2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Rankings: Week 33 Chase Edition
The 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup is getting serious now, with four more drivers eliminated from championship contention after last Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Brad Keselowski no doubt came through with a clutch win at 'Dega that ranks on scale with someone hitting a Hail Mary pass for the game-winning touchdown or a long three-pointer at the buzzer to seal a key NBA playoff win. But should he be ranked ahead of his Team Penske brother Joey Logano?
It's hard to say. All we know at this time is that Keselowski obviously can handle the pressure that's coming and that he doesn't care what anyone thinks about him in the wake of his recent post-race antics following the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Asked about a smattering of boos fans laid on him before the start of the Talladega race, Keselowski told FoxSports.com: "I'm happy that they're making noise. What hurts most is when I went out there and nobody made noise. That's when you don't even feel relevant."
Only eight drivers remain alive and relevant in this Chase. Read on to see which ones are more relevant than others, based not only on who is winning the Chase races, but what lies ahead and other factors like chemistry with crew chiefs and pit crews, as well as which race organizations are building the best-handling and fastest cars.
8. Ryan Newman
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Previous Ranking: 8
Why He's Here: Hello, Ryan Newman. Welcome to the Eliminator Round. While it's still a little hard to believe he's well and alive in this Chase, consistency counts for something, and Newman actually put together one of his best runs of the season to finish fifth at Talladega.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: Don't look now, but Newman has finished eighth or better in four consecutive races. Maybe the driver and his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team, led by crew chief Luke Lambert, are beginning to hit their stride at just the right time. Any cloud that seemed to hover over them after their car was declared too low in post-race inspection after Talladega was lifted Tuesday when NASCAR declared it was because Newman had been hit from behind during the race by another car and no penalties would be forthcoming.
What's Next: It's still difficult to believe that Newman will be able to advance to the final four at Homestead without having won a race all season. But stranger things have happened. He has one win apiece at each of the next three tracks, and all it would take to get him in the Homestead shootout is one more over any of the next three weeks.
7. Matt Kenseth
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Previous Ranking: 9
Why He's Here: While everyone thought Matt Kenseth would try to wreck Keselowski at Talladega if given the opportunity, all Kenseth could think about was getting the best finish he could to make certain he advanced in the Chase. That says something about Kenseth's ability to separate his emotions from what is most pragmatic, and that's a good mindset for a potential champion to have.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: One week after chasing down Keselowski in the Sprint Cup garage following the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte, Kenseth finished second at Talladega while helping push Keselowski to victory. In doing so, he secured his own place in the Eliminator Round, despite not owning a victory yet this season.
What's Next: He is 0-for-29 in his career at Martinsville, but he has two career wins at Texas and one at Phoenix. Moreover, he's mastered the art of advancing without having to win—and he could pull it off again, although it won't be easy.
6. Carl Edwards
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Previous Ranking: 7
Why He's Here: Carl Edwards rode around in the back for much of the Talladega race, trying to avoid trouble, and his 21st-place finish was good enough to allow him to advance after two strong finishes in the previous Contender Round races at Kansas and Charlotte.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: By his own admission, Edwards was not very impressive in his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in the opening round of the Chase. But he ran just well enough to move on. Then he finished fifth at Kansas and eighth at Charlotte, a pair of 1.5-mile tracks—which bodes well if he can find a way to get into the season finale free-for-all for the title at Homestead.
What's Next: He's never won at Martinsville, but Edwards owns three career wins at Texas and two at Phoenix. So he said Tuesday that he likes his chances of advancing. Then, if he can reach the finale at Homestead, where he has two career wins, he could actually come out on top in his final season at RFR and with wily veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig.
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5. Denny Hamlin
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Previous Ranking: 6
Why He's Here: Denny Hamlin tried to ride in the back and stay out of trouble, like some others at Talladega, and it nearly cost him advancement into the next round when Keselowski and Kenseth surged ahead at the end and finished one-two. He rode between 25th and 35th most of the afternoon but rallied for an 18th-place finish on the final lap that guaranteed advancement.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: Now that he's in the Eliminator Round, Hamlin seems amazingly comfortable. "I love the shot we have of racing for the championship at Homestead," he told reporters, including Bleacher Report, at Eliminator Round media day at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday. "Looking at these next three racetracks, I can win at any of them easily."
