All-Star Race Break Team Report Cards #1
The 2013 NASCAR season is now about 1/3rds completed so it’s time to hand out some trimester grades. Some drivers have performed well and others have not. Find out if your favorite driver passed or failed. This post is part of a three part series. These grades are subjective and some drivers are graded on a curve.
Make sure you read grades part #2 and part #3
Jimmie Johnson – A+
To no one’s surprise Jimmie Johnson has been very good this season. He won the biggest event of the year and won his 8th race at Martinsville. Also this season he’s the only driver in the series with a single digit average finish (6.7). In addition to his strong performances he’s also been remarkably consistent. Only once this season has he finished lower than 12th.
Carl Edwards – A
Carl Edwards is currently sitting second in the points right now. At Phoenix earlier this season he broke a long winless streak that dated back to 2011. Also this season he has five top tens which is two more than he accumulated all last season. I don’t think this is the second best team in the series right now but they certainly rank among the best.
Matt Kenseth – A+
Matt Kenseth has been phenomenal this season. He has three wins, led 781 laps and a 118.6 driver rating. In each of those statistics he ranks as the best in the series. Two more stats that are telling as to just how good the #20 is performing is his 3.3 mid race average running position and 6.1 average running position. If Matt Kenseth finished where he deserved at Daytona (leading when he had engine problems) and Bristol (running in second when he wrecked) he would be the points leader.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – B+
Dale Earnhardt Jr. started off the season strong with five consecutive top tens. Recently though things haven’t been easy for him. In the last six races he only has two top tens, a best finish of 9th and a 17.5 average finish. That bad average finish is a little misleading because not all of those problems were on him. Still though it’s evident momentum has left. He’s currently 4th in points but that’s on the back of “old points”.
Clint Bowyer – B+
Clint Bowyer is currently 5th in the point standings. This season on the track he has 4 top fives, 5 top tens and a 12.5 average finish. His strength this season has been on short tracks. On that track type this season he has two second place finishes and a total of three top fives. On non-short tracks this season he has a 16th place average finish.
Kasey Kahne – A-
Kasey Kahne’s highlight of the season is his win at Bristol. If it wasn’t for Matt Kenseth being so strong he could easily have two more of wins. Currently he’s sixth in points. I would estimate Kyle Busch has probably cost him a conservative 60 points. One notable strength of Kahne’s this season is his qualifying prowess. Only three times has he started outside the top ten.
Brad Keselowski – A-
If the All-Star break followed Kansas I would give him an A+ because at that point in the season he only finished outside the top ten once and that was due to engine problems. Recently the #2 team has been off their game. In the last three races he has a 26.6 average finish. One aspect of this team that is slipping below many people’s radar is the fact that they’ve been qualifying poor lately. At the start of the season they were qualifying unusually well but in four of the last five races he’s had his worst starting positions of the season.
Kyle Busch – A-
Kyle Busch has two wins this season and currently sits 8th in points. As long as he doesn’t have problems in races he’s consistently finished in the top six. The problem with him though is inconsistency. In nearly half the races this season he’s finished 23rd or worse. With how the points system works he can’t afford to perform like that
Aric Almirola – A
Who would’ve thought Almirola would be in the top ten in points 11 races into the season? Almirola’s strength this season has been his consistency. He’s only finished worse than 20th once and has a 15.3 average finish. I think his average finish will prove to be an accurate reflection of how good this team is going forward. Prior to his 20th at Darlington he had four consecutive top ten finishes.
Kevin Harvick – B+
If it wasn’t for restrictor plate tracks Harvick would have a 10.3 average finish. Also outside of the restricted tracks he has a worst finish of 14th and has finished between 9th and 14th 77% percent of the time. His highlight of the season thus far is his win at Richmond.
