Ross Chastain's Season Quietly Better Than It Seems
1 year agoAlthough Ross Chastain has taken his share of criticism for his crashes, and lack of dominance. Despite ranking only 11th in speed, Chastain ranks 9th in overall points, tied for 3rd in races with an on-track pass for the lead, 7th in cumulative races led (which adjusts laps led for differential race lengths), and 6th in lead shares (which measures each driver's share of passing for the lead with later passes weighted more). While his performance has fallen off somewhat, it mostly comes down to slower cars and that shouldn't matter at Talladega. Although his drafting performances have slipped from 2022, he still finished four of the five previous drafting races. He is by no means safe but his odds of advancing are much greater than you likely think.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference