2015 Pit Road Week 31: Kansas

Weekly Review and Power Rankings

Hollywood Casino 400

By Richard Tix

This week NASCAR was at Kansas for another huge race in the Chase. This round the first two races are huge because the third and final race is Talladega where anything can happen. Well, once again Joey Logano came out the winner so 11 drivers are still worried about there status for next round. Some drivers just need to stay away from the trouble, but most of them will have to push to the front, which should make for a crazy plate race.

But, before we hit the preview lets take a look at the latest Power Rankings after Kansas Speedway.

2015 Hollywood Casino 400 Full Results

Pit Road Power Rankings Week 31 (Week 30)

1. Joey Logano (LW-2)- Back to back wins in the second round of the Chase. Now only two drivers will advance at most by a win after Talladega and 6 will get through on points (or 7 if no new winner). Finish: 1st
2. Denny Hamlin (LW-3)- Hamlin followed up his 4th place finish last week with a runner up finish this week. He just needs to steer clear of any terrible finishes at Talladega. Finish: 2nd
3. Kevin Harvick (LW-1)- Harvick has three non top 10 finishes in five Chase races in 2015. That is not good, yet he is still hanging around and that has to worry other drivers. Finish: 16th
4. Carl Edwards (LW-4)- 11 of Carls 13 top 10's this season have come in the last 14 races, not a bad time to have such a quality run. Finish: 8th
5. Kurt Busch (LW-7)- Back to back top 10's for the first time since race 19 and 20, Kurt picked a good time to do it. Finish: 6th
6. Brad Keselowski (LW-6)- BK took the pole, led some laps, but then settled into the top 10. This round he now has back to back 9th place finishes to give him a shot to advance. Finish: 9th
7. Kyle Busch (LW-9)- He is still outside looking in (9th in points), but only by 6 points. Kyle and JGR have been too good to count him out just yet. Finish: 5th
8. Jeff Gordon (LW-8)- Before the Chase things looked bleak for Gordon, but he is hanging in there for now. His back to back top 10's give him a chance to advance on points. Finish: 10th
9. Martin Truex Jr (LW-5)- He is 8th on points right now and needs to keep it clean at Dega to have a shot. That's a lot of pressure to advance. Finish: 15th
10. Ryan Newman (LW-10)- As I said last week, he will need more to advance this year. He just isn't getting the top 10's he was consistently getting last Chase. Finish: 11th
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-11)- Last round Jr was almost cut, this round he has dug an even bigger hole and might need a win to get out of it. Finish: 21st
12. Matt Kenseth (LW-12)- Kenseth is in the, he needs to win, category. He was going for it at Kansas, but so was Joey. That is just hard racing. Kenseth will need to do the same but come out the other end this weekend. Finish: 14th

2015 Chase Power Rankings: Second Addition

By Richard Tix

Unlike NASCAR Behind the Wall's Pit Road Power Rankings, this years 2015 Chase Power Rankings will include ONLY drivers with a win. These rankings will not only take into account how they have done so far, but what NBTW things there Power Ranking is for winning the 2015 Sprint Cup Championship.

Last time around we looked at the rankings after 15 races. We now have finished 24 of 26 regular season races with only Darlington and Richmond left on the schedule. We had 10 winners after 15 races yet we have only added one winner in the last 9 races, Kyle Busch.

2015 Chase Power Rankings

LT=Last Time (Ranking during the last Chase Power Rankings)

