Daytona brought what we expected, chaos and lots of crashed cars. However, what most people probably did not expect was the driver last in points among full-time drivers, Harrison Burton, to win and throw the playoff picture into disarray. Now we head to the Regular Season finale at Darlington where we will set the Playoff field. I have picked 5 notable drivers to look at, and since we are so close to the playoffs all 5 are because of their proximity to the Drivers or Owners cutline in points. Here is a look at those 5 notable drivers 2024 season statistics, along with ranks among drivers in 2024 as well as ranking through 25 races since the Playoffs started in 2004. We will also highlight notable streaks accomplished through the year and at Darlington, 2024 Intermediate track (1.3-1.5 miles) statistics and Darlington statistics in the Next Gen car.
Note: for the outlooks in which it is based on points position every driver is in consideration.
This week not in consideration: no one
This week not in consideration: no one
9th in Points/14th in Playoff (+58) – Martin Truex Jr.
| Category | Statistic | 2024 Rank | ªRank Thru 25 Races |
| Avg. Fin.¹ | 16.24 | 14th of 36 | T282nd of 857 |
| Best Fin. | 2nd | — | — |
| Worst Fin. | 37th | — | — |
| Completed Laps%¹ | 97.46% | 13th of 36 | T218th of 857 |
| Laps in Top15%¹ | 68.63 | 6th of 36 | 163rd of 815‡ |
| Avg. Driver Rating¹ | 90.11 | 7th of 36 | 178th of 815‡ |
| Wins | 0 | T15th of 60 | T264th of 1392 |
| Poles | 0 | T11th of 60 | T249th of 1392 |
| Top 2’s | 1 | T11th of 60 | T230th of 1392 |
| Top 3’s | 2 | T12th of 60 | T231st of 1392 |
| Top 5’s | 4 | T13th of 60 | T250th of 1392 |
| Top 10’s | 9 | 13th of 60 | T265th of 1392 |
| Finish out Top 20¹ | 9 | T14th of 36 | T337th of 857 |
| DNF’s¹ | 1 | T1st of 36 | T72nd of 857 |
| Stage Wins | 3 | T4th of 60 | T41st of 484* |
| Stage T10s | 30 | T3rd of 60 | T40th of 484* |
| Stage Pts | 175 | 4th of 60 | T42nd of 484* |
| Avg. Stage Fin.¹ | 12.2 | 5th of 36 | — |
| Playoff Pts² | 3 | 14th of 60 | T104th of 484* |
ªSince Playoffs started in 2004
¹Ranks of drivers to start 40% of races thru 25 races
²Earned from races only, does not reflect penalties
*Stage racing started in 2017
‡Loop Data started in 2005, Max Driver Rating is 150.0
- Notable Streaks this year
- 2 straight Top 5 finishes
- 5 straight Top 10 finishes
- 8 straight Stage T10’s
- Notable Darlington Streaks
- 2 straight Top 5 finishes (2021.12-2021.27)
- 3 straight Top 10 finishes (2015.25-2017.25)
- 4 straight Stage Wins (2020.27 s1-2021.12 s2) (longest streak in Cup Series at Darlington all-time)
- 8 straight Stage T10’s (2020.05 s2-2021.27 s1) (tied 2nd longest streak in Cup Series at Darlington all-time)
- 2024 Intermediate track Stats (Avg. Fin. and Driver Rating rank among drivers with 1+ Intermediate track start, 47 drivers)
- 6 Races, Avg. Finish 14.33(11th), 77.79% of Laps ran in Top15(5th), Avg. Driver Rating 93.48(7th), Best 4th, Worst 25th, Laps Completed 100%, Led 0.71% of laps he ran, 0 Wins, 0 Poles, 0 Top 3’s, 1 Top 5, 2 Top 10’s, 4 Top 15’s, 2 Finishes out of Top 20, 0 DNF’s, 0 Stage Wins, 3.23 Stage Pts Per Stage, Avg. Stage Finish 9.62
- Darlington Statistics
- 2024 Spring Darlington Race
- Finished 25th, Started 10th, Led 0 laps, Finished 5th in Stage 1 and 22nd in Stage 2, ran 125 Laps in Top 15(42.66% of laps ran), had 66.2 Driver Rating (ranked 18th)
- Notable Next Gen Darlington Statistics (Ranks are of drivers with 1+ start this year and 1+ start at Darlington since start of 2022, 41 drivers)
- 5 Races
- 25.8 Avg. Finish (Ranks 35th)
- Best Finish: 18th, Worst: 31st
- Completed 95.29% of laps (% ranks 24th)
- 66.93% of Laps ran in Top15 (% ranks 11th)
- 87.36 Average Driver Rating (Ranks 11th)
- Led 14.36% of laps he’s run (% ranks 3rd)
- 1 Pole, 20.0% (% ranks T2nd)
- 0 Top 15’s
