And then there were four. After waiting all afternoon and into the evening for weather to clear, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the rain-shortened race at Phoenix. It was Junior’s third win of the season, keeping a potential Chase driver from winning his way into the championship race at Homestead.
The final four drivers heading into Homestead represent four different race teams:
Jeff Gordon – Hendrick Motorsports
Kevin Harvick – Stewart-Haas Racing
Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing
Martin Truex Jr. – Furniture Row Racing
Next week’s finale at Homestead is sure to be exciting. Not only because a champion will be crowned but because the sport is saying farewell to Gordon, who is retiring from full-time racing. But before the champagne is sprayed, see where your favorite driver ranks after Phoenix.
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
|
100 |
|
2 |
Kyle BuschLooking to join every NASCAR trivia game from now to eternity as the champion to miss the most races. Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch |
95 |
|
3 |
+1 |
Jeff Gordon
|
88 |
4 |
Martin Truex Jr.
|
83 |
|
5 |
+4 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
|
74 |
6 |
N/A |
Joey Logano Given his season and overall consistency, Logano was slated to be one of those four contenders in the Championship Round but the incident with Kenseth at Martinsville all but sunk those hopes. The series leader in wins (six) and poles (six) can play the spoiler but also culminate a career-best season with a win in the season finale. Mike Zizzo, Texas Motor Speedway |
73 |
7 |
+1 |
Kurt Busch
|
66 |
8 |
-1 |
Carl Edwards
|
65 |
9 |
-3 |
Jimmie Johnson
|
63 |
10 |
-7 |
Brad Keselowski
|
60 |
11 |
+4 |
Denny Hamlin
|
49 |
12 |
+1 |
Ryan Newman
|
44 |
13 |
-3 |
Jamie McMurray
|
41 |
14 |
-2 |
Paul Menard
|
29 |
15 |
N/A |
Aric Almirola
|
28 |
Others Receiving Votes: Matt Kenseth (19), Clint Bowyer (18), Kyle Larson (16), Danica Patrick (10), Austin Dillon (9), Kasey Kahne (9), Greg Biffle (2), Casey Mears (2), Erik Jones (1)
Participants: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch; Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch; Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com; Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch; Mike Zizzo, Texas Motor Speedway
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