NASCAR Power Index – Darlington
1. Joey Logano (LW: 2) – Logano successfully defended his title at the Bristol IRWIN Tools Night Race, leading 176 laps for his 3rd victory of 2015. After recording a career-high 16 top-5 finishes last season, Logano will most likely top that mark this year, with 14 top-5 finishes already with 12 races remaining.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 1) – A couple pit road violations may have been Harvick’s undoing. He made a valiant attempt to reel in Logano in the closing laps, but ended up second for a ridiculous tenth time this year. Dating back to the end of last season, he’s finished in the Top 10 in 24 of 27 races.
3. Kyle Busch (LW: 3) – Kyle may have had the car to beat at Bristol, as he led a race-high 192 laps. But a loose wheel around Lap 350 forced an unscheduled trip to pit road. He did, however, recover to finish a solid eighth. He currently holds a 46-point lead over Cole Whitt to stay inside the Top 30 in points, but you can never be too careful with two races remaining until the Chase begins.
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4. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 5) – After hovering just outside the Top 10 for much of the day, Johnson finally crept into it with 150 laps to go. In fact, he made it all the way up to a fourth-place finishing position. After a bit of a rough stretch, it was a much-needed result for this team.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 6) – Dale Jr. struggled to stay on the lead lap in the early stages of the race, but a couple well-timed caution flags (and subsequent free passes) allowed him to charge into the Top 10 by night’s end. In the last 3 races, he’s finished 11th, 10th and now 9th.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW: 4) – Kenseth drove his way from a 13th starting position to 5th by Lap 100, only for his engine to let go on him 10 laps later. A tough break on a day when the Joe Gibbs cars were all fast once again, and this team had been on such a roll lately.
7. Brad Keselowski (LW: 7) – Brad led four laps under a late caution, but could not challenge his teammate when the field went back under green, falling all the way to sixth. Make it seven straight top-ten finishes for the driver of the No. 2.
8. Denny Hamlin (LW: 9) – After leading 54 of the first 154 laps, Denny stayed up front the rest of the night, taking home his 2nd straight top-5 result, and 1st top-5 at Bristol since he won back in 2012.
9. Kurt Busch (LW: 8) – Busch’s car was fast for stretches, but ultimately, he couldn’t hold on for a spot inside the Top 10 (14th). This team seems to be on the wrong side of momentum heading into the Chase, but they still have a little time to get things together.
10. Carl Edwards (LW: 10) – After recording just a single top-10 finish in the first 20 races of the season, Edwards has rallied to finish 6 of the last 7 there. The result could have been better though, as he was forced to pit from the lead on Lap 354 because of a flat tire.
11. Ryan Newman (LW: 12) – Newman was one of a few drivers who made their move around the final third of the race, running as high as sixth at one point. His 10th-place finish was his 2nd top-10 in a row.
12. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 11) – It was another disappointing race for Truex, who spent a limited amount of time inside the Top 10. Getting involved in a wreck at Lap 385 only made matters worse, and he came home 28th. His average finish since Pocono is 19.1.
13. Clint Bowyer (LW: 15) – Bowyer followed up the dissapoinment at Michigan with an impressive fifth-place run at Bristol. His 6.25 average finish in the last 5 races (minus the Michigan result) makes that hiccup a little easier to swallow.
14. Jeff Gordon (LW: 13) – Two loose wheels ruined Gordon’s chances at winning his final race at Bristol, as he ended up 20th. Gordon’s luck (good and bad) has come in spurts this year, so maybe a run of good luck is around the corner, something he definitely needs.
15. Paul Menard (LW: 14) – Menard finished outside the Top 15 for just the second time in the last 7 races, finishing 24th after an eventful night at Bristol that included a near-spin and a runaway tire during a pit stop.
