4 139.8 112.1
3 17 Matt Kenseth 11.2 144.6 107.8
4 83 Brian Vickers 7.5 116.4 107.3
5 29 Kevin Harvick 9.8 123.8 106.8
6 18 Kyle Busch 12.8 146.3 104.6
7 24 Jeff Gordon 11.2 131.7 96.3
8 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 11.2 107.3 94.0
9 5 Mark Martin 12.0 145.6 93.0
10 16 Greg Biffle 13.6 118.0 89.8
11 11 Denny Hamlin 19.0 108.0 87.1
12 2 Kurt Busch 13.4 100.3 86.8
13 33 Clint Bowyer 12.5 107.4 86.4
14 99 Carl Edwards 21.6 100.6 83.9
15 1 M Truex Jr. 20.0 94.1 83.3
16 47 Marcos Ambrose 11.0 80.5 80.5
17 44 AJ Allmendinger 13.0 83.2 79.5
18 39 Ryan Newman 17.8 98.3 78.7
19 43 Reed Sorenson 18.5 104.9 77.2
20 31 Jeff Burton 19.0 124.1 76.3
21 07 Casey Mears 20.0 106.9 72.3
22 9 Kasey Kahne 22.8 116.8 72.2
23 00 David Reutimann 23.0 86.0 72.1
24 42 Juan Montoya 14.3 78.1 69.2
25 96 Bobby Labonte 19.0 91.8 67.1
26 96 J.J. Yeley 23.0 87.1 67.0
27 6 David Ragan 19.3 97.6 66.5
28 20 Joey Logano 18.0 66.3 66.3
29 66 Scott Riggs 19.3 77.2 64.2
30 82 Scott Speed 36.0 59.4 59.4
31 70 Johnny Sauter 22.0 58.9 58.9
32 25 Brad Keselowski 32.0 57.6 57.6
33 26 Jamie McMurray 28.4 76.8 56.0
34 12 David Stremme 24.3 63.0 55.5
35 66 Dave Blaney 32.2 69.0 54.7
36 34 John Andretti 24.0 69.2 51.2
37 19 Elliott Sadler 27.6 78.4 50.8
38 98 Paul Menard 34.3 61.2 50.1
39 7 Robby Gordon 29.8 64.7 49.7
40 09 Mike Bliss 37.0 62.9 47.7
41 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 37.5 55.2 47.6
42 55 Michael Waltrip 30.4 68.9 47.6
43 96 Tony Raines 32.0 54.4 45.5
44 87 Joe Nemechek 31.4 84.2 44.9
45 71 David Gilliland 33.3 61.7 43.8
46 21 Bill Elliott 31.8 64.1 43.8
47 28 Travis Kvapil 40.3 58.3 41.4
48 4 Mike Wallace 25.0 40.5 40.5
49 01 Regan Smith 34.0 38.4 38.4
50 00 M McDowell 43.0 25.4 25.4
Everyone knows Tony Stewart is great at Daytona. But NASCAR's driver rating also tells us that either of the Busch Brothers might also be good picks in a hard-to-predict race.
Others who might be good choices? Clint Bowyer (seventh) and Carl Edwards (10th), in addition to past Daytona 500 champs Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Drivers to avoid include Penske Racing teammates Sam Hornish Jr. (33rd) and Brad Keselowski (51st).
Coke Zero 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 11
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 14 Tony Stewart 13.5 143.4 104.5
2 18 Kyle Busch 17.6 133.1 100.6
3 17 Matt Kenseth 14.7 114.1 93.4
4 2 Kurt Busch 15.3 125.7 92.7
5 48 Jimmie Johnson 19.2 118.4 91.8
6 24 Jeff Gordon 20.5 123.5 91.5
7 33 Clint Bowyer 12.3 119.4 88.4
8 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 16.4 126.4 87.7
9 29 Kevin Harvick 15.5 125.0 85.4
10 99 Carl Edwards 18.7 104.8 84.0
11 39 Ryan Newman 20.6 114.2 82.7
12 31 Jeff Burton 19.2 109.3 82.5
13 1 Jamie McMurray 19.8 114.1 82.1
14 11 Denny Hamlin 23.0 128.1 81.5
15 5 Mark Martin 19.6 110.3 80.5
16 9 Kasey Kahne 16.2 103.4 80.4
17 83 Brian Vickers 18.8 99.6 80.3
18 19 Elliott Sadler 15.0 107.4 79.5
19 6 David Ragan 14.1 108.0 79.3
20 56 M Truex Jr. 20.0 111.0 76.4
21 43 A J Allmendinger 23.5 102.2 75.0
22 16 Greg Biffle 22.5 111.0 74.2
23 12 David Stremme 24.2 97.1 67.9
24 71 David Gilliland 25.4 90.7 65.1
25 42 Juan Montoya 22.0 94.8 64.2
26 70 Johnny Sauter 19.8 88.0 63.8
27 07 Casey Mears 23.5 90.4 63.7
28 47 Marcos Ambrose 21.3 89.0 63.5
29 66 Dave Blaney 27.4 84.8 63.3
30 51 Michael Waltrip 28.1 100.8 62.3
31 20 Joey Logano 27.3 77.9 61.5
32 43 Reed Sorenson 23.4 88.4 61.5
33 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 29.0 90.1 61.2
34 09 Mike Wallace 20.0 76.7 60.5
35 96 J.J. Yeley 27.0 89.5 60.5
36 98 Paul Menard 22.0 79.3 60.0
37 7 Robby Gordon 18.1 82.4 59.6
38 71 Bobby Labonte 27.2 85.4 59.1
39 00 David Reutimann 22.6 80.5 58.8
40 36 Scott Riggs 27.0 103.6 58.3
41 37 Travis Kvapil 28.9 81.0 56.9
42 82 Scott Speed 28.3 73.8 55.0
43 26 Boris Said 22.2 69.7 52.3
44 87 Joe Nemechek 26.2 81.8 50.9
45 38 R Richardson Jr. 31.0 50.8 50.8
46 21 Bill Elliott 23.3 58.1 50.5
47 8 Aric Almirola 30.0 48.9 48.9
48 78 Regan Smith 26.6 65.5 48.0
49 36 Mike Bliss 26.7 58.3 46.8
50 34 John Andretti 30.5 53.2 45.8
51 12 Brad Keselowski 30.0 45.7 44.9
52 37 Tony Raines 30.8 54.6 42.4
53 55 Michael McDowell 29.0 47.0 40.8
54 27 Kirk Shelmerdine 31.5 40.7 33.0
55 13 Max Papis 40.0 28.8 28.8
New Hampshire Motor Speedway appears to be a House of Hendrick, at least according to NASCAR's driver rating at the track.
