Saturday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway could best be described as a war of attrition.
From an unpredictable racing surface to a trial run with the low-low downforce package, there we more variable for teams to account for than at any race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tour. Throw in a hard compound tire from Goodyear and a crash fest-turned-fuel-mileage race, and teams were thrown more curveballs than the MLB’s best hitters.
At the end of the night, Brad Keselowski reigned supreme, stretching his fuel to the last moment and holding off Carl Edwards for the victory. However, in a race defined as much by the drivers that crashed out as it was by the ones that finished on top, figuring out who deserved a jump up or down the rankings was nearly as challenging as driving through that flat turn 3.
Thankfully, that’s what our experts are here for.
2. KEVIN HARVICK (95 POINTS, +1)

3. KURT BUSCH (83 POINTS, +2)

“Busch is still racking up some great finishes despite being in the shadow of his little brother. I think he likes it that way.” – Pete McCole, AutoRacing1
4. CARL EDWARDS (71 POINTS, +2)

“Others in the Joe Gibbs Racing camp, like Kyle Busch for instance, have been more dominant during races. But with 12 top-10 finishes, Edwards leads all JGR drivers in terms of consistency.” – Tom Bowles, Frontstretch
5. KYLE BUSCH (60 POINTS, -1)

“Won as an owner on Thursday. Won as a driver on Friday. Saturday? Well, I guess it’s all right for fighting if nothing else.” – Aaron Bearden, Frontstretch
6. JOEY LOGANO (51 POINTS, -6)

“No “shark” attacks on him this week, but still a rough race and a hard hit.” – Gable
“I GUESS TONY GIBSON GOT WHAT HE WISHED FOR BECAUSE LOGANO FINISHED 39TH.” – @AnnoyingRaceFan
7. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. (36 POINTS, +1)

8. CHASE ELLIOTT (30 POINTS, -1)

“That synchronized spin with Ryan Blaney did nothing for Awesome Chase from the Same Place in the points standings, but the two might consider Olympic diving if they can match their timing up a bit better.” – Bearden
9. TONY STEWART (27 POINTS, +1)

10. TREVOR BAYNE (21 POINTS, Prev. Unranked)

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
One driver moved up after his first top 5 of the season. The other stayed the same after yet another poor showing. Neither were good enough to crack the top 10. C’est la vie.
Jimmie Johnson (18 Points) – “Ouch – 32nd or worse in three of his last five races.” – Utter
Ryan Newman (15 Points) – “Newman’s finally putting up some good results. He needs it; remember, he’s racing for his next contract since we know dang well he won’t be in the No. 31, even if he wins the championship.” – Allaway
Others receiving votes: Matt Kenseth (12), Denny Hamlin (9), Austin Dillon (5), Greg Biffle (4), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (3), Jeffrey Earnhardt (1).
Contributors
Name | |
---|---|
Dustin Albino | @DustinAlbino |
Phil Allaway | @Critic84 |
Aaron Bearden | @AaronBearden93 |
Summer Bedgood | @SummerBedgood |
Tom Bowles | @NASCARBowles |
Greg Davis | @GregMDavis |
Sean Fesko | @TheWriterSean |
Michael Finley | @FinleyFactor |
Bryan Gable | N/A |
Tony Lumbis | @TonyLumbis |
Toni Montgomery | @ToniLMontgomery |
Kevin Rutherford | @surfwax83 |
Jason Schultz | @NASCARJason |
Joseph Wolkin | @JosephNASCAR |
Name | Position/Description | |
---|---|---|
AnnoyingRaceFan | @AnnoyingRaceFan | I’M @annoyingracefan ON TWITTER (AND INSTAGRAM). PEOPLE CALL ME ARF. I’M A RELATIVE NOBODY. |
MatthewDillner | @MatthewDillner | NASCAR |
Brian Eberly | @beberly18 | Writer, Rubbings Racing, Motor Racing Digest |
Mike Hembree | @MikeHembree | Writer, USA Today |
Ben Hinc | @lemonlovr | Owner, The Apex |
Jerry Jordan | @kicknthetires | Owner, Kicknthetires.Net |
Pete McCole | @PeteMcCole | NASCAR Writer, AutoRacing1.com |
The Orange Cone | @TheOrangeCone | I am an orange traffic cone. |
Kyle Pokrefky | @KPokrefky | Writer, The Fourth Turn |
Reid Spencer | @Reid_Spencer | Lead Writer, NASCAR Wire Service |
Doug Turnbull | @DougTurnbull | Announcer, PRN Live, Atlanta Motor Speedway |
Jim Utter | @jim_utter | NASCAR Editor, Motorsport.com |
How they’re made: Following the conclusion of each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, members of a voting panel, including Frontstretch writers, members of accredited media including Motorsport, NASCAR and USA Today, as well as writers from other sites and social media favorites, submit their top 10 drivers for the Power Rankings. The drivers are then given points based off their position, with first place getting 10 points, and each subsequent driver getting one fewer point until the 10th-place driver, who gets a lone point. Points are then tallied, and the rankings are created.
Do you agree with our rankings? Think someone got snubbed, or that one of the top drivers is overrated? Let us know in the comments, and tell others what your top 10 would be.
Aaron Bearden is a Frontstretch alumnus who’s come back home as the site’s Short Track Editor. When he isn’t working with our grassroots writers, he can be found talking about racing on his Morning Warmup newsletter, pestering his wife/dog or convincing himself the Indiana Pacers can win an NBA title.