2015 Pit Road Week 18: Kentucky

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 18: Quaker State 400

By Richard Tix

NASCAR headed into Kentucky with a ton of spotlight on the track, drivers, and cars. That's because a few weeks earlier NASCAR announced they would run a new aero package at Kentucky that might help facilitate passing.

The focus of this package was less down force so that car's actually had to be "driven" through the corners and not just play follow the leader.

So, when mother nature kept playing with NASCAR fan's emotions NASCAR had to call qualifying and instead added a Cup practice to the schedule. This came after the Cup teams didn't have any practice time Wed or Thur so NASCAR decided it was best to let them have some seat time.

Now, I disagreed and wanted everyone to get to qualify (or even just let all 46 race), NASCAR made the call and they had to live with it. I thought that if they didn't practice at least it was unfair to every team (because no one got to practice), unlike what happened when NASCAR didn't qualify. By calling qualifying, it was unfair to just a select few (the guys who had to go home). It was especially bad news for Ryan Blaney who has now gone home back to back weeks because of rain. Both weekends there is no doubt that the #21 Wood Brothers/Penske Ford would have made the race.

So, after practice we still were left to see how the package ran during a race. In my opinion, the new package hit the mark. Kentucky (even though I enjoy the 1.5) had it's most exciting race in just five Cup stops. Many times the race comes with a boring outcome, but Saturday night gave us racing throughout the field and plenty of passing. All of that was capped off by a late surging Kyle Busch. With less than 40 laps left Joey Logano lead and Kyle Busch caught him (Kyle lead most of the night and had one of the cars to beat). The two of them exchanged jabs back in forth with what lead to some of the best 1.5 racing of the year (I would argue it was the best 1.5 all season). 

Eventually Kyle pulled away and the last 10 laps were just too easy for him, but that happens when one guy is better all night. The battle between the two seemed to be very telling on the night. Cars seemed to be able to catch others, and then once they did, drivers said they didn't stall out. That was pretty apparent when Kyle caught JoLo. He caught up, picked his spot, and then took a different line to pass Joey. It wasn't just there, but it seemed like it was a positive through most of the field. 

Now, I am of the opinion that the package was a step int he right direction. It was either that it was better, or that my eyes wanted it to be better. In the end I try and think back to some Kentucky races of the past and this one seemed to be hands down the best racing at this track. It was the best racing of the year. So, I don't think it was just a coincidence.

The problem is that we do not get to see this package on another 1.5 until the Chase. We also have to wait to see any new packages until Indy and Michigan later this year. I want to stress that I believe this was a step in the right direction, but NASCAR can continue to improve.

I think much of the improvement will lie in the tires (Darlington is said to have new tires with the package) and the fact that every track might need a track specific package. What works one place may need to be slightly adjusted at another. That is being show in the Indy and Michigan packages (which are new, but different than the one at Kentucky). 

All in all, NASCAR heading in the right direction this weekend, but hopefully they don't stop short. Keep asking the drivers for input because the drives hit the nail this past weekend.

Full Quaker State 400 Race Results

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- I'll be honest, this week the #1 finally isn't clear. Neither Harvick nor JJ were dominate like they have been on 1.5's. They still are a cut above, but this package might bring them back down to the pack. Finish: 9th
2. Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Want Harvick to have the top spot? Well, it was a tough call. With neither standing out I gave it to the guy who held the top spot last week. Finish: 8th
3. Joey Logano (LW-7)- It's a big jump from 7th to 3rd in the rankings, but this new packaged gave us some much different results. On top of his strong finish Saturday, he also has 4 top 5's in his last 5 races. Finish: 2nd
4. Kurt Busch (LW-4)- Not much of a factor Saturday night, Kurt fought through some adversity and still managed a top 10. It was a good quality finish that you need to win a Championship. Finish: 10th
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-3)- What a bad night for Dale Jr. That's really all you can say about his Kentucky experience. Let's chalk this up to a bad night and not worry too much yet, after all he still got close to a top 20 during one of his worst races of the season. Finish: 21st
6. Kyle Busch (LW-NR)- If Kyle would have ran all year he would easily be in the Chase after this weeks win. He now has to work his way in, but his second win of the season will go a long way in helping that. He is now 87 points out of 30th and just showed when he is on how dominate he can be. Finish: 1st
7. Denny Hamlin (LW-NR)- How many of you realize Hamlin has two straight 3rd place finishes? He also lead laps in the last two races in a pretty quiet manor. All of the JGR cars looked much better at Kentucky then they did earlier this year at most 1.5's. Finish: 3rd
8. Brad Keselowksi (LW-12)- That's racing. BK easily had the best car for 2/3 of the race (Kyle a close second). But, he kept getting shuffled back because of poor pit stops. It was great for fans because his runs to the front were impressive, but the team was frustrated. Lets see how they bounce back after this? Finish: 6th
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-11)- Kenseth finally bounced back after two rough races. He had a pretty strong night on a 1.5 where JGR has been searching for speed. Finish: 5th
10. Martin Truex Jr (LW-8)- Will this package put Furniture Row back a bit? Truex did run decent most the night, but did not find his way to the top 10 when the night was done. Finish: 17th
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-5)- After three straight 7th place finished JMac now had his third straight finish outside the top 10. However, he is hanging on by posting top 15's and not having a complete melt down. Finish: 14th
12. Jeff Gordon (LW-NR)- Back to back top 10's for Gordon after a few rough outings. Gordon looked strong during points late on Saturday but didn't have enough for Kyle. It was still an encouraging run for the #24 team. Finish: 7th

Dropped Out: Kasey Kahne (LW-6), Clint Bowyer (LW-9), and Ryan Newman (LW-10)

Just Missed: Paul Menard

Jeff got the benefit of the doubt this week after leaving out Busch's first name. 

That's all for this weekends review and Power Rankings. Next week NASCAR Heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first time in 2015. Back to some short track racing where some guys like Ryan Newman could factor in and change the Chase outlook. Check back in for a race preview, TV Schedule, and Driver Entry List.