2015 Pit Road Week 26: Richmond

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Federated Auto Part 400

By Richard Tix

NASCAR leaves Richmond International Raceway behind in 2015 and will jump right into the 2015 Sprint Cup Chase. The second time around the Federated Auto Parts 400 was dominated by Matt Kenseth.

Not only did he dominate the race, but no one new (without a win) really challenged for the front which would have really kicked up the drama. It was once again another strong showing by Joe Gibbs Racing which leaves them in a great spot for the last 10 races.

NASCAR heads to Chicagoland to kick off the second year of the new Chase rules. The winner of the race (as long as they're already in the top 16) will be the first driver to advance to the next round. 

We will dive into the Chase later this week, so lets take a look at the latest Power Rankings. Next week we will start the Chase format in power rankings where only the top 16 can be in the rankings, and once they drop out there spot is open for the taking.

2015 Federated Auto Parts 400 Results

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 26 (Week 25)

1. Joey Logano (LW-2)- JoLo heads into the Chase feeling pretty good about himself. He has three straight top 5 finishes and 11 top 10's in the last 12 races. That's a streak that would get him into the Finale at Miami. Finish: 3rd
2. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Harvick is human... After starting 6th it wasn't a typical night for Harvick. I think the poor finish will just fuel another top 5 to start the Chase. Finish: 14th
3. Kyle Busch (LW-4)- The field is finally wiped clean. Rowdy will start the Chase tied for first with four wins and is a favorite to win the title. Finish: 2nd
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-3)- BK has been second fiddle to JoLo all year, but he has put together a quality season. Team Penske is the closest thing (other than Harvick) to competing with JGR at the moment. Finish: 8th
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- Jr now has 4 straight top 10's in the middle of a HMS rut. That's a good sign for Jr Nation. If HMS catched back up to JGR he has a real shot. Finish: 5th
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Well that was a dominating win to cap off the regular season. Kenseth maybe didn't make it fun for NASCAR fans, but his "Nation" sure loved it. He lead 352 laps and had the car to beat all night. Man does JGR look good right now. Finish: 1st
7. Denny Hamlin (LW-7)- Hamlin creeps into the Chase yet again, but this year he is on a hot streak. Will the results be the same? The final four is not going to be an easy thing when three of his teammates are so good. Finish: 6th
8. Carl Edwards (LW-6)- All three JGR drivers could be a notch higher on the rankings, but the problem is you don;t know week to week which one will finish the best. It is like a really good conference in football that beats up on each other so the individual value comes down. Finish: 11th
9. Jimmie Johnson (LW-9)- It is weird seeing JJ down this low, but trust me you don't want to count him and Chad out. They still have a few weeks to figure it out because they should be good enough to advance the first round the way they are now. Finish: 9th
10. Clint Bowyer (LW-11)- It was a long shot that Bowyer would drop out at RIR, but he made sure it wouldn't happen by running well and notching a top 10. Finish: 10th
11. Kyle Larson (LW-12)- Larson wont get to see these rankings the next few weeks for sure (starting next week only Chase drivers get a spot), but once we cut down the Chase drivers, non Chase drivers get a spot to get back in them. Last year he was a mainstay during the Chase as a non Chase driver. Finish: 11th
12. Kurt Busch (LW-10)- Not the best way to enter the Chase. After his come back early this year he looked like a title favorite, now he will look to just get to the final 8. Finish: 15th

Dropped Out: None

Just Missed: Jamie McMurray and Aric Almirola

It's been a good time to be a Kenseth fan!

2015 Week 9 Pit Road: Richmond

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 9: Toyota Owners 400

By Richard Tix

NASCAR finished up its three out of four race short track stretch at Richmond on Sunday. After a rain delay canceled everything for the Saturday night race it was moved to Sunday at 1 pm ET where we got everything in.

The three short tracks left the door open for some other teams and drivers that have found the speed on the 1.5's yet in 2015. As it turned out two JGR drivers pulled off W's at short tracks (Hamlin and Kenseth) which will give them some time to find some more speed on larger tracks. 

