Stray Observations Post-Truck Series Championship Race
A selection of facts and figures post-Phoenix.
These are things I have seen in reviewing the numbers after the race.
Christian Eckes finished the year with only one non-success, spring Atlanta. He had an average finish of 3.8 on non-super speedway races. He was 20-0 in scoring top 10s and 15-5 in top 5s.
Next best in the primary Lap Raptor database: 2017 Johnny Sauter and Christopher Bell were 19-1 in T10s. Bell's T5s were 14-6 that year.
Ron Hornaday Jr.'s 1996 is the only more successful season in all history: 23-1.
Eckes is in his age 23 season. In Kyle Busch's age 23 trucks season he won 7 of 15 and was successful in 14 of 15. He also won nine Xfinity races and four Cup races that year. Now, his worst two laps led seasons have been 2024 and 2023.
Two drivers won multiple races in the truck series playoffs: Layne Riggs and Grant Enfinger.
Riggs is one to watch. He had the seventh-best average finish and fifth-best average running position in the playoffs. His 71.4% success rate was sixth-best, and he had the most positions gained above expected.
Compare with his regular season: 18th best AFP, tenth best ARP, and a 38% success rate.
Corey Heim's 2024 saw him put up the most positions gained above expected since 2020, when Lap Raptor's lap-by-lap data began, and the second-most positions finished above expected since 2020 — behind only Christian Eckes this year. Heim also had the most wins in a season since 2020.