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 5: Auto Club

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Auto Club Speedway

By Richard Tix

It's going to be a quick one this week folks! After missing last weeks Power Rankings and Race Preview for Auto Club I am hoping to get back at it this week. First up are the updated Power Rankings. These took into consideration the past two races since my last rankings. Enjoy!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 5 (Week 3)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Harvick has won three of five races, collected 11 playoff points, and still sits eight in the standings....Rough. Harvick basically took himself out of the race Sunday, but after such a hot start gets a pass for one week.
2. Martin Truex Jr (LW-3)- He has four top 5's in five races so far and just put on a clinic in the final stage on Sunday to notch his first win of 2018.
3. Kyle Busch (LW-6)- Don't look now, but Kyle now has three straight top three finishes and four straight top tens. A late mistake by his pit crew adjusting the wedge really saw him fall off the pace from Truex, but it seemed like Martin was going to win either way.
4. Joey Logano (LW-2)- JoLo was strong once again at Auto Club finishing in the top five for the third straight year. He still hasn't managed a win in Fontana even after all these strong runs.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-7)- Las Vegas and his pitting penalties are Hamlin's only blemish so far in 2018. He has been really steady week to week.
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- Talking about steady, BK has been a car that normally is sitting in the top ten all day in 2018. Auto Club was more of the same and he brought the No. 2 home fourth behind some really fast cars.
7. Ryan Blaney (LW-5)- Blaney is locking in points every week and running up front a decent amount, but he still hasn't had a winning car most weeks.
8. Kyle Larson (LW-8)- Larson was predictably fast at Auto Club once again, but really needed a late restart to even have a small chance at Martin Truex. Still, it was a nice second place finish especially after his early run in with Harvick.
9. Erik Jones (LW-12)- Quietly Jones has three straight top tens and has been looking much stronger week to week. In all four races he has qualified in the top ten.
10. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- Bowyer finished sixth at Phoenix, but just missed the top ten this past Sunday (11th). All of SHR has shown more speed in 2018, but most of them not named Harvick still have a ways to go to win a race.
11. Austin Dillon (LW-10)- Dillon got his first top ten since his win at Daytona on Sunday, but that doesn't tell enough of the story. He has actually been having a decent season and if RCR can find a bit more speed he will be sitting in the top ten a bit more often.
12. Aric Almirola (LW-NR)- Aric is really impressing in his first season with SHR in the No. 10. He is already 1/3 of the way to his top tens from 2017, and is consistently hanging from 10-15th every week (which is a huge improvement from his time at RPM). 

Dropped Out: Paul Menard (LW-9) and Chase Elliott (LW-11)

Just Missed: Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, and William Byron

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 36: Homestead

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Ford EcoBoost 400

By Richard Tix

What a year it has been. This year has been a huge transition on Behind the Wall. Real life changes and priorities have really taken away from the content on here which sucks, but life goes on. Thankfully this site started as a hobby for me to keep me closer to the sport I loved following. It developed into a bit more with it providing a better platform to get my opinion out that couldn't get done on twitter (pre-280 character counts!). This year it basically broke back down to the basic's (Power Rankings and Race Prviews) and even then it was a struggle to get those done, but I still had fun with it and that's what this is all about.

Know what else was fun? The 2017 season. I have never actually called myself a Martin Truex Jr fan, but always thought he was a great guy, one of the good guys in the garage. So to have a season like this for him and his team is something special and I am glad we all got to watch it unfold week by week. 

From the start this was a fun season. We started with five different winners before Brad Keselowski became a multi winner in the sixth race, then Jimmie Johnson won his first and second in back to back races. Following JJ going back to back Joey Logano locked his name into the playoffs just to have it taken away and give the NASCAR world a fun word of the year: "encumbered." From there we moved on and had winners like Austin Dillon, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr TWICE, Kasey Kahne, and Ryan Newman just to shake things up. Story lines all around, the year had twists and turns that many may have forgotten just because Martin Truex Jr was so dominate once he got on a roll after all the early season drivers got wins out of the way. Before we got to the Toyota takeover it looked like Team Penske, Kyle Larson, and JJ would be able to get it done all year long, but people forgot that because, after all, NASCAR has a LONG season. 

However, it's a good thing the season will be known for a dominant No. 78 team and not how some drivers thought Toyota had an advantage, because Martin Truex Jr and that team deserve it to be that way. Little other things will be remembered about the 2017 season, but Truex and his story will be up there in everyone's memory bank. As will Dale Earnhardt Jr, Matt Kenseth, and Danica Patrick stepping away from full time Cup driving at season's end. Each are stepping away because of different life path's, but each deserve to be remembered in there own light because they all provided NASCAR and it's fans so much enjoyment. They all brought so much to the table over their careers in NASCAR and have helped shape the sport we watch every weekend. 

