Weekly NASCAR Review and Power Rankings
Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500
By Richard Tix
Rain, rain, and more rain. That pretty much sums up the day/night at Phoenix. It started with rain (rain delay for way too much of the day) and it ended with rain (NASCAR called the race due to rain). It was a huge disappointment in a race that was a make or break for so many drivers and there Championship hopes.
Not many people wanted to see the race end in a rain delay. The 18, 78, and there camps were ones who were happy to see it end (because they got to advance. Also, many Junior fans were happy with the win, but even some wanted the race to go on.
The biggest disappointment was how long it took NASCAR to clean up the 17 and 32 incident on the track which lead to a long wait and no restart. Either way, that same rain would have come down and ended the race short most likely.
It isn't the ending we wanted, but the ending we got so I guess we have to live with it. Sometimes nature gets in the way and with safety and logistics of the schedule and teams, a decision has to be made.
The more important this to note is we are down to four drivers left and one race. It is a bit depressing to think the 2015 season is almost over. But, one last race in Miami with four guys competing for a title is one not to miss. Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr fight for the right to be the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.
- Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Only rain can stop Harvick at Phoenix as he was again having a dominate day leading the field. He has been here, done that, and will be the favorite going into Sunday.
- Kyle Busch (LW-3)- Kyle got here on consistency, which is what lacked for him in past Chases. He might be able to put it together for a Championship finally.
- Jeff Gordon (LW-1)- All he needs is one race to put number 5 in the books. What a way to go out. I for one will be pulling for him or the underdog (Truex), because that is the way I roll unless I have a favorite driver in it.
- Martin Truex Jr (LW-4)- Compared to last years Newman and Hamlin, this field deserves a shot at the title (you could make a case for Gordon not, but the story line alone makes me look past that). Truex has had a great season all year and has one race to put it all on the line.
- Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- Hard to believe neither Penske car will be in the final. Penske and JGR have had the best cars for the past couple months, while Penske has also been on a tear since last year.
- Joey Logano (LW-7)- Speaking of Penske, JoLo had a legit 2nd place car, but it still might not have been enough if they went green to beat Harvick. Kenseth fans may rejoice, but JoLo was better than the 20 all season long so as a racing fan it is a bummer in the system that leaves him out of the finale.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-9)- Maybe its not the way a driver likes to win, but a win is a win and Junior deserved the good luck after everything that happened in Dega.
- Carl Edwards (LW-6)- He still needed more spots on Sunday and I just didn't see it happening. They just weren't getting enough in this last round.
- Jimmie Johnson (LW-10)- A win and a top 5, JJ should be higher, but the top 4 spots go to Chase drivers, and Penske has been too good so I apologize JJ fans.
- Kurt Busch (LW-8)- Kurt really needed the rain to stop. He had a good car (but note so did many others like the 4 and 22) and could have gambled to try and win. It was a strong bounce back season and one he can grow on with SHR.
- Denny Hamlin (LW-NR)- Hamlins bad luck at Dega and Texas (if he would have advanced) really cost him. Last year he made the Chase with a worse season, this year he was better year round and missed. Just the nature of the beast.
- Paul Menard (LW-12)- His top 5's and top 10's were both way down compared to last year (really last year was just a career year), but his average finish was still better. That is because he was racking up top 15's and top 20's while not having bad finishes. Same is true for his Chase.
