NASCAR provides some really cool information to the media, falling somewhat
outside the boundary of traditional statistics, called "Loop Data."
Loop Data analyzes all sorts of racing-related things you probably never think
about or even realize you might need to know, like which of the forty-three
drivers on the track was fastest going through Turn 3 at Talladega, or how many
quality passes were made at Pocono.
It could probably measure the drag produced by a hangnail on the third toe of
Clint Bowyer's left foot, or in an ocular showdown between Tony Stewart and
Kasey Kahne, calculate which driver would post the fastest blink of an eyelash.
Other Loop Data stats include things like number of consecutive laps without
being passed and which car was fastest on restarts. In other words, this stuff
is precise.
The problem, for me at least, is translating all this interesting yet highly
technical information - both Loop Data and its traditional counterpart -- into
some form that I can understand. When they dunked me in the pool, the math gene
apparently was swimming at the opposite end.
When I look at all the array of available numbers, I feel like one of those
people who travel to a foreign country believing that if they just speak English
loudly and slowly enough, everyone will be able to understand what they're
saying. Never mind that they happen to be in France.
I'm not quite certain how things have evolved this way, but somehow over time, a
line in the sand has been drawn between the spoken word and the language of
numbers. Both messages are clear, but so is the problem -- you simply can't
communicate with someone when you're speaking two different languages.
Fear not; help is on the way. Given the combination of a rare off-week for the
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the application of a little common sense, these
numbers do have quite a story to tell. Like parasailing over the beach, they
give us a clear picture of where we've been so far this season, and a pretty
good idea of where we might be headed.
For example, 19 points races this year have produced 11 different winners. The
five repeat winners have been Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson with
two wins each, Kyle Busch with three, and Mark Martin with four.
This tells us a couple of things. First, that almost any given driver has a
chance to win on any given Sunday. That keeps things interesting. It keeps us
coming back for more.
It also brings attention to that fact that we have a swell maturity-versus-youth
battle under way between Martin and Busch. I'm still waiting for Kyle to throw
one of his well-publicized verbal punches at Mark. I'm not holding my breath,
though. I have a feeling that in some cases, even the brashest of young men
knows when to hold his tongue and respect his elders.
Of the 19 races, qualifying has been rained out four times, requiring the
starting field to be set per the rule book by owner points and attempts. More
than halfway through the year, for the fifteen events that have successfully
completed qualifying, eight different drivers have earned pole positions.
Leading the field in this category is Brian Vickers, who has picked up five
Coors Light pole awards so far this season. Vickers personifies the acronym GQ:
Great Qualifier.
Forty different drivers have led at least one lap this season, and thirty-four
drivers have finished in the top 10 at least once. Fifty-one percent of the cars
that started races have finished on the lead lap, and 85 percent of cars were
running at the finish.
The margin of victory in 11 of the 19 races has been under one second, and the
average overall margin of victory has been 1.004 seconds. Even those of us not
hard-wired for math realize that 1.004 seconds isn't a very long time, maybe
about the same as the aforementioned blink of Kasey Kahne's eye.
The high numbers on these stats are as impressive as they are surprising. We
tend to focus on the same dominant drivers over and over, but this information
clearly suggests to me that I should start looking at some of the other guys
once in a while. They may not be hogging the headlines yet, but they surely
don't have anything to be embarrassed about, either. They're competitive.
Speaking of high numbers, check this out. There has been an average of 11
different leaders per race this year, with an average of 19 total lead changes,
resulting from - and here's where the official Loop Data comes into play -- an
average 21 green-flag passes for the lead. There has been a mind-boggling 3,005
average number of green-flag passes in each race.
It's time to release your inner high school cheerleader now, people. Put it all
together and what's that spell?
ACTION!
Long story short, a big pile of numbers can, with a little work, be compressed
and refined into one simple gem of information. The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series racing season is serving up close, exciting competition each and every
week, and as the year progresses, there is no reason to believe that will
change.
But you probably didn't need me to spell that out for you. Anyone who's been
watching is already in the loop.
