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Matt Willis
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ESPN Staff Writer
- Matt Willis has been a studio researcher at ESPN since 2006, working on “NASCAR Now” and “SportsCenter,” among other shows. He graduated from Ithaca College in 2006 with a degree in journalism. While there, he worked on ICTV, on shows such as “Ya Think You Know Sports?” and “Sports Final.” He also was a member of the IC Comedy Club and figures about half of the jokes he makes in his column are actually funny.
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Bob Pockrass
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NASCAR
- • NASCAR writer for ESPN.com
• 2009, 2013 NMPA Writer of the Year
• More than 25 years experience covering motorsports
There are only five NASCAR Cup series races remaining in the 2018 season, starting off with Sunday’s Cup race (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) at Kansas Speedway.
Let’s take a look at some of the best top-5 lists from the 2018 season through 31 races:
Most wins by team
Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch co-lead the series with seven wins each. But Gibbs only has one other win besides that — Erik Jones at Daytona. Stewart-Haas leads the series in wins thanks to all four of its drivers having won. Team Penske narrowly leads the single-car Furniture Row Racing for the “best of the rest.”
Top-5 finishes by driver
Truex Jr. is three wins behind Busch, but is only one top-5 finish behind Busch for the second-most behind Harvick. One of the most amazing stats of the year? Truex Jr. has 17 top-5 finishes and 17 top-10 finishes, so he has no finishes between sixth and 10th.
Average finish by driver
Joey Logano jumps in front of Truex Jr. to break up 2018’s dominant three drivers. Busch’s 8.7 number would equal Harvick’s 2010 and 2015 for the best in the series since 2010. The only full seasons better since 2000 are Jeff Gordon (7.3 in 2007) and Bobby Labonte (7.4 in 2000).
Most finishes by top-5 position
Yeah, we know Harvick and Busch have the most wins, but Larson has the most runner-up finishes, with six of those, and zero wins. Only two drivers in series history have had a season where they had that many second-place finishes without a win: Harry Gant (seven in 1981) and Terry Labonte (six in 1982).
Number of fastest laps run
NASCAR keeps track of how many times a driver was the fastest for each individual lap. And given how dominant Harvick and Busch have been this season, it’s not a surprise they’re 1-2. But it might be a surprise how far Harvick is ahead of Busch. And you have the winless Larson in fourth.
Closest margin of victory
Not surprisingly, the four restrictor-plate races are leading this list. Chase Elliott’s win earlier this month at Dover holds the honor as the closest non-plate finish.
Most laps led in a race
Busch’s dominant day at Charlotte, leading 377 of 400 laps, gets the nod as the most dominant of the season. He won that race, something that the drivers second and third on this list, did not do. Harvick and Larson couldn’t turn their lap-leading days at Dover and Darlington into victories. Harvick finished sixth and Larson third.
Top-5 active drivers on most career wins list
Only two of these drivers are still left in the championship hunt as Johnson and Hamlin were eliminated in the first round and Kenseth is not running full time this year. Busch is four wins short of tying Lee Petty for 10th on the all-time list.
Top-5 qualifiers by average starting position
It’s a little bit of a surprise that Kyle Busch is atop this list only because he ranks tied for third on poles this year. Kurt Busch has the most (five), followed by Truex (four) and then Harvick, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson with three. Blaney has two poles this year.
Top-5 start-to-finish average among top-25 in points
Does this ranking celebrate who does the most after qualifying on a race weekend or just who is a poor qualifier? It’s hard to tell. But it was a little startling to see that of the drivers in the top-25 in points, only three had an average finish that was at least one full spot ahead of where they start. Of course, it is a lot more likely to have an issue over the course of a race than in qualifying.