We maybe heading into another offseason and one without some core drivers of past, but plenty of news will be coming out every week to keep us going and new stars will start to shine. Luckily NASCAR has one of the shortest offseason's around so even when it feels like a long time, it really isn't as bad as it could be. So, brace yourself, NOD (NASCAR Offseason Disorder, credit @ANNOYINGRACEFAN) is a real thing...

Check back because I do plan on doing some Team Reviews, then Team Previews, and also a spot where you can catch all the offseason team/driver changes.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 36 (Week 35)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- What a story. What a race. It started out slow, but Martin and the No. 78 team persevered through and in the end they ended up the car to beat, just like every other week. Martin, his wife, and the team have gone though a ton of adversity and stayed humble through the whole thing so it was a great Championship win for them as a whole.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-3)- They had the car to beat from the middle of the race on. They made a pit call during stage three that played a minor role, but they still got up front anyways. In the end the 78 was just too strong late in the race, just like all season.
3. Kevin Harvick (LW-2)- Harvick did what he could. He stayed up front all day, ran his line from light to dark, and hung tough. In the end it wasn't enough to compete with the two best cars all season long.
4. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- Always overlooked. One day we will look back on his career and think "how didn't we hype what he was doing more?" It's because he just gets the job done. I always called him the most consistent driver on the track week in and week out. He is a future Hall of Fame driver who helped pave the way for today's NASCAR whether he tried or not (playoff system). It was nice to see him go out and win at PIR and follow it up with a strong 8th at Homestead where he hung up front a bunch but just couldn't crack the lead.
5. Chase Elliott (LW-6)- No win in 2017, but that overshadows what a great season Chase had. Kyle Larson in his third full year did have a win, 10 top fives, 15 top tens, and an average finish of 14.7, but Chase beat him in almost every category. Chase didn't get the win, but had 12 top fives, 21 top tens, and and average finish of 12th. So, lets not downplay what Chase accomplished this year just because he still doesn't have a win.
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK just didn't have enough. Early in the race they pitted before everyone to throw off the strategy and get track position. That worked, but it wasn't enough by the end of the night. BK almost matched his statistics from 2016, but the top cars were just that much better.
7. Denny Hamlin (LW-7)- Homestead was the first race since Dover that Hamlin hadn't led a lap and that's after taking the pole this past weekend. However, he still ran well all day and even to close the season.
8. Kyle Larson (LW-NR)- Larson may have been able to contend for the win on Sunday, but we will never know as he hung back late in the race and let the battle for the Championship play out for the most part. Leading a races best 145 laps is a good way to go into the offseason after the teams rough skid to end the year.
9. Joey Logano (LW-NR)- What a rough way to find rock bottom, but the No. 22 team was much better on Sunday (finishing 6th) and started to put it together down the stretch. If the last three races mean anything for 2018, it is that JoLo may get back to his norm.
10. Ryan Blaney (LW-8)- The Homestead finish is not how Blaney and the Wood Brothers wanted to finish their pairing, but it is what it is. They had a better than expected playoff run which was good to see from both parties.
11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-11)- Ricky finished with four straight top 15's (two of them being top tens). His stat line for 2017 was almost all career best down the line, so even though it felt like another poor season, it was a bit of a step forward.
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-10)- One last time for ole Junior. If he had a choice, I'm not sure this is how he would have wanted to end his career running, but you could tell in his voice he still soaked every second of this season up on and off the track. The crowd roaring when he makes a move at Daytona will sorely be missed, but his voice of the sport won't be going anywhere. Thanks for the fun ride Junior!

Dropped Out: Erik Jones (LW-9) and Austin Dillon (LW-12)

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 32: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Hollywood Casino 400

By Richard Tix

One more round to go until NASCAR heads to Homestead for the finale. If this round is anything like last round than we're in for a huge outcry from the fans. What do I mean? Well, if you missed Sundays race at Kansas you would have missed the fact that Kyle Larson, one of the top drivers of 2017, is now out of contention for the Championship. One hit of bad luck at the wrong time can do that to you now, and it's what all of social media was talking about. 

I 100% get it as well. But, one bad key race if you didn't lock it up earlier is also a threat to any driver including the No. 78. So, the complaints will only get larger if the No. 78 gets knocked out this round.

This does bring back into play out important the regular season was, because maybe a win or two more (or winning the regular season points) would have been enough extra points to keep Kyle Larson in the hunt. Most likely the engine failure still would have done the No. 42 in on Sunday, but it's not like they also didn't have other times in this season, in these playoffs, to lock themselves in. It sucks, its a downfall of this format, but it isn't the end all be all and Larson handled it like a vet.

Not that this makes a difference, but to anyone wanting to go back to straight up points on the season should realize Larson would be all but out of it already as well (143 points back) and this would have been a huge blow to his Championship contention either way.

