2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 15: Michigan

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

FireKeepers Casino 400

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

By Richard Tix

The future might be bright. The young guns of NASCAR were on full display this week at Michigan International Speedway. Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Dillon are all under the age of 27 and all had great runs at MIS. In fact, many of these guys have been putting on a show for a few weeks now and could be the stars of tomorrow.

Add in some guys like Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch who are all mid 30's and younger and you can see we will have plenty of guys to follow during the next wave. Tha'ts not including the huge handfuls of young talent in the Xfinity and Truck series. 

JoLo, Chase, and Larson were once again the center of attention at Michigan as they made moves up in the front of the pack. In the end Joey thoroughly dominated the pack, but the display of talent was impressive none the less. 

The latest aero package also wasn't a disappointment. It was another step in the right direction as NASCAR takes away downforce, but it isn't the end or the solution just yet. We will always see changes because engineers in 2016 are just too good not to keep changing. I think this package would translate much better to other 1.5 mile tracks because the two mile MIS is a beast of it's own. Its pure speed with wide lanes which makes it difficult to consistently get the high entertainment needed to keep people with short attention spans happy in 2016.

However, even with a driver dominating most of the race (guys, this has always and will always happen in racing from time to time) I really did enjoy Michigan and the package.

We now head into a bye week. NASCAR, owners, drivers, and teams will get some much needed rest until we get back at it. Take a peek below who will hold the top spot heading into the bye week.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 15 (Week 14)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Let's be honest here, after Michigan we do not have a clear cut No. 1 driver. It was a weird race that looked like a bunch of teams were on the move up or down and then their was Harvick who was as consistent as ever. Oh, and Bloomin Monday! Finish: 5th
2. Kurt Busch (LW-1)- Kurt was moving all race. Top to bottom, he was out there making moves trying to find the front. Unfortunately he never got clean air to see what he had for JoLo. Finish: 10th
3. Chase Elliott (LW-4)- Man, I've said it before and Ill say it again, Chase is too tough on himself. It is nice to see a guy not throwing anyone or anything else under the bus, but sometimes its ok to just let it roll off and learn from it. MIS was again an impressive run for a guy in his first year. Finish: 2nd
4. Joey Logano (LW-7)- After starting on the pole Joey was hands down the best car on the day. He lead 138 laps on the way to one of the best burn outs in NASCAR right now. Finish: 1st
5. Brad Keselowski (LW-3)- Great car, some poor restarts. BK almost had JoLo on a mid race restart but while trying to not actually wreck the 22 he got loose and went falling back. Finish: 4th
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- Not a notable day for Kenseth. In fact he was out of the spotlight at MIS most of the day. Still finish in the top 15 but it is a race to leave in the mirror. Finish: 14th
7. Carl Edwards (LW-9)- Carl ended up having the best finish in the JGR camp, but none of them were that great on Sunday. That's a weird thing in 2016. Finish: 6th
8. Kyle Larson (LW-12)- Man, another week that included a fun battle with Larson involved. Its starting to become a trend and I am really enjoying it. This time it came with a great finish too. Finish: 3rd
9. Martin Truex Jr (LW-6)- Out of the top drivers of 2016, Truex looked to struggle the most with the new package. It could have just been coincidence with a bad race, but he was loose all day. However, he still saved a decent finish in an otherwise non notable day. Finish: 12th
10. Jimmie Johnson (LW-10)- Speaking of struggling. JJ had a rough day capped off with getting run into by a loose Trevor Bayne. Finish: 16th
11. Ryan Newman (LW-NR)- Don't look now but Newman is still throwing up consistent finishes. He used to real off a win every year or two, but those days seem further in between, but he is still getting it done and giving himself a chance. Finish: 11th
12. Kyle Busch (LW-8)- Tough luck. That's really all I have for Rowdy nation this week. Not much you can say, this team is just in a funk but they have been fast every single week so it seems like they will snap out of it soon. Finish: 40th

Dropped Out: Denny Hamlin

Just Missed: Austin Dillon