Four of the top six drivers are employed by Hendrick Motorsports, including Jeff Gordon (No. 2), Jimmie Johnson (No. 3), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 5) and Mark Martin (No. 6).
And the top driver, Tony Stewart, uses Hendrick equipment.
So if there's any chance for Hendrick to continue what it started in Sonoma and break the recent streak of Joe Gibbs Racing success, New Hampshire would be the place.
Here's how all the drivers stack up in New England this weekend:
Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 10
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 14 Tony Stewart 9.7 149.2 114.9
2 24 Jeff Gordon 10.3 130.9 108.0
3 48 Jimmie Johnson 10.4 134.8 106.3
4 11 Denny Hamlin 7.5 121.0 102.7
5 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 16.7 131.6 100.7
6 5 Mark Martin 8.7 120.9 98.0
7 29 Kevin Harvick 15.3 148.9 93.2
8 2 Kurt Busch 15.6 123.2 91.6
9 31 Jeff Burton 12.5 117.0 91.5
10 39 Ryan Newman 16.5 133.3 90.6
11 1 M Truex Jr. 14.4 122.5 90.3
12 18 Kyle Busch 15.6 141.1 89.4
13 33 Clint Bowyer 19.1 150.0 89.0
14 16 Greg Biffle 11.9 130.0 88.1
15 99 Carl Edwards 13.2 120.3 87.9
16 42 Juan Montoya 17.7 134.6 84.5
17 17 Matt Kenseth 15.6 116.7 81.5
18 9 Kasey Kahne 20.2 102.0 81.3
19 83 Brian Vickers 20.7 114.6 79.9
20 43 Reed Sorenson 20.3 106.1 75.4
21 00 David Reutimann 19.0 94.1 72.8
22 71 Bobby Labonte 19.6 121.4 71.8
23 07 Casey Mears 19.7 93.9 70.6
24 09 Brad Keselowski 6.0 67.9 67.9
25 96 J.J. Yeley 14.8 81.6 67.7
26 12 David Stremme 26.0 77.6 66.8
27 19 Elliott Sadler 23.4 86.9 66.3
28 47 Marcos Ambrose 21.5 64.1 64.1
29 20 Joey Logano 18.0 84.8 58.4
30 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 28.5 93.8 57.6
31 7 Robby Gordon 25.0 76.8 57.4
32 26 Jamie McMurray 27.2 85.2 57.4
33 55 Michael Waltrip 21.1 70.8 57.1
34 66 Scott Riggs 27.1 82.3 56.2
35 6 David Ragan 28.8 68.2 55.1
36 0 Mike Bliss 28.5 56.1 54.8
37 66 Dave Blaney 28.9 85.2 53.0
38 09 Aric Almirola 23.3 69.0 52.5
39 70 Johnny Sauter 24.8 76.0 51.7
40 44 A J Allmendinger 34.2 67.3 49.7
41 37 Tony Raines 28.8 69.9 49.6
42 87 Joe Nemechek 32.8 72.3 49.2
43 28 Travis Kvapil 30.3 75.6 47.4
44 78 Regan Smith 29.0 49.2 45.7
45 71 David Gilliland 35.3 57.7 44.7
46 34 John Andretti 28.0 50.6 44.4
47 98 Paul Menard 29.5 58.6 43.6
48 64 Mike Wallace 33.0 48.4 39.5
49 82 Scott Speed 33.5 37.6 37.1
50 21 Bill Elliott 31.7 35.9 33.6
51 36 M McDowell 36.7 42.4 32.9
52 45 Chad McCumbee 42.0 30.3 30.3
53 98 Boris Said 40.0 24.9 24.9
Think about the best road-course racers in NASCAR, off the top of your head: Tony Stewart, right? Yep. Marcos Ambrose? Sure. Jeff Gordon? Of course.
All of those drivers are in the top 10 for NASCAR's driver rating statistic at Sonoma.
But the formula reveals some surprising names near the top as well.
For example, who knew Ryan Newman had a better driver rating at Sonoma than Gordon? And that Kurt Busch was better than Ambrose?
There are some eye-openers among the traditional "favorites" as well: Robby Gordon is 12th, below even Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.
Consult the stats below for your fantasy picks; this could be one week where it really helps you.