Anyways, lets move onto the Power Rankings. Remember, this week NASCAR cut down to eight drivers which means the top eight below are all playoff drivers. The remaining four spots are fair game to anyone!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 32 (Week 31)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Personally I am pulling for my favorite driver, however I would be disappointed if the 78 doesn't at least get to the Championship and it would be a format fail if he doesn't.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-8)- Kyle went from the edge of elimination to back in the hunt with just one race and one set of eliminations. 
3. Chase Elliott (LW-3)- Chase is the last remaining zero win driver in the playoffs. However, he has finishes of 2nd, 2nd, 16th, and 4th in his last four to get him this far.
4. Kevin Harvick (LW-7)- In a season of transition from Chevy to Ford, Harvick is just hanging around. That's all it may take until Homestead.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-5)- Hamlin keeps riding around to nice finishes week after week. Sunday marked his third straight top 10 (two of them top 5's).
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK's win at Talladege locked him into this round, but he will need more speed to make a push for Homestead.
7. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- What a crazy weekend for the No. 21. Everything had to fall into place the right way for them to advance, and it did.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-9)- Here we are again, JJ just lurking in the back... Can he do it again?
9. Kyle Larson (LW-2)- I'm at a loss for words. We knew something like this could happen, but we never thought it would. The odds, especially in this day in age where engine failures are few and far between, had to have been so small.
10. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- A wreck ended Kenseth's playoffs, but he left a lot on the table in 2017 that put him in this spot. He fought hard to hang on this long. So, here's to hoping he can find a decent ride in 2018.
11. Kasey Kahne (LW-NR)- Under the radar, Kahne has been running well in his last rides in the No. 5. 9th, 8th, and 15th round out this round.
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-NR)- Junior has three seventh place finishes in his last four and somehow it feels overlooked. I am not sure how that happens with Junior, especially in his final season, but it kind of has.

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 30: Charlotte

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Bank of America 500

By Richard Tix

2017 NASCAR Week 30 Power Rankings after Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 30 (Week 29)

1. Martin Treux Jr (LW-2)- Just when you put Kyle ahead of him, Truex shows back up and locks himself in to the next round (as if he needed to). He came alive late on Sunday for this win and is easily the one to beat in 2017.
2. Kyle Larson (LW-3)- Larson was the victim of Kurt Busch getting loose on a late restart, but he stayed out and his left rear didn't go down (he had damage from the 41). It could have been a better day, but it could have ended much worse too.
3. Chase Elliott (LW-8)- One day he will win and not finish second. It. Will. Happen. It was cool to see the crowd get up when he charged to the lead.
4. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- What a day. Kyle went thru it all on Sunday. He hit the wall multiple times and ended the day laying next to his car. Thankfully he is fine and he will try and battle back at Dega.
5. Denny Hamlin (LW-6)- Hamlin took the pole and then followed up with a nice run. He has a twelve point cushion on the cut line.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- Kenseth rounds out the Toyota stable. After an 11th place finish he is a point out of 8th place.
7. Jamie McMurray (LW-9)- That was a great run by JMac and it leads into Talladega where we have seen him compete. A clean round at Dega could mean advancing to the round of eight.
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)- Nice run by JJ at CMS. The top ten Sunday makes in three in four playoff races.
9. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- What a mediocre day for BK. Every time I looked he was sitting in 13-15th with most of the playoff field in front of him.
10. Kevin Harvick (LW-10)- Harvick shed his two poor finishes in a row to a nice bounce back on Sunday. He could be higher, but those finishes linger into this round a bit (for me). 
11. Ryan Blaney (LW-11)- Blaney actually had a really strong day, fighting thru a bad car to finishing 8th, but he will need more of that to advance.
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-12)- One race into the second round and Ricky is in a ten point hole to eighth place already.

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 22: Watkins Glen

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

I Love New York 355 at the Glen

By Richard Tix

The Week 22 NASCAR Power Rankings after Martin Truex Jr's win at WGI.

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 22 (Week 21)

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Truex must have heard Rowdy coming for the top spot because he put in another strong performance on Sunday at WGI. 34 playoff points before the 15 he will get for being regular season champion.
2. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- I missed the scuffle with BK (step away for ten min and miss a huge chunk of the storyline...), but from what I heard it seemed more like a racing deal. Either way, Rowdy had a winning car and let the emotion over take him (took it out on BK and his CC later for not having a plan). This is still a Championship caliber driver who could get hot going into the Playoffs.
3. Denny Hamlin (LW-6)- Past the 78 and the 18, it's a mixed bag of drivers headlined mostly by Toyota's. Hamlin has a fourth or better finish (including a win) in four of his last five races and six of his last eight.
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-4)- BK screwed himself on a late pit by (barely) going thru too many boxes, but if not for that he was setting up for a top five after leading a bunch of laps.
5. Matt Kenseth (LW-7)- Another Toyota getting it going at the right time. Kenseth has four straight top tens (three top fives) and escaped WGI without a new winner. 
6. Daniel Suarez (LW-10)- ANOTHER Toyota driver turning it on, Suarez is starting to get the hang of things as of late. He has four straight top tens and notched his first top five of his career on Sunday.
7. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Rough day for the No. 4 team. Not a bad car, but some poor luck.
8. Chase Elliott (LW-9)- Fast car all day, but again faded. Almost every time it has been on a mid to late race strategy call (or sometimes lack of call). They have to realize soon that Stages aren't going anywhere for awhile and they need to adjust.
9. Clint Bowyer (LW-11)- Another quality run, but this team has to find winning speed or a winning call and the way Toyota's are running it needs to be a winning call.
10. Erik Jones (LW-NR)- Throw out to wreck at Loudon and IMS and Jones has Four straight top tens... Yup, another Toyota.
11. Kyle Larson (LW-5)- It's been one heck of a slide for Larson. He was so close to first just weeks ago and now Kyle Busch has passed him in the battle to catch Truex.
12. Jimmie Johnson (LW-8)- JJ is getting one more pass because I still can't count him out of any season, but holy crap has he been struggling to find good finishes.

