2018 NASCAR Pit Road Week 19: Kentucky

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Kentucky Speedway

By Richard Tix

Wow, has it been a long time! What can I say, I started the season with a warning about how hit or miss this year might be, and I sure have delivered! Time is harder to come by these days and with this just being a fun hobby that I started just to keep me more engaged in the sport it has been one of the first things weekly to fall to the wayside. Remember to follow me on Twitter at @NASCARBTW, because I still stay pretty active on there during the season.

Anyways, it has been since Michigan that I have released Power Rankings so we are starting fresh this week! No matter, we know the three drivers who will sit on top of the rankings.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 19

1. Martin Truex Jr - 1st, 4th, 2nd, and 1st are the makeup of Truex Jr's last four races. He now has won back to back Kentucky races and has four wins on the season (Just behind Busch and Harvick with five).
2. Kyle Busch - Just another top five on the season (15 total) and he also ended with 50 points on the day despite not leading and only scoring 40 when he won just a a couple weeks ago at Chicagoland.
3. Kevin Harvick - Harvick also finished in the top five and has 15 total top fives in 2018. 
4. Clint Bowyer - And here is where the next tier starts. Bowyer finished outside the top ten, but is still sixth in the points with two wins in his bounce back season.
5. Joey Logano - JoLo is fourth in the standings with a win that isn't "cucmbered." He and his Penske Teammates still do not have the same winning speed of the top guys this season, but they have still been fast most weeks.
6. Kyle Larson - Larson still hasn't won a Cup race this year, but it feels like one should be coming soon.
7. Brad Keselowski - Talk about a guy who hasn't won yet, this is the longest BK has gone into a season without winning since 2013 when he didn't win until race 31 at Charlotte.
8. Erik Jones - Erik survived the wreck fest at Daytona for his first career win, but some are overlooking that he also has four straight top tens including 7th Sat. night.
9. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin just can't pull it together week by week.
10. Kurt Busch - Kurt is still 7th in points, but without a win.He has also led the 6th most laps this season.
11. Aric Almirola - Aric grabbed another top ten on Saturday (his eighth this year), but he still doesn't have a top five.
12. Ryan Blaney - Blaney has the most laps led behind "the big three" (sorry I almost made it the whole way through without using it). Yet, he doesn't have a win and is just 10th in the standings mostly due to inconsistency. 

Just Missed: Jimmie Johnson

2018 NASCAR Pit Road Week 15: Michigan

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Michigan International Speedway

By Richard Tix

Rain, Rain go away.... Just kidding, seeing a Clint Bowyer win is always classic. I am sure as I am typing this Clint is still getting down good ole boy style. It is too bad that we couldn't get the whole race in on Sunday, but NASCAR did try it;s best (including some weird questionable calls at the end of stage one). But, here we are another week down with another previous winner. Let's just right into the Power Rankings.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 15 (Week 13)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- The Ford's have been rolling as of late and Harvick is the head of the class.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Speaking of head of the class, Kyle is right there too and this head to head with Harvick is shaping up to be a fun one this Summer.
3. Kurt Busch (LW-3)- Kurt took the MIS pole and spent a ton of time up front on Sunday, including leading 46 laps.
4. Joey Logano (LW-5)- Notching top tens hasn't been hard for JoLo this year (tied for most on the season with 12), but beating the other two with 12 top tens hasn't been easy (Harvick and Busch).
5. Martin Truex Jr (LW-6)- Once I said Truex was heating up he went out and won at Pocono... Yeah, they seem to be getting on track.
6. Clint Bowyer (LW-7)- A win is a win. Ford spent the whole day up front so even with weather it's not crazy a Ford won.
7. Brad Keselowski (LW-10)- SHR is on another level compared to Penske, but Penske isn't too far behind. The 2, 12, and 22 just can't seem to bring winning speed each week unlike SHR (4) and JGR (18).... Well, I guess no one can bring it like the 4 and 18 right now.
8. Denny Hamlin (LW-4)- Hamlin ran up front a bunch Sunday and also did at Pocano before wrecking.
9. Kyle Larson (LW-8)- Larson had a fast car before spinning in the second half at MIS. It's too bad because he has been really good there as of late.
10. Chase Elliott (LW-11)- Chase has been running well for weeks now, but he still isn't contending for wins. As they figure out this new car, maybe he will start pushing for that first trip to Victory Lane.
11. Aric Almirola (LW-12)- Taking Aric's first 15 races last year (yes, he missed time in between during those 15 races) he had three top tens, and five 15's. This year he already has six top tens and 13 top 15's. One none top 15 was a wreck and the other was a 17th place finish, #Consistency.
12. Ryan Blaney (LW-NR)- After some rough luck and runs, Blaney is back posting two top tens in a row and leading laps in three of the last four races.

Dropped Out: Jimmie Johnson (LW-9)

Just Missed: Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray

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