Pit Road Week 22: Watkins Glen

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 22

By Richard Tix

NASCAR started the 2014 season off with a bang by announcing a change in the Chase Rule Package. Yes, this has been covered over and over again, including myself a few times (The Fight for Points). This new points system that NASCAR has implemented allows for anyone with a win to make the Chase -or playoffs- at the end of the season (that is as long as there are only 16 winners. Over 16 and the last spots goes to the drivers with one win and the most points). 

Well, that made making some Chase predictions at the begining of the season a bit more tricky, because at anytime a driver could pull off an "upset" win and join the Chase group. The big ones circled on the NASCAR schedule for underdogs? Daytona, Talladega, Sonoma, and Watkins Glen. Aric Almirola was the first to steal a win in 2014, when he did so during a rain shortened Coke Zero 400 (Firecracker 400).

Carl Edwards made sure no underdog would get a win at Sonoma earlier in the season which put the pressure on Watkins Glen for guys like Marcus Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger, and Martin Truex Jr. Now, I will once again call notice to the fact that I predicted no underdog would steal a road course win this season. "No, I think Ambrose will be shut out again in 2014 at road courses. Look out for AJ this season though"(2014 Chase Predictions). Now, it was a shot in the dark as it is a tough call, but hey when I am wrong I am wrong. But, I was close. Not only did I bring attention to watch out for AJ, but also thought AJ might have a surprise season.

But, even AJ surprised me with his win this past Sunday. He stood toe to toe with Marcus Ambrose and out dueled him even when Ambrose was a front runner all day. I don't want to speak for everyone, but Watkins Glen has provided us NASCAR fans with some of the best finishes in Cup racing the past few years. The 2014 Cheez-It 355 not only provided us with some great racing but also a feel good, come back story, that we desperately were in need of. 

AJ's win is a bright spot in a sorrow weekend of racing around America. It can not take away the spotlight of a horrible accident in NY that took the life of a young man, Kevin Ward Jr but, we can take the chance to let the people close to us know how much we love them. Life is such a sweet thing that no moment should go by where those people don't know that simple fact. That is the thing I always try and take from these tragic stories such as the one of Kevin Ward; he was taken so early from this world that we need to step back and really look at what matters most to us. RIP Kevin Ward Jr, the racing community will miss you.

Cheez-It 355 at the Glen full race results

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 22 (Week 21)

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-1)- Dale Jr just missed the top 10 on Sunday (11th) but it was one of his better Glen runs since 2005 (10th). The gap between #1 and #2 closed this week but Jr did enough to hang onto the top spot for now.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- Harvick finished up 7th on Sunday at the Glen after having a pretty good day. He ran in the top 5 most of the day (well, after he charged back up front after an early pit stop for, simply put, "bean bags" but still never seemed to really be in position for the win. He now has strung together 3 straight top 10's even with pit crew concerns. 
3. Matt Kenseth (LW-9)- Throw out Daytona and Pocono and Kenseth has three finishes of 4th and one 9th place finish (Watkins Glen). Kenseth still doesn't have that elusive win (after winning a career high 7 last year) in 2014. Matt's goal should be to just work on consistency for the Chase, the wins will start to come.
4. Jeff Gordon (LW-2)- Gordon had one of the cars to beat on Sunday. After things fell apart when his car just shut down and he coasted to pit lane, he salvaged things for a 34th place finish. Disappointing day in general, but man doesn't he look like him old self this season?
5. Kasey Kahne (LW-7)- Kasey Kahne hasn't had the best season's this year, but right now he is doing just enough to stick around. I still think he could get a win before the Chase, but if not his name is still in the running for a Chase spot off of points. The big issue with that? The points race just got even more intense with AJ's win.
6. Denny Hamlin (LW-3)- Hamlin got caught up late in the race which ruined a decent day, but at the same time he wasn't exactly having an amazing day either. DH ended up finishing 24th and will have his mind reset for the next race and just gaining some momentum before the Chase.
7. Kyle Larson (LW-11)- Larson gets the award for "where did he come from" during the closing laps on Sunday. He charged his way to a 4th place finish which was pretty impressive. Larson has gone from on the bubble to a fan favorite to get in on points.
8. Joey Logano (LW-NR)- After JoLo's hot start he went through a mid-regular season "slump." It actually was more of a consistency thing during that span where he would have one good finish and one poor finish. Well, he has three straight top 10's (5th, 3rd, and 6th) which might just be the right time. I think he is boom or bust during the Chase. He could go on a hot streak, or his up and down season could hurt his chances.
9. Greg Biffle (LW-NR)- NASCAR has 12 winners after Watkins Glen. Even though one spot has filled up Biffle has still been making a push at the Chase in recent weeks. Biffle is 17th in the Chase standings this week, right behind Bowyer. In the last 7 races he has 6 top 15's, 3 top 10's, and a top 5 which could be the recipe to get him a final Chase spot. This week we head to Michigan, which is a hot spot for the Biff.
10. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- Big fall for BK. Just a few weeks ago he was the hottest driver in NASCAR, well bad luck (just ask Jimmie Johnson about that) has him falling down on the list. Don't worry too much Blue (White) Deuce fans, its all about getting hot again at the right time for this 3 time winner.
11. Kurt Busch (LW-NR)- The forgotten man, Kurt Busch is having a less then stellar 2014 season, but all that matters for the #41 team is getting it right for the Chase. They took a step that way on Sunday by finishing 3rd and running an average position of 4th all day.
12. Ryan Newman (LW-6)- Watkins Glen was only the second time Newman finished outside the top 25 all season. It was only the 4th time he has finished outside the top 20. So, it has been a pretty consistent season for him, but no where near good enough week to week to win. That being said, it isn't wins he should be chasing the rest of the season, its point, points, points.

Dropped Out: Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, and Jimmie Johnson

Just Missed: Marcus Ambrose, Austin Dillon, and Jamie McMurray

Honorable Mention: Danica Patrick (21st), Brian Vickers (10th), Martin Truex Jr (13th), and Casey Mears (15th). 

This week I had a few followers let me know who was going to win on Sunday. Once again I heeded there advice and I went with Harvick. That makes me still stuck at 2 correct winners in 22 races. I wish I would have kept count of my top 5's and top 10's (might do that next year), but if you want a winner, pick who I don't pick. Without further a due: 

Not the first time Garry has made Behind the Wall this season!

Nice pick here. Looking forward to the MIS prediction and actually being at the race!

I guess I will let Matt slide this week!

Well that's is for this weeks review and power rankings. This week NASCAR heads to Michigan and so do I. I don't leave the state of Minnesota for the great state of Michigan until Thursday, so I will get all the normal articles you may need for your weekend out. I hope to also post some "live" articles from the garages, qualifying, my weekend in general (local track, whirly ball, etc), and the Pure Michigan 400. So stay posted. Thanks again for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall!