2017 was a special year in the NASCAR Cup Series. Truly unexpected underdogs in the names of Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing won the championship after taking the field by surprise. With the veteran driver set to retire at the end of the ongoing season, his postseason record in 2017 deserves to be looked at once more and given the clout that it rightly deserves.
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Between 2004 and 2023, no driver has had a better postseason average finish than Truex Jr. did in 2017 (4.30). This number was the result of four wins and nine top-5 finishes in ten races. Beginning in the Chicagoland Speedway, he reached victory lane in Charlotte, Kansas, and Homestead-Miami to grab the title. Very few drivers come close to matching this heightened level of performance.
One among them is the seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. Notably, Johnson is the only driver apart from him to have a commendable postseason run and win the title. The Hendrick legend had an average finish of 5.00 in 2007, 5.70 in 2008, and 5.10 in 2013. He was named champion in all three years.
Best Post-Season average finish all-time
NASCAR Cup Series (2004-2023) pic.twitter.com/9Y7wW8nRWJ— Trey Ryan (@TreyRyan99) September 24, 2024
Jeff Gordon, despite the icon he is, faces defeat to Truex Jr. in this category. He posted an average postseason finish of 5.10 in 2007 but missed out on the title. With the way the playoff format has been designed, it doesn’t come as a surprise that drivers with such average finishes can still fail to win the title. Truex Jr. himself had an average of 5.80 in 2019 and still missed out.
Other drivers with impressive postseason runs
Carl Edwards had an average finish rate of 4.90 in 2011. The Roush Fenway Racing driver consistently finished inside the top 5 through the final races of the season but ended up losing the title to Tony Stewart.
Interestingly, he had secured the same number of points as the champion but wasn’t honored with the title since he had a fewer number of wins than Stewart. Kevin Harvick had an average finish of 5.80 in 2010 and 5.90 in 2019. He failed to win the title in both years and settled for third place.
The final driver with a noteworthy postseason run is William Byron. The No. 24 driver ran riot in 2023 and secured an average of 6.10. He was one of the Championship 4 drivers who raced for the title in Phoenix but lost in the final race to Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney.
