Ranking the Top 10 Restarters

David Smith of MotorsportsAnalytics.com has compiled his ranking of the top 10 restarters in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. On average, drivers successfully defend their positions from a track's preferred groove 82 percent of the time, while those in the non-preferred groove do so at a 40-percent rate. His ranking utilizes statistical analysis from recent seasons and only considers restarts from inside the first seven rows.

Honorable Mention: AJ Allmendinger: With only 11 restarts this year from inside the first seven rows, we haven't seen much of Allmendinger's best driving attribute, but he's a consummate restarter. He ranked sixth, third and ninth in non-preferred groove retention from 2015 to 2017, and he was in the top six in defending his position from the preferred groove during two of those seasons.

10. Erik Jones: Jones ranks second in preferred groove retention at 91.7 percent and gained 29 positions on the track. Not only does the former number represent a 14-percent improvement from 2017, but it's also 18 percent better than predecessor Matt Kenseth's rate. Jones is also 25 positions better on all late-race restarts than Kenseth was last year.

9. Bubba Wallace: Wallace has been a revelation this year, netting 27 positions across 22 restart attempts. Excuse the small sample size -- he's restarted just nine times from inside the first seven rows -- and he's the best non-preferred groove restarter in the series, with a 66.7-percent rate.

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex ranked first and fourth in non-preferred and preferred groove retention, respectively, in 2017. He ranks second this year from the non-preferred groove, but his rate in the easy lane dropped by over 5 percent (he ranks 18th, for just six positions gained on 39 tries). As a race leader, he retains 69.2 percent of the time, short of the 75 percent series average.

7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski ranks ninth and 10th from the non-preferred and preferred grooves, respectively, working on a second consecutive season of top-10 restart rates in each groove. His 41 positions gained (on 44 attempts) from the preferred groove rank as the sixth most in the series, as do his five positions won across five late-race tries.

6. Joey Logano: No driver earned more spots in the last two years off late-race restarts than Logano's plus-32. He ranks first in preferred groove retention, with a 92.2-percent rate that's helped him total 68 positions on 51 attempts.

5. Kevin Harvick: When restarting as the leader, Harvick retains his spot a series-best 92.3 percent of the time. While that's clearly his best attribute as a restarter, he's a quality talent from the non-preferred groove as well; his 53.5 percent retention rate ranks fourth in the series.

4. Kyle Busch: The first of four 'elites' is Busch, ranking sixth and seventh in non-preferred and preferred groove retention. In 2018, no driver has restarted as the leader more often. Across 21 restarts, Busch retained the P1 spot at a 91.3-percent clip. Nine of his 10 late-race restart attempts emanated from the preferred groove.

3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney is a restarting specialist, as he does his most track position damage during the two laps immediately following each restart. His 28-position net gain is thanks to his 87-percent retention (ranks eighth) and 44 positions earned on preferred groove attempts.

2. Kyle Larson: Larson is one of two drivers who's a top-five restarter in each groove, ranking fifth in both. Like Blaney, he boasts a 28-position net gain, but got there on 15 less attempts from inside the first seven rows. Additionally, he's been the most proficient late-race mover to this point in the year, with a series-best net of plus-9.

1. Kurt Busch: Objectively the best in the most daunting of the two grooves is Busch, who ranks first in non-preferred groove retention (61.3 percent) and total net gain (plus-35). His 17 positions lost from the non-preferred groove across the last four years is a better total than all but two other drivers this year alone. He also ranks fourth in preferred groove retention with a 90.6-percent rate.