Often, track-specific success is contagious for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.
For instance, Jimmie Johnson is always strong at Martinsville Speedway.
Not so at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Even the marquee names have their down races. The trend makes sense. The fact Sunday’s the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is both a crown-jewel race and a Race to the Chase event ratchets up the importance.
That combination can lead to some all-or-nothing strategies – and three drivers illustrate that.
Tony Stewart
Stewart needed seven races to win his most coveted race. He finally broke through in 2005, before winning again at Indy in 2007. But in 2006 and 2008, he had down years. Still, Stewart owns series-best numbers in Driver Rating (111.2) and Fastest Laps Run (76) since the inception of Loop Data in 2005. Here is Stewart’s race-by-race log since 2005:
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Tony Stewart at Indianapolis (2005-08)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15% DR Led 8/05 1 7.1 30 88.1 128.4 44 8/06 8 15.1 1 65.6 89.9 0 7/07 1 2.4 45 100 146.0 65 7/08 23 13 0 68.8 80.5 0 Total 8.3 9.4 76 80.6 111.2 109
ARP: Average Running Position; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15; DR: Driver Rating
In both of Stewart’s wins, he posted a Driver Rating well above 100.0. But in 2006 and 2007, he failed to crack 90.0 and ran most of the race outside the top 10.
Jimmie Johnson
The same can be said about Johnson, another two-time Indy winner. Johnson’s success spectrum is even wider. His is literally all or nothing, winning in 2006 and 2008 and failing to finish in 2005 and 2007.
Both of Johnson’s DNFs since 2005 were the result of accidents – and both were finishes outside the top 35:
Jimmie Johnson at Indianapolis (2005-08)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15% DR Led 8/05 38 23 1 28.8 58.8 0 8/06 1 7.7 19 86.3 124.3 33 7/07 39 30.1 0 23.8 66.1 0 7/08 1 2.5 36 100 147.3 71 Total 19.8 15.8 56 59.7 99.1 104
ARP: Average Running Position; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15; DR: Driver Rating
Carl Edwards
Edwards, still looking for his first win of 2009 after winning a series-high nine races in 2008, finished second to Johnson in last season’s Indy race. Since 2005, he has one other top-10 finish at Indianapolis – a ninth-place run in 2006. His other two Loop Data-era races were struggles. Edwards posted a Driver Ratings of 69.6 and 67.1 in 2005 and 2007, respectively. Here is his Indy race log:
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Carl Edwards at Indianapolis (2005-08)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15% DR Led 8/05 12 23.4 0 6.9 69.6 0 8/06 9 7.9 25 92.5 107.9 0 7/07 18 20.2 0 29.4 67.1 0 7/08 2 5.6 14 100 121.9 4 Total 10.3 14.3 39 57.2 91.6 4
ARP: Average Running Position; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15; DR: Driver Rating
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