Weekly Review and Power Rankings
Toyota Owners 400
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| Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports |
By Richard Tix
Lady's and Gentlemen, Sunday was fun. We will get to the finish later, but from start to finish I was thoroughly entertained. Restarts were a blast with guys trying to make up ground early which resulted in some great racing.
Cars entering and exiting turns one and two were a blast to watch specifically. The racing was fantastic leaving turn two with three, sometimes four wide coming out. Plenty of lanes were opening up which was all due to a good tire with fantastic fall off that drivers had to manage.
You know it's good racing when we have fun and different strategies across the board, cars coming and going, great tire fall off that helps the racing action and the coming and going, and plenty of passing from front to back.
Battles were constant all race long which was directly related to the package combined with a soft tire that fell off depending on how well you took care of them (which wasn't easy).
None of that mentions the fantastic finish we got. With Kyle Busch out front on a late restart Carl Edwards was in a position to run him down. Edwards drove every corner hard and once he reached him it looked as if he pushed too hard while Kyle was saving.
However, on the last lap Carl drove in once again getting his nose below Kyle's and gave him a big enough nudge to get him loose and take the checkers. It was good ole fashion racing and it was short track racing at it's best all wrapped up into one.
Both guys had already clinched a spot in the Chase with a win so it was free game for teammates to go for the victory. Carl didn't wreck him or put him in the wall which would have put him back even farther. Instead he just moved him enough to get what he wanted, a trip to victory lane.
In my opinion nothing is wrong with that. If you're not going for the win you're not racing hard enough. It's one thing to wreck someone but this was a perfect move to move him enough to win and race clean enough to not spin him out. As long as Carl know's the same will be done to him, then there is no issue at all and it was raced perfect.
All and all it was another great race of 2016 which is adding to the already large list with the same label.
Pit Road Power Rankings Week 9 (Week 8)
- Carl Edwards (LW-2)- Last week I gave Ky Busch the benefit of doubt because he had been so good to start the season but after two straight wins for Carl I can not deny the top spot. On top of those wins he has eight top 10's and five top 5's. After leading 151 laps this week, 276 last week, and 124 at Texas he now has led the most in 2016 (626 total). Finish: 1st
- Kyle Busch (LW-1)- Tough way to lose first. Not only did he lose the top spot in the rankings but he was bumped out of the way for the win on the last lap. I'm not sure if it was because it was a teammate of because he has grown up a bit, but it was a calm and respectable reaction post race from Rowdy in a tough situation. Finish: 2nd
- Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- It's almost as Harvick has been overlooked this season. The JGR Toyota's have been so strong that people forget he is second in points with eight top 10's. Finish: 5th
- Jimmie Johnson (LW-6)- Johnson started third and finished third. Just a typical day at the office for JJ on Sunday. His average running position was in the top five and he had his highest driver rating (116) since week 5 at Fontana which he won. Finish: 3rd
- Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-3)- The next three are the next best thing when it comes to "best drivers without a win so far in 2016." Junior gets the nudge but mostly because he was third last week and Ill give him a bit of a break on his slide down. It wasn't a great week but he ran in the top 10 most of the day. Finish: 13th
- Joey Logano (LW-5)- If you look at the group of three drivers I spoke about above (Jr, JoLo, and Kurt) JoLo has probably finished the best weekly. However, the way he has done it has been unsettling to Penske fans. He was flat out terrible most of the day Sunday, but manage to fight back. The fight is a good thing, but the in race struggles are concerning. Finish: 8th
- Kurt Busch (LW-7)- Kurt notched off another top 10 for his third straight but they just can't seem to figure it out late in the race. He now has four races where he led more than 30 laps but only two top 5's have come from it. Finish: 10th
- Martin Truex Jr (LW-9)- It's time to start thinking about Truex having to make it in on points. Yes, the Chase is still a ways away, but he has not shown the same speed he did to start the season. He did get back into the top 10 for the second time in three races on Sunday. Finish: 9th
- Denny Hamlin (LW-12)- DH is like Kenseth below, but with just a bit more luck. He has run better then his finishing position most races, but just found a way to waste it away (bad luck or penalties). However, I would say he has been the straggler of JGR despite what the points show. Finish: 6th
- Brad Keselowski (LW-10)- It's been a strange trend for Team Penske early in 2016. The have been pretty good in qualifying, but nothing like last year. Penske has also not been as good during the race as 2015 either. Still, both drivers have been hanging around. Finish: 11th
- Chase Elliott (LW-8)- Tough day for many including Chase Elliott. He was down a lap for the longest time but worked his way back and ended up with a top 15. He already has five top 10's so far this year with four of those coming in the last six races. Finish: 12th
- Matt Kenseth (LW-NR)- Just one top 10 is enough to get Kenseth back in the top 12 mix. Why? Well because he has been better than his finishes show. He has led a lap in eight of the nine races so far and four of those have been 40 or more laps. Just look at the other JGR cars if you need evidence for why Kenseth just made the top 12. Finish: 7th
Dropped Out: Jamie McMurray (LW-11)
Just Missed: Kasey Kahne
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