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Infineon Raceway
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 5
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 14 Tony Stewart 9.4 142.7 113.2
2 42 Juan Montoya 4.3 115.3 111.3
3 18 Kyle Busch 16.4 147.6 101.9
4 2 Kurt Busch 15.4 121.8 101.4
5 47 Marcos Ambrose 22.5 113.6 99.6
6 39 Ryan Newman 11.0 127.8 98.8
7 24 Jeff Gordon 10.6 137.0 97.1
8 26 Jamie McMurray 20.0 110.5 89.6
9 08 Boris Said 20.0 107.7 88.8
10 11 Denny Hamlin 13.5 119.2 87.1
11 99 Carl Edwards 16.8 107.5 86.8
12 7 Robby Gordon 28.8 110.9 86.4
13 31 Jeff Burton 17.4 114.1 86.4
14 20 Joey Logano 19.0 86.2 86.2
15 19 Elliott Sadler 11.4 94.5 85.9
16 16 Greg Biffle 12.4 113.5 82.2
17 33 Clint Bowyer 8.0 89.9 81.4
18 48 Jimmie Johnson 16.4 101.1 80.4
19 5 Mark Martin 21.0 93.4 77.4
20 29 Kevin Harvick 24.4 109.0 76.2
21 17 Matt Kenseth 17.6 90.6 75.3
22 9 Kasey Kahne 25.8 132.4 73.5
23 83 Brian Vickers 19.5 92.6 69.2
24 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 23.8 96.4 67.4
25 21 Bill Elliott 19.0 66.6 66.6
26 1 M Truex Jr. 20.0 75.2 64.0
27 44 AJ Allmendinger 22.0 88.7 63.9
28 07 Casey Mears 19.0 87.6 59.3
29 96 Bobby Labonte 29.0 72.5 57.2
30 13 Max Papis 23.5 75.4 54.6
31 78 Joe Nemechek 28.0 73.5 54.2
32 18 J.J. Yeley 27.0 58.9 54.1
33 71 David Gilliland 22.8 99.4 53.3
34 00 M McDowell 21.0 52.3 52.3
35 34 Brian Simo 26.5 77.2 52.1
36 04 P.J. Jones 30.8 71.0 51.6
37 6 David Ragan 28.7 59.9 51.3
38 55 Michael Waltrip 23.3 59.2 50.8
39 66 Dave Blaney 32.2 65.0 48.0
40 98 Paul Menard 27.5 52.9 47.7
41 10 Scott Riggs 25.5 56.5 47.3
42 28 Travis Kvapil 21.5 49.8 47.0
43 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 34.5 52.3 46.8
44 12 David Stremme 35.5 49.5 42.6
45 43 Reed Sorenson 36.3 49.5 41.3
46 01 Regan Smith 30.0 41.2 41.2
47 34 John Andretti 30.0 40.2 40.2
48 8 Aric Almirola 28.0 40.1 40.1
49 70 Johnny Sauter 31.0 37.6 37.6
50 87 Scott Speed 37.0 32.6 32.6
51 00 David Reutimann 35.5 35.5 30.7
52 02 Brandon Ash 39.5 32.2 30.1
53 0 Mike Bliss 39.0 26.9 26.9
Three of the top four drivers in NASCAR's driver rating formula are from Roush Fenway Racing this week: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth.
And fifth is Dale Earnhardt Jr.
But are any of those safe picks for your fantasy team, given a winless season for each of them?
Safer bets might include Jimmie Johnson (duh), Kurt Busch (sixth) and Jeff Gordon (seventh), but if there's ever a time for the Roush Fenway drivers to have a breakout race, this would be it.
Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Michigan International Speedway
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 10
Rank Car No. Driver Avg Finish High Points Driver Rating
1 99 Carl Edwards 5.7 137.8 112.5
2 48 Jimmie Johnson 14.8 131.2 111.0
3 16 Greg Biffle 12.4 135.5 103.5
4 17 Matt Kenseth 10.9 139.7 103.1
5 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 10.2 121.5 99.1
6 2 Kurt Busch 19.5 140.7 96.5
7 24 Jeff Gordon 15.7 125.7 96.3
8 14 Tony Stewart 10.5 136.1 95.0
9 83 Brian Vickers 15.2 126.8 93.6
10 18 Kyle Busch 17.5 130.3 93.1
11 11 Denny Hamlin 13.3 113.6 92.5
12 5 Mark Martin 18.6 113.7 88.4
13 9 Kasey Kahne 18.9 120.8 81.1
14 1 M Truex Jr. 17.5 129.2 81.1
15 20 Joey Logano 16.0 101.9 80.9
16 6 David Ragan 15.8 106.1 79.8
17 29 Kevin Harvick 14.0 96.2 79.3
18 07 Casey Mears 15.1 109.9 78.1
19 33 Clint Bowyer 21.1 101.5 74.0
20 31 Jeff Burton 19.8 98.3 72.1
21 39 Ryan Newman 22.1 101.6 70.8
22 19 Elliott Sadler 20.1 98.2 70.1
23 26 Jamie McMurray 17.4 83.2 69.6
24 00 David Reutimann 19.2 88.5 68.8
25 25 Brad Keselowski 24.0 68.4 68.4
26 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 19.5 84.5 65.5
27 42 Juan Montoya 26.2 112.0 64.3
28 55 Michael Waltrip 23.1 91.6 61.0
29 28 Travis Kvapil 22.5 74.1 59.8
30 96 Bobby Labonte 24.9 87.7 58.8
31 7 Robby Gordon 26.7 69.2 58.2
32 44 AJ Allmendinger 27.8 79.7 56.4
33 12 David Stremme 26.5 80.8 55.8
34 96 J.J. Yeley 34.2 63.2 54.5
35 43 Reed Sorenson 24.6 95.4 53.9
36 87 Joe Nemechek 28.2 98.5 53.8
37 66 Scott Riggs 23.1 77.4 53.6
38 09 Mike Bliss 34.0 75.9 53.3
39 21 Bill Elliott 22.9 73.1 51.3
40 98 Paul Menard 23.7 72.4 51.2
41 66 Dave Blaney 30.1 93.9 50.5
42 71 David Gilliland 29.7 64.5 50.0
43 01 Regan Smith 30.5 56.6 46.6
44 70 Johnny Sauter 27.5 51.0 45.6
45 34 John Andretti 30.6 52.0 41.2
46 82 Scott Speed 35.5 47.9 40.6
47 37 Tony Raines 35.4 54.2 40.4
48 47 Marcos Ambrose 36.3 46.0 38.0
49 00 M McDowell 37.0 30.4 30.4
50 4 Mike Wallace 43.0 29.8 29.8
51 13 Max Papis 35.0 28.4 28.4
52 74 Derrike Cope 38.5 30.3 27.6
53 45 Chad McCumbee 41.0 24.9 24.9
This week, the driver rating formula seems to match up with average finish quite well, which means that the guys who stick in our minds as being strong at Pocono – Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards – can be validated as good picks.
In fact, those five might make up a pretty powerful fantasy team at the "Tricky Triangle."
