Power Rankings: Who’s our No. 1 this week?
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. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 1): If Johnson made a nice recovery last week, what was it this week? After starting 36th, Johnson immediately worked his way through the field. He got some slight damage on the nose of his car from that march to the front and lost time on pit road as his team fixed the damage with tape. Then the march began again. He ended up finishing third, one spot behind the man just behind him in the Power Rankings standings.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2): Yeah, sorry Harvick, second over third isn’t good enough to move you up a position in Power Rankings. Hope you understand. And besides, what was with this weak sauce effort at Richmond anyway? You led just two laps, the fewest laps you’ve led in a race all year except for the Daytona 500, where you had the gall not to lead any. Though you finished in second both races, so I guess we should give you a pass. Step it up at Talladega on Sunday, OK?
3. Kurt Busch (LW: 4): If you’re predicting the Chase’s final four today, are you putting Kurt Busch in it? We are. Along with Harvick, Logano and Johnson. Will the final four be like that? Oh, probably not, because we’re terrible at predictions. But it was only a matter of time before Busch made it to victory lane this season, and we’re thinking he may make another trip or two before the Chase begins.
4. Matt Kenseth (LW: 3): That slippery Kenseth, just points racing his way to another Chase berth. After starting eighth, Kenseth finished seventh and really didn’t stray from the top 10 the entire day. He didn’t challenge for race supremacy either, though that comment isn’t a diss by any means. Especially when you consider where the No. 20 car was in relation to the rest of the JGR crew. Carl Edwards finished 19th, Denny Hamlin was 22nd and David Ragan was 23rd.
5. Joey Logano (LW: 5): JoLo dominated the first 94 laps of the race and then, well, didn’t lead again. He ended up fifth and had a top 10 car, but as Busch’s car got faster, Logano’s didn’t and it was a battle to keep the leaders in sight the rest of the way. At least he didn’t have a cylinder disappear on his car like his teammate. Though given how (relatively) good Keselowski was with the engine problem, it may not have affected Logano’s finish too much.
6. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 6): Another race, another top 10 for Truex. And yet, he’s almost a full race (42 points) behind Harvick in the points standings. We’re not going to rule out a Truex win this year, but so far the No. 78 seems on a similar track to 2013 with Kurt Busch. They’re fast, not fast enough to challenge for wins, but plenty fast to make a Chase berth seem like a total non-surprise.
7. Jeff Gordon (LW: 7): Welcome to the top 10 of the points standings, Jeff Gordon. With the sixth-place finish, Gordon is now 13 points ahead of a driver we’ll talk about later on in the rankings for 10th in the standings. So much for that bad start damaging his Chase hopes, eh? As of now, Gordon would be the sixth driver in on points and he’s only 12 points from being the second driver on that list.
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 8): Blame Junior for Tony Stewart’s spin. Or blame Tony Stewart for Junior’s spin. Blame one of them racin’ deals. Actually, yeah, let’s do that. It seems like the safest bet. Junior didn’t have as much room as Stewart thought he did, and contact occurred. It made us think of the moment that Stewart had with Allgaier at Phoenix. In both instances, he hit a car to his outside and was unable to correct the car.
9. Kasey Kahne (LW: 11): The car that’s 12 points ahead of Gordon and in the No. 2 spot on points in the Chase? This guy. Kahne finished sixth and was one of the first drivers to talk about the inconsistency in tires from the weekend. After qualifying, Kahne wondered about his (fast) car’s tires, because he was only able to start 40th. Like Johnson, he quickly moved to the front of the field after the race began, giving some credence to the idea his qualifying was simply marred by a goofy set.
10. Jamie McMurray (LW: NR): The driver who led the third-most laps over the final 300 laps of the race? Jamie McMurray. With four. Had there not been three cautions over the final 50 laps of the race, it’s fair to wonder if McMurray would have had the long run speed to catch Busch and possibly get the win. But we’re also not going to go crazy wondering about the final 50 laps of a Cup race going caution free, because, come on, that doesn’t happen very often.
11. Ryan Newman (LW: 11): It was quite the Newman day for Newman. After starting 23rd he worked his way up near the top 10 and finished 11th. The appeal for Newman’s penalty is scheduled for May 6, 20 days after the original appeal. And it’s 36 days after the penalty was officially announced. Contrast that with (the differing circumstances as well of) Kurt Busch’s appeals process, which saw both appeals held on the day after his penalty.
12. Brad Keselowski (LW: 10): Keselowski’s car wasn’t too slow with that engine issue. What if he would have stayed out on that caution flag for Brett Moffitt’s inability to get to pit road? He was leading, and all but one car was off the lead lap. If Kes didn’t pit, he would have prevented the field from taking the wave-around. How funny would that have been, especially if the No. 2 team knew that their chances of winning were gone? If the car was slower, it could have been a realistic possibility.
Lucky Dog: Clint Bowyer. It was his second top-10 finish of the season and first since Richmond.
The DNF: Tony Stewart
Dropped Out: Aric Almirola
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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!
