The Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott emerged as legitimate contenders in the first round of NASCAR’s playoff, but in the end it was Furniture Row Racing‘s Martin Truex, Jr., that took the lead shortly after the final restart to claim his third win of the year. However, the success of both teams came with a bit of controversy when both Truex and Johnson failed post-race LIS inspection.
Truex’s victory will still advance his team to the Round of 12, but was it enough to elevate the New Jersey driver to the top of the power rankings?
Let’s see.
POWER RANKINGS: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 Edition
1. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. (90 POINTS, Prev. Unranked)
2. BRAD KESELOWSKI (83 POINTS, No Change)
3. JOEY LOGANO (74 POINTS, +3)
4. KYLE BUSCH (63 POINTS, No Change)
“A great late-race rally earned Busch an eighth-place finishing and kept him in the top tier in the Chase standings – a remarkable comeback for what could have been a disastrous day for this team” – Pete McCole, Autoracing1
5. KEVIN HARVICK (51 POINTS, -4)
6. DENNY HAMLIN (46 POINTS, -1)
“Does the Richmond win mean that he has his flat track mojo back? New Hampshire will be a very good race for the No. 11 team if he does.” – Gable
7. CHASE ELLIOTT (31 POINTS, +3)
8. CARL EDWARDS (30 POINTS, -5)
9. MATT KENSETH (22 POINTS, Prev. Unranked)
10. KYLE LARSON (19 POINTS, -3)
CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
These two drivers look like they’ll be on the right side of the bubble going into New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but they aren’t quite where they need to be yet, both on-track and in our power rankings.
Jimmie Johnson (114 Points) – “Throwing away a race with a speeding penalty? Bad. Throwing away a race with a speeding penalty with a cheated car?” Cringeworthy.” – Bearden
Jamie McMurray (11 Points) – “Keep an eye on him. Whether or not he advances could come right down to the wire, as it did last year.” – Gable
Others receiving votes: Kasey Kahne (4), Ryan Blaney (2), Alex Bowman (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.