Raybestos Rookie of the Year
Driver Team Points
1. Justin Allgaier Penske 215
Following his worst three-race stretch of the season (26.7 average finish), Allgaier rebounded with an eighth-place finish at Richmond, his first top 10 in four races.
2. Brendan Gaughan RWR 199
3. Michael McDowell N/A 186
4. Michael Annett Germain 168
5. Scott Lagasse Jr. N/A 154
6. Erik Darnell RFR 123
7. John Wes Townley RAB 110
8. Ken Butler III R3 75
Manufacturers’ Standings
Toyota 181 Chevrolet 167 Ford 162 Dodge 84
IN THE LOOP
Driver Standings, Loop Data One In The Same
Through 27 races, the statistics show exactly what the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings show: The best performances have garnered the best finishes.
In other words, bad luck hasn’t ruined many seasons.
In the Driver Rating category (which is a formula that takes into account a number of statistics to show a driver’s true performance), the top six drivers exactly match the top six in the NASCAR Nationwide standings.
Kyle Busch ranks first in Driver Rating, with a 124.9 – which isn’t at all surprising considering he has scored two perfect ratings of 150.0 this season (at Auto Club Speedway and Texas).
Also not surprising, Busch also leads in a number of other Loop Data categories: Average Running Position (6.0), Fastest Laps Run (907), Laps in the Top 15 percentage (88.1), Laps Led (1,944) and Pass Differential (passes minus times passed) with a plus 280.
The five drivers right behind Busch in Driver Rating are also directly behind him in the standings: Carl Edwards (112.6), Brad Keselowski (104.8), Jason Leffler (95.8), Justin Allgaier (85.5) and Steve Wallace (82.6).
But Busch’s statistics aren’t the only numbers that stand out this season. Here are a few others:
* 12 – Number of different race winners this season. There were 12 total in 2008.
* 14 – Number of races with a margin of victory under one second. There were 16 all of last year.
* .988 Seconds – Average margin of victory.
* 1,344 – The number of green flag passes by both Allgaier, the Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader, and Steve Wallace. They’re tied for the lead in that category.
* 865 – The number of times Edwards has been passed this season, fewest in the series.
* 922 – Brad Keselowski’s series-leading Quality Pass (passes of cars in the top 15 under green) number.
* 79.8 – Mike Bliss’ Driver Rating. That ranks eighth-best. Impressive for a driver without a consistent ride.
* 72.9 – Michael McDowell’s Driver Rating, which is ninth-best. Ditto on the above, for the rookie McDowell, who also doesn’t have a consistent ride.
* 112.9 – Joey Logano’s Driver Rating. Logano doesn’t qualify for a ranking in the Driver Rating category because he hasn’t run 75% of the races. But if he did, this number would be ranked second.
FAST FACTS
Next Race: Dover 200
The Place: Dover International Speedway (1-mile concrete oval)
The Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Distance: 200 laps / 200 miles
2008 Winner: Kyle Busch
2008 Polesitter: Kyle Busch
Event Schedule (all times ET): Friday, Sept. 25 – Practice, 9:30-10:50 a.m.; Final Practice, 1:50-3 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 26 – Qualifying, 10:35 a.m.
2009 STANDINGS
Driver Points
1 Kyle Busch 4,379
2 Carl Edwards 4,178
3 Brad Keselowski 4,082
4 Jason Leffler 3,599
5 Justin Allgaier 3,152
6 Steve Wallace 3,132
7 Jason Keller 2,991
8 Brendan Gaughan 2,957
9 Mike Bliss 2,950
10 Michael McDowell 2,902
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