Of course, Pocono is capable of a fuel-mileage race that could mess everything up. But since that can't be predicted, here's NASCAR's pre-race driver rating stat to help you out:
Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Pocono Raceway
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 10
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 11 Denny Hamlin 9.5 149.0 115.9
2 2 Kurt Busch 13.6 150.0 105.9
3 48 Jimmie Johnson 11.0 125.3 103.1
4 14 Tony Stewart 10.5 123.8 101.7
5 99 Carl Edwards 13.4 138.5 100.3
6 5 Mark Martin 10.6 123.7 98.8
7 24 Jeff Gordon 10.0 117.7 97.3
8 39 Ryan Newman 12.8 124.9 96.3
9 83 Brian Vickers 14.5 142.1 93.9
10 9 Kasey Kahne 16.9 145.2 92.0
11 17 Matt Kenseth 15.5 106.1 91.0
12 29 Kevin Harvick 11.3 113.2 87.8
13 31 Jeff Burton 15.4 113.4 87.2
14 16 Greg Biffle 18.4 117.3 86.1
15 1 M Truex Jr. 16.0 121.0 83.5
16 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 20.7 112.9 80.0
17 18 Kyle Busch 21.4 106.8 78.9
18 47 Marcos Ambrose 20.0 85.4 73.9
19 33 Clint Bowyer 17.5 94.1 73.0
20 42 Juan Montoya 20.7 104.3 71.4
21 26 Jamie McMurray 19.0 97.5 70.8
22 96 Bobby Labonte 21.1 92.5 67.0
23 44 AJ Allmendinger 23.4 95.2 65.7
24 20 Joey Logano 25.0 69.1 64.5
25 07 Casey Mears 20.6 105.4 64.2
26 00 David Reutimann 26.7 99.6 64.1
27 66 Scott Riggs 24.0 79.2 63.9
28 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 20.5 79.6 63.5
29 96 J.J. Yeley 23.4 83.5 62.5
30 19 Elliott Sadler 25.2 78.7 60.6
31 6 David Ragan 22.7 92.5 58.8
32 87 Joe Nemechek 26.2 96.1 58.7
33 0 Mike Bliss 22.0 61.7 55.5
34 37 Tony Raines 24.7 80.1 54.3
35 12 David Stremme 28.2 63.1 53.0
36 45 Chad McCumbee 21.0 54.3 52.9
37 66 Dave Blaney 28.3 73.1 52.1
38 43 Reed Sorenson 29.6 66.4 51.3
39 28 Travis Kvapil 23.3 65.1 51.0
40 55 Michael Waltrip 29.4 114.6 50.7
41 78 Regan Smith 28.7 67.6 50.3
42 71 David Gilliland 34.3 81.6 50.2
43 7 Robby Gordon 33.9 74.2 49.2
44 82 Scott Speed 27.5 53.1 48.5
45 98 Paul Menard 29.3 60.7 47.8
46 21 Bill Elliott 26.5 66.6 45.8
47 00 M McDowell 25.5 42.2 40.2
48 34 John Andretti 32.5 38.3 36.5
49 64 Mike Wallace 34.3 40.4 34.3
50 70 Johnny Sauter 38.0 32.9 28.9
51 27 K Shelmerdine 42.0 25.9 25.9
OK, so you don't need NASCAR's driver rating formula to tell you Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne are among the top drivers at Charlotte. That's obvious.
But did you know Joey Logano was good there, too? And Matt Kenseth?
The more information at your disposal, the better. So we'll be relying heavily on this formula for our fantasy picks this week.
After all, if you make poor choices for the Coca-Cola 600, you have a lonnnnng race to think about it.
Coca-Cola 600
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 10
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 8.9 139.1 118.9
2 18 Kyle Busch 16.2 139.4 104.4
3 9 Kasey Kahne 9.5 143.6 102.1
4 20 Joey Logano 7.0 106.0 101.0
5 5 Mark Martin 15.2 114.0 91.2
6 24 Jeff Gordon 20.0 128.2 88.5
6 17 Matt Kenseth 18.8 122.3 88.5
8 83 Brian Vickers 21.6 121.6 88.0
9 16 Greg Biffle 16.8 116.5 87.6
10 31 Jeff Burton 11.9 127.7 87.5
11 99 Carl Edwards 12.9 104.0 85.2
12 14 Tony Stewart 17.8 115.4 84.2
13 11 Denny Hamlin 18.6 102.1 82.6
14 2 Kurt Busch 23.7 123.4 81.6
15 25 Brad Keselowski 12.0 80.3 80.3
16 39 Ryan Newman 19.6 103.1 79.9
17 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 23.6 117.5 78.6
18 96 Bobby Labonte 13.8 98.6 76.2
19 33 Clint Bowyer 19.0 124.7 75.4
20 26 Jamie McMurray 21.9 88.6 71.6
21 07 Casey Mears 19.5 110.8 70.7
22 00 David Reutimann 18.2 101.3 70.5
23 1 M Truex Jr. 19.1 95.6 70.4
24 96 J.J. Yeley 20.4 103.6 69.8
25 6 David Ragan 23.8 99.8 69.4
26 12 David Stremme 21.3 80.1 67.1
27 19 Elliott Sadler 26.7 110.2 66.4
28 36 Scott Riggs 24.8 117.2 65.7
29 29 Kevin Harvick 23.4 92.5 64.9
30 47 Marcos Ambrose 24.0 64.6 61.3
31 43 Reed Sorenson 21.6 86.0 60.0
32 82 Scott Speed 23.0 69.2 59.9
33 42 Juan Montoya 28.7 106.2 59.4
34 66 Dave Blaney 21.8 86.4 58.7
35 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 22.8 82.6 58.5
36 87 Joe Nemechek 24.0 99.9 56.2
37 01 Regan Smith 21.0 55.9 55.4
38 02 David Gilliland 30.0 84.9 55.4
39 98 Paul Menard 26.5 73.2 54.7
40 28 Travis Kvapil 26.5 77.5 54.2
41 7 Robby Gordon 26.6 72.5 53.7
42 70 Johnny Sauter 27.5 79.0 52.0
43 44 AJ Allmendinger 27.3 68.3 51.9
44 55 Michael Waltrip 29.7 97.5 51.1
45 4 Todd Bodine 19.0 50.9 50.9
46 21 Bill Elliott 27.5 68.0 49.1
47 34 Tony Raines 28.5 97.0 47.0
48 71 Mike Bliss 31.8 63.5 44.8
49 10 Mike Wallace 30.0 49.4 37.3
50 00 M McDowell 32.0 35.0 35.0
51 34 John Andretti 39.0 34.0 31.5
52 13 Max Papis 41.5 27.8 27.2
Despite being 19th in points, Juan Pablo Montoya is having a great season when it comes to on-track performance, according to NASCAR's driver rating.
