RowdySpeedway’s weekly power rankings are based on the past couple of races along with the driver’s past results at the upcoming race track.
1. Brad Keselowski – Brad started ahead of his title foe for the first time since back in September at Dover, and showed early that he had a car capable of winning, but once Jimmie Johnson made the dreaded left turn into the garage on lap 235 the name of the game for Keselowski was survive. Brad avoided two wrecks in the final ten laps — including the Gordon/Bowyer love fest — to bring home a sixth-place finish and turn his seven-point deficit to a 20-point advantage as we head to Homestead.
Brad is on the verge of granting Roger Penske his first Sprint Cup Championship, and giving Dodge a parting gift.
2. Jimmie Johnson – Johnson was steadily climbing up through the field after having a poor qualifying session on Friday, but a melted bead in his right front tire caused the #48 Hendrick Chevy to slap the wall off of turn 4 on lap 235 and forced the team to the garage for 38 laps while they made repairs to the damaged right side.
Jimmie finished a disappointing 32nd and saw his seven-point lead turn into a 20-point deficit with only one race remaining in the Chase.
3. Clint Bowyer – Bowyer was having a usual solid day until Jeff Gordon made the bonehead move of the year and intentional wrecked Bowyer in turn 4, which abolished his championship chances.
With Johnson’s troubles, Bowyer had a chance of finishing the year second in the driver standings, but Johnson’s teammate quickly fixed that scenario.
4. Kasey Kahne – Kahne started from the fourth starting position and wound up bringing home a fourth-place finish after flirting with the lead in the late stages. Kahne was able to move up to third in the points standings after a chaos filled day in the Arizona desert.
5. Denny Hamlin – After two horrid weeks, Hamlin found himself back upfront on Sunday in Arizona as he ran up front all day long — leading 46 laps — before settling with a second-place finish which moves him back up to fifth in the standings.
6. Matt Kenseth – Roush Fenway Racing never had anything for the front-runners this past weekend in Phoenix, with Kenseth bringing home a 14th-place finish.
7. Greg Biffle – Biffle had an average day, and brought home a seventh-place finish, which was the best among Roush drivers in Phoenix.
8. Kyle Busch – Rowdy was fast again, but like most weekends this season, he didn’t bring home the trophy. Kyle won the pole, won all three practices prior to Sunday’s AdvoCare 500, led a race high 237 laps, but wound up with a 3rd-place finish.
9. Kevin Harvick – With all of the tension swarming around Harvick’s future over the weekend in Phoenix, who would have thought he’d break out and win the race. The win was the first of the season for Richard Childress Racing, and it ended Harvick’s 44-race winless streak.
10. Jeff Gordon – Gordon had a good car, wasn’t great, but it was good, then made a bonehead move and intentionally wrecked Clint Bowyer, which resulted in a wild few minutes before the race was completed.
What Jeff Gordon did was uncalled for, and NASCAR should have parked him instead of taking away points and handing him a worthless money fine. Gordon abolished Bowyer’s slim chances of winning the championship, wrecked Joey Logano’s and Aric Almirola’s car, and almost wrapped Chase leader Brad Keselowski into the turn four carnage.
11. Tony Stewart – Stewart didn’t threaten at any point Sunday in Phoenix, and with a late race spin, Stewart brought home a 19th-place finish. Sunday pretty much summed up how Stewart’s Chase has unfolded.
12. Martin Truex Jr. – It couldn’t have gone any worse for Truex. Two laps into the race the TRD engine in Truex’s #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota went sour, and Truex was forced to leave the race track early with a dead last finish.
