Power Rankings: Kurt Busch is climbing
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. Kevin Harvick (LW: 1): Another race, another top two for Kevin Harvick. Ho-hum. Let’s move on. He’s so boring. OK, we won’t just yet. Dude’s setting a torrid pace and you do have to wonder if there’s been some whispering wishes that this run was coming in the last five races of 2015 rather than the first five. For as great as the run Harvick is on has been, it’s going to become a footnote if he doesn’t win the Chase. It’s not fair, but there’s not much of the 2014 season pre-Chase that’s replayed, is there?
2. Joey Logano (LW: 2): If the race had gone green the rest of the way, was Logano in the best position of anyone? After a speeding penalty on what could have been the final round of yellow-flag pit stops, Logano stopped again for fuel. He could have made it to the end without stopping while other drivers were forced to pit. We know that didn’t work out, but the cautions did mean Logano could, like his teammate, take four tires late in the race without much fear of falling back and the fresh rubber helped net him a seventh-place finish.
3. Kurt Busch (LW: 12): Yes, it’s a nine-place jump for Busch, but this isn’t a statement. Look at how fast he’s been over his two races. And, frankly, it was his race to win on Sunday before the wackiness of the final laps. Well, OK, it was his race to win after the first caution flag for debris that was never shown on television. Look, we’re not supporting conspiracy theories. But when you have a segment of the fanbase that’s already shown it doesn’t consider the sport trustworthy and last 25 laps unfold the way they did, it’s a recipe for minds to run wild.
4. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 3): Dropping Truex a spot after finishing eighth while leaving Logano in second after finishing seventh may not be the fairest thing in the world. But eh, we’re in charge here. Truex got under Tony Stewart’s skin after contact on the backstretch. Truex said he felt Stewart ran into him while Stewart said Truex cut in front of him. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle? Either way, the nine-years-older Stewart referred to Truex as a kid.
5. Brad Keselowski (LW: 9): Keselowski’s acceptance of the circumstances of the win after the race was appropriate. While his drive to the front shouldn’t be discounted — one wrong lane choice on a restart and he’s probably not in victory lane — it’s also a win that has not going to happen until the cautions fell the way they did. But hey, both Penske cars are probably going to be in the Chase and now it’s all about bonus points.
6. Ryan Newman (LW: 6): Newman is putting together top fives like last year didn’t happen. Last year, he had five top fives in 36 races. This year, he already has three. At this pace, he’ll have his sixth top five after Talladega. Though given Ryan Newman’s history at Talladega, we aren’t so sure that banking on a top five is the best idea. If you want to continue this pace, Newman, have six top fives after Richmond, OK?
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 7): Junior finished sixth at California, but he did a Twitter Q&A on the flight back from the west coast so that’s totally more important. Now he’s heading to the track where he got his last (points) win. How many times will his pass of Tony Stewart from the fall be replayed this weekend? No matter what the number is, it’ll be higher than the number of Martinsville hot dogs we eat this weekend.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 4): Yeah, this isn’t fair to Jimmie Johnson either. But if you’re looking at the drivers above him, who would you slot below Johnson? You can make an argument for his Hendrick teammate after his Phoenix finish, but that’s about it. Johnson was fast, but not fast enough at California. And our guess is that he’s got a great chance of being fast enough for a win at Martinsville.
9. Matt Kenseth (LW: 11): Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. Flatline is getting a two-spot bump despite a poor finish. We’re not the points standings, so we can reward good runs and “what if?” wins if we’d like. And we’re awarding a “what-if?” win to Kenseth. Or at least a top five. There’s no telling how a fuel-mileage race would have played out, but Kenseth had a great shot being the leader. And honestly? We would have preferred a fuel-mileage finish to the tailor-made-for-short-attention-spans thing that ended up being reality.
10. Paul Menard (LW: NR): Sunday was Menard’s first top-five and top-10 finish of the season. But guess what? He’s ninth in the points standings and has finished on the lead lap of every race this season. With an average finish of 13.6 so far, is he the 2015 version of Ryan Newman? Now, we’re not saying that Menard is going to finish second in the points standings, but if the consistency continues, he’s going to make the Chase.
11. Kasey Kahne (LW: 5): Kahne finished 17th after it looked like he got a bit of damage via contact on the backstretch. Kahne was in the midst of the melee that led to the debris caution from Kyle Larson’s bumper flying off. He might have gotten a piece of Greg Biffle. 17th is also his lowest finish of the season. He’s done it twice now coupling this with his kerfuffle with Carl Edwards.
12. Denny Hamlin (LW: 10): Hamlin was fast. Until he wasn’t. He led 56 laps but his race went south after he hit the wall and had a pit road penalty. Instead of finishing up with Busch and Harvick, he hwas down with Brian Scott and Trevor Bayne. Quite the difference in company, don’t you think? With Kenseth’s troubles, Carl Edwards was the highest-finishing Joe Gibbs Racing car in 13th and David Ragan was 18th.
Lucky Dog: Two straight top-10 finishes for Jeff Gordon.
The DNF: Sam Hornish is 30th in the standings after his fourth non-lead lap finish of the year.
Dropped out: Jamie McMurray
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