Montoya is eighth in the driver rating, which is a sign that without some late-race bad luck and parts failures, Montoya would be much higher in the points.
The same can be said for Clint Bowyer, who is 15th in points but ninth in driver rating.
Unfortunately, there's bad news if you're a Carl Edwards fan. Edwards is 10th in points but only 17th in the driver rating, indicating he's higher in points than he should actually be.
Martin Truex Jr. is in a similar situation. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver is 12th in points but only 18th in driver rating.
No. 1 in the driver rating? Well, that's no surprise. See for yourself:
Season Leaders
Through the Autism Speaks 400 at Dover
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. Must have raced in 75 percent of scheduled point-paying races.
Rank Car Driver Pts Pos. DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 4 109.9
2 24 Jeff Gordon 6 107.8
3 18 Kyle Busch 2 103.4
4 31 Jeff Burton 8 101.4
5 2 Kurt Busch 9 95.1
6 29 Kevin Harvick 1 94.7
7 11 Denny Hamlin 5 93.6
8 42 Juan Montoya 19 89.2
9 33 Clint Bowyer 15 87.3
10 17 Matt Kenseth 3 87.1
11 16 Greg Biffle 7 86.3
12 5 Mark Martin 11 85.5
13 14 Tony Stewart 14 85.3
14 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 16 84.0
15 00 David Reutimann 20 83.3
16 1 Jamie McMurray 17 82.9
17 99 Carl Edwards 10 81.4
18 56 M Truex Jr. 12 81.2
19 39 Ryan Newman 13 80.0
20 9 Kasey Kahne 21 79.8
21 20 Joey Logano 18 77.1
22 83 Brian Vickers 27 74.8
23 43 AJ Allmendinger 25 74.6
24 12 Brad Keselowski 24 69.6
25 98 Paul Menard 23 67.4
26 6 David Ragan 22 66.6
27 47 Marcos Ambrose 28 65.7
28 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 30 61.5
29 82 Scott Speed 26 60.6
30 19 Elliott Sadler 29 56.5
31 78 Regan Smith 31 55.3
32 71 Bobby Labonte 33 50.5
33 34 Travis Kvapil 32 45.0
34 38 David Gilliland 35 44.9
35 7 Robby Gordon 34 44.3
36 09 Mike Bliss 37 42.2
37 13 Max Papis 38 35.2
38 87 Joe Nemechek 40 33.8
39 66 Dave Blaney 41 32.7
40 37 Kevin Conway 36 32.5
41 55 M McDowell 42 31.5
The Biff rules again.
For the second straight week, Greg Biffle tops NASCAR's pre-race driver rating heading into a race. It didn't really work out for him at Darlington, as he got caught in a wreck, but Biffle and his Roush Fenway teammates (No. 2 Matt Kenseth and No. 4 Carl Edwards) are tempting picks for your fantasy team this week.
Will the driver rating come through for you?
Autism Speaks 400 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Dover International Speedway
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 10
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 16 Greg Biffle 5.5 137.4 114.7
2 17 Matt Kenseth 10.6 132.5 112.6
3 48 Jimmie Johnson 6.7 150.0 112.3
4 99 Carl Edwards 6.9 126.8 103.7
5 5 Mark Martin 8.0 117.0 101.9
6 39 Ryan Newman 12.6 129.7 98.8
7 18 Kyle Busch 16.9 139.5 98.5
8 2 Kurt Busch 18.7 120.6 96.2
9 24 Jeff Gordon 15.5 112.9 90.3
10 33 Clint Bowyer 14.4 109.3 89.9
11 1 Martin Truex 15.3 140.2 87.2
12 31 Jeff Burton 9.6 125.6 86.3
13 26 Jamie McMurray 19.4 99.5 79.0
14 42 Juan Montoya 21.0 120.8 78.5
15 88 D.Earnhardt Jr. 20.0 108.5 78.0
16 00 David Reutimann 20.2 92.5 75.7
17 29 Kevin Harvick 19.2 107.4 73.9
18 11 Denny Hamlin 25.1 93.2 73.6
19 9 Kasey Kahne 21.0 101.6 73.4
20 07 Casey Mears 15.4 95.4 73.3
21 14 Tony Stewart 20.3 99.1 71.4
22 83 Brian Vickers 19.4 97.0 70.5
23 19 Elliott Sadler 24.1 124.7 68.9
24 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 24.8 89.3 65.0
25 47 Marcos Ambrose 22.0 79.5 64.3
26 43 Reed Sorenson 24.6 112.5 62.5
27 44 AJ Allmendinger 27.5 91.1 61.4
28 96 Bobby Labonte 23.2 83.5 61.3
29 66 Scott Riggs 26.3 81.3 61.0
30 66 Dave Blaney 24.4 92.5 60.4
31 20 Joey Logano 28.5 66.3 57.5
32 98 Paul Menard 23.0 74.4 56.4
33 6 David Ragan 23.1 82.4 56.2
34 28 Travis Kvapil 23.3 87.0 55.6
35 96 J.J. Yeley 31.8 68.5 55.0
36 7 Robby Gordon 28.2 74.5 54.3
37 55 Michael Waltrip 25.1 81.3 52.5
38 12 David Stremme 32.3 69.8 50.3
39 78 Regan Smith 28.0 59.7 49.7
40 71 David Gilliland 28.1 77.0 49.4
41 87 Joe Nemechek 30.0 81.3 47.4
42 37 Tony Raines 33.0 68.6 44.5
43 4 Mike Wallace 25.0 43.7 41.7
44 09 Mike Bliss 32.0 61.0 39.7
45 36 Mi. McDowell 32.3 45.1 38.3
46 82 Scott Speed 31.0 44.1 38.0
47 21 Bill Elliott 34.0 39.4 37.5
48 34 John Andretti 32.7 36.4 33.7
49 70 Johnny Sauter 37.0 37.3 32.4
50 74 Derrike Cope 40.0 31.9 29.2
51 34 Jeff Fuller 43.0 26.8 26.8
Here's a look at NASCAR's driver rating for Darlington heading into a weekend that can be tough on both drivers and your fantasy team.
