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) Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.