1. Kevin Harvick (LT-1)- Yes, Harvick is still the favorite. Keep in mind that last year he went into the Chase as an underdog because his team was having issues on pit road or bad luck week after week. This year he hasn't been notching the wins in the regular season (just like 2014), but is reeling off runner up spots. Those finishes will be enough to get him to Miami and could even see him winning back to back Championships.
2. Joey Logano (LT-5)- Last time around JoLo was 5th on this list and had 11 top 10's in 15 races...That was probably good enough to be in the top 3 on these rankings. Yet, Penske seemed to be under the radar a bit. Since then JGR has made a huge pass by Penske and HMS, but Penske cars have been standing strong right next to them. Joey just finished up winning 2 of the last 3 races and looks like a true title contender.
3. Kyle Busch (LT-NR)- The only new driver to this list, Kyle came back from his injury at Daytona on fire. He has 4 wins, 5 top 5's, 7 top 10's, all just in 13 races. Consistency in the Chase has always been his achilles heel, but last year he showed signs of reversing that. If it wasn't for bad luck at Talladega where he was slowing down for a caution and got hit from behind, he would have moved on.
4. Jimmie Johnson (LT-2)- You can't count JJ out of any title hunt, but something has been a bit off at Hendrick Motor Sports. They have lost there edge as of late. Maybe it has more to do with JGR getting stronger and Penske staying with HMS, but they don't look bullet proof anymore. JJ is still tied for a Cup lead with 4 wins, and also has 16 top 10's in 24 races, so he knows how to get it done. 
5. Brad Keselowski (LT-7)- BK is starting to show consistency that he lacked to start the year. Those kinds of finishes are going to come up big during the Chase. When you look at BK's wins and top 5's it looks a lot like his poor 2013 season, but then you notice his top 10's and average finish. His average finish of 11.8 is the closest it has been to his Championship year in 2012. Maybe the consistency will pay off?
6. Matt Kenseth (LT-9)- Last time around Kenseth was an after thought in the Title talks. Man, what 9 races can change. He had some bad luck at Bristol (engine), but before that he has two wins, four top 5's, and 6 straight top 10's. Kenseth and JGR are on a roll at the right time and if they carry it into the Chase they will move up the favorites list. 
7. Denny Hamlin (LT-8)- Through 15 races JGR made up the final three spots (8th, 9th, and 10th). This time around they added the fourth driver and all started to make a climb. Hamlin is a curious case to crack this year once again. He hasn't been dominate in almost any race for a long period of time, but has stuck around for some quality finishes. That is the making of a driver getting through rounds and into the Finale (like he did last year). Once at Miami, Hamlin has shown he is one of the best recently including a test practice this week. So, he is an underdog to watch.
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LT-6)- Jr has been good in 2015, but it just seems like something is missing with HMS right now. The same can be said about many of Jr's finishes lately. The plus side is he has been pushing through and getting quality finishes despite HMS shortcomings, but at this moment it doesn't seem like enough to win a Championship.
9. Carl Edwards (LT-10)- Carl rounds up all four JGR cars in the 2015 Chase Power Rankings. He also happens to be the lowest in the points standings, but that wont matter when the Chase rolls around. Right now he is showing hope as a title contender with six top 10's in his last seven races (the other was 13th at Indy). That kind of consistency could see him moving on for a ways in the Chase.
10. Kurt Busch (LT-3)- No one fell or gained as much as Kurt Busch in these standings (side note: congratulations on the engagement!). Last time these rolled out he was on fire and had locked himself into the Chase with a win. In his last seven races he only has two finishes better than 10th. True, he still has four top 10's in that time, but he is no where near the front.
11. Martin Truex Jr (LT-4)- Martin has actually lost just as much ground in the rankings as Kurt did. It seems like as soon as JGR came around and got better that the #78 team started to find some struggles. Lucky for this small team they have a win and are locked in (would have got in on points anyways), but they will need to find "it" again before the Chase to have a chance.

It is crazy how 9 races changes the look of the 2015 Sprint Cup Chase. Earlier this year it looked like Kurt Busch was almost on the same level as Harvick, and now its hard seeing him winning the title. Last year Harvick went into the Chase as an underdog and became a first time Cup Champion. So, these rankings are not set in stone and that is why you have to tune into the remaining races before the Chase!

2015 Chase Power Rankings: First Edition

By Richard Tix

Unlike NASCAR Behind the Wall's Pit Road Power Rankings, this years 2015 Chase Power Rankings will include ONLY drivers with a win. These rankings will not only take into account how they have done so far, but what NBTW things there Power Ranking is for winning the 2015 Sprint Cup Championship.

