Something a little different this week in the Stats Analysis section. Our statistics guru, Steve McClearn, has been slaving away in the corporate world, so we’ve given the stats analysis to our resident orangutans.
Looking at most people’s favorite statistic, Best Drivers by Track, we’ve taken it a step further. Let’s get each driver’s median finish at not only Dover, but tracks which are similar to Dover. These are: Bristol, Miami-Homestead, Las Vegas, & Darlington.
Now, let’s combine those median finishes and average them to see who ranks the best. That’s what we have here:
| Combined Similar NASCAR Tracks Averages |
|---|
| Rank | Driver | Dover | Bristol | Miami | Vegas | Darlington | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 7.0 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 8 | 13 | 8.5 | 3.5 | 4 | 7.4 |
| 3 | Mark Martin | 6 | 14.5 | 7.5 | 5.5 | 9 | 8.5 |
| 4 | Greg Biffle | 9.5 | 9.5 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 8.8 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart | 5 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 10.0 |
| 6 | Jeff Burton | 11 | 12.5 | 12.5 | 8 | 9 | 10.6 |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 9 | 14 | 18 | 6.5 | 6 | 10.7 |
| 8 | Carl Edwards | 12 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 10.8 |
| 9 | Ryan Newman | 5 | 15.5 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 11.5 |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | 19 | 5.5 | 7.5 | 13 | 14 | 11.8 |
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | 9 | 7.5 | 21 | 6 | 19.5 | 12.6 |
| 12 | Bobby Labonte | 13 | 18.5 | 10 | 12.5 | 13 | 13.4 |
| 13 | Dale Jarrett | 11 | 15.5 | 20.5 | 14.5 | 10 | 14.3 |
| 14 | Kurt Busch | 15.5 | 7 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 14.5 |
| 15 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 16 | 9 | 19 | 19.5 | 11 | 14.9 |
| 16 | Clint Bowyer | 8 | 18.5 | 10 | 25.5 | 16 | 15.6 |
| 17 | Martin Truex Jr | 6 | 27.5 | 17 | 16 | 12.5 | 15.8 |
| 18 | Jamie McMurray | 15 | 17.5 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 16.3 |
| 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | 19 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 16.4 |
| 20 | Kyle Busch | 5 | 8.5 | 39.5 | 6 | 23 | 16.4 |
| 21 | Kasey Kahne | 21 | 16.5 | 16 | 19.5 | 13 | 17.2 |
| 22 | Ricky Rudd | 12 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 16.5 | 18.1 |
| 23 | Ward Burton | 33 | 17.5 | 14 | 22 | 12 | 19.7 |
| 24 | Joe Nemechek | 25.5 | 27 | 19.5 | 19 | 21 | 22.4 |
| 25 | Elliott Sadler | 18 | 24 | 25.5 | 28 | 18 | 22.7 |
| 26 | Ken Schrader | 27 | 14 | 29 | 26 | 18 | 22.8 |
| 27 | Brian Vickers | 23 | 20 | 27.5 | 23 | 23 | 23.3 |
| 28 | Casey Mears | 24 | 27.5 | 26.5 | 9 | 34 | 24.2 |
| 29 | Scott Riggs | 23 | 24.5 | 15 | 28.5 | 30.5 | 24.3 |
| 30 | Mike Bliss | 32.5 | 17 | 39.5 | 16 | 19 | 24.8 |
| 31 | David Ragan | 28 | 33.5 | 0 | 37 | 27 | 25.1 |
| 32 | Michael Waltrip | 24 | 22 | 34 | 22 | 28.5 | 26.1 |
| 33 | Dave Blaney | 29 | 26 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 26.2 |
| 34 | Reed Sorenson | 19 | 29 | 22 | 35.5 | 25.5 | 26.2 |
| 35 | Tony Raines | 30.5 | 26.5 | 16.5 | 21.5 | 39 | 26.8 |
| 36 | Kyle Petty | 26 | 25 | 27 | 28.5 | 28 | 26.9 |
| 37 | Kenny Wallace | 28 | 26 | 22 | 34.5 | 24 | 26.9 |
| 38 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 31 | 24.5 | 34 | 22 | 23 | 26.9 |
| 39 | JJ Yeley | 33.5 | 32 | 30 | 17.5 | 22 | 27.0 |
| 40 | Robby Gordon | 26 | 26.5 | 29 | 26.5 | 28 | 27.2 |
| 41 | Jeff Green | 29 | 27 | 33.5 | 27 | 22 | 27.7 |
| 42 | Johnny Sauter | 26 | 25 | 0 | 31.5 | 29 | 27.9 |
| 43 | David Stremme | 36 | 24.5 | 26.5 | 26.5 | 29.5 | 28.6 |
| 44 | David Gilliland | 28 | 40 | 33 | 21 | 30 | 30.4 |
| 45 | AJ Allmendinger | 33 | 37.5 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 35.5 |