For a look at how this works, see here.
Another week, another set of driver rankings to reveal. None of my big 3 series had particularly interesting racing, however that wasn't the case with this week's rankings. The big ones at Talladega had several top NASCAR guys lose big points. With only three races completed so far, the IndyCar rankings are still quite volatile, with the biggest gainer and biggest loser this week coming from the IRL.
The rules of my rankings require that a driver participate in at least half of the events his or her series runs in order to be ranked. Because of that, the most recent NASCAR winner Brad Keselowski, whose run 4 of 9 Sprint Cup events, is ineligible. His current average of 9.625 would place him in 37th place though if he was included.
Top 10 in Focus
1. Jenson Button, F1 (last week - 1)
Fourth week in a row that Button sits #1 in the standings, now by a margin of more than 10. Without any IndyCar races until the end of next month, he's bound to stay on top until at least then. Even if he scored no ranking points in Spain, he'll still have a 31.800 average.
2. Will Power, IndyCar (last week - 3)
Being rideless this week actually helped Will Power become the top ranked IndyCar driver after Dario Franchitti crashed out and got his qualifying run thrown out. He will get to run at Indy though, hopefully for him it will be good enough to get sponsor dollars for the rest of the season.
3. Rubens Barrichello, F1 (last week - 4)
Rubens had a solid point gain this week to maintain a high position on the chart. He has not been as strong as his teammate Button, which may be an area of concern as the other teams close the diffuser gap in Spain and Monaco.
4. Sebastian Vettel, F1 (last week - 12)
A runner-up finish in Bahrain together with his victory in China has seen Vettel moved in two weeks from 41st to 4th. Unless Button suffers a disaster run of form the only way I could see someone else getting up to #1 is if this kid gets on a serious winning streak, preferably with a few poles along the way.
5. Jarno Trulli, F1 (last week - 16)
Earning pole in Bahrain was key to Jarno's success this week, as he actually earned more ranking points than Vettel despite finishing third.
6. Tony Kanaan, IndyCar (last week - 7)
Another consistently good week for Kanaan saw him become the ICS points leader if just barely, while he remains the highest ranked driver with a guaranteed ride for the season.
7. Dario Franchitti, IndyCar (last week - 2)
Dario scored a big ol' donut this week, causing him to drop five places.
8. Jeff Gordon, NASCAR (last week - 5)
The biggest victim of the first Big One of Talladega '09.
9. Kurt Busch, NASCAR (last week - 9)
Older Busch has been #9 for three weeks running.
10. Ryan Briscoe, IndyCar (last week - 10)
Briscoe caught an unlucky break on Sunday when the caution flew prior to hitting the pit line, but it did not effect him to badly here.
Other Facts
- Biggest Gainer: Kansas winner and last year's #1 driver Scott Dixon, who went from 60th to 15th in one weekend.
- Biggest Loser: Raphael Matos, who went from 45th to 59th.
- Only one man is keeping Jenson Button from having the top average in all three categories (race results, qualifying and bonus) : Graham Rahal, whose qualifying average of 8.67 points/qualifying session leads Button and Will Power (8.5 each).
For a look at how this works, see here.
My driver rankings have returned for another week after a brief break. I was in Nashville over Easter and unable to post rankings for two weeks ago (I got a reprieve the last week since F1, IndyCar, and NASCAR were all off). Since Jenson Button won in Malaysia no one would be surprised that he retained the #1 spot on the list.
Although Button finally did not win a race, his third place finish in Shanghai was more than enough to keep him in the top spot for another week, his third overall. But it also makes this the first rankings of the season to not have a driver who won that weekend in the top spot.
This week has also had another bit of history for 2009: the first "perfect" weekend in the rankings. The driver who did this was Mark Martin, winning from pole while leading the most laps and setting fastest lap. He gained several positions to finish 11th this week, but he's far from the highest gainer.
Top 5
1. Jenson Button, F1 (last week - 1)
Did not win this week, but enough to stay ahead of the pack. It's an amazing run for a guy who going into the season had one win and thought to be a bit washed up.
2. Dario Franchitti, IndyCar (last week - t-10)
Although most IndyCar fans consider Dario one of the better road racers, his win at Long Beach was his first in an IRL car on a right turner.
