Weekly Review and Power Rankings
Week 19: 5-Hour Energy 301
By Richard Tix
Kyle Busch entered New Hampshire Motor Speedway 87 points back of the 30th spot in the Standings. After winning his 3rd race in 4 races Kyle is now only 58 points back of 30th and a chance at the Sprint Cup Chase. It is still a tall task, but every win makes it that much easier. So, will he get in? Check out the Buy or Sell article that was written before last weeks race.
Other than that excitement that was Kyle Busch winning again, Sunday brought the heat, literally. It was another hot one at NHMS and it could be seen on many drivers after the race. The 5-Hour Energy 301 was nothing short of grueling. Yet, guys like Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano had good days. With so many guys having strong races lately the top 5 is getting heated in the Power Rankings, so check them out below.
Week 19 Power Rankings (Week 18)
- Kyle Busch (LW-6)- Can you say Kyle Busch is on fire like Alex Bowman's NHMS car? Yes, his current streak is just as ridiculous as the NHMS guy falling down and in turn shooting off his extinguisher. 3 wins in 4 races means you should be Buying in on his Chase Chances. Finish: 1st
- Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Harvick has 17 top 10's in 19 races in 2015, so its tough to put him lower than the top 2. He gets the nod on NBTW because he has four straight top 10's (3 top 5's) and 10 top 10's (7 top 5's) in his last 11. No wins in that time, but his consistency is keeping him up here. Finish: 3rd
- Kurt Busch (LW-4)- Kurt Busch has six straight top 10 finish's and is now the after thought of the 2015 Busch Story line's. His last two have only been 10th place finishes, but he has been one of the better cars since being back. Finish: 10th
- Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- There is a cream of the crop right now and it seems to be getting crowded with the reemergence of Kyle Busch (plus Penske). So, one slip brings JJ back down to earth, but every time he moves down he proves the next week that you can not forget about him. Finish: 22nd
- Joey Logano (LW-3)- In the last 6 races JoLo has 5 top 5's (just Daytona where he hit everything and finished 22nd was outside the top 5). It seems Joey has re-found his groove this season. Finish: 4th
- Brad Keselowski (LW-8)- Another guy who is finding his groove is Penske teammate Brad Keselowski. In the last two races he has had one of the best cars and led a total of 163 laps. Both races he came up short, but the #2 team is starting to find the speed again. Finish: 2nd
- Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- The top 7 really are good right now, no two ways about it. I could see Jr as high as 3 without complaints. NBTW has him lower just because he hasn't been a true threat to win lately. Other than that, he is on a Championship type pace. Finish: 5th
- Matt Kenseth (LW-9)- Back to back top 10 finishes is giving this #20 team some extra confidence heading into Indy. Maybe they can finally start stringing together qualify finishes. Finish: 6th
- Jeff Gordon (LW-12)- Could Gordon and the #24 team be finding there groove? Just in time to kiss the bricks again? We will find out Sunday about that but right now he has three straight top 10's going. Finish: 9th
- Carl Edwards (LW-NR)- Carl took his first Pole of the season on Friday and used it to have a good finish on Sunday. He stayed up front early, but he ended up only having a top 10 car most of the day. It is nice to see him start hitting stride finally with JGR. He now has two straight top 10's after he had to 40+ finishes. Finish: 7th
- Denny Hamlin (LW-7)- Denny wan't really much of a factor on Sunday after qualifying 5th. In fact, he was slow on a few restarts that held up the lines a time or two. In the end he came up short of the top 10, but all of the JGR car's looked better on Sunday. Finish: 14th
- Martin Truex Jr (LW-10)- It just doesn't seem like this team can get back going again. It is like they're stuck in the mud and about to get out, but it just hasn't happened. The plus side is the #78 was pretty fast on Sunday, but they didn't get the finish they were looking for. Finish: 12th
Dropped Out: Jamie McMurray (LW-11)
Just Missed: Ryan Newman and Aric Almirola
Honorable Mention: Austin Dillon (8th)
Jeff Goes back to back. Which means we have a new #1!
Garry would have gone back to back, but didn't go with his gut last week
Missed the mark on the Pole, but was right on with the winner!
It has been awhile since we have had three winners in one week. Check out the season long leaderboard for an idea of where everyone is. If you want to make the leaderboard lookout of my tweets throughout the week on the handle @NASCARBTW or just send me one at anytime before the race! Thanks for checking out Behind the Wall!