Dropped Out: Kasey Kahne (LW-12)

Just Missed: Ryan Blaney and Michael McDowell

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 18: Kentucky

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Quaker State 400

By Richard Tix

Another short and busy week on NBTW. With that in mind the intro this week will be short and sweet while I focus on the rankings below and this weekends race preview. The dog days of summer have been beating on the site, but I do appreciate everyone who still comes back to check it out when i DON'T miss a week like I did last week.

Thing's are heating up on the track just like the weather. A battle remains for the points standings and as each race goes by the number 16 spot gets tougher to achieve. If you're a driver without a win any win by another driver below you in the standings would cause a huge blow to your playoff chances so every race matters.

1. Martin Truex Jr (LW-1)- Hard to argue Truex at No. 1. He just notched his third win of 2017 and now has 28 playoff points which is getting close to a whole race worth of bonus points which will carry with him every round.
2. Kyle Larson (LW-4)- All that said above, Larson is still the regular season points leader (which comes with bonus points at the end of the regular season). However, his lead has been trimmed to one heading into this weekend.
3. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Since Talladega Rowdy has started to turn the corner (seven top tens in nine races). He is still looking for win No. 1 in 2017, though.
4. Chase Elliott (LW-5)- He is heating up again... If we take out Daytona, Chase has five top tens and three top 5's in his last five. The No. 24 team just needs to seal the deal late in a race.
5. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Throwing out Daytona, Harvick ran really strong on Saturday at Kentucky (average running position of 4th). This team could be ready for s late Summer heat up.
6. Denny Hamlin (LW-8)- Hamlin is still win-less in 2017, but he (and JGR teammate Ky. Busch) seem to be getting things going as of late. In the last four races Hamlin has three 4th place finishes.
7. Jamie McMurray (LW-6)- JMac continues to show tons of consistency every week. This past weekend at Kentucky he put up 41 total points, which was the fifth most even though he finished seventh.
8. Joey Logano (LW-NR)- As it stands right now JoLo's encumbered win has him out of the playoffs. However, the No. 22 team has been putting together more solid runs week to week so things might be getting better sooner rather than later.
9. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- They're fast most weeks, but need to find some consistency late in the race to seal the deal.
10. Erik Jones (LW-NR)- Truex maybe stealing all the spotlight, but Erik is starting to come on strong as well and shouldn't be overlooked. He has back to back top tens, which is actually the first time he has done that all year, and was close to his second top five this year (6th).
11. Jimmie Johnson (LW-7)- Six top tens in 18 races is a weird stat for JJ. No need to panic (3 wins), but he could use some more time up front.
12. Clint Bowyer (LW-NR)- Bowyers last three finishes of 2nd, 2nd, and 13th make up one of his better stretches so far of 2017. He is still teetering on the playoff bubble so a win would come in handy.

Dropped Out: Brad Keselowski (LW-9), Kurt Busch (LW-11), and Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-12)

Just Missed: Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Darrell Wallace Jr

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 11: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

GoBowling 400

By Richard Tix

Let's start this Pit Road into out with a note on Aric Almirola. First, I an glad to hear he is doing ok and I am hoping for a quick and safe rehab back to full health. Man, those images Saturday night are ones that stick with you for a long time. All in all, I am glad all three involved are fine and well for the most part and can walk away to talk about it.

Unfortunately wreck's happen but I am glad safety has made strides to get where we are today. Also, it's unfortunate the wreck happened because it overtook the fact that Kansas was producing some really entertaining racing, which in my opinion had been lacking at the track in the past. I missed the first and second stage but heard from a large percentage of fans on social media that the stages were filled with quality racing and some exciting moments.

The fight between Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr was a fun storyline to watch during the closing laps and in the end one of the best cars of the night won, Truex. All in all it was a good race that will forever be remembered by images of a terrifying wreck that thankfully everyone came away with their lives from.

Get better soon Aric!

