Power Rankings: Kevin Harvick’s win keeps him in second

Our Power Rankings are far from a scientific formula. In fact, it’s the perfect blend of analytics and bias against your favorite driver. And you think we dislike your favorite driver, so it makes sense, right? Direct all your complaints to us at [email protected].

1. Joey Logano (LW: 1): We’re not going to move the points leader from the top spot of Power Rankings after finishing fourth, even if the guy in second was the one who won the race. We’re not that cruel and callous. However, we feel that we need to point out that this is the final few days of Logano’s points lead until potentially after Martinsville. Enjoy it while you have it, Joey!

2. Kevin Harvick (LW; 2): While Logano can spend the entire Talladega race as Brad Keselowski’s wingman if Team Penske so chooses, Harvick doesn’t have a team dilemma. He’s the only SHR car left in the Chase. Of the 12 Chase drivers, he’s in the best spot. Want to run in the back all day and just kill time? Harvick can do it. Want to go for the win and say screw it? Harvick can do that too. The potential consequences of a crashed car exist either way.

3. Kyle Busch (LW: 3): The top three is unchanged and do you blame us? Busch finished fifth and is second in the standings (a point ahead of Harvick). Busch was very straightforward with his Talladega strategy after the race, saying that he simply wanted to survive and let the mayhem happen in front of him. It’s not a bad idea. He’s got a 26-point cushion over Matt Kenseth, which means he can finish 28th if Kenseth finishes second.

4. Jeff Gordon (LW: 4): OK, the top four is unchanged. This is what happens when they all finish in the top five. Gordon finished second, and while we all wondered how the race could go bad for Harvick on the green-white-checker restart, was the wondering tampered a bit with the possibility of a #GordonRestart? Plus, Harvick had the best car all day and we know that Gordon’s success has come on long green flag runs.

5. Kyle Larson (LW: 6): Here’s where it gets crazy. The next seven spots are going to be jumbled up and Larson moves up after finishing sixth. And he even hit the wall earlier in the race. There’s no denying that Larson is running well and it’s absolutely no fluke. However, one has to wonder if the good finishes are being artificially enhanced. A precocious rookie driver with a bunch of acknowledged potential being the best non-Chase driver over the final 10 races is too perfect of a storyline.

6 (TIE). Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman: We have a tie in Power Rankings because Edwards and Newman can’t seem to escape each other this Chase. Saturday night, Newman was seventh while Edwards was eighth. The biggest gap between the two drivers in terms of finishes so far in the Chase has been five, when Newman finished 15th while Edwards was 20th. In the other four races, they’ve finished within, at most, three positions of each other and have finished in consecutive spots for the past two races.

8. Denny Hamlin (LW: 11): Here’s the video of what TV cameras didn’t capture during Saturday night’s telecast. After Hamlin and Brad Keselowski drove into the garage, they drove through the garage stalls in the garage building. Hamlin was following Keselowski, the two cars stopped, and that’s where Keselowski gave the car some gas to get away from Hamlin.

After the kerfuffle – if you want to call it that – the two continued on to where they ended up and Hamlin had to be restrained from going after Keselowski.

9. Brad Keselowski (LW: 5): If you watch the video closely, yes, Keselowski lays down rubber onto the garage stall floor with his rear tires, but his car doesn’t accelerate out of the building like a rocket. And given that Hamlin was forcibly restrained from going after Keselowski when they finally got out of their cars, do you blame Keselowski for not wanting to be in a garage? Does the loud sound of the engine amidst the relative silence of cars off and coasting make the video worse than it appears? What if this same thing happened just out in front of the garage? There’s a lot of interesting things to consider here if you think there should be penalties.

10. Matt Kenseth (LW: 7): If it’s any consolation for missing the third round of the Chase if you don’t qualify at Talladega, Matt, you gave us the GIF of the year with your ninja-like attack on Keselowski between the haulers. The most impressive thing about it may not be Kenseth’s speed, but the way that he didn’t touch the camera operator in the narrow walkway on the way to get Keselowski.

11. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 8): Johnson was the first car to pit for tires before the green-white-checker restart and restarted 10th. So he finished in the top five, right? Nope. He ended up 17th. Kind of crazy, isn’t it? Even if Johnson held serve, he’s still in basically the same position at Talladega. 50 points isn’t much different than 57. A lot of things still have to happen for Johnson to advance if he doesn’t win.

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 12): Maybe Junior and Jimmie should just be an inseperable tag-team on Sunday. They’re tied in the standings, so they might as well go at it together, right? Or at least until the last lap when it’s every driver for himself. You can’t exactly have team orders to decide who will be leading and who will be pushing in a two-car draft between the two. (A coin-flip seems unfair.) Oh, and look what actually exists and is soon available.