We recommend paying close attention to these ratings this week.
Showtime Southern 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Darlington Raceway
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 5
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 16 Greg Biffle 13.6 144.4 123.1
2 24 Jeff Gordon 2.6 119.2 114.4
3 48 Jimmie Johnson 5.8 125.5 112.1
4 11 Denny Hamlin 8.0 137.6 102.7
5 39 Ryan Newman 11.2 118.2 100.7
6 20 Joey Logano 9.0 98.8 98.8
7 1 M. Truex Jr. 11.3 122.4 96.8
8 18 Kyle Busch 20.4 138.6 96.2
9 88 D.Earnhardt Jr. 10.4 117.7 95.1
10 99 Carl Edwards 17.4 117.0 91.9
10 5 Mark Martin 8.6 116.3 91.9
12 9 Kasey Kahne 17.8 122.7 91.6
13 17 Matt Kenseth 10.4 119.1 91.2
14 14 Tony Stewart 10.4 112.2 87.7
15 25 Brad Keselowski 7.0 85.9 85.9
16 31 Jeff Burton 12.4 91.7 85.1
17 26 Jamie McMurray 19.4 95.7 78.4
18 2 Kurt Busch 19.2 99.4 77.4
19 29 Kevin Harvick 23.6 89.5 76.9
20 33 Clint Bowyer 21.0 102.8 75.3
21 0 Mike Bliss 19.0 72.3 72.3
22 96 Bobby Labonte 18.8 75.0 69.7
23 6 David Ragan 23.3 97.5 68.4
24 28 Travis Kvapil 24.3 94.8 61.1
25 83 Brian Vickers 31.2 77.6 60.8
26 00 David Reutimann 27.0 74.9 60.5
27 78 Joe Nemechek 21.5 84.8 60.5
28 96 J.J. Yeley 23.3 66.1 59.4
29 07 Casey Mears 32.4 80.3 59.3
30 19 Elliott Sadler 25.2 77.7 59.0
31 43 Reed Sorenson 25.5 82.2 58.2
32 66 Dave Blaney 27.6 100.4 57.0
33 12 David Stremme 27.7 70.5 56.8
34 78 Regan Smith 25.0 58.5 55.5
35 70 Johnny Sauter 29.0 55.4 55.4
36 7 Robby Gordon 28.0 93.5 52.5
37 36 Scott Riggs 30.8 74.1 52.0
38 42 Juan Montoya 22.0 62.7 51.0
39 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 34.0 67.4 50.3
40 98 Paul Menard 27.3 63.6 49.1
41 44 AJ Allmendinger 26.7 54.8 48.9
42 00 M. McDowell 28.0 48.5 48.5
43 4 Mike Wallace 24.0 46.9 46.9
44 34 Tony Raines 28.0 58.5 46.1
45 71 David Gilliland 31.0 63.4 44.3
46 55 Michael Waltrip 33.3 51.1 40.6
47 87 Scott Speed 26.0 38.8 38.8
48 21 Bill Elliott 30.0 38.1 38.1
49 47 Marcos Ambrose 33.0 37.5 37.5
50 13 Max Papis 35.0 28.1 28.1
51 34 Jeff Fuller 43.0 25.3 25.3
52 74 Derrike Cope 43.0 23.3 23.3
Everyone knows Dale Earnhardt Jr. is strong at Talladega. But did you know Denny Hamlin is, too? And David Ragan?
Thanks to NASCAR's pre-race driver rating, now you do.
At one of the toughest tracks to make fantasy picks and predictions due to wrecks and the lottery ball nature of the racing, the driver rating may not help you as much as usual this week.
But our opinion is using it probably can't hurt.