- 4 finishes outside Top 20, 80.0% (% ranks T34th)
- 3 DNF’s, 60.0% (% ranks 39th)
- 1 Stage Win, 10.0% (% ranks T3rd)
- 7 Stage T10’s, 70.0% (% ranks T2nd)
- 4.7 Stage Pts Per Stage (Ranks 2nd)
Main Points & Outlook
– Martin Truex Jr. is notable because he is only 58 points above the cutline heading into Darlington
– Truex was involved in the first Big One last week at Daytona causing him to get 0 Stage Pts, run just 2 laps in the Top 15, and finish 24th
– In 2024 he has as many Top 10 finishes as finishes out of the Top 20 (9), but he has the 4th most Stage Pts (175) and the 7th best Avg. Driver Rating (90.11)
– This year he’s had a 2 race Top 5 streak, 5 race Top 10 streak, and 8 straight Stage T10 streak
– At Darlington he had a 3 race Top 10 streak from 2015-2017 and he holds the longest Stage Win streak here at 4 straight stages from 2020-2021
– He has just 2 Top 10’s in 6 Intermediate races this year leading to a 14.33 Avg. Finish, but he has a 9.62 Avg. Stage Finish and he’s ran 78% of his laps in the Top 15
– Truex was involved in a Stage 2 wreck in the Spring Darlington race that caused him to run just 43% of his laps in the Top 15, get just 6 Stage Pts, and finish 25th
– In the 5 Next Gen Darlington races he has a 25.8 Avg. Finish with a best finish of just 18th, 3 DNF’s, and 4 finishes out of the Top 20; but he has led 14.36% of the laps he’s run
Outlook for this weekend
Martin Truex Jr. started the year off great, but it’s been downhill of recent as he’s finished 6 of the last 7 races out of the Top 20 causing him to not even clinch a playoff spot just yet. However, there is good news in the fact that this week is an Intermediate track where he’s ran well, but the bad new is he’s not finished well in those races. The same can be said of his Next Gen races at Darlington where he’s led a lot of laps and done well in stages, but he’s yet to get a Top 15 finish in 5 races. Overall, expect Truex to run well this weekend and clinch a playoff spot, but expect him to finish out of the Top 20.
– Martin Truex Jr. is notable because he is only 58 points above the cutline heading into Darlington
– Truex was involved in the first Big One last week at Daytona causing him to get 0 Stage Pts, run just 2 laps in the Top 15, and finish 24th
– In 2024 he has as many Top 10 finishes as finishes out of the Top 20 (9), but he has the 4th most Stage Pts (175) and the 7th best Avg. Driver Rating (90.11)
– This year he’s had a 2 race Top 5 streak, 5 race Top 10 streak, and 8 straight Stage T10 streak
– At Darlington he had a 3 race Top 10 streak from 2015-2017 and he holds the longest Stage Win streak here at 4 straight stages from 2020-2021
– He has just 2 Top 10’s in 6 Intermediate races this year leading to a 14.33 Avg. Finish, but he has a 9.62 Avg. Stage Finish and he’s ran 78% of his laps in the Top 15
– Truex was involved in a Stage 2 wreck in the Spring Darlington race that caused him to run just 43% of his laps in the Top 15, get just 6 Stage Pts, and finish 25th
– In the 5 Next Gen Darlington races he has a 25.8 Avg. Finish with a best finish of just 18th, 3 DNF’s, and 4 finishes out of the Top 20; but he has led 14.36% of the laps he’s run
Outlook for this weekend
Martin Truex Jr. started the year off great, but it’s been downhill of recent as he’s finished 6 of the last 7 races out of the Top 20 causing him to not even clinch a playoff spot just yet. However, there is good news in the fact that this week is an Intermediate track where he’s ran well, but the bad new is he’s not finished well in those races. The same can be said of his Next Gen races at Darlington where he’s led a lot of laps and done well in stages, but he’s yet to get a Top 15 finish in 5 races. Overall, expect Truex to run well this weekend and clinch a playoff spot, but expect him to finish out of the Top 20.
