Monday, December 23, 2013

A Debut In Review: Gen-6 Race Car By The Numbers


Clint Bowyer, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver of the No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota

"Look at these highlights. Isn't this awesome! I love this sport. I'm telling you. Whoever designed this new car, we should kiss 'em every weekend. It's [Gen-6] creating drama. We haven't seen racing like this in years, since I first started in this sport (in 2004). When you can leave a race track and there's people in tears because they won, and in tears because they got crashed, that's what brings us to the race track, that kind of racing and determination and passion." – Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota

3 – Number of track qualifying records broken by Jimmie Johnson this season, the series’ most.

5 – Number of drivers who won in 2013 after going winless in 2012: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray and Martin Truex Jr.

5 – Number of races that saw records in green flag passing numbers this season (NASCAR started keeping passing records in 2005). They were: Daytona-2, 9,574 passes; Atlanta, 3,748; Richmond-2, 3,013; Chicagoland, 3,366; and Talladega-2, 23,765.

5 – Number of races that saw records in green flag passes for the lead numbers this season (NASCAR started keeping passing records in 2005). They were: Las Vegas, 31; Auto Club, 41 (tied record); Dover-1, 25; Pocono-2, 38; and Talladega-2, 219.

10 – Average number of leaders per race, up from 9.39 in 2012.

11 – Number of drivers who broke a track qualifying record this season. They are Jimmie Johnson (three), Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth (two each), Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Marcos Ambrose (one each).

17 – Number of different winners this season, up from the 15 different winners last season. The modern era record for different winners in a season is 19.

19 – Number of track qualifying records broken this season.

19.4 – Average number of lead changes per race, up from 18.9 last season.

20 – Number of races that ended with a margin of victory under one second, up from 17 races last season.

46 – Number of drivers who led at least one lap, up from 42 last season.

51.2 – Percentage of cars that finished on the lead lap, the highest percentage since 2009.

76 – The perception that the race cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series "are cars that I would be interested in buying" increased from 49% to 76%**

79 – The perception that the race cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series "make me more interested in the car manufacturers" increased from 41% to 70%**

83 – The perception that the race cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series "look similar to new cars in the showroom" increased from 28% to 83%.**

83.1 – Percentage of cars that were running at the finish of races, up from 74.7% in 2012.

86 – The perception that the race cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series "have distinctive body styling" increased from 35% to 86%**

88 – Appeal (likeability) of the race cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series increased from 65% to 88%.**

971 – Number of Green Flag Passes for the Lead, an increase from the 946 Green Flag Passes for the Lead in 2012.

1.267 – In seconds, the average margin of victory in 2013. It’s the lowest average MOV since 2005.


** Source: Official NASCAR fan Council, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Gen 6 Car Tracking Survey


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