Average Practice Speeds: Dover 2 – AAA 400 (2012 Chase Race #3)
We missed some practice time at the beginning of first practice due to rain on Thursday night and some water problems on the track, but the teams still got a decent amount of time on the track. Qualifying will be held on Saturday afternoon (starting at 1:30 pm ET) and that will be the last time on-track action before the AAA 400 on Sunday. Just a side note: five of the last six winners at Dover started inside the top 5.
Important Practice Notes: 1st practice notes (click here). Happy Hour notes (click here).
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Average Practice Speeds:
Average practice speeds are calculated by taking the average speed of each driver in each practice and multiplying it by the number of laps ran. When you do this for each practice and add the totals together, and then divide by the total number of laps ran, you get an average of their practice speed, instead of just the one lap statistic you see when you look at practice sheets. I have found over the years that this is much more accurate as to whether or not someone has a car that is good for one lap or one that can consistently be fast. These numbers, however, can be skewed if a team puts new tires on frequently or rarely changes the tires.
In the first practice session, the five fastest drivers were:
1. Martin Truex, Jr. – 157.012 mph
2. Clint Bowyer – 156.597 mph
3. Denny Hamlin – 156.563 mph
4. Mark Martin – 156.325 mph
5. Greg Biffle – 156.311 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.
In terms of ten-lap average, the top five for the first practice were:
1. Bobby Labonte – 148.622 mph
2. Travis Kvapil – 147.947 mph
Click here for the complete ten-lap average chart for the first practice.
In “Happy Hour”, the fast five were:
1. Jeff Gordon – 155.743 mph
2. Joey Logano – 154.586 mph
3. Jimmie Johnson – 154.579 mph
4. Kurt Busch – 154.314 mph
5. David Stremme – 153.263 mph
Click here for the complete results from this practice.
When it came to ten-lap average, the best for Happy Hour were:
1. Kyle Busch – 151.329 mph
2. Mark Martin – 151.075 mph
3. Kasey Kahne – 151.013 mph
4. Brad Keselowski – 150.912 mph
5. Martin Truex, Jr. – 150.781 mph
Click here for the complete ten-lap average chart for Happy Hour.
September 28, 2012 @ 5:46 pm
I was wondering whether his lack of momentum would hurt even Matt Kenseth who’s been amazing at Dover. Any other major concerns in practice (besides lack of speed)?
September 28, 2012 @ 7:23 pm
Lack of speed should be the only concern in anyone’s mind, in my opinion, simply because he was so slow. Danica had a better average speed than Kenseth.
September 28, 2012 @ 6:22 pm
I think I would be concerned about Kenseth. Every year somebodies season goes completely down the hill in the Chase and it’s looking like it could be Kenseth.
September 29, 2012 @ 3:04 am
Hi Ryan,what’s your thoughts on the 6 car with Stenhouse,will they try to run the whole race,and do they have some sponsorship.Thanks
September 29, 2012 @ 5:18 am
I think he probably has about 15th place potential. He has sponsorship and he’ll run the whole race.