2015 Pit Road Week 18: Kentucky

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 18: Quaker State 400

By Richard Tix

NASCAR headed into Kentucky with a ton of spotlight on the track, drivers, and cars. That's because a few weeks earlier NASCAR announced they would run a new aero package at Kentucky that might help facilitate passing.

The focus of this package was less down force so that car's actually had to be "driven" through the corners and not just play follow the leader.

So, when mother nature kept playing with NASCAR fan's emotions NASCAR had to call qualifying and instead added a Cup practice to the schedule. This came after the Cup teams didn't have any practice time Wed or Thur so NASCAR decided it was best to let them have some seat time.

Now, I disagreed and wanted everyone to get to qualify (or even just let all 46 race), NASCAR made the call and they had to live with it. I thought that if they didn't practice at least it was unfair to every team (because no one got to practice), unlike what happened when NASCAR didn't qualify. By calling qualifying, it was unfair to just a select few (the guys who had to go home). It was especially bad news for Ryan Blaney who has now gone home back to back weeks because of rain. Both weekends there is no doubt that the #21 Wood Brothers/Penske Ford would have made the race.

So, after practice we still were left to see how the package ran during a race. In my opinion, the new package hit the mark. Kentucky (even though I enjoy the 1.5) had it's most exciting race in just five Cup stops. Many times the race comes with a boring outcome, but Saturday night gave us racing throughout the field and plenty of passing. All of that was capped off by a late surging Kyle Busch. With less than 40 laps left Joey Logano lead and Kyle Busch caught him (Kyle lead most of the night and had one of the cars to beat). The two of them exchanged jabs back in forth with what lead to some of the best 1.5 racing of the year (I would argue it was the best 1.5 all season). 

Eventually Kyle pulled away and the last 10 laps were just too easy for him, but that happens when one guy is better all night. The battle between the two seemed to be very telling on the night. Cars seemed to be able to catch others, and then once they did, drivers said they didn't stall out. That was pretty apparent when Kyle caught JoLo. He caught up, picked his spot, and then took a different line to pass Joey. It wasn't just there, but it seemed like it was a positive through most of the field. 

Now, I am of the opinion that the package was a step int he right direction. It was either that it was better, or that my eyes wanted it to be better. In the end I try and think back to some Kentucky races of the past and this one seemed to be hands down the best racing at this track. It was the best racing of the year. So, I don't think it was just a coincidence.

The problem is that we do not get to see this package on another 1.5 until the Chase. We also have to wait to see any new packages until Indy and Michigan later this year. I want to stress that I believe this was a step in the right direction, but NASCAR can continue to improve.

I think much of the improvement will lie in the tires (Darlington is said to have new tires with the package) and the fact that every track might need a track specific package. What works one place may need to be slightly adjusted at another. That is being show in the Indy and Michigan packages (which are new, but different than the one at Kentucky). 

All in all, NASCAR heading in the right direction this weekend, but hopefully they don't stop short. Keep asking the drivers for input because the drives hit the nail this past weekend.

Full Quaker State 400 Race Results

1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- I'll be honest, this week the #1 finally isn't clear. Neither Harvick nor JJ were dominate like they have been on 1.5's. They still are a cut above, but this package might bring them back down to the pack. Finish: 9th
2. Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Want Harvick to have the top spot? Well, it was a tough call. With neither standing out I gave it to the guy who held the top spot last week. Finish: 8th
3. Joey Logano (LW-7)- It's a big jump from 7th to 3rd in the rankings, but this new packaged gave us some much different results. On top of his strong finish Saturday, he also has 4 top 5's in his last 5 races. Finish: 2nd
4. Kurt Busch (LW-4)- Not much of a factor Saturday night, Kurt fought through some adversity and still managed a top 10. It was a good quality finish that you need to win a Championship. Finish: 10th
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-3)- What a bad night for Dale Jr. That's really all you can say about his Kentucky experience. Let's chalk this up to a bad night and not worry too much yet, after all he still got close to a top 20 during one of his worst races of the season. Finish: 21st
6. Kyle Busch (LW-NR)- If Kyle would have ran all year he would easily be in the Chase after this weeks win. He now has to work his way in, but his second win of the season will go a long way in helping that. He is now 87 points out of 30th and just showed when he is on how dominate he can be. Finish: 1st
7. Denny Hamlin (LW-NR)- How many of you realize Hamlin has two straight 3rd place finishes? He also lead laps in the last two races in a pretty quiet manor. All of the JGR cars looked much better at Kentucky then they did earlier this year at most 1.5's. Finish: 3rd
8. Brad Keselowksi (LW-12)- That's racing. BK easily had the best car for 2/3 of the race (Kyle a close second). But, he kept getting shuffled back because of poor pit stops. It was great for fans because his runs to the front were impressive, but the team was frustrated. Lets see how they bounce back after this? Finish: 6th
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-11)- Kenseth finally bounced back after two rough races. He had a pretty strong night on a 1.5 where JGR has been searching for speed. Finish: 5th
10. Martin Truex Jr (LW-8)- Will this package put Furniture Row back a bit? Truex did run decent most the night, but did not find his way to the top 10 when the night was done. Finish: 17th
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-5)- After three straight 7th place finished JMac now had his third straight finish outside the top 10. However, he is hanging on by posting top 15's and not having a complete melt down. Finish: 14th
12. Jeff Gordon (LW-NR)- Back to back top 10's for Gordon after a few rough outings. Gordon looked strong during points late on Saturday but didn't have enough for Kyle. It was still an encouraging run for the #24 team. Finish: 7th

Dropped Out: Kasey Kahne (LW-6), Clint Bowyer (LW-9), and Ryan Newman (LW-10)

Just Missed: Paul Menard

Jeff got the benefit of the doubt this week after leaving out Busch's first name. 

