Unpredictable Season Characterized By Three Drivers
David Reutimann and Juan Pablo Montoya have bucked predictions this season, and both are close to cracking the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series top 12.
Reutimann has finished 39th and 22nd in his first two full-time seasons. Currently he’s 13th. Montoya finished 20th and 25th in his two. He now sits 14th.
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The improvement growth is statistically staggering:
David Reutimann After 12 Races (2007-Present)
Avg.
Year Rk St Finish ARP FLR LT15% Led DR
2007 43 8 34.0 31.4 7 5.0 0 42.6
2008 26 12 23.9 22.8 50 18.7 3 63.8
2009 13 12 16.4 15.4 80 64.4 47 82.2
ARP: Average Running Position
FLR: Fastest Laps Run
LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15
DR: Driver Rating
Juan Pablo Montoya After 12 Races (2007-Present)
Avg.
Year Rk St Finish ARP FLR LT15% Led DR
2007 22 12 22.4 24.1 51 21.6 0 60.6
2008 17 12 19.8 21.0 17 35.5 1 68.9
2009 14 12 16.1 16.6 56 50.8 8 82.7
Reutimann, along with grabbing his first career series win, has improved his Average Running Position by 7.4 and his Driver Rating by 18.4 from 2008. Montoya’s Average Running Position is 4.4 positions better than last season and his Driver Rating has improved by 13.8 points.
On the other end of the improvement spectrum is Carl Edwards, winner of a series-high nine races last season. This season, he has none. Edwards looked like his old self Monday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, finishing fourth with a Driver Rating of 104.0. Beyond that, his numbers are down from last season:
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Carl Edwards After 12 Races (2005-Present)
Avg.
Year Rk St Finish ARP FLR LT15% Led DR
2005 8 12 15.6 20.0 142 40.2 56 77.8
2006 14 12 19.1 18.2 116 53.3 68 81.9
2007 8 12 15.9 15.2 77 73.4 37 86.4
2008 6 12 12.6 11.5 387 77.6 306 102.0
2009 11 12 16.0 13.3 116 69.1 42 89.7
But the above numbers do show a bright side for Edwards. For the most part, his stats still surpass his numbers in all seasons except 2008.
There’s further good news: Edwards excels at Dover.
Edwards, who won at Dover in 2007, has had five consecutive top-three finishes at the Monster Mile and five consecutive races with a Driver Rating over 100.0.
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