NASCAR is built on speed and statistics. And when it comes to both, in the first 33 races of the season, Denny Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing have unsurprisingly been at or near the top in most metrics. Statistician Daniel Cespedes posted several categories that illustrate just how dominant Hamlin has been this season.
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For example, in driver pairings of two drivers running the most laps together in either first or second at the same time, the pairing of Hamlin and Kyle Larson has Hamlin leading only 61 laps, while Larson has led 299 laps, for a combined total of 360 laps.
When Hamlin is compared to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell, however, Hamlin is by far number one in leading in the 1-2 order, with Hamlin having led 237 laps in first place, while Bell has led 98 laps, for a total of 335 laps.
Wait, we’re not done with Hamlin yet: when paired with fellow JGR teammate Chase Briscoe, the latter has been No. 1 for 214 laps when Hamlin was No. 2 (67 laps), for a total of 281 laps.
Hamlin is back on top in first when paired with Hendrick Motorsports rival Chase Elliott, with Hamlin leading 131 laps in first place while Elliott runs second for 104 laps, totaling 235 laps. There is also another 1-2 combination with Hendrick driver William Byron, with Hamlin leading 57 laps when he is in first and Byron is second for a total of 206 laps.
In the next category — intermediate tracks between one and two miles — Hamlin makes a clean sweep. He leads the highest percentage of laps run in the Top 3, being the only driver to have led over 40 percent of laps while running in the top 3.
In the Top 5, he is one of only two drivers, along with Byron, to exceed 50 percent. In the Top 10, Hamlin and Byron are again the only drivers to have led over 70 percent of laps. Finally, in the Top 20, Hamlin is the only driver to have logged over 90 percent of his laps in the top 20.
The last category, most laps run in each position, shows Hamlin having led the most laps in second place (1,009 laps) and third place (811 laps), while Kyle Larson has led the most laps of all drivers in first place (1,100 laps).
There is some fascinating information contained in each of the three embedded links, even if Denny Hamlin isn’t your favorite driver. Click on the links to check out the metrics.
