On Friday, we released results of our Driver Survey — 19 Cup Series drivers answered, anonymously, six questions we posed about NASCAR drivers and crew chiefs.
One name that may have stood out among the otherwise list of NASCAR Cup Series champions was Timmy Hill. He ranked fifth in our question asking “Which Cup Series driver (other than yourself) gets the best consistent performance from their equipment?”
Kevin Harvick — with a championship and 53 Cup Series wins — was the top vote-getter in that category, and at first, it may seem strange to see this particular pair of drivers together. We asked our friends at Racing Insights to give us a little data to work with, and the numbers show — no surprise — the drivers really know what they’re talking about.
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We took a look at career starts among all current full-time Cup Series drivers and then measured the number of DNFs due to an accident/wreck compared to those starts. From there, we determined what percentage of a driver’s starts yielded a DNF – Accident.
No. 1, among all active full-time drivers? Timmy Hill.
Hill has 111 career starts and three DNFs – Accident, a sterling result of 2.7%. It’s the best in the series, and drivers have taken note of his ability to protect his equipment.
Perhaps equally as impressive is the second-place driver — Harvick himself. In a staggering 701 starts, Harvick has not finished due to a wreck just 22 times in his career. That percentage rate? 3.14%. That Harvick is consistently running toward the front and in position to be involved in incidents every race makes this even more impressive.
So yes, Hill and Harvick certainly know how to get the best out of — and take care of — their equipment.
The drivers know it. And the numbers prove it.