NASCAR Power Index – Atlanta
1. Joey Logano – After recording a career year in 2014 with five wins, Logano kicked off the 2015 season by winning the Great American Race.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Junior showed speed all weekend, but a late-race error possibly cost him a shot at back-to-back Daytona 500 victories.
3. Kevin Harvick – Harvick was near the front of the pack all day long. He couldn’t pull off the victory, but second place isn’t terrible either.
4. Jeff Gordon – Gordon had possibly the best car on the track on Sunday. Unfortunately, a race-ending wreck resulted in a 33rd-place finish in his final Daytona 500.
5. Denny Hamlin – After starting 42nd, it didn’t take Hamlin long to find the leaders in his windshield. Once he did, he never really looked back, finishing fourth.
6. Jimmie Johnson – Six-time was not up front consistently, but he found his way back to the front in the final quarter of the race, culminating in a solid fifth-place effort.
7. Kasey Kahne – The entire Hendrick team found speed in their cars, including Kahne, who posted a ninth-place finish and the 7th-best driver rating.
8. Clint Bowyer – Bowyer stayed in the back for awhile, but he progressed forward when it counted and ended up seventh.
9. Matt Kenseth – After being involved in the Tony Stewart incident on Lap 42, Kenseth just had too big a hill to climb, finishing 35th.
10. Carl Edwards – Edwards ran up front in the first half of the race, but was up-and-down the rest of the way, also ending up being involved in the wreck that ended the race.
11. Brad Keselowski – The 2012 Sprint Cup Champion was just making his way through the field when his engine decided to fail him. A tough weekend overall for the Blue Deuce.
12. Martin Truex Jr. – A strong eighth-place finish for the Furniture Row Racing driver, who is coming off the worst full season of his Sprint Cup career.
13. Greg Biffle – Amid all the questions surrounding the strength (or lack thereof) of the Roush Fenway Racing team, Biffle ran well, finishing 10th.
14. Casey Mears – Much like Bowyer, Mears drove near the back of the pack most of the day, but gradually made his way up the leaderboard as the race progressed, finishing sixth.
15. Austin Dillon – While not particularly spectacular, Dillon kept his car clean and posted a solid top-15 finish.
