Pit Road Week 21

Go Bowling.com 400: Pocono Raceway

The second showing at Pocono Raceway in 2013 seemed to be a bit more evenly matched then the first. The first time around Jimmie Johnson dominated all day. This past Sunday though, JJ only dominated half of the day, that is because he went down a tire and smacked the wall leaving him fighting for a decent finish (13th).

After JJ went down a whole host of possibilities came around. On the day we saw Kahne, Newman, Keselowski, Gordon, Kyle, and Kurt Busch all make there way towards the front (all of them but Kyle leading a lap) and make a bid at the win. At the end of the day though Kasey Kahne -much like many times this year- had the fastest car and this time he put it in Victory Lane. Check out the final results at the Go Bowling.com 400. Also, check out the Week 21 Preview if you need to catch what was said before the race.


Rising:

• Kasey Kahne- Not only did he get the Win on Sunday but his last outing was a 3rd place finish as well. With his two wins he should be in the Chase but still needs to fight.
• Ryan Newman- He won last week at Indi and this week he was strong again. That is back to back good showings at Pocono this season. Take out two clunkers and he has been racing pretty well since the ASR.
• Jeff Gordon- Well after a late caution he caught up to Kahne and took the lead, but eventually Kahne got it back and took off.  He is clinging to the top 10 and that has all been because of his good finishes as of late (3 straight top 10's).

Coasting:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Not a true contender Sunday, but Jr still hung out up front a bunch. He eventually finished 5th. He has 3 top 10's in his last 4 races.

Falling:

• Kevin Harvick- Well he is in the Chase, but he now has finishes of 17th and 19th in his last two since Nascars bye week. Other then two resrtictor plate races, those are his worst finishes of the year.
• Jamie McMurray- Well after making a strong push late this season for a bid at the Chase J Mac has fallen off the path. He finishes 16th but this really was a race of missed opportunity. He seemed to have an ok car but couldn't get out of traffic our out of the way of Montoya's grill tape early.

Pit Road Week 21 Power Rankings

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- Well it was a day that could have been much, much better, but after his tire went down JJ made the best of it. He surprised all the haters that were happy when he hit the wall with a 13th place finish.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- Well Jr has been doing well lately and everyone at the top has had there struggles, so welcome to the #1 spot other then JJ in the rankings.
3. Kyle Busch (LW-4)- Another fast car that fell off in the end, sound familiar? This is about Kyle's career story and the reason behind my Nascar Spotlight on him. Still an 8th place finish isn't something to be too mad about.
4. Tony Stewart (LW-8)- Smoke finished 9th on Sunday which is his 3rd top 10 in the last 4 races.
5. Matt Kenseth (LW-2)- He got caught up early and often in trouble on Sunday and he fought all day, including make runs towards the front for a bit. Finish of 22nd doesn't hurt him for the race to the Chase but if he has finishes like this it will be tough for him to take down JJ.
6. Kasey Kahne (LW-9)- Well Kahne now has finishes of 3rd and a Win this week to add onto a season that he has been fast but inconsistent. Maybe he can get it going into the Chase.
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- His two worst finishes of the season (other then the two restrictor plate races) and they come back to back. He has been consistent but as of late he isn't contending like he did a month ago.
8. Ryan Newman (LW-11)- He finished 3rd on Sunday, just one week after he won at his home track in Indiana. Newman is trying to make a serious bid at a Chase spot in his last year with Stewart-Haas.
9. Jeff Gordon (LW-12)- He could be in a spot anywhere from here up to 4th, but he didn't close out the win on Sunday. He has been finishing much better and has a bunch of tracks coming up that he can win at to make the race for the Chase even more interesting.
10. Carl Edwards (LW-7)- Almost a lock for the Chase, Pocono was just another day for Carl and so was his 11th place finish.
11. Clint Bowyer (LW-6)- These are Power Rankings and right now he isn't too hot. His last 3 are finishes of 14th, 20th, and 13th. He is still 2nd in points though and will make the Chase so no worries.
12. Martin Truex Jr (LW-10)- Week by week he is fighting for a spot as a WC (or points if he makes a big jump from 14th in points). This week he finished 15th but he did get an extra point after leading 7 laps.

Dropped Out: No one

Just Missed: Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, and Joey Logano

Last Weeks Power Rankings

The middle of the pack in the rankings is really starting to get messy as everyone is trying to make a push at the Chase. After Jimmie Johnson it really is tough to rank anyone so I would say these rankings will be changing a lot in the next few races.

Get ready, next week we turn right again as we head to Watkins Glenn (Someone forgot to tell Juan Pablo Motoya that on lap one this week, its 3 turns and they're all LEFT). We could add even more excitement to the Chase race with another first time winner in 2013 as road courses can bring some big surprises.