NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Charlotte

Kevin Harvick exorcised his demons Saturday night, winning his third race of the season, but more importantly locking himself into the eight-driver Eliminator Round. Harvick won the pole and led the most laps, as usual. This time, however, he was able to survive a late-race caution which set up a two-lap shootout to win the race.

It was a very important race for a number of Chase drivers as poor finishes at Kansas set up a “do or die” scenario at Charlotte with Talladega looming in the wings. Of the four drivers outside the top 8 after Kansas, only one (Kasey Kahne) finished in the top 10. Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 16^th, 17^th and 20^th respectively. What does that mean for these three? Either win at Talladega, or risk not advancing to the Eliminator Round.

A majority of the Chase conversation was overshadowed by the post-race altercations Saturday night involving Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski. Hamlin and Kenseth were both upset with Keselowski for on-track incidents. Hamlin was held back by a number of his crew members in the garage and was only able to throw a towel at Keselowski. Kenseth, however, in a rare display of emotion, chased Keselowski down and attacked him between haulers, putting him in a headlock before being separated by crew members. Kevin Harvick said it best in his post-race interview. “When you see Matt Kenseth mad enough to fight, you know that this is intense because that’s way out of character for him.”

The four drivers currently outside the top 8 in points are:
Matt Kenseth
Brad Keselowski
Jimmie Johnson
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Next up is the wildcard restrictor-plate track in Talladega, Ala. A number of drivers need a win to advance to the Eliminator Round. It’s definitely a must-see race. Expect to see the intensity grow each week as we draw closer to the finale at Homestead.

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		Joey Logano Thinking the No. 22 and the No. 4 may be drafting partners on the opposite side of the track from the competition at Talladega. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com First Place Votes: 5	119
2	+1	Kevin Harvick Harvick was finally able to put a complete race together, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. He will sleep easy this week heading into Talladega. Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com	112
3	-1	Jeff Gordon Hard to believe he might be the only Hendrick Motorsports driver inside the round of eight. Can four-time hold up the banner for the company? Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com First Place Votes: 1	106
4		Kyle Busch Suddenly Kyle Busch has quietly become a serious contender for the championship. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com	97
5	+1	Ryan Newman What a performance by this team. I don’t believe many brackets had Ryan Newman this high in points at this stage in the game. Another point for consistency. But the question remains, how long will that last? Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com	89
6	+2	Kyle Larson The win is going to come very soon. Maybe not this weekend since predicting Talladega is like predicting who will get wrecked. But soon. Maybe Texas. Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com	83
7		Carl Edwards Battling Ryan Newman for the least mentioned Chaser award. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com	80
8	+1	Denny Hamlin If Denny Hamlin can ignore his desire to crash Keselowski and avoid the big one at Talladega, he may advance. Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com	79
9	-4	Brad Keselowski Avoided a suspension, points penalties and a more severe backlash from NASCAR. But come Martinsville, you wonder if he’ll earn payback in a different way. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com	66
10	+3	Kasey Kahne Wasn’t the usual strong Kasey Kahne-like performance at Charlotte but still finished tenth. Now needs his best career effort at Talladega to stay alive in the Chase. Justin Tucker, Frontstretch.com	63
11	N/A	Jamie McMurray Nearly step-for-step with teammate Larson as this team builds its portfolio for 2015. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com	61
12	-2	Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth didn’t appear to be anywhere near as skilled with his fists as he is with a steering wheel. He needs to focus his hands and eyes on a good Talladega finish. Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com	60
13	-2	Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson and team are accustomed to overcoming setbacks with stellar performances. He needs a rocket finish at Talladega. Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com	48
14		AJ Allmendinger Quietly performing with consistency the second he was bounced out of the Chase. Would be in position to make it to the round of eight if only for a better run at Dover. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com	44
15		Martin Truex, Jr. Disappointed with a top-15 finish at Charlotte. Five months ago, they’d be thrilled. A sign of how far this team has come. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com	40

Others Receiving Votes: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (35), Austin Dillon (27), Kurt Busch (22), Greg Biffle (16), Tony Stewart (4), Clint Bowyer (3), Justin Allgaier (2)

Participants: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com; Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com; Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com; Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com; Justin Tucker, Frontstretch.com.

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Rank

Change

Name

Total Votes

1

First Place Votes: 5

119

2

+1

112

3

-1

First Place Votes: 1

106

4

97

5

+1

89

6

+2

83

7

80

8

+1

79

9

-4

66

10

+3

63

11

N/A

61

12

-2

60

13

-2

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77081 size-medium" src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Johnson_Jimmie-199x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="199" height="300" />

48

14

44

15

40