After two weeks, Kevin Harvick was tired of being the bridesmaid. For the second week in a row he led the most laps, but this time that number included the most important lap winning the race at Las Vegas. With his third top-2 finish of the season, Harvick further solidified his lead in the points but more importantly punched his ticket into the 2015 Chase.
Three races into the season, the championship front-runners continue to march their way up the Power Rankings. Seven of the top 10 Power Ranking drivers from Atlanta finished in the top 10 at Las Vegas.
The “Most Surprising Start to the Season” award goes to Jeff Gordon. Although he won two of the first three poles of the season, Gordon has yet to finish in the top 10 and scored a season best of 18th this past weekend. That’s most certainly not the start to his farewell season anyone was expecting.
Week two of the West Coast swing is this coming weekend at Phoenix. Kevin Harvick won both races at Phoenix in 2014. Looking at trends, it seems like Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team is unstoppable right now. But before we hand him the checkered flag, let’s see if your favorite driver made the top 15 in this week’s Power Rankings.
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 |
+1 |
|
140 |
2 |
+2 |
|
127 |
3 |
-2 |
|
125 |
4 |
+1 |
|
118 |
5 |
-2 |
|
109 |
6 |
+7 |
|
99 |
7 |
+3 |
|
98 |
8 |
-1 |
|
85 |
9 |
+5 |
|
78 |
10 |
-2 |
|
73 |
11 |
-5 |
|
66 |
12 |
N/A |
|
60 |
13 |
+2 |
|
48 |
14 |
N/A |
|
47 |
15 |
-6 |
|
39 |
Others Receiving Votes: Kyle Larson (32), Jeff Gordon (30), Aric Almirola (19), Brian Vickers (19), Carl Edwards (18), Austin Dillon (16), David Gilliland (8), Regan Smith (7), Brian Scott (3), Jamie McMurray (3), Ryan Blaney (1), Tony Stewart (1).
Participants: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com; Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch.com; Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com; Amy Henderson, Frontstretch.com; Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com; Aimee Turner, Richmond International Raceway; Mike Zizzo, Texas Motor Speedway
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