Drivers Shrug Off Pressure When Heading Home

This weekend, Denny Hamlin will try to break an 0-for-6 streak at Richmond International Raceway. A win at RIR is one the native of nearby Chesterfield, Va. wants more than any other – and he has come very close in the past.

Hometown success is a statistical phenomenon in NASCAR. For the most part – and for whatever reason – drivers excel when the pressure is on to perform in front of the home crowd.

Take a look at a few drivers who have been geographically linked to a home track…

(photo by Icon Sports Media)

Tony Stewart
Hometown: Columbus, Ind.
Best Avg. Driver Ratings
                          Driver
Track                 Rating
Watkins Glen      134.0
New Hampshire   115.6
Chicagoland        114.3
Martinsville          114.1
Indianapolis         111.2

Clint Bowyer
Hometown: Emporia, Kan.
Best Avg. Driver Ratings
                          Driver
Track                 Rating
Kansas               100.2
Richmond            93.3
New Hampshire    91.1
Dover                  90.2
Atlanta                89.0

Kyle Busch
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.
Best Avg. Driver Ratings
                     Driver
Track            Rating
Chicagoland   115.3
Richmond      109.9
Las Vegas     109.4
Auto Club      107.9
Infineon         104.8

Of course, not all drivers are strong at their home track. For instance, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Kurt Busch has struggled in his Las Vegas Motor Speedway career. His Las Vegas Driver Rating is just 87.6, which ranks as his 13th-best among the 22 active tracks.

But Hamlin certainly brushes off any pressure that may arise from racing just minutes from where he grew up. He is outstanding at Richmond, and was on his way to a win in last season’s spring race before a tire problem on lap 382.  He led 381 laps that race and scored a race-high Driver Rating of 129.1 despite a finish of just 24th. Hamlin, though, did win the NASCAR Nationwide Series Richmond race that weekend.

Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in four of his six Richmond races, and has led laps in all of them. Below is his Richmond statistical race log (all driver logs are available at NASCARMedia.com):

Denny Hamlin at Richmond International Raceway
Date       Finish      ARP      FLR        LT15%      DR            Led
5/06           2             5         15          100          118.5          19
9/06          15            8         10           96.5         97.1           19
5/07          3              4.5      15           99.8         118.2         12
9/07          6              6.6      18           96.3         111.3         17
5/08          24            2.3      104          94.9         129.1         381
9/08          3              5.8      39           98.8         117.5          4
Total        8.8           5.4      201          97.7         115.3         452
ARP: Average Running Position; FLR: Fastest Laps Run; LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15; DR: Driver Rating