NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Pre-Season Top 15

We are only days away from the official start of the 2015 NASCAR season. A lot has changed since Kevin Harvick hoisted the championship trophy at Homestead in November, including drivers, teams, crews and more. Pair all of those unknowns with some rules changes and the storylines are endless.

No preseason testing means the drivers have only been on-track for a limited period of time; a few practice sessions, the Sprint Unlimited (for a limited number of drivers) and Daytona 500 Pole Day. Even with the short amount of track time, tempers are already high between Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano following the Sprint Unlimited.

Our team has been following the storylines throughout the offseason and in Daytona so far, and have compiled their list of the strongest drivers going into the 2015 season. To quote almost everyone during NASCAR Media Week in Charlotte, we are excited for the season to begin.

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		Jeff Gordon The future made-for-TV movie script would be complete with ‘Wonderboy’ finishing his Hall of Fame career with a fifth championship. Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com First Place Votes: 5	206
2		Matt Kenseth Sprint Unlimited win doesn’t count towards the points championship, but it does mean a lot to a team that was winless last year. Jeff Wolfe, Frontstretch.com	187
3		Jimmie Johnson He’s back. After a horrific season, at least in their terms, the No. 48 car is entering 2015 with lots of hype. Joseph Wolkin, Frontstretch.com First Place Votes: 1	168
4		Kevin Harvick There’s nothing that says Harvick won’t pick up exactly where he left off in 2014. Amy Henderson, Frontstretch.com First Place Votes: 4	166
5		Dale Earnhardt, Jr. His average finish at Daytona is better than your driver’s. Amy Henderson, Frontstretch.com	164
6		Carl Edwards He had a great showing in the Sprint Unlimited with his new JGR team. But am I the only one who kept looking at the orange car wondering who was driving it? Aimee Turner, Richmond International Raceway	161
7		Joey Logano When the weather gets bad up north, people fly to the grocery store to pick up the essentials: milk and bread. Anyone playing fantasy NASCAR might want to get some bread as well. ‘Sliced Bread’ was the most dominant driver in the Chase last year and looked like he could win it all until a late pit stop put him too far back. Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch.com	156
8		Denny Hamlin Ran well on Saturday night, and then popped a wheelie. He then got wrecked in qualifying Sunday. Speedweeks might be a bit expensive for the No. 11 team. Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com	132
9		Brad Keselowski This past off-season sure seemed to last an eternity. But was it long enough for half the field to forget about their anger for Brad Keselowski? It could be a long season for the blue deuce if not. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com	128
11		Kyle Busch He starts 2015 with his former XFINITY Series crew chief Adam Stevens so there is some good chemistry there… to start. Mike Zizzo, Texas Motor Speedway	114
12		Ryan Newman We’ve seen it before: Runner-up in the championship and you think they’ll come out ready to take what they felt was stolen from them the year before. But they just can’t seem to get the “I shoulda won” thoughts out of their heads and end up with a tough season. I hope, for Newman’s sake, that that’s not what happens in 2015. Aimee Turner, Richmond International Speedway	96
12		Kyle Larson If Kyle Larson builds on his short but productive experience at the Cup level, veteran drivers may be chasing him – even in the Chase. Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com	81
13		Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne could be rejuvenated this year with a new crew chief. Perhaps too, it’s time for some good luck on the track. He’s had enough bad luck lately – sufficient misfortune for maybe two or three seasons. Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com	80
14		Tony Stewart He’s healthy, and everyone is hoping to see some early signs that ‘Smoke is Rising’ again. Mike Zizzo, Texas Motor Speedway	77
15		Martin Truex, Jr. I expect him to have a decent shot at pulling off an upset win this year, but he will lack the consistency needed to be a contender every week. Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com	69

Others Receiving Votes: Greg Biffle (54), Austin Dillon (45), Jamie McMurray (36), Clint Bowyer (34), Kurt Busch (34), Aric Almirola (28), Paul Menard (23), Casey Mears (18), AJ Allmendinger (14), Ty Dillon (10), Danica Patrick (7), Sam Hornish, Jr. (5), Ryan Blaney (3), Trevor Bayne (2), Brian Vickers (1), David Ragan (1), Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (1)

Participants: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com; Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch.com; Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com; Amy Henderson, Frontstretch.com; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com; Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com; Dennis Michelsen; RaceTalkRadio.com; Aimee Turner, Richmond International Raceway; Jeff Wolfe, Frontstretch.com; Joseph Wolkin, Frontstretch.com; Mike Zizzo, Texas Motor Speedway

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Rank

Change

Name

Total Votes

1

Jeff Gordon

First Place Votes: 5

206

2

Matt Kenseth

187

3

<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" />Jimmie Johnson

First Place Votes: 1

168

4

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77080 " src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Harvick_Kevin-262x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="206" height="237" />Kevin Harvick

First Place Votes: 4

166

5

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77075 size-medium" src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Earnhardt_Dale_Jr-199x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="199" height="300" />Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

164

6

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77076 size-medium" src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Edwards_Carl-199x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="199" height="300" />Carl Edwards

161

7

156

8

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77079 " src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Hamlin_Denny-255x300.jpg" alt="2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Portraits" width="203" height="239" />Denny Hamlin

132

9

128

11

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77073 " src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Busch_Kyle-273x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="224" height="246" />Kyle Busch

114

12

96

12

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77087 size-medium" src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Larson_Kyle-199x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="199" height="300" />Kyle Larson

81

13

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77082 " src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Kahne_Kasey-274x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="215" height="235" />Kasey Kahne

80

14

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-68507 " src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Stewart-225x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Cup Tony Stewart headshot Credit Getty Images 430 TALL" width="215" height="287" />Tony Stewart

77

15

<img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-77103 size-medium" src="https://frontstretch.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_NSCS_Head_Truex_Martin-199x300.jpg" alt="2014 NASCAR Media Day - Portraits" width="199" height="300" />Martin Truex, Jr.

69

Jimmie Johnson

Kevin Harvick

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Carl Edwards

Denny Hamlin

Kyle Busch

Kyle Larson

Kasey Kahne

Tony Stewart

Martin Truex, Jr.