Track Position is Sprint Cup's
Position Track is Sprint Cup's Trump Card
So how does a "Top-5" car run in the middle of the pack for nearly an entire race?
Just ask Jeff Gordon.
Following last Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Gordon found himself with a fourth-place finish in NASCAR's longest event after stretching his fuel mileage late in the race. That finish, though, wasn't an accurate picture of Gordon's night at LMS.
According to NASCAR's loop data, Gordon had an average running position throughout the race of 19th. Winner Kasey Kahne however averaged a 5th-place effort.
In years past, statistics like that and Gordon pulling out a fourth-place finish would be indicative of a car that just wasn't performing throughout the event, but that simply wasn't true. Instead, what kept Gordon -- and plenty of other drivers -- from moving through the field was his track position.
In years past, statistics like that and Gordon pulling out a fourth-place finish would be indicative of a car that just wasn't performing throughout the event, but that simply wasn't true. Instead, what kept Gordon -- and plenty of other drivers -- from moving through the field was his track position.
"...When we got up front there and got our lap back, I thought hey, you know, we've got a pretty decent car. We just need track position," said Gordon after the race. "Once we got our lap back, we were back in the back again and there were cars all over the place."As a race fan, I'm not particularly fond of a driver saying "you can't pass anybody"
"You just can't go anywhere and you can't pass anybody."
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