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 11 (Week 10)

1. Brad Keselowski (LW-1)- In my personal opinion no single driver has taken total control of being the dominate driver for a large period of time in 2017, making the top of this list a tough call each week. BK held the top spot last week and most of Saturday looked like a candidate to tumble, but the No. 2 team fought back and somehow finished second.
2. Martin Truex Jr (LW-8)- I apologized last week to Truex fans for having him too low, so a huge jump up the standings shouldn't be surprising. He has the best car all night at Kansas and proved it by taking it to VL.
3. Kyle Larson (LW-5)- He is still the points leader and keeps knocking out playoff points as well, but will he get back to his top 2 prowess? 
4. Kevin Harvick (LW6)- Four top fives in his last five races, like I said last week, "I feel a win coming."
5. Jimmie Johnson (LW-2)- JJ hit a lull in Kansas, but don't forget he still is third in playoff points accumulated with 10 and it's the end game that matters.
6. Jamie McMurray (LW-9)- JMac is fifth in points without a win in 2017, only Chase Elliott (fourth) is higher without a win. Jamie's seven top 10's are already more than half way to his total in an season from 2005-2016 (in 2004 he had a career best 23).
7. Ricky Stenhouse Jr (LW-4)- Stenhouse was close to his fourth straight top 10 on Saturday (11th) and it also would have made five in his lasts six, Instead he will settle for six straight finishes of 14th or better which is light years ahead of where this team was last year and even further than 2015.
8. Joey Logano (LW-3)- What a tough hit for Aric, Danica, and Joey. None of them nor none of us will forget that one in quite some time.
9. Kyle Busch (LW-NR)- Don't look now but Rowdy has been having "poor runs" that have given him some nice finishes. Kyle has back to back top fives and has lead at least one lap in six of the last eight races.
10. Chase Elliott (LW-7)- The little miscues have been leading to bad, bad days at the track. This week it was on pit road while exiting his box (some miscommunication I assume). It's been too many weeks of saying "they will learn to close," they need to start doing it to hang out in the top five of these rankings.
11. Clint Bowyer (LW-12)- Consistency. That's pretty much all that needs to be said for Bowyer. He hasn't been great, he hasn't been bad. 
12. Ryan Blaney (LW-NR)- Blaney's bad luck finally turned around as he won a stage and ran up front for most of the evening. Unfortunately the 78 had a better car late and the 21 couldn't hold him, or a few others, off.

Dropped Out: Denny Hamlin (LW-10) and Kurt Busch (LW-11)

Just Missed: Trevor Bayne and Kasey Kahne

2017 NASCAR Pit Road Week 3: Las Vegas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Kobalt 400

By Richard Tix

Vegas, the Sin City, and home of big time gambling but also the home of Las Vegas Motor Speedway and high prize boxing fights. Now, normally LVMS doesn't host boxing match-ups, but Sunday they did, even if it wasn't a very good one. 

Really, most of the day was dominated by the No. 78, No. 2, and No. 24 who all spent most of the day in the top 3. Between the No. 78 and No. 2 they lead most of the afternoon and it was their race to loose.

Ironically, it was Brad Keselowski who at the time held a late lead and looked to be headed to Victory Lane who ended up losing it. With a comfortable lead something on the No. 2 car gave way and BK started to lose the lead eventually parting the way for Martin Truex Jr to take it from him and win with ease. Even though a win was stolen from the No. 2 it wasn't as if Truex wasn't deserving. In fact he had one of the best cars all day and lead a total of 150 laps on his way to wining stage one, two, and the races. 

Though the race had it's moments, overall it was a race ruled by a few cars and the comers and goers were once again ignored for the most part on TV. The real fireworks came in the final round (excuse my lame boxing pun) while Martin Truex was burning them down on the front stretch in celebration.

During that time Kyle Busch stalked down Joey Logano on pit road and looked to land a nice right hook to JoLo's jaw which initiated an all out brawl (video here at JeffGluck.com). Why you might ask? Well because Rowdy narrowed his focus in on Joey and forgot his whole pit crew was surrounding him.

This time Joey not only stood his ground and didn't run, but actually was trying to get back into the fight even though a much bigger man in a white shirt was holding him back. Meanwhile it looked like Busch eventually hit his head on a car and continued his scuffle with No. 22 pit members.

First, these two are two of the most polarizing drivers in NASCAR. Both have fan bases full of either love or hate characters. Second, both bring in past altercations and fan opinions about them along the way. So, you can imagine how this fight went over on social media. In my opinion I understood Kyle being upset and with JGR previous run in's with Joey can see him overacting. I also can see where Joey was racing hard -- as was Kyle -- and he eventually got loose and into Kyle. It didn't look like Joey tried getting into Kyle but he also wasn't lifting -- nor would most drivers because getting off of it you loose spots. All Joey was doing was chasing it up the track and Kyle was there. This is racing and both had their sides... Sometimes we need this heat to really grab folks attention that might have otherwise turned the channel. 

So, we will head into PIR with some new storylines to watch since Kyle was none to happy with Joey while leaving the track on Sunday. We already know how one JGR would handle Joey -- cough cough Matt. Would Kyle do the same? 

