NASCAR Power Rankings: 2014 Week 12

Welcome to the Inside Track's NASCAR Power Rankings. Each week of the Sprint Cup season, the Gazette's Jeremiah Davis will rank the series' top 10 drivers.

Think the list should be different? Tweet him at @jeremiahdavis10, or comment in the comments section.

New this week: Kurt Busch

Dropped out: Danica Patrick

RANK

+/-

NAME

WINS

THOUGHTS

1

--

Kevin Harvick

2

No rankings for exhibition races, but that's two three straight weeks of finishing second for this guy -- and he probably should've won at least two, maybe all three. In fact, his team has beat themselves as much or more than anyone else has beat them this year. When they put it together? Watch out.

2

--

Jeff Gordon

1

How about his quotes after the race on Sunday? He raced through back spasms due to a bulging disk (thanking my lucky stars I only have to write that phrase, not say it on TV) just to prove to his toughness and commitment to his team. That seems crazy to me from a dude who's won 89 races and four championships.

3

+4

Jimmie Johnson

1

Want some evidence he's probably the best ever? He went 15 races -- dating back to the Texas Chase race -- between wins, and the NASCAR world lost its collective mind wondering what was wrong. To have that be headline news in today's era is five-alarm crazy. And guess what? They're at Dover next week, another JJ playground.

4

-1

Joey Logano

2

Ran in the top 10 for most of the night, but honestly expected a little better out of him since their mile-and-a-half program has been so stout. But that right there says a lot about how far he's come. Two or three years ago a 12th-place finish would've been seen as a great run for Logano. Not so much, now.

5

-1

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

1

Had a solid, if not sure, top-five run going, and may have had a chance to win if fuel strategy had played out -- all done-in by a mysterious engine vibration that seemingly fixed itself. I'll spare you the Superman-Kryptonite in the gas tank analogy here and say this: More wins are coming for this team.

6

--

Matt Kenseth

Looked for a minute like he was going to keep Johnson away from his first victory of 2014, but JJ's banzai move fixed all that. Still, this was the best Kenseth has looked all year, and it won't be long before he's in Victory Lane. And believe me, he'll take over where JJ left off answering the "Why haven't you won yet?" questions.

Looked for a minute like he was going to keep Johnson away from his first victory of 2014, but JJ's banzai move fixed all that. Still, this was the best Kenseth has looked all year, and it won't be long before he's in Victory Lane. And believe me, he'll take over where JJ left off answering the "Why haven't you won yet?" questions.

7

-2

Kyle Busch

1

Falls two spots only because of Johnson and Kenseth's runs at Charlotte. Busch is one of the few drivers who can make starting from the back look like it's no big deal. Granted, he had 600 miles to make his way to the front, but still. He went a rare weekend without a win in any series, but I'm sure that'll change very soon.

8

--

Brad Keselowski

1

Brad K led some laps, was a factor for much of the night, but in the end was just along for the Jimmie Johnson ride like everyone else. At least at this point it looks like his team is a little more consistent, which they must be come Chase time if they want to give him a shot at his second Sprint Cup championship.

9

--

Carl Edwards

1

Does the Trevor Bayne announcement mean anything? I'd bet a large amount of money on it. The Edwards-to-JGR rumors swirled a few years ago and amounted to nothing. But since then, what's improved about his situation? Not much. Wouldn't shock me a bit to see him pack up his sponsors and go home.

10

N/R

Kurt Busch

1

I don't care he finished 40th and I don't care he's 28th in points at the moment. He was well on his way to completing 1,100 miles of the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 double before a blown engine took that chance away. To finish sixth in his first IndyCar start is amazing, and he deserves all kudos imaginable for his effort Sunday.

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@sourcemedia.net