Power Rankings: It might as well be a 12-car pileup this week
1. Kyle Busch (LW: 2): What does the guy who finishes second say after the race about the style of racing? “I hate it. I’d much rather sit at home. I got a win. I don’t need to be here.”
Oh.
Though can you blame Busch? This is the type of racing that broke his leg and foot in 2015. Yeah, he’s damn good at it. But he’s got plenty of reasons not to like it. Did he crash: Yes.
2. Brad Keselowski (LW: 8): This guy, however, has plenty of reasons to like plate racing. Especially at Talladega. Keselowski has four wins at the 2.66-mile track after his victory on Sunday. He has no more than two wins at any other Cup track. Through 15 Talladega races, Keselowski has nine top-10 finishes and has been running at the finish of all but one. Does he have the Talladega secret recipe? Did he crash: No.
3. Chase Elliott (LW: 9): Elliott is on a roll. He finished fifth on Sunday after he won the pole. He’s finished in the top 12 in each of his last four Cup races and in the top 12 in six of the last seven. While we didn’t expect Elliott to be overwhelmed in his first Cup season, the speed he’s showing consistently right now is more than we imagined. Did he crash: No.
4. Kevin Harvick (LW: 6): Despite that vicious crash at the end of the race that flipped his car over 90 degrees, Harvick ended up 15th. It’s just his second finish outside the top 10 this season and it was a sad end for that wonderful Busch car with a fish on it. Does any paint scheme say “Talladega” more than a fish painted on a car sponsored by cheap beer? Did he crash: Yes.
5. Kurt Busch (LW: 7): Hey, from the Busch car to a Busch brother. Kurt finished eighth and didn’t make Jimmie Johnson incredibly happy after a push from Busch sent Johnson into Paul Menard and sparked a monster crash. Did he crash: Yes.
6. Carl Edwards (LW: 1): Edwards was 35th after his day went south the same time as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s. OK, Junior’s had already gone south. Anyway, Edwards had damage from an earlier accident and lost a tire in turns 1 and 2. His car shot up the wall and smashed into Junior’s ending the day for both of them. Did he crash: Yes.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 3): Johnson had two incidents. The first time he went spinning down the backstretch in the crash that caused Chris Buescher to flip. The second time he got pushed by Busch (as we mentioned above) and kablooie. Somehow Johnson only finished six laps down and was 22nd. Did he crash: Yes.
8. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 10): Truex narrowly missed a top-10 finish despite his car sliding across the finish line. The final lap crash was the second accident the No. 78 had been involved in. He was in the lap 162 melee and somehow his car was able to still be fairly competitive despite looking like a mummy. Did he crash: Yes.
9. Joey Logano (LW: 5): Oh no, it’s Logano vs. Matt Kenseth again. While we understand why Kenseth is upset with Logano, he needs to be the bigger man (after all, he is older) and act differently. Logano could have kept going after Kenseth slid below the yellow line. He didn’t and let Kenseth back it. It’s a plate race. Bleep happens. This shouldn’t become another soap opera. Did he crash: Yes.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 4): It was not Junior’s day on Sunday. He said Monday on Twitter that the steering wheel issue was his own fault and video from his in-car camera shows that the wheel was not fastened tightly to the coupler when Junior left the garage. That’s why it popped off. You can bet that the No. 88 team will be doing some additional safety checks this weekend. Did he crash: Yes.
11. Austin Dillon (LW: NR): Here’s another guy driving a car that was practically mummified. Dillon’s ceiling on the final lap was pretty much second because his car could not have come close to keeping pace with its taped-up nose in the lead. But behind other cars in the draft it was working just fine and he ended up third. Did he crash: Yes.
12. Trevor Bayne (LW: NR): After leading 22 laps and finishing 10th on Sunday, Bayne now has two top-10 finishes this season and seven for his career. He’s also in the top 16 in points and would make the Chase if the regular season ended today. Of course, we know it won’t and the real test is if Bayne can keep this up throughout the summer months. We’re not sure, but we’re open to surprises. Did he crash: No.
Lucky Dog: How about Jamie McMurray, who finished fourth with a beat up car.
The DNF: Any one of the 12 cars that didn’t make it to the end because of engine problems or accidents.
Dropped Out: Denny Hamlin, 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!