10th in Points/15th in Playoff (+39) – Ty Gibbs
| Category | Statistic | 2024 Rank | ªRank Thru 25 Races |
| Avg. Fin.¹ | 14.48 | 7th of 36 | T183rd of 857 |
| Best Fin. | 2nd | — | — |
| Worst Fin. | 37th | — | — |
| Completed Laps%¹ | 98.06% | 8th of 36 | 147th of 857 |
| Laps in Top15%¹ | 61.53 | 10th of 36 | 225th of 815‡ |
| Avg. Driver Rating¹ | 86.52 | 9th of 36 | 224th of 815‡ |
| Wins | 0 | T15th of 60 | T264th of 1392 |
| Poles | 2 | T5th of 60 | T50th of 1392 |
| Top 2’s | 1 | T11th of 60 | T230th of 1392 |
| Top 3’s | 5 | T7th of 60 | T99th of 1392 |
| Top 5’s | 7 | T7th of 60 | T127th of 1392 |
| Top 10’s | 11 | T8th of 60 | T188th of 1392 |
| Finish out Top 20¹ | 8 | T10th of 36 | T269th of 857 |
| DNF’s¹ | 2 | T6th of 36 | T203rd of 857 |
| Stage Wins | 2 | T7th of 60 | T66th of 484* |
| Stage T10s | 18 | T13th of 60 | T107th of 484* |
| Stage Pts | 109 | 11th of 60 | 93rd of 484* |
| Avg. Stage Fin.¹ | 14.29 | 12th of 36 | — |
| Playoff Pts² | 2 | T15th of 60 | T109th of 484* |
ªSince Playoffs started in 2004
¹Ranks of drivers to start 40% of races thru 25 races
²Earned from races only, does not reflect penalties
*Stage racing started in 2017
‡Loop Data started in 2005, Max Driver Rating is 150.0
- Notable Streaks this year
- 2 straight Top 5 finishes (active streak, tied longest active streak in Cup Series)
- 2 straight Top 10 finishes (active streak, tied longest active streak in Cup Series)
- 5 straight Top 10 finishes
- 2 straight Stage Wins (tied 15th longest streak in Cup Series all-time)
- 5 straight Stage T10’s
- Notable Darlington Streaks
- 1 straight Top 2 finish (active “streak”)
- 2 straight Stage T10’s (active streak)
- 2024 Intermediate track Stats (Avg. Fin. and Driver Rating rank among drivers with 1+ Intermediate track start, 47 drivers)
- 6 Races, Avg. Finish 13.5(9th), 84.55% of Laps ran in Top15(4th), Avg. Driver Rating 102.5(4th), Best 2nd, Worst 32nd, Laps Completed 99.94%, Led 6.83% of laps he ran, 0 Wins, 1 Pole, 1 Top 3, 2 Top 5’s, 3 Top 10’s, 4 Top 15’s, 2 Finishes out of Top 20, 0 DNF’s, 0 Stage Wins, 4.08 Stage Pts Per Stage, Avg. Stage Finish 9.31
- Darlington Statistics
- 2024 Spring Darlington Race
- Finished 2nd, Started 4th, Led 34 laps(11.6%), Finished 2nd in Stage 1 and 3rd in Stage 2, ran 283 Laps in Top 15(96.59% of laps ran), had 121.3 Driver Rating (ranked 2nd)
- Notable Next Gen Darlington Statistics (Ranks are of drivers with 1+ start this year and 1+ start at Darlington since start of 2022, 41 drivers)
- 4 Races
- 13.5 Avg. Finish (Ranks 10th)
- Best Finish: 2nd, Worst: 21st
- Completed 100% of laps (% ranks T1st)
- 37.67% of Laps ran in Top15 (% ranks 19th)
- 78.05 Average Driver Rating (Ranks 14th)
- Led 2.57% of laps he’s run (% ranks 11th)
- 0 Wins
- 1 Top 2, 25.0% (% ranks 2nd)
- 2 Top 15’s, 50.0% (% ranks T13th)
- 1 finish outside Top 20, 25.0% (% ranks 12th)
- 0 DNF’s, 0.00% (% ranks T1st)
- 0 Stage Wins
- 2.13 Stage Pts Per Stage (Ranks 12th)
Main Points & Outlook
– Ty Gibbs is notable because he is only 39 points above the cutline heading into Darlington
– Gibbs only ran 24% of his laps in the Top 15 last week at Daytona en route to 0 Stage Pts, but he was there when it mattered as he ended up finishing 5th
– On the year he has the 7th best Avg. Finish in the 2024 Ranks above (14.48) with 7 Top 5’s and 11 Top 10’s, but he also has 8 finishes out of the Top 20 and just 2 Playoff Pts
– He is currently on a 2 race Top 5 streak and at one point this year had a 5 race Top 10 streak
– His only notable streaks at Darlington are his active 1 race Top 2 finish “streak” and 2 straight Stage T10 streak
– In the 6 Intermediate races this year he has a 13.5 Avg. Finish with an impressive 102.5 Avg. Driver Rating, 3 Top 10’s, and 4.08 Stage Pts Per Stage
– At Darlington in the Spring Gibbs led 12% of the race and got 17 Stage Pts en route to the 2nd best Driver Rating (121.3) and a 2nd place finish in the race
– He’s ran 4 of the 5 Next Gen races at Darlington accumulating a 13.5 Avg. Finish and 2 Top 15’s, but he’s only ran 38% of his laps in the Top 15
Outlook for this weekend
After a stretch of 6 finishes out of the Top 20 in 8 races Ty Gibbs is now on a 2 race Top 5 streak and he’s now sitting pretty good in the playoffs, with good 2024 stats to boot. What’s more is that this weekend is an Intermediate track where he’s ran well in the 6 races this year, but hasn’t always had the best of finishes. However, this is Darlington where Gibbs finished 2nd in the Spring race, but overall hasn’t had the best success in the Next Gen. In all, don’t expect Gibbs to win this weekend, but expect a good enough day to get him playoff spot.
