Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2015 STP 500 at Martinsville

It seems, for the time being, that Joe Gibbs Racing is back. JGR cars took three of the top-five finishing positions at Martinsville including David Ragan (fifth), Matt Kenseth (fourth) and winner Denny Hamlin. Carl Edwards finished in 17th position. Hamlin did not lead the most laps, but he led the one that mattered most, grabbing his fifth win at Martinsville.

Perhaps the biggest story to come out of Martinsville is the fact that Kevin Harvick’s top-two finishing streak finally came to an end. Althought he led a race-high 154 laps, Harvick finished eighth. It was not the debut Chase Elliott was hoping for, as early crash damage put his No. 25 car behind the wall for a number of laps. Elliott wound up finishing in 38th place.

A number of drivers turned some heads with their strong, and poor, finishes. Notables in the top 10 included Danica Patrick (seventh) and the aforementioned Ragan, while Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were both involved in on-track incidents and finished 35th and 36th, respectively. In the end, six of the top 10 in the Power Rankings after California finished in the top 10 at Martinsville.

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		Kevin Harvick At least he won’t finish first or second for the first 35 races and still lose the championship in the showdown race to make a complete mockery of the system. Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com First Place Votes: 7	140
2		Joey Logano Logano took two poles and one grandfather clock home from Martinsville, and came tantalizingly close to a second clock. If his missing piece was consistency, the competition could be in trouble. Amy Henderson, Frontstretch	129
3		Brad Keselowski Look out. Keselowski and Wolfe are back. The duo played the strategy right for the second straight week to have a shot at the end. Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch	119
4	+1	Martin Truex Jr. How good are Truex and Furniture Row Racing? They have one more top 10s (six) than the entirety of Richard Childress Racing, with whom they are affiliated. Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch	115
5	+9	Denny Hamlin Wondering if Denny keeps each of his grandfather clocks set to different time zones around the world so that he can truly know its five o’clock somewhere. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch	95
6	+3	Kasey Kahne Kahne’s been the best in the Hendrick stable in 2015 after a year of being a Shetland pony amongst thoroughbreds. Amy Henderson, Frontstretch	93
7	-3	Matt Kenseth Kenseth found himself with a chance to win his first race since 2013, which is comforting even if he had to settle for fourth. Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch	91
8	-4	Dale Earnhardt Jr. Somehow was still in position to earn a decent finish before his wreck, despite having to throw shifters at the car every 50 laps. That crew is good. Phil Allaway, Frontstretch	78
9	-2	Ryan Newman Newman looked like a favorite for Sunday’s race, but fell to a disappointing 27th-place finish. And after Tuesday’s penalties, that 27th will hurt even more. Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch	77
10	-4	Jimmie Johnson Johnson and team seem to be slipping down the standings, but they aren’t likely to get down to Tony Stewart‘s level. Johnson and team know how to rebound. Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com	70
11	-3	Jeff Gordon During Gordon’s restart negotiation, I immediately thought of the scene in Aladdin when he reached out to Jasmine just before the magic carpet ride and asked, “Do you trust me?” Matt apparently jumped on board the magic No. 24 carpet. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch	68
12	+1	Aric Almirola Almirola continues to keep the King’s team in upper numbers. The No. 43 could shine even brighter this season. Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com	64
13	-2	Paul Menard With Newman’s penalty, Menard is now the best RCR driver in points (seventh). He’s likely going to have to carry the baton for the next couple months. Phil Allaway, Frontstretch	58
14	N/A	Jamie McMurray Jamie Mac isn’t great so far, but his second top 10 coming in the first six races offers a glimmer of hope for Ganassi fans. Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch	48
15	-3	Kurt Busch On the rise but hit a roadblock Sunday. Amy Henderson, Frontstretch	42

Others Receiving Votes: David Ragan (36), Carl Edwards (35), Clint Bowyer (28), Danica Patrick (27), Casey Mears (25), Greg Biffle (10), Austin Dillon (8), AJ Allmendinger (4), Kyle Larson (3), Tony Stewart (2), Trevor Bayne (2), Regan Smith (1)

Participants: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch; Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch; Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com; Amy Henderson, Frontstretch; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch; Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch; Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com

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Rank

Change

Name

Total Votes

1

Kevin Harvick

First Place Votes: 7

140

2

129

3

119

4

115

5

95

6

93

7

91

8

78

9

77

10

70

11

68

12

64

13

58

14

48

15

42

About the author