NASCAR Writer Power Rankings: Top 15 After Fontana

While everyone had Martinsville circled on their calendars, it’s doubtful anyone was expecting the fireworks from Bristol to roll over to California. Like it was written for the Hollywood screen, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were battling for the win on the final lap. Contact in turn 4 sent both drivers into the outside wall opening the door for Kyle Busch to claim his first win of the season and the first win at California for Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sprint Cup Series.

The Logano / Hamlin wreck sent Denny head-first into the inside concrete barrier, which lacked a SAFER Barrier. Hamlin climbed out of his car but collapsed to the ground, was taken to the hospital and later diagnosed with an L1 compression fracture. He was released from the hospital Monday night, and while he won't need surgery to repair the damage, six weeks of healing time will sideline him for a while.

To add to the fireworks, Tony Stewart was unhappy with Logano’s block on the final restart and showed his frustration after the race. He approached Joey on pit road and without sharing words began to throw punches. Neither driver made contact as crew members quickly split the two up. Perhaps the Easter break is exactly what everyone needs to cool down the tempers. See if your driver made the top 15 in this week’s Power Rankings.