2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 26: Richmond

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Federated Auto Parts 400

By Richard Tix

Hey! The regular season is done and y'all are still here? NASCAR heads into the final ten races which now has a new name. The Playoffs Chased away the old name - see what I did there? - and with that it brought in some new wrinkles. We now have playoff points included that roll over round to round up until Homestead.

So, now that we're heading to the "post season" Behind the Wall is going to do a complete reset of the Power Rankings. Just like last year, we're opening it back up to 16 spots in the rankings. However, those 16 spots are only going to be made up of the current playoff drivers. After three races the field gets cut to 12 and so will the Behind the Wall power rankings. Again, only playoff drivers will be of those 12 spots. Once we get to the third round (eight drivers left), the power rankings will still be 12 spots, but the top 8 spot will be the remaining divers and the last four can be made up of ANY driver, regardless of if they made the playoffs. Same will happen at Homestead, 12 spots in the rankings, the top four will be the remaining drivers, and the rest of the spots will be made up of anyone else. Just keep that in mind when your favorite driver who is on a hot streak sits in 9th because 8 other playoff drivers are ahead of him/her.

So, lets get it started!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 26 (Week 25)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-2)- Truex is already up 20 points on Larson (second) and has 38 playoff points after the reset. He can book it to the second round right now.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- Rowdy finished strong with six straight top tens including two wins to finish the regular season. He also has 21 playoff points (third most) to help him move along in the final ten races.
3. Kyle Larson (LW-4)- Well, thats a nice way to finish off the regular season. Larson's win gave him four in 2017 and really helped by giving him an extra 5 playoff points.
4. Denny Hamlin (LW-3)- Hamlin has come on strong late in the regular season (even with an encumbered win). With Toyota still rolling, I expect Hamlin to be strong these final ten races.
5. Kevin Harvick (LW-7)- Harvick is my top Ford going into the playoffs and most of that is because he has been so consistent. 
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- Kenseth was the one of the last one's into the playoffs, but don't let that fool you, he has been running very well as of late. He has some ground to make up, but should advance a round or two and then all it takes is a win.
7. Brad Keselowski (LW-11)- BK is not entering the playoffs like he would want to I am guessing. Sputtering in, BK really has run into a ton of poor luck. He still has two wins and 11 top fives this year, so they could get it together.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-NR)- Last year I had JJ ranked 9th going into the Playoffs..... Just keep that in mind if he starts advancing this year again.
9. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- Consistent? Yup. Championship contender? Probably not. Lets be honest, barring some crazy story-lines most these guys aren't in line for the Championship this year. However, Chase has had a great year that just needed a bit of late race closing. Maybe he gets Stage Three figured out and makes a run to Miami?
10. Kurt Busch (LW-10)- Kurt has been running strong late in the season. Maybe they have found something? But, is it enough to make a long run?
11. Ryan Newman (LW-9)- Winning speed? Nope. But the No. 31 team has been putting a bunch of quality runs together and not many have noticed.
12. Ryan Blaney (LW-NR)- Winning speed? Yup. But this team can not find any consistency which will burn then in the playoffs.
13. Jamie McMurray (LW-12)- His teammate is going off, meanwhile JMac has been riding steady. Making the playoffs on points is not easy and Jamie just keeps doing it year after year.
14. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- One last run with HMS. Let it sink in for awhile and enjoy it while you can.
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-NR)- Hey, at least Ricky gets Talladega in the playoffs. However, it's in the second round and he will most likely already be kicked out.
16. Austin Dillon (LW-NR)- I had AD pegged for a much better season, boy was I wrong. However, he is here and gave himself a chance.

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 23: Michigan

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Pure Michigan 400

By Richard Tix

The Week 23 NASCAR Power Rankings after Kyle Larson's win at MIS.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 23 (Week 22)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Great car, great run, and he added to his playoff points with a stage win. They only thing that got away was the win.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Boy, pitting while pit lane was closed was huge, but he and the 18 team bounced back.
3. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK had a great car early, then got stuck in traffic and wasn't the same. A poor late restart cost him a quality finish.
4. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- Another strong day by Elliott, but still no win. He really needs to be in better position late in the race.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-3)- A forgetful day, moving onto Bristol.
6. Kyle Larson (LW-11)- What. A. Move. 
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-7)- 14th and now 13th at MIS this year, luckily we don't go back a third time.
8. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- A strong run all day long was ruined late in the race when MK had a tire go down and he limped it to the finish.
9. Erik Jones (LW-10)- Man was Erik fast on Sunday or what? If we raced MIS one more time this year he could contend for a win here.
10. Daniel Suarez (LW-6)- Suarez wrecked with Kahne, but not long before that was battling BK for the lead, great showing despite the wreck.
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- The 9th place finish hopefully gets him back on track.
12. Chris Buescher (LW-NR)- I think Chris might be getting overlooked here. He has two top tens in his last four and three finishes of 11th or better in that same time. He now has a career high three top tens in a season, and we still have races to go.

