NASCAR Power Index – Phoenix
1. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2) – A dominating victory at Las Vegas for the reigning Sprint Cup champion. Chew on this: Harvick has either won or been the runner-up in the last SIX points races.
2. Joey Logano (LW: 1) – Two penalties on pit road may have cost Logano a chance to contend after leading early, but he still came home with a top-10 finish.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 4) – The 88 team took a gamble on pit road late in the race that didn’t pan out. But Junior still finished fourth with the second-best driver rating.
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4. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 6) – A runner-up performance from Truex, who didn’t have a great car, but battled to contend for the victory.
5. Matt Kenseth (LW: 5) – Kenseth finished ninth despite a car that was loose for much of the race.
6. Denny Hamlin (LW: 7) – Hamlin ran inside the top 10 pretty much all day long, crossing the finish line fifth.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 3) – As expected, Johnson looked great early in the race, but tire problems later on derailed his chances. He finished 41st.
8. Brad Keselowski (LW: 9) – Like his teammate, Keselowski also had to overcome a pit road violation. But some luck helped him eventually get back on the lead lap, leading to a seventh-place finish.
9. AJ Allmendinger (LW: 13) – Not even a case of the flu was going to stop the JTG Daugherty Racing driver from continuing his impressive start to 2015.
10. Kasey Kahne (LW: 10) – Kahne was running well until Lap 195, when Carl Edwards forced him into the wall. He did, however, manage a 17th-place finish.
11. Jeff Gordon (LW: 8) – The tumultuous start to Gordon’s season didn’t get any better on Sunday. He finished 18th after incurring damage from an incident with Jeb Burton, who was trying to avoid the damaged 48 car of Jimmie Johnson.
12. Ryan Newman (LW: NR) – Two straight top-10 finishes for Ryan Newman, who finished third at Vegas.
13. Carl Edwards (LW: 11) – Kasey Kahne appeared to retaliate soon after being forced into the wall, sending Edwards for a spin. Ultimately, a broken oil cooler resulted in a 42nd-place result for the No. 19.
14. Kyle Larson (LW: NR) – An eighth-place finish and strong run overall was a welcome performance from the sophomore phenom after a rough first couple races.
15. Greg Biffle (LW: NR) – Biffle was not spectacular on Sunday, but he scored his second top-15 of the season.
Dropped from Power Index – Casey Mears (12), Clint Bowyer (14), Aric Almirola (15)
