By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, it’s time for another edition of Stats Saturday. This weekend the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series travels to Austin, Texas for the DureMAX Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, or COTA.   The portion of the track that NASCAR uses at COTA is a 17-turn 2.4-mile road course.  The facility opened in 2012, and NASCAR first visited in 2021. Christopher Bell won this race last year.   Tomorrow’s race will be 95 laps long (for a total of 223.82 mi

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, it’s time for another edition of O’Reilly Stats Friday. This weekend the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series travels to Austin, Texas for the Focused Health 250 at Circuit of the Americas, or COTA.   The portion of the track that NASCAR uses at COTA is a 17-turn 2.4-mile road course.  The facility opened in 2012, and NASCAR first visited in 2021.  Kyle Busch won the first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (Xfinity) race there that year.  Connor Zilisc

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, you might be familiar with the Cup Series’ Stats Saturday article, but this year we are branching it out to the Top 3 Series.  It’s now time for another Truck Stats Thursday. This weekend the Craftsman Truck Series travels to St. Petersburg, Florida for the OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at the St. Petersburg Street Circuit.   The Street Circuit at St. Petersburg is a 14-turn 1.8-mile course that takes over some streets, as well as one of th

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images By Adam Carabine The StatChat Power Rankings return in 2026! While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture.  StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs. Let's look at the Top 10:   Joey Logano – This week: 10 – Last week: 8 Logano might not have finished as well as his P3 at Daytona the previous week, but he had a solid day in Atlanta.  He led 26 laps, earned some stage

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images By Adam Carabine Tyler Reddick makes it back-to-back wins to start the 2026 NASCAR Cup Season!   Despite some earlier damage, and no front right fender, Reddick was able to make his way back up to the front for a Double-Overtime win at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta.   Lap 1: Due to rained out qualifying, the math-based qualifying metric was used, and last week’s winner Tyler Reddick started on the pole.   Lap 4: Joey Logano and Reddick we

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images By Adam Carabine The StatChat Power Rankings return in 2026! While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture.  StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs. Let's look at the Top 10:   Noah Gragson – This week: 10 – Last week: -- How about a nice start to the season for Noah Gragson? He started with screwing up his qualifying attempt, but rebounded nicely.  He earned poi

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images By Adam Carabine Tyler Reddick reigned supreme at The Great American Race.  Time for a quick recap of the notable moments!   The Daytona 500 initially got moved up an hour to avoid some potential inclement weather.  They were able to get the entire race in with no rain.   Lap 3 In honour of the 25 th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s passing, the fans stood silently with three fingers in the air.  Commentary on FOX was quiet for the whole lap

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Kyle Larson Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images No. 5 Car – Hendrick Motorsports   2025 Stats Standings 1 st Wins 3 Points 5,034 Stage Points 297 Stage Wins 10 Laps Led 1,126 Lead Lap Finishes 30 Average Finish 13.2 DNFs 2 Races since last win 24   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Kyle Larson is widely seen as on

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Denny Hamlin Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images No. 11 Car – Joe Gibbs Racing   2025 Stats Standings 2 nd Wins 6 Points 5,031 Stage Points 232 Stage Wins 6 Laps Led 1,024 Lead Lap Finishes 31 Average Finish 14.0 DNFs 4 Races since last win 3   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Denny Hamlin has had such an awful

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Chase Briscoe Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images No. 19 Car – Joe Gibbs Racing   2025 Stats Standings 3 rd Wins 3 Points 5,019 Stage Points 184 Stage Wins 6 Laps Led 884 Lead Lap Finishes 32 (tied 1 st  among all drivers) Average Finish 12.7 DNFs 4 Races since last win 2   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Brisco

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: William Byron Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images No. 24 Car – Hendrick Motorsports   2025 Stats Standings 4 th Wins 3 Points 5,004 Stage Points 317 (1 st  among all drivers) Stage Wins 9 Laps Led 1,330 (1 st  among all drivers) Lead Lap Finishes 30 Average Finish 14.5 DNFs 4 Races since last win 1   What Does Succe

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Christopher Bell Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images No. 20 Car – Joe Gibbs Racing   2025 Stats Standings 5 th   Wins 4 Points 2,418 Stage Points 211 Stage Wins 2 Laps Led 282 Lead Lap Finishes 29 Average Finish 11.2 (1 st  among all drivers) DNFs 3 Races since last win 7   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Christo

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Ryan Blaney Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images No. 12 Car – Team Penske   2025 Stats Standings 6 th Wins 4 Points 2,403 Stage Points 314 Stage Wins 9 Laps Led 831 Lead Lap Finishes 27 Average Finish 14.6 DNFs 8 Races since last win 0   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Ryan Blaney had such an up and down year in 20

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Joey Logano Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images No. 22 Car – Team Penske   2025 Stats Standings 7 th Wins 1 Points 2,330 Stage Points 168 Stage Wins 3 Laps Led 577 Lead Lap Finishes 31 Average Finish 15.3 DNFs 3 Races since last win 25   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Joey Logano is the only three-time NASCAR Cha

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Chase Elliott Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images No. 9 Car – Hendrick Motorsports   2025 Stats Standings 8 th Wins 2 Points 2,325 Stage Points 193 Stage Wins 1 Laps Led 454 Lead Lap Finishes 32 (tied 1 st ) Average Finish 12.6 DNFs 3 Races since last win 5   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Was 2025 the quietest

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Tyler Reddick Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images No. 45 Car – 23XI Racing   2025 Stats Standings 9 th Wins 0 Points 2,309 Stage Points 213 Stage Wins 2 Laps Led 169 Lead Lap Finishes 30 Average Finish 14.5 DNFs 1 (best in the field) Races since last win 38   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Tyler Reddick can prou

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Ross Chastain Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images No. 1 Car – Trackhouse Racing   2025 Stats Standings 10 th Wins 1 Points 2,267 Stage Points 109 Stage Wins 2 Laps Led 80 Lead Lap Finishes 29 Average Finish 15.8 DNFs 4 Races since last win 23   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Ross Chastain is a driver who has a

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Bubba Wallace Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images No. 23 Car – 23XI Racing   2025 Stats Standings 11 th Wins 1 Points 2,256 Stage Points 203 Stage Wins 4 Laps Led 378 Lead Lap Finishes 21 Average Finish 18.5 DNFs 8 Races since last win 14   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Bubba Wallace had a solid year last y

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Shane Van Gisbergen Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images Moving from No. 88 Car to No. 97 Car – Trackhouse Racing   2025 Stats Standings 12 th Wins 5 Points 2,232 Stage Points 76 Stage Wins 3 Laps Led 312 Lead Lap Finishes 20 Average Finish 21.0 DNFs 4 Races since last win 4   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Clea

By Adam Carabine Counting down the final 30 days to the 2026 Daytona 500, we are looking at last year's Top 30 drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series. Today's driver: Alex Bowman Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images No. 48 Car – Hendrick Motorsports   2025 Stats Standings 13 th   Wins 0 Points 2,192 Stage Points 169 Stage Wins 0 Laps Led 165 Lead Lap Finishes 23 Average Finish 17.4 DNFs 4 Races since last win 52   What Does Success Look Like in 2026? Alex Bowman gets a tough rap at He