2018 NASCAR Pit Road Week 13: Charlotte

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

It's taken all week, so lets get it over with. I missed the last Power Rankings so lets get back into it with results from the past two races.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 13 (Week 11)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- I am giving Harvick a one pass slip up on the top spot. If he didn't cut a tire it would have been interesting to see him and Kyle go at it on different strategies.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- This is a 1B spot, and has been all season. Kyle and Kevin are head and shoulders above the rest of the field right now.
3. Kurt Busch (LW-4)- Kurt doesn't have a win in 2018, but has four straight top tens including two top fives.
4. Denny Hamlin (LW-5)- Hamlin also doesn't have a win, but has four top tens in the last five races including back to back top fives.
5. Joey Logano (LW-3)- JoLo has slipped a bit as of late, yet is still second in overall points right behind Kyle Busch. Not bad.
6. Martin Truex Jr (LW-11)- Don't look now but the No. 78 team is getting it going. He now has back to back runner up finishes and three straight top fives.
7. Clint Bowyer (LW-4)- Boywer is still eighth in points with his win earlier this year. The more the 4 and 18 dominate, the more impressive his early season win looks. 
8. Kyle Larson (LW-10)- Larson is the top Chevy, that's something, but they're still looking for a bit more.
9. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)-JJ slides only with others rising. His 19th at Kansas wasn't great, but he finished well at CMS on Sunday night. JJ hasn't led a lap all season.....
10. Brad Keselowski (LW-9)- BK is fourth in points, yet seems out of place to be that high.
11. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- Elliott's last three finishes are 12th, 12th, and 11th with no laps led.
12. Aric Almirola (LW-NR)- It's been a solid stretch again for Aric as he still sits 10th in the standings and only Austin Dillon has a win and is behind him in points.

Dropped Out: Daniel Suarez

2018 NASCAR Pit Road Week 11: Dover

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Dover International Speedway

By Richard Tix

Yes, the rankings are late this week so let's just get to the good stuff below!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 11 (Week 10)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- A little flip flop at the top. Harvick now has a series best four wins and dominated at Dover.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- The car issue just after half way wasn't Kyle's fault, but with Harvick being so good this week Rowdy loses the top spot, for now.
3. Joey Logano (LW-2)- Consistently good, but not always great has been JoLo's 2018 season so far. 13th at Dover will be one to forget, but it also wasn't a huge blow to this team.
4. Clint Bowyer (LW-5)- Bowyer lead 40 laps, finished second, and is having fun again at the Cup level.
5. Kurt Busch (LW-6)- Kurt quietly keeps chugging along and posting good numbers. This week he posted back to back top fives after last weeks runner up at Dega.
6. Denny Hamlin (LW-4)- Hamlin spent a lot of his day around the top ten and ended up finishing (7th)  better then his average position (12th).
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)- At least JJ didn't suck at Dover, because if he did we would really have to start worrying. Instead Jimmie notched his third top ten in the last four races (12th at Dega).
8. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- JJ and Chase seem to be getting a grip around the same time. However, lately Elliott has been turning nothing's into something's. Eventually he might actually have it all come together so he doesn't have to turn a dud into a late surge for a good finish.
9. Brad Keselowski (LW-11)- BK got back on track at Dover after leading 108 laps and finishing 6th. However, they have just been too streaky to jump too many other drivers for now.
10. Kyle Larson (LW-9)- Admittedly, Larson shouldn't be this low. I'm just not sure where to put him and he has been streaky most the year. Larson fans, get mad if you would like...
11. Martin Truex Jr (LW-10)- One race down on the Truex come back tour (fourth). Now, can he carry that momentum into the next race?
12. Daniel Suarez (LW-12)- Some of the social media hate I saw was sickening after Suarez's great finish on Sunday. But, I also saw a lot of positives from the NASCAR fan base backing up diversity in our sport. Oh, and Suarez has three straight top tens.

Dropped Out: No One

Just Missed: Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola