Week 22 GFT NASCAR AI Driver Rankings: C Bell Wins New Hampshire, Elliott Holds P1 Ranking
17 July 2022
By Bob Francis, Managing Editor
Go Full Throttle Racing News
It was Christopher Bell in the № 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota winning in New England’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway that has the fight for the final 2 of 16 NASCAR Cup Playoff spots moving to code red. Chase Elliott finished 2nd in New Hampshire to maintain his P1 ranking as the GFT AI models cranked through the data post-race. Toyota placed 3 cars in the top 5 with Bubba Wallace finishing 3rd and Martin Truex Jr. 4th.
C Bell Media Interviews:
“Man, that one was much-needed right there,” said Bell, who won three consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the track from 2019–2021 and was runner-up in last year‘s NASCAR Cup Series race there.
“I tell you what, that was a helluva race from my viewpoint. It was so much fun racing with the 45 (Kurt Busch), the 22 (Joey Logano) and the 9 (Elliott). We were all running different lines. That was a blast. Just so happy to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing and so good to get that 20 car back in Victory Lane.”
POCONO RACE PREDICTION
Based on the updated GFT AI Rankings, here is the output from the GFT Race Prediction models for the Tricky Triangle:
Predicted Winner: Kyle Larson
Finishing Top 5: Larson, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, William Byron, Ryan Blaney
Manufacturer / Team Scorecard
With Bell’s win at New Hampshire, Toyota gains some ground in the Manufacturer Point Standings: Chevrolet at 12, Ford has 8, and Toyota has 5 wins so far in 2022. The Team standings has:
Hendrick Motorsports = 7
Team Penske = 5
Track House = 4
JGR = 4
RFK = 2
SHR = 1
23XI = 1
RCR = 1