2015 Chase Power Rankings First

1. Kevin Harvick- Harvick has to be the Championship favorite right now. I know Jimmie Johnson has more wins, and wins help you move on during the Chase, but Harvicks 7.3 average finish will make sure he moves on round by round as well. Not only that, he leads NASCAR with 1,225 laps lead (560 more then the next closest. Kurt Busch-665). Other than Kurt, he has more than double laps lead than anyone else. That means he will be running up front when the pressure is on and that is where you have to be. 
2. Jimmie Johnson- Johnson knows how this Championship thing works, he has a few. He also leads NASCAR this year in wins so far (4) which is about 26.66% of the races so far. His average finish is down from last years 15.3 and closer to his career average. He has as many wins as he did in 2104 and is one top 5 away from as many as 2014 and we are only 15 races in. This is the JJ everyone has come to know in the past few years, yet something is different...Harvick and that fact that JJ hasn't won a title in this points system yet.
3. Kurt Busch- It is crazy, but even after missing three races Kurt has the second most laps lead behind Harvick (665 total). He actually has lead a higher percentage of laps while he was on the track than Harvick. Kurt has been in 1st 5.74% of the time compared to the 3.73% of the time Harvick has. It has been night and day looking at 2014 and his first year with SHR and this season. Not sure what happened, but the #41 running many of the same set ups as the #4 might be the answer. Those two teams have something figured out, plus Hendrick engines don't hurt..
4. Martin Truex Jr- Truex finally got another win and his first of 2015 after being so close so many times. Pocono locked him in the Chase even though he would have been in on points reguardless. Before his Pocono win, Martin had lead 357 laps in the three previous races. Just those 357 laps led would have put him 6th in laps lead on the season (he is actually 3rd with 486). It has been great to see him and Furniture Row succeed this season and the good luck been a long time coming for Truex. Even if he doesn't win again, he has been an even better version of the 2014 Ryan Newman and he made the Finale at Miami.
5. Joey Logano- Penske hasn't been the talk of NASCAR in 2015 like they were last season, but both Team Penske drivers are having great seasons. Maybe the under the radar approach is just what Joey needs to finish off the next step of his career. It isn't like his stats are lacking either, 1 win, 8 top 5's, 11 top 10's in 15 races (plus 4 poles). It is scary to think how quiet the hype has got on him even during such a good regular season. 
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr- Jr has the Hendrick backing, which helps anyone, plus he is putting it to good use. He and JJ have been fast all season and seem to have found a bit more than teammates Kahne and Gordon have. Seems like Jr has been top 5 or bust this season (8 top 5's and 9 top 10's), which isn't a bad thing. He has also been limiting his number of really bad finishes which is something that you have to do during the Chase. Is this the season he finally win's a Championship? No one has been talking about the loss of Steve LeTarte recently, so that must be a good thing..
7. Brad Keselowski- I debated having BK ahead of both JoLo and Jr because he has won a title and knows how to get it done when everything is on the line (see last years Chase and how he advanced). At the same time JoLo and Jr have been finishing out more runs in the top 5 and might not be hated by as many other drivers. Does that matter? Not much, but one time around retaliation could cost him a lot. Even after saying that, BK still has a good shot at #2. He has shown speed all season and we know Paul Wolfe is one of the best in NASCAR when it comes to strategy.
8. Denny Hamlin- Once we get past BK it is JGR and family. I really have those 7 above as the best contenders, with about 4 of them the top dogs. The rest if Joe Gibbs Racing.... JGR just hasn't found the speed the past two years and its drivers are scrapping to stay alive in the Chase. Give these guys credit, they have been sticking around as long as they could with Penske and Hendrick engines. Denny gets the top nod just because he did the same thing in 2014 but made his way to the final four in Miami.
9. Matt Kenseth- Kenseth has been the most consistent of all the JGR drivers with a win. Anyone who says he should be above Hamlin has a legitimate opinion. Kenseth has been very good on the shorter tracks, but JGR speed has hurt him a bit at 1.5's. They might be closing the gap and the nice thing for the #20 is they're locked in so they have time to make some ground up.
10. Carl Edwards- Edwards transition to JGR hasn't been as smooth as he would have liked. However, looking back at RFR he can still see a sinking ship so he has to be happy about leaving. If JGR can find the speed than Carl can climb up this list, until then he has been one of the least consistent drivers with a win in 2015.

Well, that's it. After 15 races in 2015 I really think this fight will be up to Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch. You can add in the mix Truex, JoLo, BK, and Jr if they make a run into the final four and one of the top 3 have set backs. It will be interesting to watch how the next 11 races unfold and how the new package works at Kentucky. That car package could be a game changer down the stretch and might bring some new drivers to the front of contention.

NASCAR Behind the Wall wont be looking at these Power Rankings week by week, but rather every few weeks just to catch up on how the drivers already locked in are doing. Thanks for checking it out!