2007 Daytona News: Loop Data Provides Insight To Scouting Sunday's Race
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 14, 2007) – The restrictor plate can limit horsepower, but it can’t do a thing to talent.
And according to the Loop Data – statistics gleaned from scoring loops embedded around the race track – plenty of drivers have the talent it takes to win Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Tony Stewart – with his name atop the Driver Rating standings as well as many of the speed standings – clearly excels at Daytona InternationaI Speedway. As does Jimmie Johnson, whose name is also impressively peppered throughout the Loop Data stats book coming into the 500. Of course there also are the “usual suspects” in the high-speed intrigue of restrictor-plate racing: Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
All four of those drivers have top 10 Driver Ratings at Daytona, based on the last two years’ races.
It’s no coincidence, then, that all four also have wins at Daytona.
Stewart’s Driver Rating (see bottom of release for explanation) may hold the most weight when analyzing the Daytona 500. Last season, the stat was a phenomenally accurate tool when used in advance of a race.
A look at the past could be useful when looking toward the future. A top Driver Rating, which Stewart owns, often bodes well.
For instance, the top-rated driver at a particular track, going into a race at that track:
- Won the race eight times last season.
- Finished in the top three in 15 of the 36 races (42% of the time).
- Finished in the top five in 21 of the 36 races (58%).
- Finished in the top seven in 24 of the 36 races (67%).
Obviously, Stewart isn’t the only driver who has performed well at Daytona. Plenty of others could very well take home the checkered. Here are the Top 10 active drivers in terms of Driver Rating at Daytona:
Driver
Rating
1. Tony
Stewart (127.5) 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (95.1)
2.
Jimmie Johnson (106.2) 7. Matt Kenseth (90.3)
3.
Ryan Newman (97.6) 8. Kurt Busch (88.2)
4. Jeff
Gordon (97.2) 9. Elliott Sadler (87.4)
5.
Jamie McMurray (95.6) 10. Clint Bowyer
(85.4)
An important stat to look at, especially at Daytona, is the Speed in Turns. Because drivers rely so heavily on the draft, it’s not so much how a driver performs on the straightaways, but how he performs in the turns – where ground can be made up dramatically – that make a major difference in how he finishes. Check out the top 5 drivers in each turn:
Turn 1 Turn
2 Turn 3 Turn
4
1. Brian Vickers 1. Tony Stewart 1. Tony
Stewart 1. Tony Stewart
2. Johnny Sauter 2. Jimmie
Johnson 2. Jimmie Johnson 2. Bill Elliott
3. Clint
Bowyer 3. Matt Kenseth 3. Ryan Newman 3. Jimmie
Johnson
4. Ryan Newman 4. Ryan Newman 4. Jeff
Gordon 4. Jeff Gordon
5. Carl Edwards 5. Brian
Vickers 5. Jeff Burton 5. Jamie
McMurray
Another stat that clearly leads to quality performance is Fastest Laps Run. The Top 10 in that category is littered with last year’s Top 15 drivers. Over the last four races at Daytona, Kevin Harvick has run the highest number of fastest laps with 27. The Top 10 rounds out as such:
Fastest Laps
Run
1. Kevin
Harvick (27) 5. Greg Biffle (20)
2. Brian Vickers
(23) 5. Ryan Newman (20)
3. Kasey Kahne
(22) 8. Kurt Busch (19)
4. Tony Stewart
(21) 8. Jeff Burton (19)
5. Jamie McMurray
(20) 8. Martin Truex Jr. (19)
Of course, consistency always plays a major part in the battle, and the war. Whether it is a single race or over the course of an entire season, drivers always strive to be consistent. Here are the most consistent drivers at Daytona over the past four races run.
Laps in the Top
15
1. Jimmie
Johnson (668) 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (488)
2. Tony Stewart
(621) 7. Kurt Busch (475)
3. Jamie McMurray (550)
8. Mark Martin (425)
4. Jeff Gordon (546) 9. Kyle Busch
(402)
5. Ryan Newman (493) 10. Matt Kenseth
(396)
(Note: Driver Rating is
calculated using a formula combining these categories: Wins, Finishes,
Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While On Lead Lap, Average Speed
Under Green, Fastest Laps, Most Laps Led and Lead-Lap Finishes. Maximum 150
points per race.)