One to go! Can you believe we are down to Homestead already? While it doesn’t appear that this weekend’s championship will be nearly as exciting as last year’s and that Keselowski all but has this one, all that needs to happen is, well, basically what happened to Johnson last week and it’s back to a barn burner.
Wishful thinking? Maybe! But there’s only one way to find out.
Speaking of Phoenix, Keselowski made it through, Johnson didn’t, Bowyer tried to kill someone, and Harvick won. So who is on top of the rankings and how did the rest shake out? 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: November 14th | |||
| Rank | Driver (First Place Votes) | Votes | Last Week |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski (5) | 119 | 2 |
| He may not always be polished or politically correct, but Brad tells it like it is and will be an excellent NASCAR representative because of it. Looks like he may just have that official post a week from now. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 2 | Kasey Kahne | 103 | 9 |
| He’s almost finished with his first full year at Hendrick and I think it would be safe to say he’s enjoyed it. Does that mean next year we’ll see him up there with Johnson? Maybe, but for now he’ll probably go unnoticed next week in Homestead. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 102 | 1 |
| Thanks to his teammate, he doesn’t have to read too many articles this week about how his title hopes have all but disappeared. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | 94 | 3 |
| 5 Hour Energy: When you gotta get stuff done! …Or attack Jeff Gordon. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 5 | Denny Hamlin (1) | 93 | 12 |
| If you would have told me that Martinsville would be Hamlin’s undoing, I would have laughed in your face. I’m also shocked that Keselowski is in this hunt instead of Hamlin. What happened?! Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| T-6 | Matt Kenseth | 81 | 4 |
| I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had Biffle and Kenseth maintained their regular season run and made a run in the Chase. How fun would it have been to see teammates running this close? Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| T-6 | Greg Biffle | 81 | 10 |
| Speaking of Biffle, he was a huge disappointment too. I can’t help but think that if he were maybe 10 years younger we could see him up in the standings more. That’s not to say age can’t do well, but it would give him more to get that extra something that is missing. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 8 | Kyle Busch | 78 | 6 |
| There were several controversial stories that came out of this past weekend and somehow, Kyle Busch was not involved in any of them. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 70 | 13 |
| Finally won a race, but it was overshadowed by everything under the sun. Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 10 | Jeff Gordon | 67 | 5 |
| He was fined and docked points because of his actions at Phoenix — both of which are essentially meaningless as far as this year is concerned. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 11 | Tony Stewart | 57 | 7 |
| So Stewart will have this week’s race winner driving for him in 2014. Three pranksters on one team? Something tells me a few whoopie cushions will make an appearance that season… Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 12 | Ryan Newman | 46 | NR |
| In Homestead, there will be a group of fans who don’t care about the championship. Their main concern will be if Outback Steakhouse continues their “free Bloomin’ Onion with every Newman top 10” program. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 13 | Martin Truex, Jr. | 45 | |
| Given the way this race turned out, there are probably some other teams wishing they joined Truex and dropped out after 10 laps. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 14 | Paul Menard | 41 | NR |
| Recovered nicely from his stinkbomb in Texas to play a crucial role in the ultimate outcome of the race. Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 15 | Kurt Busch | 33 | NR |
| He may be an “outlaw” … but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Wouldn’t a Victory Lane trip be so much better? Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| Dropped Out: Joey Logano (15th), Carl Edwards (14th), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (8th). | |||
| Others Receiving Votes: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (31), Carl Edwards (30), Mark Martin (26), Aric Almirola (18), Marcos Ambrose (13), Joey Logano (11), Jeff Burton (7), Brian Vickers (5), Juan Pablo Montoya (3), Bobby Labonte (2), Jamie McMurray (1). | |||
| Who Voted: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com;Â Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com; Carolyn Brewster, NASCAR Illustrated; Dustin Long, Athlon Sports; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com; Matt Taliaferro, Athlon Sports. | |||