– Ty Gibbs is notable because he is only 39 points above the cutline heading into Darlington
– Gibbs only ran 24% of his laps in the Top 15 last week at Daytona en route to 0 Stage Pts, but he was there when it mattered as he ended up finishing 5th
– On the year he has the 7th best Avg. Finish in the 2024 Ranks above (14.48) with 7 Top 5’s and 11 Top 10’s, but he also has 8 finishes out of the Top 20 and just 2 Playoff Pts
– He is currently on a 2 race Top 5 streak and at one point this year had a 5 race Top 10 streak
– His only notable streaks at Darlington are his active 1 race Top 2 finish “streak” and 2 straight Stage T10 streak
– In the 6 Intermediate races this year he has a 13.5 Avg. Finish with an impressive 102.5 Avg. Driver Rating, 3 Top 10’s, and 4.08 Stage Pts Per Stage
– At Darlington in the Spring Gibbs led 12% of the race and got 17 Stage Pts en route to the 2nd best Driver Rating (121.3) and a 2nd place finish in the race
– He’s ran 4 of the 5 Next Gen races at Darlington accumulating a 13.5 Avg. Finish and 2 Top 15’s, but he’s only ran 38% of his laps in the Top 15
Outlook for this weekend
After a stretch of 6 finishes out of the Top 20 in 8 races Ty Gibbs is now on a 2 race Top 5 streak and he’s now sitting pretty good in the playoffs, with good 2024 stats to boot. What’s more is that this weekend is an Intermediate track where he’s ran well in the 6 races this year, but hasn’t always had the best of finishes. However, this is Darlington where Gibbs finished 2nd in the Spring race, but overall hasn’t had the best success in the Next Gen. In all, don’t expect Gibbs to win this weekend, but expect a good enough day to get him playoff spot.
11th in Points/16th in Playoff (+21) – Chris Buescher
| Category | Statistic | 2024 Rank | ªRank Thru 25 Races |
| Avg. Fin.¹ | 13.96 | T3rd of 36 | T154th of 857 |
| Best Fin. | 2nd | — | — |
| Worst Fin. | 37th | — | — |
| Completed Laps%¹ | 96.29% | 21st of 36 | T341st of 857 |
| Laps in Top15%¹ | 50.41 | 15th of 36 | 315th of 815‡ |
| Avg. Driver Rating¹ | 81.77 | 13th of 36 | 282nd of 815‡ |
| Wins | 0 | T15th of 60 | T264th of 1392 |
| Poles | 0 | T11th of 60 | T249th of 1392 |
| Top 2’s | 2 | T8th of 60 | T151st of 1392 |
| Top 3’s | 3 | T10th of 60 | T180th of 1392 |
| Top 5’s | 5 | T11th of 60 | T205th of 1392 |
| Top 10’s | 11 | T8th of 60 | T188th of 1392 |
| Finish out Top 20¹ | 5 | 2nd of 36 | T91st of 857 |
| DNF’s¹ | 1 | T1st of 36 | T72nd of 857 |
| Stage Wins | 2 | T7th of 60 | T66th of 484* |
| Stage T10s | 17 | 15th of 60 | T114th of 484* |
| Stage Pts | 80 | 14th of 60 | T115th of 484* |
| Avg. Stage Fin.¹ | 16.49 | 15th of 36 | — |
| Playoff Pts² | 2 | T15th of 60 | T109th of 484* |
ªSince Playoffs started in 2004
¹Ranks of drivers to start 40% of races thru 25 races
²Earned from races only, does not reflect penalties
*Stage racing started in 2017
‡Loop Data started in 2005, Max Driver Rating is 150.0
- Notable Streaks this year
- 2 straight Top 5 finishes
- 2 straight Top 10 finishes (active streak, tied longest active streak in Cup Series)
- 4 straight Top 10 finishes
- 2 straight Stage T10’s (active streak)
- 4 straight Stage T10’s
- Notable Darlington Streaks
- 2 straight Top 10 finishes (2021.12-2021.27 & 2023.13-2023.27)
- 2 straight Stage T10’s (active streak)
- 2024 Intermediate track Stats (Avg. Fin. and Driver Rating rank among drivers with 1+ Intermediate track start, 47 drivers)
- 6 Races, Avg. Finish 18.67(T20th), 68.59% of Laps ran in Top15(10th), Avg. Driver Rating 81.83(13th), Best 2nd, Worst 37th, Laps Completed 85.63%, Led 5.34% of laps he ran, 0 Wins, 0 Poles, 1 Top 3, 2 Top 5’s, 2 Top 10’s, 3 Top 15’s, 3 Finishes out of Top 20, 1 DNF, 1 Stage Win, 2.23 Stage Pts Per Stage, Avg. Stage Finish 15.0
- Darlington Statistics
- 2024 Spring Darlington Race
- Finished 30th, Started 3rd, Led 21 laps(7.17%), Finished 7th in Stage 1 and 7th in Stage 2, ran 275 Laps in Top 15(94.5% of laps ran), had 87.6 Driver Rating (ranked 10th)
- Notable Next Gen Darlington Statistics (Ranks are of drivers with 1+ start this year and 1+ start at Darlington since start of 2022, 41 drivers)
- 5 Races
- 17.0 Avg. Finish (Ranks 15th)
- Best Finish: 3rd, Worst: 30th
- Completed 99.75% of laps (% ranks T11th)
