Covering every angle and including a number of statistics, NASCAR’s Driver Rating has proven incredibly consistent as a means of predicting solid finishes at a given track.

For instance, Tony Stewart had the top pre-race Driver Rating at Watkins Glen going into last Sunday’s race (140.1). He won that race, making it three victories in the last four races.

The week prior to that at Pocono Raceway, Kurt Busch dominated the Pennsylvania 500, leading 175 of the 200 laps. Going into the race, Busch had the second-best Driver Rating (109.9). Denny Hamlin, with two wins last season at Pocono, had the top pre-race Pocono Driver Rating — he finished third.

And three weeks ago at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Stewart kissed the bricks for the second time in his career. The Indiana native had a pre-race Driver Rating of 109.2, which was second-best.

All told, the winner of the 22 races this season had a pre-race Driver Rating in the top five 11 times.

Beyond that, the race winner had a pre-race Driver Rating in the top three 10 times this season.

If the trend continues, look for Roush Fenway Racing to have a strong 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway this weekend.

Below are Edwards’ Michigan statistics, along with where he ranks in each category:

Carl Edwards (2005-2007)
Driver Rating: 114.2 (1st)
Average Running Position: 7.6 (1st)
Fastest Laps Run: 74 (2nd)
Laps in the Top 15: 806 (1st)
Quality Passes*: 274 (1st)

* — Quality Passes are passes of cars in the top 15 under green flag conditions.

[NASCAR]