A statistical analysis of NASCAR 2018 with David Smith

The Motorsports Analytics founder on Chase Elliott’s first win and why it’s the perfect representation of stylized, modern-day NASCAR (2:00); the impact of restarts on Elliott’s results and why this part of the schedule fits him well (4:00); why David doesn’t think Chase Elliott necessarily has been struggling this season (7:00); when the trend of “stylized racing” began in NASCAR (8:30); the importance of restarts in talent evaluation (9:30); why underrating Chase Elliott changed David’s opinion on evaluating Late Model drivers (11:30); where Elliott was ranked in K&N in 2011-12 and why he’s been a late bloomer compared with others' results (14:00); why USAC might be underrated for evaluation (17:00); defining PEER, the key stat David uses in driver evaluation (19:00); what some eye-popping passing stats say about whether Jimmie Johnson remains as good as ever despite his slump (21:00); why David believes engineers are undervalued vs. pit crew members (25:00); reaching the physical limits of a pit stop (32:00); could we have seen The Big Three coming last year … (35:00); … and how much of its success is rooted in driver ability? (36:30); Kyle Larson’s greatness (37:30); Denny Hamlin’s strange season (39:30); who is the fourth driver who will join The Big Three in the championship round (41:00)

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