Power Rankings: The season is half over?
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): Johnson keeps the top spot because he finished ninth, or one spot behind his closest pursuer in the rankings. If you expected more out of the No. 48 car over the weekend, you’re not alone. And if the Cup Series decides to go towards the Kentucky rules for the Chase, do Johnson’s chances take a hit? Eh, not really. Dude finished ninth and you know Chad Knaus would figure it out sooner rather than later if it became the new normal for the Chase.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2): Same with Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers. Two of the best drivers in the sport have two of the best crew chiefs. Harvick’s car has fast for most of the day on Saturday but didn’t have the same speed as the leaders at the end of the race. We’re also not going to lie, we found it amusing when Harvick was talking about how bad his car was while running in the top 10. That’s when you know life is going pretty well.
3. Kyle Busch (LW: 7): Speaking of things going well; this guy is one of a select few in the Cup Series with multiple wins. And his rate of wins per race is better than Johnson, who has four wins. If Busch keeps it up, he’s going to make the Chase. Well, he’s likely going to make the Chase. He’s still in a precarious position. One poor finish can seriously slow this run to the top 30. Two? He’s done. But hey, we’ve now got a dramatic summer storyline to watch before the Chase begins.
4. Joey Logano (LW: 6): Hey, here’s the driver now tied for second in the points standings after finishing second at Kentucky in the midst of the Joe Gibbs Racing brigade. Logano did about all he could to hold off Kyle Busch at the end of the race but Busch was simply faster. That was evident in the ease with which Busch pulled away from the No. 22 after taking the lead.
5. Kurt Busch (LW: 4): Kurt Busch was fast, then he was crashing and then he was fast again. He went from spin to top 10, fighting back over the last half of the race to finish 10th. Busch is currently 8th in the standings, but remember, he missed three races. Based off his points pace, he’d be in second if he had run the entire season. That fickle Stewart-Haas team. The two highest-scoring drivers per race, and then the struggling No. 10 and No. 14 cars.
6. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 5): We’re still calling this a blip in the radar. In the last three races, Truex has gone from second to fifth in the standings. But remember, it’s gone road course, plate race and new rules. Right now we’re thinking the No. 78 team’s best shot is if the 2015 rules stay the same for the Chase. The team has done a great job to excel with the current setups. Would they be able to adapt as quickly as other teams if the rules change for the Chase?
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 3): No brakes. No brakes. No brakes! And a mad Danica Patrick. Earnhardt Jr. is one of the most self-aware drivers in the garage and given his post-race comments, you knew he was thinking immediately about the attention his crash with Patrick was going to garner. We’re thinking we should have gone with the headline “Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed at Kentucky and you won’t believe what happened next.” Bonanza.
8. Denny Hamlin (LW: 11): Heck of a recovery for Hamlin, who pitted because of a tire issue under green and then got a speeding penalty on top of it. He was two laps down after the problems and thanks to some well-timed cautions (well, a lot of cautions) he got the laps back and fought his way back to third. Is it fair to credit the new rules with Hamlin’s ability to make his way through the field? Possibly. But the number of cautions may have had more to do with it than the new aerodynamics.
9. Jeff Gordon (LW: 10): Will Gordon win a race what’s likely the final 18 races of his career? We’re thinking he will. He finished seventh on Saturday night and wasn’t ready to give the new aerodynamic package a glowing review just yet. “I think we have to give it a try somewhere… we’ve got to get the right tires on it,” Gordon said. “This is not the right tire. It is still way too hard. It doesn’t have near enough grip at the beginning of a run. It doesn’t really fall off. The only way you can make a low downforce package work is to have the proper tire on there. I’m glad we tried it, did a little more work, I’m looking forward to trying it again.”
10. Jamie McMurray (LW: 12): McMurray’s race was also derailed by a pit road issue. His team didn’t get all the lugnuts tight on the first pit stop of the night and McMurray had to come back to pit road. He restarted deep in the field but was able to get back to the top 20 in relatively short order. He ended up finishing 14th, one spot behind Trevor Bayne. Yes, that Trevor Bayne.
11. Brad Keselowski (LW: NR): Keselowski led 62 laps Saturday night. Those laps just were all in the first 124 laps of the race. As the sun went down, Kyle Busch got faster while Keselowski scraped the wall. Did the wall scrape slow the car enough to prevent it from challenging for the lead late in the race? Keselowski said afterwards that he “probably” had the best car. He ended up finishing sixth.
12. Matt Kenseth (LW: NR): Welcome back to Power Rankings, Flatline. His fifth-place finish was his highest at a 1.5-mile track since … well, since he finished 4th at the last one. Kenseth has finished fifth, ninth, 23rd, sixth, fourth and fifth at the 1.5-mile tracks in the first half of the season. Not a terrible average. No matter what the rules are for the Chase, he should be formidable enough to be among the drivers in the final eight.
Lucky Dog: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s 11th-place finish was his second-highest of the season.
The DNF: Yeah, that fickle SHR team. It’s a tie between Patrick and Stewart.
Dropped out: Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne
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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!
