NASCAR Power Index – Dover
1. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2) – Even though Harvick finished ninth in the series’ longest race, he still ran 47 of the fastest laps and posted a driver rating of 116.8, good for third in each category for the race. He still holds a commanding 41-point lead in the standings, although Johnson leads him by virtue of his three victories in terms of the Chase Grid.
2. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 4) – Second race in a row Martin Truex Jr. probably should have won, but he finished fifth. As nice as his resurgence has been, he deserves better. Still, finishing 11 of 12 races in the top 10 is pretty darn impressive.
3. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 1) – After surviving a spin earlier in the race, Johnson spun out again on Lap 274, making contact with a SAFER barrier on pit road. He ended up 40th. To go along with three wins, Johnson now has two finishes in the forties at 1.5-mile ovals in 2015.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 5) – It took some time to make his way forward, but the most popular driver in the Sprint Cup Series spent the majority of the final 300 laps near or inside the top 5. The result was his fifth third-place effort of the season, which was aided by a fuel strategy gamble.
5. Joey Logano (LW: 3) – The Coca-Cola 600 relies on sustained speed or running well late in the race. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Logano, who had to make a late-race run just to get back to 13th. Three of Logano’s last six races have resulted in finishes outside the top 10.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW: 8) – Despite leading 26 of the first 29 laps, Kenseth struggled to stay inside the top 10 for most of the night. But he crossed the finish line fourth, as he was another driver that stretched his fuel mileage in the final stages of the race. Kenseth hasn’t had a rocketship by any means when it comes to laps led this season, but he’s finding ways to finish up front anyway.
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7. Brad Keselowski (LW: 7) – Keselowski overcame an early pit road violation to run solidly inside the top 10 all night long, finishing seventh. Last year’s Fall race at Charlotte marks the last time Brad finished outside the top 10 on a 1.5-mile oval.
8. Jeff Gordon (LW: 6) – After spending the earlier part of the day driving the pace car in Indianapolis, the 600-miler in Charlotte proved to be a bit of a struggle for Gordon, where he came home 15th. Only 56% of his laps were logged inside the top 15. If the Chase began today, Gordon would be in (ninth in the points standings), but four winless drivers find themselves within ten points of him.
9. Kurt Busch (LW: 9) – It was a battle between Truex and Busch for a large chunk of the race, with Busch leading 118 laps. And although his 10th-place finish appears to be a letdown, Kurt has finished no worse than 15th in nine races this season, a marked improvement from the up-and-down nature we got used to seeing out of him in the past.
10. Ryan Newman (LW: 10) – Newman finished sixth at Charlotte, in under-the-radar fashion as usual. And although his driver rating stands just 17th-best over the past six races, he’s proving consistency still counts for something. The No. 31 Chevy has only finished outside the top 12 twice this season.
11. Denny Hamlin (LW: 13) – Hamlin led 54 laps and appeared poised to contend for a victory until a loose wheel forced him to pit under green at Lap 363. He still finished eighth, however, despite also dealing with a migraine, possibly due to dehydration, which he was treated for after the race. Denny has been bouncing back and forth between good and bad finishes all season. If he can right the ship, he could very well contend when it counts.
12. Kyle Busch (LW: 14) – Quite the performance for his first full race back, especially given the race’s distance. While it wouldn’t seem logical to make assumptions this quickly, the fact that Busch was able to run so well in such a long race suggests he’s closer to 100% than not.
13. Kasey Kahne (LW: 11) – Kahne worked his way from 33rd to 12th in the first 300 miles. But a pit road speeding penalty (under green) forced him to repeat the process all over again, back to that same 12th-place running position after 600 miles were complete. Kahne has scored just four top-ten finishes this year.
14. Carl Edwards (LW: NR) – After leading some laps early, Edwards ran mid-pack for much of the race. However, thanks to making the same fuel gamble as Junior and Kenseth, Edwards got to the front and never looked back. The win was big for Joe Gibbs Racing’s newest driver, who only notched one top-ten finish in 11 previous races in 2015.
15. Jamie McMurray (LW: 12) – A bit of a setback for McMurray, who just never got anything going on Sunday night. The good news, he’s still eighth in the points standings, and only trails Truex among winless drivers.
Dropped from Power Index – Aric Almriola (15)
