2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 8: Bristol

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Food City 500

By Richard Tix

In a week I will be relaxing on a beach somewhere and not here... So, take these power rankings in this week with all their glory as I will miss the post race power rankings after Richmond. Yes, the driver this week at number one will get the benefit to stay number one for two weeks no matter how they run this weekend.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 8 (Week 7)

1. Kyle Larson (LW-2)- Larson lead 202 total laps on Monday and came off pretty happy with how much fun Bristol was to race after a 6th place finish.
2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-11)- To think, people were starting to hit the panic button on JJ just a few weeks ago. Oh, how two straight wins will make people forget all about that.
3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Same ole story here: Chase is showing amazing consistency but just needs to close out a race. Once a win comes, more will quickly follow.
4. Joey Logano (LW-4)- JoLo lead 72 laps, has a Cup leading seven top ten's, and yet it seems like he has had a slow start. A win should be coming his way soon.
5. Martin Truex Jr (LW-5)- Hands down the fastest Toyota of 2017, Truex notched another top ten on Monday which was his fifth (Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have six combined).
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-1)- Rough way to run around Bristol. BK had a mix of problems sending him to the garage on Monday, but the plus side is they have been fast all year.
7. Clint Bowyer (LW-7)- Overlooked is that Bowyer is eight in the current standings thanks to three top tens in the last four and four staright finishes of 11th or better.
8. Kevin Harvick (LW-8)- It's weird to see Harvick down here after so many races, but things are looking up, he has two straight top fives to his name.
9. Jamie McMurray (LW-6)- It wasn't a great race and it wasn't a bad race for JMac. He may point his way in the Playoffs again this year.
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-12)- Once again Ricky fought through adversity and notched a top ten at one of his best tracks on the schedule.
11. Trevor Bayne (LW-NR)- Mark it down, RFR is two for two this week! Bayne doesn't have the top tens (one), but he does have six finishes of 13th or better including three straight.
12. Matt Kenseth (LW-NR)- Kenseth isn't tearing things up by any means, but he has been trying to turn the corner. He took an otherwise average day at Bristol and turned it into a fourth place finish, maybe more positive signs will come at RIR?

Dropped Out: Kyle Busch (LW-9) and Ryan Blaney (LW-10)

Just Missed: Denny Hamlin