Small Sample Selections: 2024 Playoffs
Zane Smith and Bubba Wallace have shown serious improvements these playoffs.
When you think of the playoffs, you think about the playoff drivers. In the 2024 playoffs, on skill tracks (non-drafting ovals and road courses), four of the top six playoff finishers are non-playoff drivers while the other six are still vying for a final four spot:
| Driver | Age | Car | Starts | ASP | ARP | AFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Bell | 29 | 20 | 5 | 7.40 | 5.38 | 6.00 |
| Ross Chastain | 31 | 1 | 5 | 11.20 | 12.53 | 10.00 |
| Kyle Larson | 31 | 5 | 5 | 8.80 | 10.59 | 10.20 |
| Chris Buescher | 31 | 17 | 5 | 23.40 | 15.99 | 10.60 |
| Denny Hamlin | 43 | 11 | 5 | 12.00 | 10.21 | 11.40 |
| Bubba Wallace | 30 | 23 | 5 | 16.80 | 12.28 | 11.60 |
| William Byron | 26 | 24 | 5 | 7.80 | 7.91 | 12.00 |
| Zane Smith | 24 | 71 | 5 | 20.80 | 20.24 | 13.20 |
| Joey Logano | 33 | 22 | 5 | 9.20 | 13.49 | 13.20 |
| Chase Elliott | 28 | 9 | 5 | 17.40 | 12.66 | 13.60 |
Look at Zane Smith and Bubba Wallace. ZANE's gone from finishing 25th on average in the regular season with a -0.97 GR-LR — 32nd and 32nd best in the series, respectively — to 13th and a 0.25 — eighth and 16th best. Likewise, Wallace has improved from an AFP of 16th (13th best) and a GR-LR of 0.22 (tenth best) to 12th (sixth best) and 0.52 (ninth best).
Justin Barber
Wallace has been improving for years now.
We're only five skill track races in, and the track type mixes are different, but both drivers have reasons to be optimistic for what's to come based on their performances.