3. Will Power, IndyCar (last week - t-10)
Power showed why he is capable of being a Penske driver despite not winning this weekend. It is a shame that he will likely be rideless for Kansas, but fortunately for Will it will have no effect on my points, since your total is averaged against the races you've run and that what the field has.
4. Rubens Barrichello, F1 (last week - 5)
Rubens moves up one thanks to drops by IndyCar drivers Justin Wilson and Ryan Hunter-Reay, who ran well at St. Pete but did not deliver similar performances in Long Beach.
5. Jeff Gordon, NASCAR (last week - 6)
Gordon averaged dropped a bit this weekend thanks to a dud in Phoenix, but goes in rank for the same reason as Barrichello above him.
Here's the top 40 list:
Biggest Gainer: This week's biggest gainer was Danica Patrick. The world's fastest swimsuit model was tied for last going into Long Beach, having scored zero points in St. Petersburg. However, a fourth place finish and a most improved bonus takes her all the way from a tie for 80th to 33rd. Her teammate Marco Andretti gained 33 spots himself, while Chinese Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel gained 29 positions.
This week's rankings are a tad bit late, but with the appeals regarding Trulli and Hamilton that is probably a good thing. Unsurprisingly, there's a new #1, and that's Jenson Button. Button opens the rankings with a super high 47.000 average (a.k.a. the number of points he scored in Melbourne). So far in 2009 this is the highest total that has been tallied in one race, and is three points shy of the maximum 50 points a driver can earn (Rosberg's fast lap prevented the sweep).Top 30
Because of the new entries, only one driver actually went up in the rankings (although certainly other drivers enhanced their averages): Denny Hamlin, the runner-up at Martinsville, moving up from 12th to 10th.Expect more fluctuations next week as IndyCar drivers get added to the pile and a second F1 race smooths out some of their scores. I expect things to begin to settle by the beginning of May, once each series has run a couple of races.
For a look at how this works, see here.
It's been nearly a month since my last set of driver rankings, but with only one covered series running at this moment it's not quite ready for primetime. All that will change next weekend, since Formula One begins its season and IndyCar the next. With the way the rankings have appeared in 2008, this weekend is likely the last with a NASCAR driver in the top spot.And that driver in the top spot? This weeks race winner, Kyle Busch. Shrub takes over the #1 spot from older bro Kurt who was #1 after the last race. Another interesting trend has emerged from the rankings: the driver who won the race that weekend has been #1 every weekend: Kenseth was obviously #1 after Daytona and retained after Fontana, Kyle took over after Las Vegas, then Kurt at Atlanta. #1 will again go to the most recent winner, although the Australian GP winner instead.Top 25 (all NASCAR guys since nobody else has started)
Biggest Gainer of the Week: With his first good race of '09, Ryan Newman moved from 30th to 21st this week. Mark Martin moved up 7 thanks to his second straight pole.
One of my earlier posts was about driver rankings. With 2009 racing finally beginning, I wanted to show off the so far unofficial rankings for 2009. I'm calling them unofficial since only one major series has begun, NASCAR, and there are only two races so far.Top 20 (after Fontana)
1. Matt Kenseth (last week - 1), 30.000 average
Unsurprisingly, Kenseth is #1 so far after winning the first two races of '09. He still has room for improvement though, since he has zero qualifying points.
2. Tony Stewart (LW - 3), 21.000
Consistency has kept Smoke up near the top. In fact, he registered the same amount of ranking points at Daytona and Fontana (only Kenseth did the same).
3. Kurt Busch (LW - 7), 20.500
A tenth place and fifth place put him at #3 so far.
4. Jeff Gordon (LW - 13), 18.500
Fontana runner-up Gordon jumps ahead thanks to his finish at Auto Club.
5. Jimmie Johnson (LW - t18), 16.750
Scoring a weak (for him) 5.5 points at Daytona, the three-time defending Cup champ scored the second most points at Fontana thanks to his front row start.
