Power Rankings: Keselowski’s win moves him up the standings
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): While Logano was playing defense for the best possible outcome for his teammate and employer, was he also playing defense against himself at Talladega on Sunday? The block he threw on Kevin Harvick off turn four was incredible and helped shape the events that got Brad Keselowski the win on Sunday. But by the same token, he helped one of his two or three closest competitors for the championship get back into the title mix. We’re sure Logano or Team Penske isn’t regretting anything, but given how Matt Kenseth ended up pushing Keselowski to the win, it’ll be fascinating to see Keselowski is the man that beats out Logano for the title.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2): Harvick was adamant that he wasn’t going to hang at the back all day because he was already in the next round of the Chase and he did just that, aggressively racing for the win in the late laps. Its a strategy that can be employed when you’re driving for a team that has a ton of resources and doesn’t care about losing a restrictor plate car if there’s a crash. Of course, Harvick wouldn’t be in a situation to race with only equipment to lose if he wasn’t with a team with a ton of resources in the first place.
3. Brad Keselowski (LW: 9): Keselowski fulfilled the scenario that NASCAR executives had in mind when eliminations were installed in January. And he helped make winning semi-relevant again after the way to survive the first two rounds of the Chase had been to simply avoid bad finishes. Theoretically, winning becomes more important in the third round, as three drivers could earn a pass to Homestead with a win. But in that scenario, so does points racing, as the fourth driver would be decided by the driver who was the most consistent.
4. Jeff Gordon (LW: 4): It was a much closer call for Gordon than many thought it would be. Gordon finished 26th at Talladega and if teammate Kasey Kahne would have finished eighth instead of 12th, Gordon would have been bounced from the Chase. And indirectly, the caution for Kyle Larson’s spin could have been responsible. Gordon hadn’t pitted when Larson spun, and thus had to restart outside the top 20. He never made any headway after that.
5. Ryan Newman (LW: 6): Newman could have be facing a penalty for his car being too low after Sunday’s race. But NASCAR said Tuesday that Newman’s car was too low because of crash damage. Had he been penalized, it wouldn’t have likely mattered anyway. Newman had a 27-point cushion on ninth place. A height penalty was likely to have been 10-15 points. Newman’s prowess at avoiding bad finishes is throwing a giant wrench into this Chase. How wacky would it be to see Newman finish sixth all the way through Homestead and win the title with three top-five finishes all season?
6. Matt Kenseth (LW: 10): Kenseth had no choice but to stick to Keselowski’s bumper over the last few laps, ironies be damned. If he went for the win or tried something drastic, there was way too much of a risk of lost positions and, subsequently, a lost Chase. Now, Kenseth is on to the next round where he can go win a race or deliver payback to Keselowski for Charlotte. Given that Kenseth is winless this year and hasn’t shown consistent speed, the latter seems more likely.
7. Denny Hamlin (LW: 8): Hamlin really, really, really likes how the third round of the Chase sets up for him. He’s one of the three best drivers in the series at Martinsville (four wins and an average finish of 8.8), has two wins at Texas and has an average finish of 11.3 at Phoenix. We won’t bring up 2010 at Phoenix. Promise. Unless we have to. But we’ll worry about that in a couple of weeks.
8. Kyle Larson (LW: 5): Larson finished 17th thanks to a chaotic green flag pit stop sequence. He got hit on pit road and then spun (wobbled? The only replay came from his in-car camera) off pit road to cause a caution and set up the sprint to the finish … that turned into three mini-sprints to the finish because of a debris caution. Was that debris what ended up on Joey Logano’s front bumper? If it was, it’s hard not to wonder why a caution was necessary.
9. Carl Edwards (LW: 6): How did you lose sight of Newman, Carl? He just drove his way all to the front without you, meaning he gapped you in the points standings. But ah, we see how you were being wily, Edwards. You knew the points would be reset after the race and no matter where Newman finished, you two would be tied if you advanced. And that’s what happened. Good thinking.
10. Kyle Busch (LW: 3): This feels like cruel and unusual punishment to drop Busch seven spots after what happened at Talladega. But damn if the Talladega crash wasn’t cruel and unusual punishment itself. Busch had what seemed to be the most foolproof of Talladega strategies — he may not have even tried to charge to the front unless it was ultimately necessary — and he still got burned by getting caught up in a crash. For all the talk of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s best Chase chance coming in 2014, this was Busch’s best one too.
11. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 11): Johnson said he was relieved to go down swinging and you can’t blame him for trying what he did. On what ended up being the penultimate restart, Johnson swung to the outside in the hopes of trying to take the lead. He was in fourth, just one row back of the lead. No one went with him. Thus, he fell back like a boulder and his chances of advancing were kaput. Johnson shouldn’t feel bad about being ignored, however. Danica Patrick got the cold shoulder late in the race too.
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12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 12): There was no repeating the Talladega miracle his father pulled off in 2000. While it would have been possible for a car to gain 18 spots in five laps near the back of the pack, it wasn’t going to happen at the front on Sunday. The driver at the point was able to defend with relative ease, and it was infinitely easier to slide back seven positions in the top 10 during a single lap than it would be to gain seven in seven laps.
Lucky Dog: We’ll give it to Landon Cassill for finishing fourth. The runner up spot goes to Travis Kvapil for finishing sixth. If only it was possible to have underdog teams at the front in non-restrictor plate races once in a while.
The DNF: The BK Racing cars ran well in the draft all race. While Cole Whitt did finish 15th, JJ Yeley and Alex Bowman were 42nd and 43rd.
Dropped out: N/A
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
