Remember when all anyone could talk about was the fact Jimmie Johnson hadn’t won a race yet in 2014, and he kept saying over and over again not to worry? Looks like he was right. Johnson played the late-race pit strategy perfectly en route to his first career win at Michigan and third overall in 2014. Six-Time has now become the first driver this season to win three races and has only four tracks at which he remains winless: Kentucky, Chicagoland, Watkins Glen and Homestead.
A majority of the top drivers in Power Rankings after Pocono carried over their momentum to the high-speed oval of Michigan. Seven of the top 10 on this list also recorded a top-10 finish. Those that were not so fortunate included Matt Kenseth, who finished 14th, as he is still looking for his elusive first victory of the season. The Roush Fenway Racing Fords also continued to struggle, as Carl Edwards finished 23rd, while JGR’s Kyle Busch broke a left-rear hub, resulting in a 41st-place disaster.
Drivers and teams now head across the country this weekend for the first of two road courses. These events can be much like a restrictor plate race (a crapshoot) so it will be interesting to see how our top drivers fare after Sonoma. Until then, follow your favorite and see how he, or she, ranked after Michigan.
How The Rankings Are Calculated: Frontstretch does our power rankings 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… 3-2-1 basis, giving 20 points to their first-place driver, 19 for second, and so on. In the end, Mike Mehedin calculates the points, adds some funny one-liners, and… here you go!
Rank |
Change |
Name |
Total Votes |
1 |
|
199 |
|
2 |
|
179 |
|
T-3 |
+1 |
|
174 |
T-3 |
+2 |
|
174 |
5 |
-2 |
|
171 |
T-6 |
+2 |
|
135 |
T-6 |
+1 |
|
135 |
8 |
-2 |
|
125 |
9 |
|
99 |
|
10 |
+9 |
|
89 |
T-11 |
+1 |
|
86 |
T-11 |
-1 |
|
86 |
13 |
-3 |
|
80 |
14 |
-1 |
|
67 |
15 |
-1 |
|
65 |
Jimmie Johnson
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Brad Keselowski
Kevin Harvick
Jeff Gordon
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
Matt Kenseth
Kyle Busch
Paul Menard
Tony Stewart
Carl Edwards
Denny Hamlin
Clint Bowyer
Ryan NewmanOthers Receiving Votes: Jamie McMurray (53), Kurt Busch (47), Kasey Kahne (42), Greg Biffle (33), Austin Dillon (16), Brian Vickers (6), Justin Allgaier (5), Martin Truex Jr. (3), AJ Allmendinger (3), Juan Pablo Montoya (2), Marcos Ambrose (2), Aric Almirola (2), Danica Patrick (1), Michael Annett (1)
Participants: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com; Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com; Kelly Crandall, PopularSpeed.com; Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com; Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com; Jim Noble, ESPN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/PRN; Matt Taliaferro, Athlon Sports; Justin Tucker, Frontstretch.com; Jeff Wolfe, Frontstretch.com.
About the author
The Frontstretch Staff is made up of a group of talented men and women spread out all over the United States and Canada. Residing in 15 states throughout the country, plus Ontario, and widely ranging in age, the staff showcases a wide variety of diverse opinions that will keep you coming back for more week in and week out.
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