Kyle Busch’s finishes at Bristol in the NASCAR Nationwide Series might be a little misleading – at least that’s what some of the statistics suggest.
Much has to do with the 42nd-place that resulted in a DNF in last year’s March Bristol race, but finishing in the top 10 in six of the last seven race still hasn’t given Busch a Driver Rating that ranks in the top five.
Over his last eight Bristol races since the inception of Loop Data in 2005, Busch has a Driver Rating of 104.3, an Average Running Position of 12.5, a series-high 202 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 77.7.
Uncharacteristically, Busch’s Driver Rating ranks lower than a number of his competitors. Of those expected to compete this week, Ryan Newman (No. 5 Fastenal Chevrolet) is at 123.7, Kevin Harvick (110.0) and reigning series champion Clint Bowyer (108.2) all have better ratings than Busch.
Newman is entered in all four NASCAR events being held at Bristol this week.
But Busch’s momentum might blow all previous statistics off the page. Though his streak of 10 consecutive races finishing first or second ended with a third-place finish at Michigan, his statistics since the streak began on June 6 have been stunning.
Over the last 11 races this season, Busch has an average finish of 1.8 – compared to an average start of 12.2. Additionally, he had an Average Running Position of 4.2, 345 Fastest Laps Run, a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 94.9, 797 Laps Led (36.3% of the total laps) and a Driver Rating of 130.5. Only once this entire season has Busch’s Driver Rating been under 100.0 – at his home track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when he scored a 60.3 Driver Rating in a 39th-place finish. That was also the only race he hasn’t led a lap this year.
CAR DRIVER MAKE 0 Kertus Davis Chevrolet 1 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 1 Danny O'Quinn Jr. Chevrolet 5 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 5 Casey Atwood Chevrolet 6 David Ragan Ford 7 Jason White Chevrolet 9 John Wes Townley* Ford 10 Kasey Kahne Toyota 11 Brian Scott Toyota 12 Justin Allgaier* Dodge 15 Michael Annett* Toyota 16 Matt Kenseth Ford 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 20 Brad Coleman Toyota 23 Ken Butler III* Chevrolet 24 Eric McClure Ford 26 Michael McDowell* Dodge 27 Jason Keller Ford 28 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 29 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 31 Travis Kittleson Chevrolet 32 David Reutimann Toyota 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38 Jason Leffler Toyota 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 42 Scott Lagasse Jr.* Dodge 47 Coleman Pressley Toyota 49 Mark Green Chevrolet 52 Brad Teague Chevrolet 60 Carl Edwards Ford 61 Matt Carter Ford 62 Brendan Gaughan* Chevrolet 66 Steve Wallace Chevrolet 70 Shelby Howard Chevrolet 81 Sean Murphy Dodge 87 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 88 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 90 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 91 Terry Cook* Chevrolet 99 Trevor Bayne Toyota 172 Benny Gordon Ford 173 Derrike Cope Dodge 177 Peyton Sellers Chevrolet 178 Kevin Lepage Dodge 196 Dennis Setzer Dodge 198 Paul Menard Ford 234 Tony Raines Chevrolet 276 Ryan Hackett Ford
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