So, the short track swing provided us with some big Chase implications. On top of those two drivers getting a win, Kurt Busch won on Sunday after missing three races to start the season. NASCAR gave him a Chase exception so he is now pretty much locked to get into the Chase. The only difference between he and the two JGR drivers that win is that he has been pretty good on the 1.5's so far this year. The win for Kurt was popular for many and also unpopular for many. With everything he has gone through this season many were either on his side or against him so it was a headline win for NASCAR.

NASCAR now heads to Talladega which can be another wild card track. Many times the big wreck plays into the outcome and a little guy can pull off the upset. That will be the biggest story line this weekend. But, we will touch on that in the preview, lets move onto the Power Rankings.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 9 (Week 8)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Another race and another second place finish for Harvick. He did only led 2 laps on Sunday (which was almost a season low. Daytona he led zero laps). Finish: 2nd
2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-2)- JJ didn't lead a single lap on Sunday but did bring his #48 car from 36th to the front. It was just a really strong points day for that team. Finish: 3rd
3. Joey Logano (LW-4)- Other then Kurt Busch JoLo was really the only other one to led any laps on Sunday (BK lead 9 and JMac 4). JoLo took his 94 led laps on his way to a top 5 finish. Finish: 5th
4. Kurt Busch (LW-9)- Kurt was hands down the best car on Sunday. JoLo had a decent car early and Harvick was strong throughout, but Kurt was just on it. He has just been lacking the finishing stretch each week and this week he got it. Finish: 1st
5. Jeff Gordon (LW-3)- Gordon has 6 straight top 10's, so sorry he isn't higher Gordon fans. The one thing he still lacks is a 2015 win. On Sunday he averaged a 8th place running position and then finished in that exact spot. Finish: 8th
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- The short track stint has been a breath of fresh air for the 20 team. 4th, 1st, and 7th on the three short tracks in the last four races. Those finishes gave them some time to figure out there 1.5 program. Finish: 7th
7. Jamie McMurray (LW-10)- At one point JMac looked to have a car capable of getting and beating Kurt. After some rough luck to start the race he made his way back to the front. Finish: 4th
8. Martin Truex Jr (LW-7)- Rough spot for Truex after notching a top 10 and moving down a spot this week. Nothing against him, he is part of a quality top 12 that has been putting together pretty consistent numbers. Finish: 10th
9. Dale Eanrhardt Jr (LW-5)- Back to back finishes ofr 14th or higher for Jr and the 88. Worse yet, his average running position on Sunday was 14th. At times on Sunday he said he loved the car on the long run, but could never really get the track position he needed. Finish: 14th
10. Kasey Kahne (LW-11)- 2015 has been a step in the right direction, but he still isn't threatening to win enough as he would like. Kahen has only lead laps in two races this season (Martinsville and Texas). Finish: 6th
11. Brad Keselowski (LW-6)- Just one week after BK had a pretty good car and took himself out early (Bristol) he once again had some rough luck. BK had a top 5 car when he lost a cylinder, yet he stayed up front for awhile until yellows started to hit. Finish: 17th
12. Ryan Newman (LW-12)- Newman is already back up to 15th position in the standings after NASCAR reduced his penalty. Don't look now but he could put himself in a spot to get into the Chase again on points. Crazy... Finish: 11th

Dropping Out: No one

Just Missed: Kyle Larson and Clint Bowyer

Honorable Mention: Chase Elliott (16th) and Justin Allgaier (18th)

Power Rankings Notes:

• No one dropped out of the top 12 this weekend but we did have some movers in the middle of the rankings. The top stayed strong with Harvick, JJ, JoLo, and Gordon all continuing strong streaks. The big mover was Kurt Busch as he not only won, but put together a full race. JMac also moved up as he has been showing some strong runs this year. Unfortunatley for guys like Jr and Jr (Dale and Martin) strong runs by guys around them moved them down a few even then they had decent runs on Sunday as well. The middle of the rankings is very strong so the guys from 4 to 10 are very interchangeable. 

No one picked Kurt Busch this weekend so no one is getting added to the season long prediction leaderboard. This week NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway where just about anything can happen. Will an underdog steal a win and a Chase spot? Thanks for checking out NASCAR Behind the Wall. Check back later for the TV Schedule and Entry List for this weekend!