Dale Earnhardt, Jr. made another statement as to why he’s a top contender to win the 2014 Sprint Cup Championship Sunday, sweeping both races at Pocono and scoring his third win of the season. To put this year’s performance into perspective, Junior won only one race in the past five seasons.
It was an up and down day for the top Power Ranking vote-getters after Indianapolis. Although six of the Power Rankings’ top 10 finished inside the top 10 Sunday afternoon, a number of drivers were not able to capitalize at the second-consecutive flat track. Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth all finished outside the top 20 for a combination of reasons including tire failure, crash damage and engine issues.
Only five races remain until the top 16 are locked into The Chase and a number of drivers expected to win during the regular season are still winless. Teams head North to the final road course of the season at Watkins Glen, New York. See how your favorite driver ranks after the second stop at the Tricky Triangle.
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 |
+2 |
|
174 |
2 |
-1 |
|
163 |
3 |
+6 |
![]() Kevin HarvickI have to believe that this team has worked out the mechanical issues and are starting to clean up their act on pit road. Just in time too, as the Chase is near and Harvick will be a big factor. Kelly Crandall, PopularSpeed.com |
162 |
4 |
+4 |
|
144 |
5 |
-3 |
|
143 |
6 |
+4 |
|
130 |
7 |
-3 |
|
115 |
8 |
-1 |
|
114 |
9 |
+6 |
![]() Clint BowyerImpressive run at Pocono. Here we go: Clint gets on a roll, goes to Richmond within striking distance of the Chase…and then the stories begin. Jim Noble, ESPN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/PRN |
113 |
10 |
-4 |
|
96 |
11 |
-7 |
|
91 |
12 |
-1 |
|
79 |
13 |
|
78 |
|
14 |
+2 |
|
65 |
15 |
![]() Austin DillonWe kept being told that the No. 3 team would be much better the second time around at these tracks. OK, let’s start seeing it. Jim Noble, ESPN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/PRN |
59 |
Others Receiving Votes: Kurt Busch (55), Carl Edwards (52), Jamie McMurray (49), Marcos Ambrose (20), Casey Mears (17), Aric Almirola (9), Tony Stewart (8), Brian Vickers (5), Justin Allgaier (5), Paul Menard (4), David Gilliland (1)