Pit Road Power Rankings: Week 3 (Week 2)

1. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- BK was a few laps short of completing a back to back and giving Ford another win to start 2017. 
2. Chase Elliott (LW-4)- He was quiet, but for much of the day ran second or third. Chase ended the day with a 4th place average running position for the second straight race.
3. Joey Logano (LW-5)- JoLo is the only Cup driver to start 2017 with a top 10 in all three races so far.
4. Martin Truex Jr (LW-9)- What a dominate car Truex had on Sunday. Even if it involved a little late luck, Toyota finally broke through at LVMS and broke up the Ford wins.
5. Kyle Larson (LW-6)- Larson made a late move on the front of the pack Sunday. Kyle now has finished second in back to back races and is also second in points.
6. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Well, Harvick ended his day early when he had a tire go down and slammed the wall. He didn't have a comment for Goodyear, but don't let that get to you, he still had to call someone out (safety staff).
7. Kasey Kahne (LW-7)- Kahne's top 10 streak to start the year is done, but he still managed a respectful 12th place finish on Sunday. 
8. Ryan Blaney (LW-10)- Blaney is 6th in points right now, yet the third Ford in points. He was fast again at Vegas and finished 7th.
9. Kyle Busch (LW-8)- 2017 has not started off well for Rowdy. However, he was running well late in the race and making a push for a top 5. This is the last break I will give him after poor finishes to start the year.
10. Matt Kenseth (LW-12)- You may have missed him, Kenseth was in a white car at Vegas, but he ended up notching a top 10 by coming on late in the race.
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- Maybe is he wouldn't have been so dang aggressive at Daytona JMac would have three top 10's to start the year? We will never know that, but it has been one heck of a start for CGR this year.
12. Kurt Busch (LW-3)- Battery issues plagued Kurt Busch all day, but past that he has had a nice start to this season in his return to Ford.

Dropped Out: Trevor Bayne (LW-11)

Just Missed: Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin

2016 Pit Road Week 29: Dover

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Dover International Speedway

By Richard Tix

First thing's first: being called a hater by someone who has never read your articles or a tweet of your's before is ironic, because that person is as much a hater as you are since they know nothing about you.

I was called a hater on Sunday for calling out TV media (and others) who continue to try and hold onto the notion that Furniture Row is still a small team beating the odds. They're trying to sell the Cinderella story when the story has run it's course.

Why is this wrong? Because Furniture Row is no longer a small team, they're a legit title contender who is practically a fifth Joe Gibbs Racing car. That is no slight to Furniture Row, those guys worked their butt's off to get to this point and overcome the odds.

But, that story ended last season, it's time to stop harping on an old story and move on with the truth.

I like Martin Truex Jr and love that a once small team is expanding and becoming a real threat in NASCAR. However, this is like Gonzaga in college basketball (hopefully some of you get this). They were a media Cinderella darling for a short period of time, but eventually got so big they were a legit contender and the story-line was gone. College media understood that, the fans understood that, and Gonzaga understood that.

Story-lines change and we need to adapt with them. It doesn't make you a hater, it makes you a person who understands the context of situations and how they're forever changing. I try and keep is as real and unbiased as I can here. So, lets hit a few things you need to know if you just started following me.

I run Behind the Wall and try and keep my bias of drivers neutral for rankings and articles.

I am a huge Brad Keseloski fan and have been since he was working his way up. I am a Dodge fan so many of my drivers roots have passed through those ram horns.

I also like Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott (I know, weird situation), Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, and Kyle Larson.

When I first started watching in the 90's I was a young kid and latched onto Jeff Gordon like so many fans did over time. 

I was raised a King Petty guy (Mopar). By oldest brother is much older then me (I was an oops) and he was a Petty guy, so I followed suit. 

I have since dropped Gordon, Hamlin, and Kahne when people ask me who I am a fan of, but only because my list is huge (well some other things have turned me off from Denny as well). If you asked me, I would say I'm a BK fan, but I really do like a lot of guys. It comes with the nature of writing and just loving the sport.

I do like the newest Chase format and have from the start. However, I have always had a few thing's that I though needed adjustment (adding tracks to the full schedule and changing the final race year to year to name a few).

Even drivers I have disliked in the past have had their up's and downs when compared to m,y opinion. To be honest, I have had some of the best discussions on Twitter with fans of drivers I am not a big fan of. 

Last thing: I really wish they would add a few more short tracks (Iowa Speedway being one) and even a road course or two. I have held this opinion for awhile now and will not change it. I think they could drop a few 1.5 mile tracks that have two stops to make room. 

Oh, and I am from Minnesota and its tough to find a ton of people who consider themselves NASCAR fans. We're here, but we're hard to find. 

Now, onto the Power Rankings.

A review of the Chase Power Ranking Rules:

For the first three races we will have 16 drivers ranked and they will all come from the Chase field. Once NASCAR cuts the field to 12 so will Behind the Wall (again, all Chase drivers). Once we cut to 8 drivers I will still rank the top 12, but the top 8 will be only drivers left in the Chase and the remaining four can be anyone (previous Chase drivers OR someone who was never in the Chase). This type format will continue all the way down to the final (so in the end the Champion will be number one and the other eleven can be anyone in the Sprint Cup.