Aaron's 499 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Talladega Superspeedway
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 10
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 09 Brad Keselowski 4.5 98.9 94.2
2 11 Denny Hamlin 21.3 125.0 93.4
3 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 20.7 119.0 92.2
4 6 David Ragan 14.5 121.5 91.8
5 20 Joey Logano 6.0 91.2 90.0
6 14 Tony Stewart 16.1 117.2 89.9
7 83 Brian Vickers 16.3 107.6 89.3
8 24 Jeff Gordon 20.5 135.5 87.1
9 31 Jeff Burton 18.4 101.0 85.8
10 17 Matt Kenseth 17.2 120.1 85.7
11 2 Kurt Busch 13.1 107.3 85.6
12 26 Jamie McMurray 19.3 110.5 84.5
13 42 Juan Montoya 18.7 102.9 83.8
14 48 Jimmie Johnson 13.8 117.2 82.7
15 19 Elliott Sadler 19.1 105.0 80.7
16 39 Ryan Newman 19.3 111.3 78.3
17 18 Kyle Busch 24.6 93.1 76.4
18 1 M. Truex Jr. 28.4 91.9 75.4
19 28 Travis Kvapil 17.2 91.9 74.8
20 29 Kevin Harvick 18.0 101.9 74.7
21 47 Marcos Ambrose 19.0 81.4 74.5
22 07 Casey Mears 20.9 91.4 73.6
23 8 Aric Almirola 25.3 105.3 73.4
24 00 M. McDowell 26.0 70.9 70.9
25 36 Scott Riggs 20.8 90.6 70.1
26 12 David Stremme 24.7 85.0 68.7
27 16 Greg Biffle 22.4 89.7 68.4
28 99 Carl Edwards 21.7 103.4 67.6
29 55 Michael Waltrip 20.3 100.7 66.8
30 9 Kasey Kahne 20.3 98.7 66.0
31 33 Mike Wallace 22.6 76.7 65.9
32 98 Paul Menard 26.6 115.4 65.1
33 87 Joe Nemechek 24.8 85.2 64.1
34 70 Johnny Sauter 19.3 78.8 63.4
35 33 Clint Bowyer 23.3 90.7 63.4
36 00 David Reutimann 27.2 69.5 63.1
37 7 Robby Gordon 22.1 98.4 62.1
38 43 Reed Sorenson 24.1 91.8 61.4
39 5 Mark Martin 31.3 85.5 61.3
40 71 Bobby Labonte 20.6 79.1 61.1
41 78 Regan Smith 23.4 72.2 60.7
42 71 David Gilliland 23.5 94.4 60.6
43 66 Dave Blaney 21.7 87.2 56.7
44 82 Scott Speed 16.0 69.5 56.4
45 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 36.3 61.7 54.2
46 60 Boris Said 31.0 53.5 51.1
47 36 R.Richardson 18.0 48.7 48.7
48 13 Max Papis 23.5 50.0 46.1
49 34 John Andretti 27.7 47.4 46.0
50 49 Mike Bliss 31.3 52.2 44.9
51 44 AJ Allmendinger 32.7 56.8 40.4
52 27 K Shelmerdine 41.0 31.3 31.3
53 74 Derrike Cope 43.0 27.0 27.0
Each week, NASCAR unveils its prerace driver rating, which has historically been fairly accurate in predicting which drivers will perform well at a given track.
Things might change with the spoiler at Texas, but our advice is to use this to help with your fantasy picks. Good luck!
Samsung Mobile 500 For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track. Texas Motor Speedway Sunday, April 18, 2010 Driver Rating Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. Number of Races: 10
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING 1 14 Tony Stewart 11.0 149.7 106.1 2 17 Matt Kenseth 6.5 133.8 105.0 3 99 Carl Edwards 16.0 146.7 99.7 4 18 Kyle Busch 15.9 135.8 98.6 5 48 Jimmie Johnson 11.7 130.6 96.1 6 11 Denny Hamlin 10.6 123.1 95.6 7 16 Greg Biffle 19.2 149.2 95.4 8 88 Earnhardt Jr. 16.2 106.1 94.4 9 2 Kurt Busch 15.1 134.8 93.8 10 24 Jeff Gordon 13.0 136.3 91.4 11 5 Mark Martin 12.0 123.4 88.9 12 33 Clint Bowyer 12.8 119.5 88.5 13 1 M Truex Jr. 14.4 117.8 88.0 14 31 Jeff Burton 13.0 126.8 84.3 15 29 Kevin Harvick 12.6 107.6 82.8 16 00 David Reutimann 24.2 108.6 81.3 17 9 Kasey Kahne 25.0 131.4 80.4 18 42 Juan Montoya 23.2 91.2 78.7 19 26 Jamie McMurray 16.5 124.0 78.0 20 07 Casey Mears 16.1 112.1 77.7 21 47 Marcos Ambrose 25.7 99.7 73.9 22 6 David Ragan 25.7 88.7 68.3 23 39 Ryan Newman 21.1 108.4 67.2 24 83 Brian Vickers 23.6 92.5 65.6 25 02 David Gilliland 26.0 77.7 63.7 26 43 Reed Sorenson 30.4 90.7 62.1 27 98 Paul Menard 23.9 84.7 60.9 28 12 David Stremme 22.0 90.4 60.4 29 19 Elliott Sadler 25.1 87.1 59.6 30 66 Scott Riggs 24.5 91.1 59.6 31 71 Bobby Labonte 26.4 92.4 57.0 32 44 AJ Allmendinger 27.3 85.1 56.8 33 55 Michael Waltrip 27.6 108.8 55.3 34 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 28.0 75.0 53.7 35 7 Robby Gordon 31.6 75.5 52.1 36 82 Scott Speed 25.5 62.0 51.0 37 09 Mike Bliss 29.0 82.9 50.0 38 20 Joey Logano 29.7 66.6 49.3 39 66 Dave Blaney 27.8 61.1 48.6 40 12 Brad Keselowski 25.7 57.9 48.3 41 28 Travis Kvapil 26.5 64.9 46.2 42 87 Joe Nemechek 29.4 68.8 45.8 43 70 Johnny Sauter 30.0 59.6 41.8 44 21 Bill Elliott 32.6 55.8 41.3 45 34 John Andretti 30.0 47.9 40.9 46 36 Boris Said 27.0 40.5 40.5 47 4 Mike Wallace 30.5 48.7 39.0 48 78 Regan Smith 33.0 41.4 38.0 49 36 M McDowell 37.0 33.5 32.4 50 8 Aric Almirola 33.0 31.9 31.9 51 13 Max Papis 35.0 27.5 27.5 52 74 Derrike Cope 41.0 25.8 25.8
Warning: The following information can make your fantasy picks extremely accurate. Do not use these numbers unless you want to have a good week in your fantasy league. Here are the pre-race NASCAR driver ratings for Phoenix. Enjoy.Subway Fresh Fit 600 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Phoenix International Raceway
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Driver Rating
Formula combining the following categories: Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race.