6. Kyle Busch (LW - t14), 16.750
7. Brian Vickers (LW - t21), 16.000
8. Martin Truex Jr. (LW - 2), 14.250
9. Juan Pablo Montoya (LW - t14), 14.000
10. Greg Biffle (LW - t21), 13.000
11. A.J. Allmendinger (LW - 4), 12.750
T-12. Clint Bowyer (LW - t7), 12.000
T-12. Michael Waltrip (LW - t10), 12.000
14. Carl Edwards (LW - 17), 11.500
T-15. Kevin Harvick (LW - 5), 11.000
T-15. David Ragan (LW - t10), 11.000
T-15. Reed Sorenson (LW - 6), 11.000
18. Denny Hamlin (LW - t18), 10.250
19. Mark Martin (LW - t10), 10.000
20. Elliott Sadler (LW - 9), 9.250
It's a delay in getting these out, but here is a look at the complete ratings in major open wheel. These lists will include anyone with 2+ starts. In F1, that means I've include the Super Aguri guys and for IndyCar it's everyone but the one-offers at Indy & Long Beach. There are few surprises on these lists -
the only one that may register is Paul Tracy joining the IndyCar top 10.F1
IndyCar
As promised, albeit a day late, here is a category by category look at the tops in each of the three major categories of the rankings: Race finishes, Qualifying, and Bonus Statistics. I've included the driver's overall rank as well, just for your information.
Race Finishes
Considering he's the #1 overall driver, it should not come as a shock that Scott Dixon is #1 on this list. Jumping up quite nicely in this ranking is Carl Edwards, #7 overall but tied for third with Lewis Hamilton based on race results. All ties noted are truly mathematical ties. It's actually pretty easy, since F1 and IndyCar ran 18 races while NASCAR Sprint Cup ran 36. Ergo, Carl earned twice as many race points as Lewis, but are tied when averaged.Two other gents who moved up quite nicely are #9 Dan Wheldon (13th overall) and #12 Jeff Burton (23rd overall). Neither is an impressive qualifier, but move forward as the race progresses.Which drivers are being propped up by the other categories? Ryan Briscoe is the only top 10 overall driver not in the top 10 of race results - credit a poor showing in the early part of the '08 season when he was 19th in points leaving Indy prior to his breakthrough win at Milwaukee. Ditto Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Heikki Kovalainen, each 8 spots lower than their overall ranks, and the inconsistent Marco Andretti, 7 spots lower.Qualifying
Dixon is #1 again in qualifying, but with 6 poles and qualifying in the top 25% in all but one possible qualifying session it's no surprise. Felipe Massa was extremely close - one position higher in Canada or Italy would have made him the top qualifier of 2008. A few of the big NASCAR names, namely Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards are much lower than than their overall positions would expect. The nature of NASCAR though can be a key reason. As the only series that features DNQs on a regular basis, there's often guys who will qualify better in a single session in order to make the show. Not to mention the length of a NASCAR race and the (relative) ease of passing compared to, say, Formula One that positions can be made up easily through time and only taking two tires on some pit stops. It's less necessary to qualify well, so the results show that.Bonus PointsBonus points consist of leading laps, leading the most laps, running the fastest lap, and improving the most positions in the race.
The Iceman Kimi Raikkonen leads racers in the bonus points category by a pretty fair margin. Kimi had 9 fastest laps that were key to his #1 placement. Scott Dixon is a lot further down in this category than most.
Towards the bottom of this list are two drivers you wouldn't expect in a positive top 30 list: Michael Waltrip and Giancarlo Fisichella. Waltrip was the best improver twice and regularly led a lap (in order to gain bonus points in NASCAR races). Fisi also improved the best twice, which considering Force India's poor qualifying abilities (he earned 0 points in that category), there was nowhere to go but up in classification.
Here are the Final Driver Rankings for 2008. These rankings relate to top-flight, four-wheel circuit racing series, and do not include motorcycle racing, feeder series, drag racing, or rally racing. I will release a number of other charts through the winter that will incorporate those series as well, but this chart is my primary one and the one I updated each week as the season went on.
In order to be ranked on the main chart, a driver had to run at least half the season. Since NASCAR has tons of guys in this category, I cut it off at the top 35 when I started. Other guys would have made this chart in decent position (A.J. Allmendinger, for instance) but was not in the top 35.
Here's my tentative schedule for future postings:
- Dec. 3: Best of Category
- Dec. 4: Full IndyCar, and F1 Charts.