- 42.71% of Laps ran in Top15 (% ranks 16th)
- 69.8 Average Driver Rating (Ranks 16th)
- Led 1.3% of laps he’s run (% ranks 13th)
- 0 Top 2’s
- 1 Top 3, 20.0% (% ranks T4th)
- 2 Top 10’s, 40.0% (% ranks T10th)
- 2 finishes outside Top 20, 40.0% (% ranks T14th)
- 0 DNF’s, 0.00% (% ranks T1st)
- 0 Stage Wins
- 3 Stage T10’s, 30.0% (% ranks T14th)
Main Points & Outlook
– Chris Buescher is notable because he is only 21 points above the cutline heading into Darlington
– Buescher got 10 Stage Pts at Daytona before being involved in one of the late wrecks, but he still ran 75% of his laps in the Top 15 and finished the race in 10th
– He has the 3rd best Avg. Finish this year (13.96) and has 11 Top 10’s to just 5 finishes out of the Top 20, but he’s barely ran half the laps this year in the Top 15 and has a measly 16.49 Avg. Stage Finish
– Currently he is on a 2 race Top 10 streak and a 2 straight Stage T10 streak
– His only active streak at Darlington is a 2 straight Stage T10 streak, but before last race, where Tyler Reddick took him out of the Top 10, he was on a 2 race Top 10 streak
– He’s only had 2 Top 10’s in the 6 Intermediate races this year while having a 15.0 Avg. Stage Finish, but he has ran 69% of his laps in the Top 15 and has led 5% of his laps as well
– Buescher ran 95% of his laps in the Top 15 before he was senselessly taken out of contention late in the Spring Darlington race leading to a 30th place finish
– In the 5 Darlington Next Gen races he’s only ran 43% of his laps in the Top 15 and has a 69.8 Avg. Driver Rating with just 2 Top 10’s, but he does have 1 Top 3 finish
Outlook for this weekend
Chris Buescher finds himself in the playoffs for now, but not thanks to his stage stats as he’s struggled in stages this year. However, race finishes have been a different story, especially of late as he’s finished just 1 of the last 11 races out of the Top 20. Then again, this is an Intermediate track this weekend where he’s struggled to find good finishes in half the races. Furthermore, this is Darlington where, despite a great showing with a bad finish this Spring, he’s mostly struggled to finish or run well in the 6 Next Gen races. In total, this weekend don’t expect much from Buescher in terms of stages, but a good finish could be what keeps him in the playoffs.
– Chris Buescher is notable because he is only 21 points above the cutline heading into Darlington
– Buescher got 10 Stage Pts at Daytona before being involved in one of the late wrecks, but he still ran 75% of his laps in the Top 15 and finished the race in 10th
– He has the 3rd best Avg. Finish this year (13.96) and has 11 Top 10’s to just 5 finishes out of the Top 20, but he’s barely ran half the laps this year in the Top 15 and has a measly 16.49 Avg. Stage Finish
– Currently he is on a 2 race Top 10 streak and a 2 straight Stage T10 streak
– His only active streak at Darlington is a 2 straight Stage T10 streak, but before last race, where Tyler Reddick took him out of the Top 10, he was on a 2 race Top 10 streak
– He’s only had 2 Top 10’s in the 6 Intermediate races this year while having a 15.0 Avg. Stage Finish, but he has ran 69% of his laps in the Top 15 and has led 5% of his laps as well
– Buescher ran 95% of his laps in the Top 15 before he was senselessly taken out of contention late in the Spring Darlington race leading to a 30th place finish
– In the 5 Darlington Next Gen races he’s only ran 43% of his laps in the Top 15 and has a 69.8 Avg. Driver Rating with just 2 Top 10’s, but he does have 1 Top 3 finish
Outlook for this weekend
Chris Buescher finds himself in the playoffs for now, but not thanks to his stage stats as he’s struggled in stages this year. However, race finishes have been a different story, especially of late as he’s finished just 1 of the last 11 races out of the Top 20. Then again, this is an Intermediate track this weekend where he’s struggled to find good finishes in half the races. Furthermore, this is Darlington where, despite a great showing with a bad finish this Spring, he’s mostly struggled to finish or run well in the 6 Next Gen races. In total, this weekend don’t expect much from Buescher in terms of stages, but a good finish could be what keeps him in the playoffs.
