Did You Notice? ... The Real NASCAR Closer
The best late-race bloomer in NASCAR 2011?
The answer will surprise you. The sport’s loop data keeps a statistic marked “closers,” keeping track of how many positions each driver gains in the last 10 percent of each race.
Let’s find out.
2011 Top 5 Closers – Positions Gained In The Last 10 Percent Of Each Race
Juan Pablo Montoya: +31 Spots Gained, 5.2 Average
Kevin Harvick: +22 Spots Gained, 3.7 Avg.
David Gilliland: +20 Spots Gained, 3.3 Avg.
Carl Edwards: +16 Spots Gained, 2.7 Avg.
Brian Vickers: +16 Spots Gained, 2.7 Avg.
Montoya, has been quietly tearing it up even better lately down the stretch.
Here’s a breakdown of how Montoya’s fared in the last ten percent of races:
Daytona – 23rd to sixth (+17)
Phoenix – 23rd to 19th (+4)
Las Vegas – 1st to 3rd (-2)
Bristol – 26th to 24th (+2)
Fontana – 14th to 10th (+4)
Martinsville – 10th to 4th (+6)
Of course, the one that has to stick in his craw is Las Vegas, where Montoya didn’t have the speed of either Carl Edwards or Tony Stewart in the closing stages. But considering last season’s disaster, in which Montoya collected more DNFs (eight) than top-5 finishes (six) a man known to lose his patience has to be thrilled after reeducating himself on how to push the car to the limit. It’s all about balancing aggression enough to finish the race, with Montoya collecting a net gain of 31 points to make the difference between him sitting seventh in the standings and tied for 12th.
“I think we make the most out of it,” he said Friday on how he’s raced different in 2011. “We learn lots here [with his 2010 slump] that you can’t really DNF. We had so many DNF’s and so many wrecks and so many things go wrong; but this year, I think we’re racing a lot smarter.”
Just for comparison’s sake, let’s take a look at Harvick’s second-place numbers:
Daytona – 42nd to 42nd (+/- 0)
Phoenix – 4th to 4th (+/- 0)
Las Vegas – 21st to 17th (+4)
Bristol – 16th to 6th (+10)
Fontana – 6th to 1st (+5)
Martinsville – 4th to 1st (+3)
Not too shabby; note the No. 29 car hasn’t lost a single position in any race over the final 10 percent of laps. For the record, he led this category in 2010, picking up a grand total of 71 positions to equal an average of 2.0 per race.
It’s just this year, Montoya’s been that little bit better, no matter what the commentators might tell you on TV.
http://www.frontstretch.com/tbowles/33445/