Dropped Out: Clint Bowyer (LW-9) and Jimmie Johnson (LW-12)

Just Missed: Trevor Bayne

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 15: Michigan

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

FireKeepers Casino 400

By Richard Tix

MIS Thoughts:

NASCAR's Debris Cautions

• While some of these during the day were legit, yet very strange, one of the late "debris" cautions felt a lot like last years phantom cautions that plagued the series. Instead of an intriguing finish on who might make it on fuel and who could catch whom, NASCAR threw the yellow and a cluster of pileup's ensued. Call me what you will, but I would have rather seen that race finish green and see the strategies played out. We already have stages NASCAR, don't bring back the phantom debris. If it's real, get your TV partners to show it because many fans just don't believe it's really there or worth the caution...

DeLana Harvick

• Outspoken? Yes. Brash? Yup. Opinionated? Heck, yeah. Entitled to share what she wants on SOCIAL MEDIA? Of course. Heck, she has more right as an emotional spouse to a Cup driver then the couch potato fan does, yet the new Ryan Blaney fan base went right after her Sunday. Her tweet read: "WTH was the 19 doin'? And no 21, the 4 didn't just run into ya..." First, she has a better seat than Blaney, but in the heat of the moment Blaney is also entitled to an opinion and saying it on the radio. Two, the anger in her tweet was more towards the 19 and not the 21. She was merely pointing out that the 21 was wrong over the radio (fact) and backing her husband up from being attacked. Blaney and DeLana hashed it out and made up because they're both responsible for there actions, but some of the 21 fan base took way to much offence in the tweet and even got down to saying that she should "keep her mouth shut." TBH, I don't always agree with her, but the sport needs to have brash folks just like it needs the quiet guys in the corner. Keep bringing it DeLana!

CGR is on a Roll

• CGR already has two wins in 2017 (both Kyle Larson) and is setting the pace for a fantastic season. It's obvious they have found something while other Chevy teams (cough cough HMS) are still searching for it. So far Larson and McMurray have amassed 19 top tens, nine top fives, two wins, and two poles. Last year they finished with 27 top tens, 12 top fives, one win, and zero poles. Both drivers are well on there way to posting career numbers and Larson is on the verge (if not past it) of becoming a HUGE star in NASCAR.

Is JGR Turning it Around?

• Hamlin finished 4th, Busch finished 7th, and Kenseth finished 11th. Even more important than where they finished is that all of them ran up front for a larger portion of the race. Hamlin had an average running position of 6th, Busch 3rd, and Kenseth 7th. They have played second fiddle to Furniture Row when it comes to Toyota performance, but they may finally be catching up a bit when it comes to the rest of the field. As it stand's even with a slow start that includes zero JGR wins, Busch is still 3rd in points while Hamlin is 9th and Kenseth is 11th. Yes, all of this leaves out Suarez but he is getting adjusted to the Cup level as a whole so some growing pains are expected. Even with that considered, he has run very consistent and if JGR gets some added speed he could start to find the front more often.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 15 (Week 14)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- The top spot just got closer, but Truex gets the small nudge over Larson with his Cup leading 20 playoff points.
2. Kyle Larson (LW-4)- Larson went back to back at  MIS and now has 15 total playoff points in a season where CGR is showing tons of speed.
3. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- JGR is struggling compared to where they were a year ago (total domination), but Rowdy is still third in points.... Scary for the field to think where he will be if they get it going.
4. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Something just isn't fully clicking with the 4 team. This time they got caught up in the mess with the 19 when the 21 bunched everyone up, but they still didn't have a winning car before that.
5. Jamie McMurray (LW-9)- When JMac is having a career year you know CGR has hit on something. No knock on McMurray, but so far this season has been an outlier in his career stats, but it's really good to see.
6. Jimmie Johnson (LW-5)- JJ had an alright day and still notched a top ten, not too shabby.
7. Denny Hamlin (LW-7)- He is alive. Hamlin finally reveled to everyone on Sunday he still races in MENCS.
8. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Kenseth's day was like his car, simple and clean, but kind of blah. However, blah is actually a good description for Kenseth right now since earlier this year it would be described much more harshly. Kenseth seems to be on the up and up right now heading into Sonoma.
9. Chase Elliott (LW-NR)- Three straight second place finishes for Elliott at MIS. That's a second place finish for every time he has run a Cup race at MIS....
10. Brad Keselowski (LW-6)- BK had a top ten car, but fell out late and never made it back up while his teammate Joey Logano charged late.
11. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- Blaney was good most of the day until a late restart had him get loose and fall way back.
12. Erik Jones (LW-11)- Erik quietly keeps performing and stacking up quality finishes, but he will need a win to get into the Playoffs as a rookie.

