How many of you thought that Clint Bowyer would have three victories in his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing? Anyone? ..Anyone? Bueller?
Not that it matters, however, since general consenus says that he will have very little say, if any, in this Sprint Cup Series title fight. Still, exceeding expectations isn't anything to sneeze at.
How did Bowyer fare in our Power Rankings after the victory? Continue reading to find out?
How The Rankings Are Calculated: Frontstretch does our power rankings somewhat similar to how the Associated Press does them for basketball or football — our expert stable of NASCAR writers, both on staff and from other major publications will vote for the Top 20 on a 20-19-18-17-16-15… 3-2-1 basis, giving 20 points to their first place driver, 19 for their second, and so on. In the end, Summer Bedgood calculates the points, adds some funny one-liners, and … here you go!
| FRONTSTRETCH TOP 15 POWER RANKINGS: OCTOBER 17th |
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| Rank | Driver (First Place Votes) | Votes | Last Week |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson (3) | 153 | 2 |
| Johnson has a pit road miscue and finishes third, Keselowski has a pit road miscue and finishes 11th. That's what championships are made of. Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 2 | Brad Keselowski (4) | 152 | 1 |
| Starting to unravel or just a blip on on the radar? Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 3 | Denny Hamlin (1) | 149 | 4 |
| Fuel mileage races aren't exactly a fan favorite, which is OK with Denny Hamlin. He doesn't seem to much like them either. Unfortunately for both parties, they are becoming the norm rather than the exception. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | 132 | 5 |
| Going to start purposely skimping on the fuel during the last stop of the race. Seems like they run faster when saving. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 5 | Kasey Kahne | 118 | 6 |
| Dude had a cake made to look like his car. Who cares how well he did at Charlotte? Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 6 | Greg Biffle | 116 | T-11 |
| He's heading to one of his best racetracks this weekend: Kansas Speedway, though with the new repave it's uncertain as to how well he or anyone else will do. It is very possible that, after the race, Biffle will be happy he's not in Kansas anymore. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 7 | Kyle Busch | 100 | 9 |
| Couldn't exactly throw TRD under the bus this time with one of their engines in Victory Lane. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| T-8 | Martin Truex, Jr. | 97 | 13 |
| Remember when Martin was the big dog at MWR? Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com | |||
| T-8 | Jeff Gordon | 97 | 3 |
| After being so hot the last three weeks, Gordon was MIA on Saturday night. As in, he was locked in the motorhome and one of the ninja turtles was behind the wheel. Kelly Crandall, SpeedwayMedia.com | |||
| 10 | Tony Stewart | 93 | 10 |
| When it's been almost a year since your championship winning season and the most anyone has said about you in the past few weeks is about a dramatic crash, you know this year has been a gigantic disappointment. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | 79 | T-7 |
| Thanks to Junior, his worst points finish is now going to be 11th. Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | 69 | T-11 |
| Did you know Harvick has a scholarship program out? Did you know he was a wrestler in high school? Did you know that his championship hopes are completely shot? Now you know. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 13 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 59 | T-7 |
| Get well soon, Junebug. Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 14 | Carl Edwards | 58 | NR |
| Looked like Edwards could finally challenge for that win for a bit. Then Lady Luck: 2012 edition stepped in at Charlotte. Still not a bad night for this team though. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 15 | Joey Logano | 50 | 15 |
| If Logano was even half as competitive in the Cup Series as he is in the Nationwide Series, he'd be a Chase contender no doubt. Maybe Penske will change that. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| Dropped Out: Ryan Newman. | |||
| Others Receiving Votes: Ryan Newman (41), Mark Martin (37), Paul Menard (17), Aric Almirola (17), Marcos Ambrose (9), Regan Smith (9), Jamie McMurray (8), Kurt Busch (8), Sam Hornish Jr. (5), Jeff Burton (4), Juan Pablo Montoya (3). | |||
| Who Voted: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com; Kelly Crandall, SpeedwayMedia.com; Carolyn Brewster, NASCAR Illustrated; Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com; Dustin Long, Athlon Sports; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com; Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com; Matt Taliaferro, Athlon Sports. | |||
