NASCAR Power Index – Charlotte
1. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 2) – Johnson may be third in points, but he continues to thrive despite poor qualifying efforts. His win at Kansas puts him atop the current Chase grid.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 1) – The late Dale Earnhardt Sr. reminded us that “Second place is only the first loser”. At Kansas, Harvick finished second for the SIXTH time this season.
3. Joey Logano (LW: 4) – Logano’s Ford Fusion was mad fast, but pit road violations forced him to restart from the back on a couple occassions. He did bring the car home fifth, however.
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4. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 3) -Truex proved to have one of the cars to beat on Saturday night, but a pit road gamble (fuel only, no tires) mired him on the restart, as he ended up ninth.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 5) – Dale Jr. wasn’t the fastest car on the track, but he still managed a third-place finish. Impressive.
6. Jeff Gordon (LW: 6) – Gordon has really turned things around, finishing fourth at Kansas for his seventh top-10 of the season.
7. Brad Keselowski (LW: 8) – Seventh-place for Keselowski, who led twice for a total of 43 laps.
8. Matt Kenseth (LW: 7) – The Cambridge, WI native survived a Lap 130 spin on the way to a sixth-place effort.
9. Kurt Busch (LW: 9) – Another strong run for Busch, who is up to 14th in the points’ standings.
10. Ryan Newman (LW: 10) – Ryan Newman rarely amazes you. But he continues to post solid results, running tenth at Kansas. His 11.9 average finish is good for sixth-best in NASCAR’s premier circuit.
11. Kasey Kahne (LW: 12) – Despite qualifying on the front row, Kahne battled loose-handling conditions all night long. He finished 17th.
12. Jamie McMurray (LW: 13) – Jamie Mac’s car began to get away from him as the race progressed, but he hung in there for a 13th-place finish.
13. Denny Hamlin (LW: 11) – A blown tire on Lap 208 halted Denny’s chances at a top-10 (or better) run. Instead, he ended up 41st.
14. Kyle Busch (LW: NR) – Rowdy made his return to a Sprint Cup car at this past weekend’s All-Star Race, finishing sixth. But the 600-miler at Charlotte will be a whole different challenge.
15. Aric Almirola (LW: NR) – The driver of Richard Petty’s iconic No. 43 has yet to record a top-10 in 2015, but consistency puts him 11th in the latest points’ standings.
Dropped from Power Index – Clint Bowyer (14), Carl Edwards (15)
