Here are my early driver rankings for the annual crapshoot called the Daytona 500. I compiled them by crunching the loop and qualifying data for the 2011 races at Daytona and Talladega, which reflects speed, the ability to pass and the ability (and inclination) to run a lot of laps up front:
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
- Paul Menard
- Jeff Burton
- Ryan Newman
- Regan Smith
- Tony Stewart
- Jeff Gordon
- Matt Kenseth
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kasey Kahne
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Brad Keselowski
- Carl Edwards
- Trevor Bayne
- Clint Bowyer
- A.J. Allmendinger
- Kurt Busch
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Busch
- Greg Biffle
- David Ragan
- Martin Truex, Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Elliott Sadler (i)
- Aric Almirola
- Mark Martin
- Danica Patrick (i)
- David Reutimann
- Jamie McMurray
- Marcos Ambrose
- Bobby Labonte
- Casey Mears
- Denny Hamlin
- Dave Blaney
- Joe Nemechek
- Michael McDowell
- Michael Waltrip
- Terry Labonte [PC 1]
- Robby Gordon
- J.J. Yeley
- Robert Richardson
- David Gilliland
- Landon Cassill(i)
- Bill Elliott [PC}
- Tony Raines
- David Stremme
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (i)
- Kenny Wallace (i)
- Mike Wallace (i)