NASCAR Power Index – Chicagoland
1. Joey Logano (LW: 1) – Logano led 25 laps at Richmond. And despite falling outside the Top 10 at one point, he rebounded nicely to finish in the 3rd position. Logano has finished in the Top 5 in all but 3 races since June.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2) – For the first time in quite some time, Harvick spent a large chunk of the race outside the Top 10. His fate was all but sealed when he was flagged for speeding during a late pit stop, resulting in a 14th-place finish. He enters the Chase fifth on the grid by virtue of his two wins.
3. Kyle Busch (LW: 3) – Busch only led 9 laps on Saturday night, but finished a strong 2nd behind teammate Matt Kenseth. He led a lap in 11 of 15 regular season races this season. After everything he’s gone through this year, he will now enter the Chase tied with Jimmie Johnson and teammate Matt Kenseth as the No. 1 seed.
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4. Brad Keselowski (LW: 4) – Everyone’s been talking about the Joe Gibbs cars lately, but Roger Penske’s duo has run impressively of late as well, combining for 17 top-10 finishes in 18 races thanks in part to Keselowski finishing eighth on Saturday night.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 5) – Dale Jr. has not been qualifying well, starting an unexciting 29th at Richmond, but once again he clawed his way through the field en route to a solid finish (5th). Having only led 204 laps all year, his ability to finish up front continues to impress.
6. Matt Kenseth (LW: 9) – It was the Matt Kenseth Show on Saturday night, as he led 352 of the 400 laps at Richmond to grab the victory, equaling teammate Kyle Busch and six-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson with four regular season victories in 2015.
7. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 6) – Jimmie probably wanted better than a 9th-place finsh at Richmond, but it will have to do. This team has seen its fair share of ups-and-downs in recent weeks, but his extra bonus points heading into the Chase perhaps offer some sense of relief.
8. Denny Hamlin (LW: 7) – Hamlin was understandably sore getting out of his car post-race, but during the race, who would’ve known that he tore the ACL in his right knee last week? After starting 25th, Hamlin drove all the way to 6th by the checkered flag. He insists he’s good to go for the Chase, and perhaps his performance at Richmond served as proof of that.
9. Carl Edwards (LW: 8) – Edwards’ streak of top-10’s came to an end at 5, but he still ran an impressive race. He’ll enter the Chase six points behind leaders Busch and Johnson with momentum on his side.
10. Kurt Busch (LW: 10) – Richmond was another head-scratcher for Kurt, as his team just could not find the speed he needed to run with the leaders. With his 15th-place effort, he’s finished outside the Top 10 in four of the last six races.
11. Clint Bowyer (LW: 13) – Bowyer needed a decent run to lock himself into the Chase, and he accomplished just that, coming home tenth. Outside of the August race at Michigan, Bowyer has run well enough of late to make him an intriguing driver to watch in the coming weeks.
12. Ryan Newman (LW: 12) – Newman came home 20th at Richmond, making the Chase via points. But with just 2 top-10 finishes in the last 9 races, and 4 drivers eliminated following each round of the Chase, he may need to step up his game. He did just that last season, finishing 6 of the 10 Chase races in the Top 10.
13. Jeff Gordon (LW: 14) – Unlike last week, where Jeff spent some time inside the Top 10 only to fade, he held his ground. A 7th-place finish was a welcome result heading into the Chase, but can they keep it up?
14. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 11) – An early encounter with the wall and subsequent infractions on pit road put him behind the 8-ball for the remainder of the race, and he ended up 6 laps down (32nd). It’s anyone’s guess how this team will perform in the Chase.
15. Jamie McMurray (LW: 15) – McMurray seemed poised for a very solid run in the regular season’s final race, but, like Harvick, a speeding penalty on pit road did not help his cause down the stretch. He finished 13th, the first car a lap down.
