2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 19: Loudon

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

New Hampshire 301

Photo: Daniel Shirey Getty Images

By Richard Tix

Big news hit going into the weekend that Dale Earnhardt Jr would be skipping New Hampshire Motor Speedway because of concussion symptoms. It was the best move as a driver and human for Dale and it was good to see a driver and doctor take action (it was Dales decision coming from Doctor advice).

This day in age we now know the seriousness of head injuries in sports. However, it hasn't been deeply looked into in the NASCAR world and sometimes even seems completely overlooked in an age where NASCAR tries to pride itself on driver safety.

With so many hard wreck's it wouldn't surprise me on the season that at least a handful of drivers drive a race or two with a concussion or at least concussion symptoms. So, it was nice to see Dale very aware of how serious this really can be.

Junior will eventually get a waiver for his injury (and if he doesn't NASCAR is absolutely crazy since they gave them for far more), but the points hole may start to turn up the pressure. 

Here at Behind the Wall we hope Junior gets better soon and the symptoms don't trail him in the remaining years of his career. It's really a tough situation but it let Alex Bowman get a shot again at NHMS and it might give NASCAR fans another chance to watch Jeff Gordon this week at Indy.

Get well Junior, now onto this week's power rankings.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 19 (Week 18)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Maybe as a BK fan I am just hard on him, but I am giving Harvick the nudge this week all on his season long consistency. If you take out the Coke Zero wreck (39th), he would only have one finish outside the top 15 all year (17th at Martinsville). On Sunday he grabbed his sixth top 10 in the last 10 races. Finish: 4th
2. Brad Keselowski (LW-1)- NHMS is one of BK's better track's so missing out on a top 10 is a move that moves him off of first for the moment. But, he does have 3 wins, six top 5's, and eight top 10's in the last 10 races (including 10 top 15's). Finish: 15th
3. Kyle Busch (LW-6)- Rowdy might be back and ready to get on a roll to head into the Chase again. He has three top 10's in the last four races and had one of the best cars on Sunday. Finish: 8th
4. Joey Logano (LW-5)- Following up his early wreck last week at Kentucky, JoLo got back on his top 10 run with his sixth in the last seven. Finish: 3rd
5. Kurt Busch (LW-2)- A bit of a fall from grace lately. Kurt was one of the most consistent drivers this season at one time but lately that has fallen apart a bit. However, both Daytona and NHMS involved wreck's which can't be overlooked. Finish: 22nd
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Win number two for Kenseth in 2016. Thats nor back to back NHMS wins and three in the last six stops here. He did fail post race tech and if he hadn't he may have jumped another spot or two. All in all it's worth it at this point since it may just be 15 points and a CC fine. Finish: 1st
7. Tony Stewart (LW-10)- What a run. The spot in the rankings started as novilty in his final season, but it is now 100% legit as he keeps cruising. He was the highest finishing non caught cheating care on Sunday. It was his third top 5 of the season and he now has a win, three top 5's, and four top 10's in his last five races. Finish: 2nd
8. Carl Edwards (LW-4)- Two finishes of 20th or worse in his last three. Getting caught in the wrong place at the wrong time hasn't helped. Finish: 20th
9. Greg Biffle (LW-11)- The Biff is on a roll right now, but he will need to continue that roll right into victory lane if he wants to make the Chase. Right now the three straight top 10's are a breath of fresh air. Finish: 5th
10. Martin Truex Jr (LW-7)- Since his win at Charlotte he has just two top 10's and three top 15's in six races. Finish: 16th
11. Ryan Newman (LW-NR)- It was a slow start to 2016 for Newman, but things are starting to turn around and not many people are noticing it. He has three top 10's in the last four races and in the last nine races he has seven top 15's in nine races (16th and 18th the other two). Finish: 7th
12. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- It's rough timing for the Dale Earnhardt Jr news because Jamie McMurray has started his roll. He only has five top 10's this season but he has two of them in back to back weeks. Finish: 6th

Dropped Out: Chase Elliott (LW-9) and Kyle Larson (LW-12)

Just Missed: Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, and Jimmie Johnson