That's all for this weekends review and Power Rankings. Next week NASCAR Heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first time in 2015. Back to some short track racing where some guys like Ryan Newman could factor in and change the Chase outlook. Check back in for a race preview, TV Schedule, and Driver Entry List.

Pit Road Week 17: Kentucky

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Week 17

By Richard Tix

Many drivers had a Roller Coaster race on Saturday night. Some reach a season high (Brad Keselowski), others a low when bad luck struck (Denny Hamlin), and all the rest were just riding the bumps of Kentucky Speedways front stretch. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr wasn't the only one to make comments after the race. David Ragan and Rodney Childers also chimed in (which I will cover in This Week in NASCAR). As far as the racing goes the Quaker State 400 wasn't terrible (but it wasn't edge of your seat either). The lack of entertainment most likely came from

the fact that Brad Keselowski lead early and often. In fact, he lead 199 of 267 laps on his way to a dominant win. One things fans get bored with is these types of wins (See Jimmie Johnson at Dover). But when a driver is on he is on. Back in Richard Petty's hey day these things happened even more often, heck back in the day a winning driver would lap most of the field.

If you missed the race check out the full Quaker State 400 results here.

Pit Road Power Rankins Week 17 (Week 16)

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-1)- Well since I went with Jr last week he kept himself in position this week. Jr did that by finishing 5th on Saturday which makes 9 top 5's in 17 races (leads all drivers in top 5's).
2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-2)- A lot of rankings have JJ #1, which I will not argue. JJ finished 10th on Saturday night which gives him 12 top 10's in 2014, tied with Jr and 1 less the Gordon (13). 
3. Brad Keselowski (LW-7)- With the win at Kentucky, BK just clinched his spot in the Chase with 2 wins so far in 2014. BK also is second to only Jr in top 5's (8). His last 5 finishes have been very impressive, minus Sonoma (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 22nd, and 1st).
4. Jeff Gordon (LW-3)- If you take Talladega out of the question, Jeff Gordon has a low finish of 15th. Even counting Dega Gordon has finished in the top 10 13 of 17 races and the top 15 16 of 17. He has been the model of consistency this season and showed that again at Kentucky with a 6th place finish.
5. Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- In Harvick's last 10 races he has 1 win, 4 top 5's and 6 top 10's. In fact, in his last 10 he has been runner up (2nd) three times. He also has 3 poles in that same time, so to say he has been fast might be an under statement.
6. Kasey Kahne (LW-11)- Kahne had a rough start to the 2014 season, but currently he is on a three race top 10 streak. He could be turning things around just in time. He has had a history of winning at a some of the tracks coming up.
7. Paul Menard (LW-8)- Things start to get dicey in the rankings starting here. All of the remaining guys have had there chance to shine but also have struggled. So, with that being said I have a handful of guys that could go from 7-15 in any order. Menard is first up. He finished 15th just a week after notching back to back top 5's. Menard is officially having one of his best seasons yet.
8. Joey Logano (LW-NR)- Joey Logano has had a very good season so far. He has almost always been fast in practice and in qualifying, but sometimes he falls off just a bit during the race. Most of the time he climbs back and finds a way to finish top 10, but lately he hasn't had the cars to compete for the win. However his teammate has been getting it together so I would say JoLo will be figuring it out again soon.
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-12)- Matt Kenseth is still looking for his first win of 2014, but I think he was happy to break his bad 3 race run with a 4th place finish Saturday at Kentucky. Kenseth has been slipping up (plus some bad luck) in the previous three but I would bet that this 4th place finish could turn things right back around.
10. Clint Bowyer (LW-5)- Bowyer hasn't had a very great season so far, but before his 23rd finish at Kentucky he was on a nice little roll (10th, 10th, 11th, and 4th). Because that run got him up to 5th in my rankings he hangs on for one more week.
11. Ryan Newman (LW-NR)- It has been hard to rank Newman all season. Not because Ryan has been bad, but because he has been good but not great. He sits 8th in the standings yet he doesn't have a win, is behind 20 drivers in top 5's (1), and behind 12 drivers in top 10's (6). See how it is hard to rank him? This week Newman finished 3rd so he squeak's in. NASCAR heads to Daytona and the Loudon so he has a chance to hang around for a bit.
12. Kyle Busch (LW-NR)- Last spot goes to Kyle Busch for a pretty good second place run at Kentucky. Most of the time when a driver has a stretch as bad as Kyle just had, one good finish isn't enough to get back into the top 12, but Kyle was the only one to test BK and Penske teammate Joey Logano on Saturday (led 31 laps). Maybe he can turn things around in 2014, but will it be enough to finally contend for a Championship?

Dropped Out: Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, and Carl Edwards

Just Missed: Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, and Marcus Ambrose

Honorable Mention: Marcus Ambrose (13th) and Michael Annett (18th)

Here are this weeks winners (Follower and other NASCAR fans who correctly picked Brad Keselowski to win at Kentucky and let me know. @NASCARBTW)

Always down for BK unless I am told otherwise!

Nice call by Garry! He overachieved and called BK leading the most laps.

Yes, I also got it right. I am now 2/17!!

As always, thank you for reading! I do appreciate it. Check back for a new This Week in NASCAR, Driver Entry List, and a Daytona Firecracker 400 preview!