Number of Races: 10
Rank Car Driver Avg Finish High AVG DRIVER RATING
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 4.3 149.9 123.0
2 2 Kurt Busch 10.8 150.0 104.6
3 5 Mark Martin 9.2 145.6 103.8
4 24 Jeff Gordon 12.8 133.2 99.8
5 16 Greg Biffle 15.0 144.2 99.8
6 11 Denny Hamlin 9.6 118.2 98.8
7 99 Carl Edwards 10.9 117.6 98.8
8 14 Tony Stewart 12.2 130.4 97.8
9 29 Kevin Harvick 14.0 150.0 94.6
10 18 Kyle Busch 14.5 118.2 92.2
11 1 M. Truex Jr. 15.5 121.4 89.7
12 31 Jeff Burton 9.1 101.7 86.9
13 88 Earnhardt Jr. 21.7 127.3 86.7
14 39 Ryan Newman 23.6 112.5 83.4
15 33 Clint Bowyer 15.6 114.5 82.6
16 17 Matt Kenseth 19.6 120.9 81.2
17 47 Marcos Ambrose 14.3 85.7 77.5
18 26 Jamie McMurray 19.3 123.9 77.0
19 9 Kasey Kahne 20.5 105.2 75.4
20 00 David Reutimann 18.6 107.8 73.9
21 83 Brian Vickers 22.2 118.4 73.8
22 42 Juan Montoya 19.2 98.8 73.8
23 71 Bobby Labonte 17.1 105.7 72.7
24 44 AJ Allmendinger 21.3 88.3 72.4
25 70 Johnny Sauter 24.3 83.6 64.8
26 07 Casey Mears 25.1 85.2 63.1
27 6 David Ragan 25.8 78.8 59.4
28 43 Reed Sorenson 26.8 71.0 58.6
29 12 Brad Keselowski 37.0 56.7 56.7
30 01 Aric Almirola 26.0 55.6 55.6
31 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 21.8 78.2 55.5
32 55 Michael Waltrip 30.0 118.0 54.8
33 20 Joey Logano 21.0 58.4 54.6
34 98 Paul Menard 24.3 64.5 54.4
35 19 Elliott Sadler 26.8 87.1 54.1
36 12 David Stremme 25.6 73.0 53.4
37 49 Mike Bliss 30.7 63.2 52.6
38 7 Robby Gordon 28.4 86.4 52.5
39 28 Travis Kvapil 24.0 74.1 52.3
40 36 Scott Riggs 32.3 65.4 52.2
41 78 Regan Smith 28.7 68.0 52.1
42 66 Dave Blaney 30.3 69.1 51.5
43 09 David Gilliland 27.4 76.7 50.2
44 87 Joe Nemechek 28.4 86.8 50.1
45 4 Mike Wallace 27.0 49.5 49.5
46 82 Scott Speed 35.7 45.0 38.6
47 36 Mi. McDowell 37.5 41.7 36.8
48 13 Max Papis 32.0 35.1 35.1
49 21 Bill Elliott 31.3 44.1 33.5
50 34 John Andretti 36.0 36.5 32.6
51 02 Brandon Ash 43.0 29.4 29.4
NASCAR's driver rating formula is the most accurate way to track a given driver's performance. Starting today and continuing every Thursday, we'll let you know what drivers are on top of the driver rating standings so far this season.
And beginning next week, we'll help you plan your fantasy picks by posting the prerace driver rating for the upcoming track.
Your days of predicting races by average finish and placing last in your league will soon be over.
The NASCAR driver rating leaders so far this season:
Season Leaders As of March 29, 2010 Driver Rating Formula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum:150 points per race. Must have raced in 75 percent of scheduled point-paying races.
Rank Car Driver Pts. Driver Rating
1 48 Jimmie Johnson 1 113.4
2 2 Kurt Busch 6 105.9
3 24 Jeff Gordon 7 104.9
4 16 Greg Biffle 2 98.0
5 29 Kevin Harvick 4 97.6
6 31 Jeff Burton 5 97.2
7 17 Matt Kenseth 3 94.3
8 14 Tony Stewart 8 89.7
9 33 Clint Bowyer 9 89.3
10 18 Kyle Busch 16 89.3
11 5 Mark Martin 17 88.7
12 42 Juan Montoya 25 87.1
13 9 Kasey Kahne 20 86.3
14 88 D.Earnhardt Jr. 10 83.6
15 11 Denny Hamlin 15 83.3
16 99 Carl Edwards 14 82.9
17 56 M. Truex Jr. 18 82.6
18 20 Joey Logano 13 79.5
19 83 Brian Vickers 12 78.7
20 1 Jamie McMurray 19 78.0
21 00 David Reutimann 24 75.8
22 98 Paul Menard 11 73.1
23 39 Ryan Newman 22 72.8
24 43 AJ Allmendinger 26 69.7
25 12 Brad Keselowski 27 68.5
26 47 Marcos Ambrose 29 65.3
27 6 David Ragan 28 64.3
28 82 Scott Speed 21 62.9
29 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 30 58.8
30 19 Elliott Sadler 23 58.4
31 71 Bobby Labonte 31 51.3
32 78 Regan Smith 32 48.7
33 37 David Gilliland 34 47.3
34 34 Travis Kvapil 33 46.1
35 36 Mike Bliss 36 43.6
36 7 Robby Gordon 35 38.6
37 87 Joe Nemechek 40 35.2
38 66 Dave Blaney 41 34.3
39 13 Max Papis 38 33.1
40 38 Kevin Conway 37 31.9
41 55 M. McDowell 42 31.1
NASCAR Driver Rating Season Leaders: The Truth Revealed
NASCAR's 'Driver Rating' is a special formula similar to the NFL's quarterback rating in which a number of performance-related factors are taken into consideration.
This stat often tells the truth about drivers because it uses their finishes as well as in-race statistics to determine which ones are running the best.
It may surprise you to learn that Jimmie Johnson was not only the best driver in the Chase, but by far the best driver all season according to the driver rating. Kevin Harvick scored the most points for the season as a whole, but was only fourth in driver rating.
Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch were second and third, respectively, but finished ninth and eighth in points. Busch was even better than teammate Denny Hamlin (fifth in driver rating), who came closest to toppling Johnson.
Some of the major overachievers (based on their points position in relation to driver rating) included Greg Biffle, who was 12th in driver rating but sixth in the point standings, and Matt Kenseth, who was 14th in driver rating and fifth in the points.
Underachievers included Juan Pablo Montoya, who was statistically the 11th-best driver but only 17th in points, and Kasey Kahne, who was 15th in driver rating and 20th in points.
The full list of season leaders:
Nov 26 9:02a by Jeff Gluck - 1 comment