With two races before the Chase cutoff, can Mark Martin overcome a 101-point deficit to make NASCAR’s playoff?
NASCAR’s Season-to-Date Driver Rating Shows Bad News For Mark Martin
Not if you trust NASCAR’s driver rating stat.
Martin, according to the numbers, is having a very mediocre season – 19th in the driver rating. The fact that he’s 14th in points means he’s overachieved considering his average running position during races, his average speed and some of the other factors the formula uses.
Clint Bowyer sits 12th in points, but is 10th in the driver rating, meaning he likely belongs in the top 12 and will stay there.
The most surprising underachiever is Juan Pablo Montoya, who is seventh among all drivers – ahead of even Denny Hamlin – but is only 19th in points.
Another underachiever – which is a relative term for him – is Jimmie Johnson, who is tops in driver rating but ninth in points. That indicates he’s had some strong runs that turned into poor finishes.
Matt Kenseth is the biggest overachiever, sitting eighth in points while only running 16th in the driver rating.
Will the driver rating be able to predict this year’s champion? We’ll know if Johnson wins his fifth straight title in a few months.
Driver RatingFormula combining the following categories: Win, Finish, Top-15 Finish, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps, Lead-Lap Finish. Maximum: 150 points per race. Must have raced in 75 percent of scheduled point-paying races.
Rank Car Driver Points Pos. Driver Rating1 48 Jimmie Johnson 9 106.52 24 Jeff Gordon 2 104.43 31 Jeff Burton 7 100.34 18 Kyle Busch 3 97.35 29 Kevin Harvick 1 96.66 2 Kurt Busch 10 96.47 42 Juan Montoya 19 94.68 11 Denny Hamlin 5 91.89 14 Tony Stewart 6 90.910 33 Clint Bowyer 12 90.111 16 Greg Biffle 11 88.312 9 Kasey Kahne 16 87.013 99 Carl Edwards 4 86.914 1 Jamie McMurray 13 86.215 00 David Reutimann 17 84.116 17 Matt Kenseth 8 83.417 56 M Truex Jr. 20 81.118 39 Ryan Newman 15 80.819 5 Mark Martin 14 80.420 88 D Earnhardt Jr. 18 78.321 43 AJ Allmendinger 22 76.922 20 Joey Logano 21 76.923 47 Marcos Ambrose 26 69.324 98 Paul Menard 23 68.425 12 Brad Keselowski 25 66.326 6 David Ragan 24 65.327 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 28 63.028 82 Scott Speed 27 58.229 19 Elliott Sadler 29 57.330 78 Regan Smith 30 55.031 07 Robby Gordon 34 47.132 09 Bobby Labonte 31 46.833 34 Travis Kvapil 32 44.534 38 David Gilliland 33 43.335 13 Max Papis 38 34.436 7 Kevin Conway 35 33.537 87 Joe Nemechek 37 32.9
See More:
