2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 18: Kentucky

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Quaker State 400

By Richard Tix

Another short and busy week on NBTW. With that in mind the intro this week will be short and sweet while I focus on the rankings below and this weekends race preview. The dog days of summer have been beating on the site, but I do appreciate everyone who still comes back to check it out when i DON'T miss a week like I did last week.

Thing's are heating up on the track just like the weather. A battle remains for the points standings and as each race goes by the number 16 spot gets tougher to achieve. If you're a driver without a win any win by another driver below you in the standings would cause a huge blow to your playoff chances so every race matters.

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Hard to argue Truex at No. 1. He just notched his third win of 2017 and now has 28 playoff points which is getting close to a whole race worth of bonus points which will carry with him every round.
2. Kyle Larson (LW-4)- All that said above, Larson is still the regular season points leader (which comes with bonus points at the end of the regular season). However, his lead has been trimmed to one heading into this weekend.
3. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Since Talladega Rowdy has started to turn the corner (seven top tens in nine races). He is still looking for win No. 1 in 2017, though.
4. Chase Elliott (LW-5)- He is heating up again... If we take out Daytona, Chase has five top tens and three top 5's in his last five. The No. 24 team just needs to seal the deal late in a race.
5. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Throwing out Daytona, Harvick ran really strong on Saturday at Kentucky (average running position of 4th). This team could be ready for s late Summer heat up.
6. Denny Hamlin (LW-8)- Hamlin is still win-less in 2017, but he (and JGR teammate Ky. Busch) seem to be getting things going as of late. In the last four races Hamlin has three 4th place finishes.
7. Jamie McMurray (LW-6)- JMac continues to show tons of consistency every week. This past weekend at Kentucky he put up 41 total points, which was the fifth most even though he finished seventh.
8. Joey Logano (LW-NR)- As it stands right now JoLo's encumbered win has him out of the playoffs. However, the No. 22 team has been putting together more solid runs week to week so things might be getting better sooner rather than later.
9. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- They're fast most weeks, but need to find some consistency late in the race to seal the deal.
10. Erik Jones (LW-NR)- Truex maybe stealing all the spotlight, but Erik is starting to come on strong as well and shouldn't be overlooked. He has back to back top tens, which is actually the first time he has done that all year, and was close to his second top five this year (6th).
11. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)- Six top tens in 18 races is a weird stat for JJ. No need to panic (3 wins), but he could use some more time up front.
12. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- Bowyers last three finishes of 2nd, 2nd, and 13th make up one of his better stretches so far of 2017. He is still teetering on the playoff bubble so a win would come in handy.

Dropped Out: Brad Keselowski (LW-9), Kurt Busch (LW-11), and Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-12)

Just Missed: Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Darrell Wallace Jr