2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 12: Dover

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

AAA 400 Drive for Autism

PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

By Richard Tix

If you didn't like Sundays race at Dover International Speedway I am not sure I can help you here at Behind the Wall. Granted, I missed the beginning of the race (some battles you win, some you lose, and some you are smart enough to know not to fight it when it comes to wife duties), but all I heard was good things.

I did however make it back in plenty of time to catch the end of the race. What a weird day it was especially in regards to what happened to Jimmie Johnson on a late restart. He couldn't get going with transmission issues and wadded up the whole pack (he was restarting on the front outside row). 

With a ton of quality cars out or limping around, it left some exciting front of the pack racing. First it was Kyle Larson knocking on Matt Kenseth's door for the lead. Then Chase Elliott helped Kenseth out by battling Larson for second letting Kenseth get a bit of breathing room. 

The Larson v Elliott battle was one of the best of the season and showcased some young up and coming talent (you can argue Chase has already arrived). Eventually Larson pulled away again and tracked down Kenseth with just a few laps to go. Larson made a few valiant attempts and even hung out side by side at times, but never had enough to clear Kenseth.

Kenseth finally shook his bad luck and rough runs with his first win of 2016. With the battle for the lead and young talent knocking at the door, the veteran Kenseth once again held them off while always keeping his calm and cool demeanor. It was a well earned win and could sling shot him to a few more before the Chase starts.

2016 AAA 400 Drive for Autism Race Results

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 12 (Week 11)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Harvick will assume the top spot by virtue of still being the overall points leader (not Chase standings leader) and because he has a dominate car early on at Dover. Finish: 15th
2. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- One of many victims of "the big one" at Dover, Kyle didn't really seem to have a winning car anyways. Still, he could have notched another top 10 and possibly a top 5 if he stayed clean. Finish: 30th
3. Kurt Busch (LW-4)- Guys, Kurt Busch is third in overall points (again, not including wins as the Chase points do). He has done that with six straight top 10's including back to back top 5's. Finish: 5th
4. Chase Elliott (LW-6)- Chase Elliott is the second best driver without a win so far in 2016 (according to points). He only trails Kurt Busch and he is putting himself in a nice position whether he wins a race or not. What a run at the end of the race with the 20 and 42! Finish: 3rd
5. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- Since his Talladega win BK has looked a bit more consistent. Even after getting in the middle of the big wreck late at Dover, he still wheeled his beat up No. 2 to a top 10 and actually had some of the fastest lap times late. Finish: 6th
6. Carl Edwards (LW-4)- Two crashes in three races following his back to back wins earlier this season. With both wins the No. 19 is free to test out plenty of strategies, but this has just been bad luck. Finish: 28th
7. Martin Truex Jr (LW-8)- Truex has been streaky this year. Big media will lead you to believe he has been consistently good, but for a few races after Atlanta they just weren't that good. That said, he has had some really good cars where he came up short or had bad luck. Finish: 9th
8. Ryan Blaney (LW-12)- Blaney's rookie year is getting overlooked because Chase has been so good, but Ryan has been holding his own. After a strong run Sunday he now has three straight top 10's. Finish: 8th
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-NR)- Wow, has it been a weird season for Kenseth or what? After all his up's and down's he finally got his first win of 2016 and was it a memorable one. Kenseth earned all of that Dover win after holding off Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott. Finish: 1st
10. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)- Have you paid attention to JJ's last five races? It hasn't been pretty results to say the least. He has three finishes outside the top 20 and four outside the top 15, rough. His transmission helped cause the big one at the end of the race. Finish: 25th
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-9)- Dega and Dover were not kind to Jr during this bad three race stretch for the No. 88. The last four races have been nothing like the first eight and the No. 88 team will look to turn it around after the ASR. Finish: 32nd
12. Joey Logano (LW-11)- JoLo still doesn't have a win in 2016, but just like Kurt Busch is seems like it should come eventually. The last three races haven't been kind to Joey, but he is still hanging onto eight in points and the third highest driver in the standings without a win (Kurt and Chase ahead of him). Finish: 22nd

Dropped Out: Austin Dillon (LW-10)

Just Missed: Kasey Kahne and Kyle Larson