DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The midpoint of the NASCAR season is here, making one last holiday weekend run at its birthplace, trying as always to deliver a white-knuckled thrillfest on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.

The series is riding a high into Saturday night’s race following Alex Bowman’s first career Cup victory last week and a new rules package that NASCAR leadership believes has immensely improved the on-track product.

“It’s been an extraordinary year,” said Steve Phelps, who took over as president of NASCAR late last season. “I think the racing product has been exceptional. By and large, the fans are incredibly excited about what they see.”

The numbers support Phelps’ assertion that the racing is indeed more competitive than it was this time last season, when Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex romped over the competition during a summer stretch in which the three could not be beaten. There have been 602 green-flag passes for the lead in 17 races, up from 383 at this point last year. The average number of lead changes is nearly 19 per race, up from 15.88, and four races this season have produced record-setting green flag passes for the lead.