We're down to 12 Chase drivers so only those 12 are in the rankings this week.

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 29 (Week 28)

1. Martin Truex (LW-1)- Right now Truex is as hot as they come and NASCAR will hit two 1.5 mile tracks in the next three. Why is that important? Well, because he has been pretty darn good on 1.5 mile's while at Furniture Row.
2. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- Three top 5's in the Chase, tied for the most wins this season, the most top 5's all year, and stuck in 7th place in the standings. Weird, huh? It's a non factor if BK keeps running this well, these stats will advance him to Miami if he keeps it up. 
3. Kyle Busch (LW-4)- Rowdy led a lap ion every Chase race and also finished in the top 10 all three times. He was runner up at Dover on Sunday and knows how to navigate this Chase.
4. Joey Logano (LW-5)- It's a bit crazy to think JoLo has only won one race in 2016, but that's where we are right now. 
5. Kevin Harvick (LW-3)- Tough luck on Sunday, but guys it can happen at anytime, why all the Rodney Childers attacking on twitter? Harvick still looks like a title contender and already had a win.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW-6)- Hard to argue with 9th, 2nd, and 5th place finishes during the Chase. Nice work running well and advancing.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW-8)- This season is the lowest on average I have ever had JJ in the rankings, weird. Whats not weird is the No. 48 team is running better in the Chase, but can they keep it going against JGR?
8. Denny Hamlin (LW-7)- Ten top 10's in the last eleven races, not bad Hamlin. The last time he was out of the top 15 was thirteen races ago, and that was the unpredictable Daytona.
9. Chase Elliott (LW-9)- Will he win the Championship as a rookie? Odds are 99% no, but two third place finishes this round are impressive stats to add to a great rookie campaign. 
10. Kurt Busch (LW-10)- They survived with a lone top 10 and three top 15's. It wasn't pretty and they will need more this round, but they made it.
11. Austin Dillon (LW-13)- Yeah, a poor running by CGR helped, but Dillon didn't hurt himself by finishing 8th, and that's what it is all about. Nice work moving on and doing what you could to gain points.
12. Carl Edwards (LW-11)- I'm not sure what to think of the No 19 team. They would reel off two wins in this round at any moment, but right now they're lagging behind the other four JGR cars (yes, the No. 78 is a fifth JGR car). 

2016 Week 25 Pit Road: Darlington

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Darlington Raceway

PHOTO BY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

By Richard Tix

Darlington is towards the top of my must see races, yet almost every year I miss a good chunk of it. That's because Labor Day weekend always has been a family and friend camping outing. With Darlington making it's way back to it's traditional Labor Day weekend date, it means I have to hope we make it on a bike ride to a local bar, or to just catch some updates on Twitter while hanging around the campfire.

Even though I would love to see Darlington (especially because of the throwbacks), I wouldn't trade this family time with anything.

So, I missed a ton of the race but caught some on twitter and read a few updates throughout the night. With that said, I will have no review of the race and I also will spare you any opinion rant since I wasn't engaged enough to fully have one. Let's get to the rankings!

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 25 (Week 23)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- I'm not 100% sure where I stand on the Harvick rant after Darlington. On one side, he is frustrated and they need to know it. On the other, maybe it could have been behind closed doors because those team members are busting their butts and know they have screwed up. Its not very team member like to oust them in front of the NASCAR world. On the bright side, KH is still running well despite the poor pit stops. Finish: 2nd
2. Denny Hamlin (LW-4)- Hamlin hasn't really been winning goo often, but he has been very "consistent good." Seven straight top 10's for Hamlin heading into week 26. Finish: 4th
3. Joey Logano (LW-2)- JoLo has 11 top 10's in the past 13 races. He has been running well, but will it be well enough in the Chase? Finish: 5th
4. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- In the last 17 races, BK has lead at least one lap in in 13 of those, 13! In nine of those races he lead ten or more laps. The No. 2 hasn't always been the fastest, but Paul Wolfe and BK make calls every week to give them a shot at a quality finish. Finish: 9th
5. Carl Edwards (LW-6)- Carl gives himself a shot every week by qualifying well. Nine times in the last twelve he has started top 5 with six of those being front row. Finish: 19th
6. Kyle Larson (LW-10)- Larson wins at Michigan and goes on a tear to win the 2016 Sprint Cup Championship... It's not actually as crazy as you think. Look back at how good he was in 2014 down the stretch and then remember he is a more well rounded driver now. It's a long shot, but you never know. Finish: 3rd
7. Chase Elliott (LW-9)- Chase has turned in some quality performances since he was under pressure of making the Chase. Great timing and it should be enough to get in. Finish: 10th
8. Martin Truex Jr (LW-NR)- Bad luck aside, Truex has been very good on 1.5 mile tracks the past two seasons. Take a look ahead and remember the Chase is full of 1.5's. Finish: 1st
9. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Where have all the top 5's gone? The big difference in Kenseth's 2016 compared to 2011-2015 is he has four top 5's currently. Finish: 6th
10. Kyle Busch (LW-3)- Dominant car at Bristol: Wreck. Good car at Michigan: Spin and lose track position. Rowdy almost got back on track at Darlington, but his focus should be the final ten races. Finsish: 11th
11. Jamie McMurray (LW-NR)- What a time to run well. McMurray needs all the points he can get just to squeeze in  (currently 16th in Chase points). Three straight eights and a fifteenth at Darlington helps, but he needs a good run at RIR this week. Finish: 15th
12. Jimme Johnson (LW-11)- Sunday evening was one to forget again for JJ. Before Sunday, he was starting to gain some momentum heading into the Chase. Finish: 33rd

