Before starting this year’s NASCAR Cup Series, the ELO revision for the signature series has been updated. The data set has been expanded to include the 2016 season forward. The 40-car starting grid cap began in the 2016 season.
The CIELO ratings revision 3.0.6 for the NASCAR Cup series is now reflected in the Top 10 Drivers rankings currently topped by Ryan Blaney (2100). The Active Drivers and Inactive Drivers listings have also been updated to reflect every Cup Series race from the Daytona 500 on 2016 February 21.
The 40-car race limit will impact this year’s rendition of the Daytona 500. Asher Fair of Beyondtheflag details the impact of the overflow entry list for the Daytona 500. Fair states “There are effectively five cars going for four spots.”
The five drivers (with their most recent ELO rating) currently at risk of missing the series opener are:
- David Ragan (1783)
- Kaz Grala (1596)
- Jimmie Johnson (1356)
- Anthony Alfredo (1334)
- B.J. McLeod (1330)
Jimmie Johnson’s ELO rating is a perfect example of the framing of the ratings. Only 182 races of Johnson’s 689 Cup runs are included in the 3.0.6 revision. His peak driving ability is belittled by his below-average CIELO driver rating. The lack of success in Cup races since his last victory in the 2017 AAA 400 DRIVE FOR AUTISM impacts his rating significantly. Only 8 of 83 victories are tabulated in Johnson’s rating.
Eventually, when time permits, CIELO WORLD will roll in race back to 2001. Those recalculated ratings will show the full story of Hall of Fame driver Jimmie Johnson’s career arc.
(sps – 2024-02-08)