Glossary

A

  • Adjusted Position Movement (adjPMov): A version of Position Movement that adjusts the starting order by removing cars that DNF, so movement reflects on-track passes/strategy rather than places gained from attrition.
  • At Stake (Position at Stake): A finishing-position battle where the gap between two adjacent finishers is within a “competitive” threshold (e.g., 3 seconds), indicating a plausible on-track fight.
  • At Stake %: The percentage of finishing positions that are “at stake” (i.e., adjacent finishers are within the competitive gap threshold) across a sample of races.

C

  • Car Failure Rate: The rate at which cars fail to finish due to car-related issues (Mechanical, Electrical, or Fire reasons).
  • Crash Rate: The rate at which cars fail to finish due to on-track incidents (Contact or Off Course reasons).

D

  • DNF Rate: The rate at which cars do not finish a race for any reason; it can be broken down into Crash Rate, Car Failure Rate, and Other Rate.

G

  • Gap: The time gap (in seconds) between a car and the car immediately ahead of it at the end of the race.

M

  • Margin of Victory (MoV): The time gap between P1 and P2 at the end of a race.

O

  • Other Rate: The rate of DNFs that don’t clearly fit crash- or car-failure-related categories (e.g., Handling, Retired, DQ, DNS, In Pits).

P

  • Points at Stake: For a given Position at Stake, the point value assigned to the higher finishing position in that battle (used to weight battles toward the front of the field).
  • Points at Stake %: Total Points at Stake divided by total points available across the sample; a weighted measure of how much of the race’s “valuable” finishing order was contested.
  • Position Movement (PMov): The absolute difference between a car’s starting position and finishing position; a simple measure of how much a car moved through the field.
Motorsports analytics for curious fans
Built with Hugo
Theme Stack designed by Jimmy