13th in Points/17th in Playoff (-21) – Bubba Wallace
| Category | Statistic | 2024 Rank | ªRank Thru 25 Races |
| Avg. Fin.¹ | 15.8 | 13th of 36 | T258th of 857 |
| Best Fin. | 4th | — | — |
| Worst Fin. | 36th | — | — |
| Completed Laps%¹ | 97.52% | 12th of 36 | 214th of 857 |
| Laps in Top15%¹ | 62.09 | 9th of 36 | 217th of 815‡ |
| Avg. Driver Rating¹ | 79.21 | 14th of 36 | 313th of 815‡ |
| Wins | 0 | T15th of 60 | T264th of 1392 |
| Poles | 0 | T11th of 60 | T249th of 1392 |
| Top 2’s | 0 | T22nd of 60 | T388th of 1392 |
| Top 3’s | 0 | T24th of 60 | T459th of 1392 |
| Top 5’s | 5 | T11th of 60 | T205th of 1392 |
| Top 10’s | 10 | 12th of 60 | T225th of 1392 |
| Finish out Top 20¹ | 7 | T6th of 36 | T206th of 857 |
| DNF’s¹ | 3 | T15th of 36 | T399th of 857 |
| Stage Wins | 1 | T11th of 60 | T90th of 484* |
| Stage T10s | 23 | 10th of 60 | T76th of 484* |
| Stage Pts | 107 | 12th of 60 | 95th of 484* |
| Avg. Stage Fin.¹ | 13.82 | 10th of 36 | — |
| Playoff Pts² | 1 | 17th of 60 | T120th of 484* |
ªSince Playoffs started in 2004
¹Ranks of drivers to start 40% of races thru 25 races
²Earned from races only, does not reflect penalties
*Stage racing started in 2017
‡Loop Data started in 2005, Max Driver Rating is 150.0
- Notable Streaks this year
- 2 straight Top 5 finishes
- 3 straight Top 10 finishes
- 6 straight Stage T10’s
- 2 straight DNF’s
- Notable Darlington Streaks
- 4 straight Top 10 finishes (active streak, tied longest active streak in Cup Series at Darlington)
- 2 straight Stage T10’s (active streak)
- 2024 Intermediate track Stats (Avg. Fin. and Driver Rating rank among drivers with 1+ Intermediate track start, 47 drivers)
- 6 Races, Avg. Finish 14.0(10th), 60.62% of Laps ran in Top15(12th), Avg. Driver Rating 82.2(12th), Best 7th, Worst 35th, Laps Completed 99.23%, Led 0.66% of laps he ran, 0 Wins, 0 Poles, 0 Top 3’s, 0 Top 5’s, 3 Top 10’s, 4 Top 15’s, 1 Finish out of Top 20, 0 DNF’s, 0 Stage Wins, 2.08 Stage Pts Per Stage, Avg. Stage Finish 13.46
- Darlington Statistics
- 2024 Spring Darlington Race
- Finished 7th, Started 8th, Led 6 laps(2.05%), Finished 10th in Stage 1 and 9th in Stage 2, ran 273 Laps in Top 15(93.17% of laps ran), had 94.7 Driver Rating (ranked 6th)
- Notable Next Gen Darlington Statistics (Ranks are of drivers with 1+ start this year and 1+ start at Darlington since start of 2022, 41 drivers)
- 5 Races
- 11.0 Avg. Finish (Ranks 3rd)
- Best Finish: 5th, Worst: 27th
- Completed 97.96% of laps (% ranks T21st)
- 82.24% of Laps ran in Top15 (% ranks 3rd)
- 88.6 Average Driver Rating (Ranks 9th)
- Led 0.82% of laps he’s run (% ranks 14th)
- 0 Top 3’s
- 1 Top 5, 20.0% (% ranks T9th)
- 4 Top 10’s, 80.0% (% ranks T1st)
- 1 finish outside Top 20, 20.0% (% ranks T3rd)
- 1 DNF, 20.0% (% ranks T21st)
- 0 Stage Wins
- 5 Stage T10’s, 50.0% (% ranks T10th)
Main Points & Outlook
– Bubba Wallace is notable because he is 21 points below the cutline heading into Darlington
– Last week at Daytona Wallace ran 79% of his laps in the Top 15 and led 10% of his laps, but he was involved in an accident that hampered his day; still he pulled out a 6th place finish
– There have been 23 drivers to finish Top 3 in a Cup race this year, but he isn’t one of them. However, he does have 10 Top 10’s and a decent 13.82 Avg. Stage Finish this year
– This year he’s had a 2 race Top 5 streak and a 6 straight Stage T10 streak at one point, but his longest Top 10 streak is only 3 races and he’s had a 2 race DNF streak
– He is currently on a 2 straight Stage T10 streak here at Darlington and is also on an impressive 4 race Top 10 streak
– On Intermediates this year he has 3 Top 10’s in 6 races, but he also has 0 Top 5’s and he’s only ran 61% of his laps in the Top 15
– This Spring at Darlington Wallace got 3 Stage Pts and ran 93% of his laps in the Top 15 en route to a 7th place finish
– He’s ran all 5 Next Gen races at Darlington and has 4 Top 10’s in the 5 races while running 82% of his laps in the Top 15, but he also has just 1 Top 5 and only 5 Stage T10’s in the 10 stages
Outlook for this weekend
Thanks to Harrison Burton’s win Bubba Wallace is on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, but his 2024 stats above say he deserves to be in as he’s ran and finished decent for the most part all year long. However, what has hurt him is his lack of great finishes and that’s no different at Intermediate tracks this year as he has 0 Top 5’s in the 6 races this year. However, this is Darlington where Wallace has been really good in the Next Gen car getting a Top 10 in almost every race, and even getting 1 Top 5. Overall, this weekend may end up being a good weekend for Wallace, but even with a good weekend it may not be enough for him to end up in the playoffs.
