Pro Stats on the Male Solo Front Runners

Read more about the Men's Solo front runners in an article by Sandy Whittlesey, a statistical journalist, below:

Strasser is in position to win the solo men's race so long as he does not falter.  At about 170 miles back, Baloh would have to average about 3 mph faster to catch Strasser by the finish.  In other words, either Strasser would have to average 12 mph average for the last 800 miles, or Baloh would have to increase to an 18 mph average the rest of the way to win.  Neither situation looks likely.

The 15.4 mph record is within Strasser's reach, but he is teetering on the edge.  He must average at least 14.8 mph over the remaining 800 miles, just 1 mph less than what he has been doing across the flat Midwest.  If he takes a couple of sleep breaks, this means that his daytime splits need to hover around 16 mph.  With his two Illinois time stations at 15.7 mph, Strasser is j-u-u-u-st in the zone he needs to be …. but the hills await!  Some 16-17 mph splits across Indiana and Ohio today will help his cause.  It's too early to tell what will happen, even without wondering what the unstable weather patterns will do in the next 48 hours.

As far as who will take second place, it is anybody's guess!  Three men are in the running, and the numbers are far too close to call ….