What's Next: Why is Hamlin so confident? Because his average career finish at Martinsville, where he owns five wins, is 8.8. And of those left in the Chase, only Jeff Gordon has a higher average finish for his career. Hamlin also owns two career wins at Texas and one at Phoenix—and if he can make it to Homestead, he's the defending race champion there.
4. Kevin Harvick
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Previous Ranking: 4
Why He's Here: Kevin Harvick is one of the four remaining drivers to have won a race in the Chase, having secured his advancement into the Eliminator Round by winning the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte. He's a threat to win any time, anywhere.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: The switch in pit crews with Tony Stewart's team right before the Chase started appear to be paying dividends. Harvick has won three races this season, but he led 63 laps or more in eight others in which he didn't get to visit Victory Lane—often because of pit-crew follies. With that apparently behind him and crew chief Rodney Childers consistently putting fast race cars underneath him, Harvick is a favorite to reach the final four at Homestead and a legitimate threat to win his first Cup title.
What's Next: Martinsville is not Harvick's favorite race track. Despite winning there in 2011, his average finish of 15.8 over 20 career races is the worst of any remaining Chaser. He's never won at Texas, but if it comes down to him needing to win at Phoenix to advance to Homestead, he probably will like his chances. He's won five times in his career at that track.
3. Jeff Gordon
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Previous Ranking: 2
Why He's Here: Jeff Gordon won the final race in the first round at Dover to advance to the Chase's Contender Round, and then he made certain he would be part of the Eliminator Round by finishing second at Charlotte. After that, all he had to do was ride around and avoid calamity at Talladega, which is precisely what he did in finishing 26—just good enough to advance.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: With four wins on the season, Gordon is in good position to challenge for his fifth Cup title—but first since 2001. It might actually end up helping him that he's the lone Hendrick Motorsports driver left in this Chase, as the organization no doubt is going to put all its resources toward getting him that fifth title. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that the three Hendrick drivers now out of the Chase—defending champion Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne—will help him any way they can without being too obvious about it.
What's Next: The next three tracks set up nicely for Gordon to secure advancement into the final four at Homestead. He has eight career wins and a Chase-best average finish of 7.0 at Martinsville, has one win in his career at Texas and has two wins all time at Phoenix, where he's finished in the top 10 in 21 of 31 career races.
2. Brad Keselowski
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Previous Ranking: 3
Why He's Here: Keselowski's run to the checkered flag at Talladega, when he knew he had to win to stay alive in this Chase, was the stuff of legend. It came one week after he angered several drivers, fellow Chasers Kenseth and Hamlin among them, with some highly questionable post-race antics following the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: So far in this Chase, and perhaps in a whole lot of others before it, nothing by any driver or team tops what Keselowski and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford group, led by crew chief Paul Wolfe, were able to pull off under pressure and the microscope at 'Dega. It was quite impressive and brings to mind some of the greatest victories in the history of the sport. It will be remembered for a long time, especially if Keselowski goes on to win his second championship in three years.
What's Next: Remarkably, Keselowski could again be in for a bit of pressure-packed trouble. He's never won at any of the next three tracks in the Chase over a combined 31 career starts. He's so confident right now, though, that none of that may matter.
1. Joey Logano
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Previous Ranking: 1
Why He's Here: Joey Logano's first five Chase finishes were fourth, first, fourth, first and fourth. That's an average finish of 2.2. He broke the string at Talladega, where his 11th-place run nonetheless was impressive, because it came after he was involved in an accident that sent him plowing through the infield grass midway through the race. Bottom line: He's been more consistent than any other Chaser, including his Team Penske brother Brad Keselowski.
Key 2014 Chase Moments: Logano won Chase races at both New Hampshire and Kansas—one in each of the first two rounds to guarantee advancement into the next. His chemistry and communication with crew chief Todd Gordon is second to none in the Sprint Cup garage right now, and because of his two wins and total consistency in the Chase thus far, he has to be considered the title favorite at the moment.
What's Next: He's never won at Martinsville or Phoenix, but he won at Texas in the spring. There are a whole lot of places where he hasn't won that he's bound to soon start checking off his racing bucket list. So don't count out the 24-year-old Logano, even at the two tracks where he hasn't yet won. The only question about him if he makes it to Homestead is if his inexperience will cost him in a pressure-packed, winner-take-all scenario where he's up against veteran drivers.
Unless otherwise noted, all information was obtained firsthand.
Joe Menzer has written six books, including two about NASCAR, and now writes about it and other sports for Bleacher Report as well as covering NASCAR as a writer and editor for FOXSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.
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