The streak may be over, but Kevin Harvick is still No. 1 in the weekly ranking.
After six consecutive races to start the year, which included a three-week West Coast swing along with races in Florida, Georgia and Virginia, NASCAR enters what is the first of three off weekends this season.
Although the opening months of 2015 have more than a few surprises, good and bad, the guys doing all the winning thus far are all familiar faces. Of the five victors (Kevin Harvick has won twice), only Denny Hamlin did not win multiple times in 2014.
Just as telling, three of the four drivers who advanced to the championship round have made a trip to Victory Lane this season, all but assuring themselves a return trip to the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The lone exception is Ryan Newman, who made news this week for a far different reasons.
NASCAR Power Rankings
1. Kevin Harvick (Last week: 1)
Like all good things, Harvick's streak of top-two finishes was inevitably going to come to an end. Despite leading a race-high 154 laps, an ill-handling car caused him to slide back to eighth Sunday, which coincidently marks the first time Harvick hasn't finished first or second since last fall at you guessed it -- Martinsville
2. Joey Logano (LW: 2)
The box score show Joey Logano started on the pole, led 108 laps and finished third. He also got by spun Michael Annett, who hit just about everything but the pace car Sunday, near halfway and had to fight his back toward the front for his sixth consecutive top-10 of the year. In other words, he had an eventful afternoon.
3. Brad Keselowski (LW: 4)
If he had wanted to Brad Keselowski could've put the bumper to Hamlin and moved him out of the lead. He decided otherwise, saying he didn't want to win in that manner. A respectable stance considering Keselowski and Hamlin aren't the best of friends, but does beg the question: Had Keselowski not won the week before and wasn't a virtually Chase lock, would he have acted similarly?
4. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 3)
With smoke pluming from the 78 car almost from the drop of the green flag, Martin Truex Jr.'s run of strong finishes to start the season appeared in jeopardy. A couple of timely cautions allowed for repairs and when the race was over, there he was sitting sixth. And keep an eye on Truex at Texas, a track where he has done well previously and shares characteristics with Las Vegas, where he finished second last month.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW: 11)
Sunday's victory was huge on a multitude of levels professionally and personally, but don't think of it as some kind of cure all. Joe Gibbs Racing still needs to demonstrate more speed on a week-to-week basis and organization of this caliber should never go nearly a full year between victories. As for Hamlin's No. 11 team, Martinsville was the third straight race where they penalized for an infraction on pit road, an area that needs addressing immediately.
6. Jeff Gordon (LW: 9)
That late speeding penalty is going to haunt Jeff Gordon, who was very well positioned to win for a ninth time on what is one of his favorite tracks. Without the mistake he would've restarted fifth, in the preferred bottom lane and with a better car those ahead of him. Instead Gordon forfeited the spot to Hamlin, who never looked back while, and scrambled to finish ninth.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 5)
Sunday was ugly. Like beyond description ugly. On a track where he tends to dominate, Jimmie Johnson was slow to the point it felt something must've broken within the No. 48 car. Eventually Chad Knaus and company diagnosed a power steering box issue, but that still doesn't explain why the eight-time Martinsville was so off pace.
8. Matt Kenseth (LW: 10)
A curious moment occurred when Matt Kenseth, despite being the race leader, elected to restart on the outside and the not the preferred inside lane with 61 laps remaining. The explanation is Kenseth had roughed up second-place Gordon earlier and as a make good, handed the preferred lane to him with the caveat Gordon concede the position entering Turn 1, which he did.
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 6)
When you put yourself in the soup at Martinsville bad things often ensue, and that is exactly what happened to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Sunday. A broken shifter the 88 team couldn't properly fix relegated their driver to the back and when a crash occurred in front of him, Earnhardt had no time to react. The accident was his second in three races, and ruined what should have been a strong finish.
10. Kurt Busch (LW: 8)
The good vibes Kurt Busch built following a fifth and a second in his first two races back didn't carryover to Martinsville. Still, finishing 14th in a race featuring 16 cautions isn't a bad thing. Expect the No. 41 car to be fast in Texas and Busch to be in serious contention for what would be his first victory in a year.
11. Ryan Newman (LW: 7)
An underlining subplot of the penalties handed down this week to the No. 31 team is whether it diminishes Newman's recent resurgence and last year's championship runner-up? While the penalties NASCAR issued Tuesday were only for illegal tires found after the March Fontana race, rumors of tire tampering began surfacing in the fall. And fair or not, that coincides with an uptick in performance where Newman has finished 10th or better in 10 of 16 races dating to last season.
12. Kasey Kahne (LW: 12)
In spite of Kasey Kahne having fewer top-10s than teammates Earnhardt, Johnson and Gordon, he finds himself ranked higher in points. That Kahne is fifth in the standings underlines the consistency of the No. 5 team and ability to avoid bad finishes, which couldn't be said in years past.
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/19NcraY
No comments:
Post a Comment