– Bubba Wallace is notable because he is 21 points below the cutline heading into Darlington
– Last week at Daytona Wallace ran 79% of his laps in the Top 15 and led 10% of his laps, but he was involved in an accident that hampered his day; still he pulled out a 6th place finish
– There have been 23 drivers to finish Top 3 in a Cup race this year, but he isn’t one of them. However, he does have 10 Top 10’s and a decent 13.82 Avg. Stage Finish this year
– This year he’s had a 2 race Top 5 streak and a 6 straight Stage T10 streak at one point, but his longest Top 10 streak is only 3 races and he’s had a 2 race DNF streak
– He is currently on a 2 straight Stage T10 streak here at Darlington and is also on an impressive 4 race Top 10 streak
– On Intermediates this year he has 3 Top 10’s in 6 races, but he also has 0 Top 5’s and he’s only ran 61% of his laps in the Top 15
– This Spring at Darlington Wallace got 3 Stage Pts and ran 93% of his laps in the Top 15 en route to a 7th place finish
– He’s ran all 5 Next Gen races at Darlington and has 4 Top 10’s in the 5 races while running 82% of his laps in the Top 15, but he also has just 1 Top 5 and only 5 Stage T10’s in the 10 stages
Outlook for this weekend
Thanks to Harrison Burton’s win Bubba Wallace is on the outside looking in of the playoff picture, but his 2024 stats above say he deserves to be in as he’s ran and finished decent for the most part all year long. However, what has hurt him is his lack of great finishes and that’s no different at Intermediate tracks this year as he has 0 Top 5’s in the 6 races this year. However, this is Darlington where Wallace has been really good in the Next Gen car getting a Top 10 in almost every race, and even getting 1 Top 5. Overall, this weekend may end up being a good weekend for Wallace, but even with a good weekend it may not be enough for him to end up in the playoffs.
14th in Points/18th in Playoff (-27) – Ross Chastain
| Category | Statistic | 2024 Rank | ªRank Thru 25 Races |
| Avg. Fin.¹ | 14.8 | 8th of 36 | 198th of 857 |
| Best Fin. | 4th | — | — |
| Worst Fin. | 36th | — | — |
| Completed Laps%¹ | 97.89% | 9th of 36 | T165th of 857 |
| Laps in Top15%¹ | 60.8 | 11th of 36 | 232nd of 815‡ |
| Avg. Driver Rating¹ | 81.96 | 12th of 36 | 277th of 815‡ |
| Wins | 0 | T15th of 60 | T264th of 1392 |
| Poles | 0 | T11th of 60 | T249th of 1392 |
| Top 2’s | 0 | T22nd of 60 | T388th of 1392 |
| Top 3’s | 0 | T24th of 60 | T459th of 1392 |
| Top 5’s | 3 | 16th of 60 | T295th of 1392 |
| Top 10’s | 8 | T14th of 60 | T294th of 1392 |
| Finish out Top 20¹ | 6 | T3rd of 36 | T142nd of 857 |
| DNF’s¹ | 3 | T15th of 36 | T399th of 857 |
| Stage Wins | 1 | T11th of 60 | T90th of 484* |
| Stage T10s | 18 | T13th of 60 | T107th of 484* |
| Stage Pts | 76 | 16th of 60 | T119th of 484* |
| Avg. Stage Fin.¹ | 14.16 | 11th of 36 | — |
| Playoff Pts² | 1 | T17th of 60 | T120th of 484* |
ªSince Playoffs started in 2004
¹Ranks of drivers to start 40% of races thru 25 races
²Earned from races only, does not reflect penalties
*Stage racing started in 2017
‡Loop Data started in 2005, Max Driver Rating is 150.0
- Notable Streaks this year
- 3 straight Top 10 finishes
- 2 straight Stage T10’s
- Notable Darlington Streaks
- 1 straight Stage T10 (active “streak”)
- 5 straight Stage T10’s (2021.27 s1-2022.27 s1) (tied 12th longest streak in Cup Series at Darlington all-time)
- 2024 Intermediate track Stats (Avg. Fin. and Driver Rating rank among drivers with 1+ Intermediate track start, 47 drivers)
- 6 Races, Avg. Finish 17.83(17th), 71.86% of Laps ran in Top15(8th), Avg. Driver Rating 89.13(10th), Best 4th, Worst 33rd, Laps Completed 98.34%, Led 8.03% of laps he ran, 0 Wins, 0 Poles, 0 Top 3’s, 1 Top 5, 2 Top 10’s, 3 Top 15’s, 2 Finishes out of Top 20, 2 DNF’s, 1 Stage Win, 2.31 Stage Pts Per Stage, Avg. Stage Finish 11.0
- Darlington Statistics
- 2024 Spring Darlington Race
- Finished 11th, Started 9th, Led 0 laps, Finished 15th in Stage 1 and 10th in Stage 2, ran 232 Laps in Top 15(79.18% of laps ran), had 82.7 Driver Rating (ranked 13th)
- Notable Next Gen Darlington Statistics (Ranks are of drivers with 1+ start this year and 1+ start at Darlington since start of 2022, 41 drivers)