Dropped Out: Tony Stewart (LW-7) and Kurt Busch (LW-12)

Just Missed: Austin Dillon and Kasey Kahne

2016 NASCAR Pit Road Week 13: Charlotte

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Coca-Cola 600

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

By Richard Tix

This week the Behind the Wall review will be short and sweet. Sometimes life gets in the way and bigger things become priority (yes, even over NASCAR/Racing). Every Memorial weekend and Labor Day weekend I go camping with family. Parents, Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Cousin's kids, etc all getting together and enjoying each other's company. 

Lot's of camp fires, fishing, bike rides, and a few cold refreshments take precedence over catching the race. Some years we make a bike ride into town and hit up a small local bar to watch the race, but this year the kids were focused on fishing so the bike ride got lost in the shuffle. 

Not much beats the time spent with family even if it means skipping the annual trip to watch the race. Instead we caught a good handful of sunnies and crappies and taught the kids how to clean their catch. Then, we had a fish fry over the open camp fire so to say I missed out on the race would be a reach as I was still living life.

With that introduction, lets skip right to the part where Martin Truex Jr dominated the race and Behind the Wall went over the week 13 Power Rankings!

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 13 (Week 12)

1. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Great car, great night, just finished one spot too low. Harvick on average ran in the top 5 all night. He has two second place finishes in the last three races. Finish: 2nd
2. Kurt Busch (LW-3)- Barring a total let down, Kurt is already in the Chase without a win. That's because he has been so consistent so far through 13 races. Kurt owns a seven race top 10 streak going back to Texas. Finish: 6th
3. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Back to back races in a wreck, Kyle's hot start will give him a pass for now. Eventually bad luck will catch up to him in the rankings, but for now he is too fast to drop too far on the list. Finish: 33rd
4. Martin Truex Jr (LW-7)- Dominating almost doesn't do Martin's Coca-Cola 600 run justice. Truex has led 611 laps in the last three races (Charlotte, Dover, and Kansas). 611 laps would be a career best alone, not even mentioning that he actually has 809 laps led this season. Finish: 1st
5. Chase Elliott (LW-4)- Four straight top 10's, six in his last seven, and nine on the season. Chase has put together s very, very solid rookie campaign and is the second highest driver in points without a win (only behind Kurt Busch). Finish: 8th
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-5)- The No. 2 has started to find a rythym as of late with four straight top 10's including his win at Talladega. He ran well both weekends at CMS but wasn't a threat to win while JoLo and Truex ran away with both. Finish: 5th
7. Matt Kenseth (LW-9)- Kenseth's bad luck seems to be turning finally after his win at Dover. He now has a win, two top 5's, and four top 10's in his last five races. Finish: 7th
8. Jimmie Johnson (LW-10)- JJ's inconsistencies hurt him in the rankings the past month or so, but his run at Charlotte will help to right that ship. He ran an astounding 2nd place on average Sunday and finished close to that as well. Finish: 3rd
9. Carl Edwards (LW-6)- Similar to JJ, Carl has been on a cold streak lately after winning back to back and rattling off six straight top 10's earlier this season. Maybe the team is testing new stuff? Either way, they haven't been on near the streak they were. Finish: 18th
10. Joey Logano (LW-12)- Things might be looking up for JoLo in 2016 after his All Star Race win. He followed that up with a nice run in the Coca-Cola 600, but he still isn't at the level he was in 2015, yet. Finish: 9th
11. Denny Hamlin (LW-NR)- Back to back top 10's are enough to get the 2016 Daytona 500 winner back in the Behind the Wall rankings. It's been awhile, but he looked better at Dover and Charlotte. Finish: 4th
12. Kyle Larson (LW-NR)- One lone top 10 in his last handful of races (Dover), but he has been showing a ton of his talent lately. After the battle with Kenseth and Elliott at Dover, his runs at the All Star Race with Elliott and then JoLo were a blast from his rookie season. Finish: 13th

Dropped Out: Ryan Blaney (LW-8) and Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-11)

Just Missed: Ryan Newman and Austin Dillon