Dale Jr. tops my early Talladega I driver rankings. (photo courtesy nascar)
Update: I’ve posted my final Talladega I driver rankings.
Here are my early driver rankings for this week’s race at Talladega. I compiled them by crunching the loop data for the past four plate races, the qualifying data from past three plate races, and the loop data for last year’s Daytona Duels (albeit weighted very lightly). Those metrics reflect speed, the ability to pass and the ability (and inclination) to run a lot of laps up front.
The results:
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jimmie Johnson
- Denny Hamlin
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
- Kyle Busch
- Kasey Kahne
- Paul Menard
- Ryan Blaney
- Kurt Busch
- Brad Keselowski
- Carl Edwards
- Joey Logano
- Jamie McMurray
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Larson
- Tony Stewart
- Trevor Bayne
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- Ryan Newman
- Michael McDowell
- Clint Bowyer
- Regan Smith
- Greg Biffle
- Casey Mears
- Chase Elliott
- David Ragan
- Danica Patrick
- AJ Allmendinger
- Brian Scott
- Landon Cassill
- Michael Waltrip
- Cole Whitt
- David Gilliland
- Michael Annett
- Bobby Labonte
- Josh Wise
- Chris Buescher
- Matt DiBenedetto