- 5 Races
- 19.0 Avg. Finish (Ranks T19th)
- Best Finish: 5th, Worst: 30th
- Completed 93.31% of laps (% ranks 28th)
- 66.62% of Laps ran in Top15 (% ranks 12th)
- 92.02 Average Driver Rating (Ranks 5th)
- Led 7.96% of laps he’s run (% ranks 7th)
- 0 Top 3’s
- 1 Top 5, 20.0% (% ranks T9th)
- 2 Top 15’s, 40.0% (% ranks T18th)
- 2 finishes outside Top 20, 40.0% (% ranks T14th)
- 2 DNF’s, 40.0% (% ranks T32nd)
- 2 Stage Wins, 20.0% (% ranks T1st)
- 6 Stage T10’s, 60.0% (% ranks T5th)
- 4.7 Stage Pts Per Stage (Ranks 5th)
Main Points & Outlook
– Ross Chastain is notable because he is 27 points below the cutline heading into Darlington
– Chastain was involved in the early Stage 2 accident at Daytona last week which caused him to get 0 Stage Pts and run just 24% of his laps in the Top 15; but he persevered to a 12th place finish
– Like Wallace above he has yet to record a Top 3 finish this year despite having a 14.8 Avg. Finish, but he also has just 76 Stage Pts and only 3 Top 5’s
– His longest streaks this year are just a 2 straight Stage T10 streak and a 3 race Top 10 streak earlier this year
– His only notable Darlington streaks are his active 1 straight Stage T10 “streak” and a 5 straight Stage T10 streak from 2021-2022
– He’s ran 72% of his laps in the Top 15 at the 6 Intermediate races this year while getting 2.31 Stage Pts Per Stage, but he only has 2 Top 10’s to 2 DNF’s
– In the Spring Darlington race Chastain ran 79% of his laps in the Top 15, but he got just 1 Stage Pt and finished the race 11th
– He’s ran all 5 Darlington Next Gen races, but in the races he’s ran just 67% of his laps in the Top 15 and has a 19.0 Avg. Finish, but he does have 4.7 Stage Pts Per Stage
Outlook for this weekend
Ross Chastain has just 1 Top 10 finish in the last 7 races which is why he is so far behind the cutline entering Darlington, then again his poor 2024 stage stats haven’t helped his cause either. What’s worse is that this weekend is an Intermediate track where, despite being decent in stages, he hasn’t finished all that well mostly. Even worse is that this weekend is Darlington where he’s done well in stages in the Next Gen car, but his finishes have been pretty bad; and that’s putting it nicely. So, overall you can expect Chastain to run decent this weekend, but his run and finish are likely not enough to put him in the playoffs.
– Ross Chastain is notable because he is 27 points below the cutline heading into Darlington
– Chastain was involved in the early Stage 2 accident at Daytona last week which caused him to get 0 Stage Pts and run just 24% of his laps in the Top 15; but he persevered to a 12th place finish
– Like Wallace above he has yet to record a Top 3 finish this year despite having a 14.8 Avg. Finish, but he also has just 76 Stage Pts and only 3 Top 5’s
– His longest streaks this year are just a 2 straight Stage T10 streak and a 3 race Top 10 streak earlier this year
– His only notable Darlington streaks are his active 1 straight Stage T10 “streak” and a 5 straight Stage T10 streak from 2021-2022
– He’s ran 72% of his laps in the Top 15 at the 6 Intermediate races this year while getting 2.31 Stage Pts Per Stage, but he only has 2 Top 10’s to 2 DNF’s
– In the Spring Darlington race Chastain ran 79% of his laps in the Top 15, but he got just 1 Stage Pt and finished the race 11th
– He’s ran all 5 Darlington Next Gen races, but in the races he’s ran just 67% of his laps in the Top 15 and has a 19.0 Avg. Finish, but he does have 4.7 Stage Pts Per Stage
Outlook for this weekend
Ross Chastain has just 1 Top 10 finish in the last 7 races which is why he is so far behind the cutline entering Darlington, then again his poor 2024 stage stats haven’t helped his cause either. What’s worse is that this weekend is an Intermediate track where, despite being decent in stages, he hasn’t finished all that well mostly. Even worse is that this weekend is Darlington where he’s done well in stages in the Next Gen car, but his finishes have been pretty bad; and that’s putting it nicely. So, overall you can expect Chastain to run decent this weekend, but his run and finish are likely not enough to put him in the playoffs.