Dropped Out: Ryan Newman (LW-12th)

Just Missed: Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Kurt Busch, and Dale Earnhardt Jr

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 5: Auto Club

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Auto Club 400

By Richard Tix

Another week in the books and another new winner visiting Victory Lane. NASCAR is now a perfect five for five in regards to different winners so far to start the season off. Things will most likely level off, but it is fun to see different strategies playing a part in this weekly. Last week it was Newman staying out and clinching a win and this week it was Martin Truex Jr trying to do the same but falling to Kyle Larson.

Even though we have had a five different winners, the early season is starting to give us some clarity on early season story lines within teams. While Hendrick Motorsports seems to be struggling, Chase Elliott is thriving for the most part. Meanwhile JGR has had a slow start, but Martin Truex Jr -- also in a Toyota -- is on fire weekly. Then you have the Fords of Team Penske where all three -- yes, one is technically Wood Borthers -- are a threat each week to be running up front.

So, even though the winners have been different, many of the same drivers are bringing it week to week and really we could have had just two winners thus far because Larson has been that good. Meanwhile, we wait to see how long it is until Johnson, Kenseth, Earnhardt, and Hamlin get it going. Will they? I have no doubt that Jimmie and Chad will turn things around and have plenty of time to do so, but will they miss out on too many bonus playoff points while they right the ship?

One thing is for sure, we aren't short of things to watch for early this year so settle in and enjoy.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 5 (Week 4)

1. Kyle Larson (LW-1)- 3, 2, 12, 2, 2, 2, and 1. Dating back to the end of last year, those are the finishing position of Larson in the last seven Cup races -- oh and that 12th was Daytona where he was pushing for the win but ran out of fuel....
2. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- After and early spin, BK and the No. 2 team took a beat up car and fought back. Heck, late in the race they had a slim shot at still pulling out a win before finishing runner up to Larson.
3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Elliott has three straight races of an average running position of 4th, but that changed this week when he came in with a higher average....Of fifth... The No. 24 is one HMS car taht has speed, thy just need to close.
4. Martin Truex Jr (LW-7)- A few weeks after his Vegas win, Truex again was one of the best cars on the day and one of the only ones with a chance to beat Larson. Some gambling backfired late, but the No. 78 is on point right now.
5. Kyle Busch (LW-5)- Kyle finished up a strong top 5 finish at PIR with a top 10 at Auto Club. He and Truex are starting to come alive.
6. Joey Logano (LW-6)- JoLo started toward the rear of the field after not getting to qualify for the race while stuck in inspection. They bounced back with a strong top five.
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-4)- It looks like Harvick will be going through every situation possible early this year. Sunday it was bouncing back after early damage from a flat tire. His 13th was pretty impressive all things included.
8. Jamie McMurray (LW-8)- Aggressive and fast can describe JMac early this year. CGR has found something (maybe extra help from Chevy with SHR gone?) early on and Jamie has benefited.
9. Ryan Blaney (LW-9)- Blaney and Harvick have seemed to be the two guys who have gone through everything early this year, but kept it enough together to finish off some races. Blaney notched another top ten Sunday (9th).
10. Daniel Suarez (LW-NR)- Don't look now but Suarez has beck to back 7th place finishes which is an early season bonus. I still expect him to be inconsistent, but these finishes will help in the long run no doubt.
11. Denny Hamlin (LW-10)- DH hasn't been that great early this year, but he also hasn't been bad. Sunday at Auto Club was the same.
12. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- Welcome back to the top five Bowyer... Sunday ended a decent drought for Bowyer and top fives, next up, a win...Maybe..

Dropped Out: Jimmie Johnson (LW-11) and Ryan Newman (LW-12)

Just Missed: Erik Jones