- Dec. 6: NASCAR Charts
- Dec. 7: Feeder Series Chart
- Dec. 10: MotoGP, NHRA, and World Rally Championship
- Dec. 14: Overall & Comprehensive Charts (there is a difference, it will be explained then).
- Dec. 17: The only currently running chart, the 08-09 A1GP chart.
The Rankings
Scott Dixon is the #1 Driver on the chart for 2008. With 6 wins and 13 podium finishes in 18 races, it's unsurprising to see him near the top. Helio made for an IndyCar 1-2 thanks to 8 runner-up finishes for the season. The top 20 is fairly balanced amongst drivers from each of the three series, but the 2nd quarter of the chart is throughly dominated by NASCAR. When inputting the points, it is clear that NASCAR drivers have a difficult time reaching the pinnacle of the chart, but the Chase and almost Chase drivers had really strong stats to make it to the top.Bringing up the bottom of the list is Force India's Adrian Sutil, who had a major combination of poor qualifying, difficulty finishing races (albeit many were mechanical errors), and failing to score a single bonus point to thank for an 80th place finish. He does have Kimi Raikkonen to blame for preventing him from his shining glory of the '08 season, when he was running 4th late in Monaco when the '07 World Champ clobbered him in the Nouvelle Chicane and knocked Adrian out of the race. Had he finished 4th or even 5th, his season ranking would have been 1.028, enough for 78th place and placing Jaime Camara at the bottom.
This is a project I've been working on for several weeks now, and I'm ready to unveil it. I have developed a driver ranking system, where drivers from several different series can be compared to one another through a balanced, statistically based manner.
Some of the factors I look at in the rankings:
- Wins
- Second Place finishes
- Third Place finishes
- Finishes in quarter of the field
- Finishes in top half of the field
- Poles
- Front row starts
- Top quarter qualifying
- Top half qualifying
- Fastest Laps
- Leading laps
- Most Laps Led
- Most Positions Gained from start to finish
With these, I average everything based on the number of races each driver ran. There are examples of drivers who ran significantly less races during a season finishing much higher up in rankings (notably, Mark Martin in NASCAR). For qualifying stats, they are averaged against the number of qualifying sessions each driver ran. I did this separate from racing a few weeks in after NASCAR had three weeks in a row with rained out qualifying. Why should I award bonus points to drivers who get handed poles? This also made a heck of a lot of sense when I applied it to a few development series, GP2 and Indy Lights notably, that ran two-race weekends in which one race was determined by the other's finish. Again, finishing eighth in a GP2 race doesn't merit free pole points.
This listing is only the top 15 drivers among three series: Formula One, IndyCar, and NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Top 151. Scott Dixon, IndyCar - 28.035The Iceman cometh at the top of the chart for 2008. Finishing in the top 3 in 13 of 18 races and six poles helped the Kiwi finish in #1.2. Helio Castroneves, IndyCar - 25.715The IndyCar Series runner-up is also runner-up here. Although it took him a long time to win some races, Helio had eight second place finishes on the season.3. Lewis Hamilton, Formula One - 24.722Hamilton will have to console with just being World Champion, as more parity in F1 held him to third. Like in real life, Hamilton was barely the top F1 guy in these rankings.4. Felipe Massa, Formula One - 24.306Massa was barely #2 among Formula One drivers. In fact, going into the Brazilian Grand Prix he was actually ahead of Lewis in the rankings, thanks to more fast laps.5. Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR - 22.071While doing the ratings, I've noticed it is very difficult for a NASCAR driver to ascend to the same heights as F1 & IndyCar guys. Jimmie's season has been very solid though and is deserving of a top 5 finish.6. Kimi Raikkonen, Formula One - 21.4447. Carl Edwards, NASCAR - 19.8638. Ryan Briscoe, IndyCar - 19.7019. Kyle Busch, NASCAR - 19.59110. Tony Kanaan, IndyCar - 19.18111. Robert Kubica, Formula One - 16.83312. Heikki Kovalainen, Formula One - 16.80613. Dan Wheldon, IndyCar - 16.73614. Jeff Gordon, NASCAR - 16.06315. Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR - 15.769
With one race left in the NASCAR season, their drivers are still provisional. I'll be doing a more comprehensive listing soon, after the Homestead race. I also have rankings for feeder series, NHRA, and WRC as part of the need something to do in the offseason activities.
