2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Rankings: Week 14 Edition
Jimmie Johnson's 10th career win at Dover International Speedway was impressive in that it was hardly dominant on a day when his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet obviously was not the best car on the track.
No matter. Johnson didn't lead all day until the very end and then ran away with his fourth win of the season, giving him twice as many as any other driver.
The record 10 wins he has at Dover (breaking his own record of nine) also put him in elite company, as only four other drivers, all already in the NASCAR Hall of Fame, have ever registered double-digit wins at any NASCAR track (Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt and David Pearson). Johnson also is now just two wins away from the late Earnhardt on the all-time win list with 74.
"I'm almost in shock that we're there," Johnson told Tom Jensen of FoxSports.com. "I mean, 74 race wins, 10 here, I mean, you can't dream that big. I'm just blown away and honored by the success—what we've done with our opportunity and honored to have a shot at history with Dale and then the 10 wins here."
So while that takes the drama out of who's partying at the top of the Bleacher Report driver rankings, with his latest Miles the Monster trophy (the coolest in NASCAR, by the way), who else is landing where in the latest pecking order?
Remember, it's based not only on race victories but also on laps led lately and on the whole this season, communication and chemistry with crew chiefs and pit crews and which shops are consistently building the fastest race cars.
10. Carl Edwards
1 of 10
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Why he's here
Carl Edwards proved he hasn't forgotten how to win, when he and new crew chief, Darian Grubb, made the right fuel-mileage call and won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for his first victory in nearly a year as a result. That allowed him to crack this elite top-10 list, even though the driver and his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team followed it up with an uninspiring 19th-place finish at Dover.
Key 2015 moments
The win at Charlotte virtually guarantees him entry into the Chase for the Sprint Cup and gives him and Grubb time to continue working out some obvious kinks in the team and their relationship. Over time, it appears Grubb will be a good fit for Edwards. So far, though, they haven't clicked with any kind of consistency.
Edwards' only top-five finish so far is the race he won, and he has only two top-10 finishes overall in the first 13 races, which is somewhat understandable since he's not only with a new crew chief but also in his first year driving Toyotas for a new organization in JGR.
What's next
Edwards has two career wins each at Pocono and Michigan, the next two tracks on the Sprint Cup schedule. And with the win at Charlotte now firmly tucked in his firesuit pocket, he and Grubb certainly will be more willing than ever to risk a fuel-mileage gamble again if that's what it takes to get to Victory Lane—as often is the case at each of those tracks.
9. Martin Truex Jr.
2 of 10
Previous ranking: 10
Why he's here
In many ways, Martin Truex Jr. is having a career year. He's second in points and recently has begun to lead lots of laps. The only thing holding him back is the fact that he hasn't won yet (and, in fact, hasn't been to Victory Lane since Sonoma in June 2013, 69 races ago).
Key 2015 moments
After leading a race-high 131 laps at Dover, only to be forced to settle for a sixth-place finish, Truex now has led a total of 389 laps this season. That's precisely 388 more than last year and more than he's led in all but two entire 36-race seasons in his decade as a full-time Cup driver.
He's led a total of 357 in the last three races alone, but finished ninth at Kansas after leading 95 and finished fifth at Charlotte after also leading 131. He has finished in the top 10 in 12 of the first 13 races.
What's next
In a combined 36 career starts at Pocono and Michigan, he's not only never won but has finished in the top five only five times. Yet he and crew chief Cole Pearn obviously keep knocking on the door...so much so that it's difficult to believe they won't win a race sooner rather than later.
8. Matt Kenseth
3 of 10
Previous ranking: 8
Why he's here
After finishing fourth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, Kenseth was relegated to a 39th-place finish at Dover because of a suspension issue with his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was his worst finish of the season, but already the fifth time he's finished 23rd or worse (including three of 31st or worse).
Key 2015 moments
He won from the pole at Bristol and continues to enjoy a new life as one of the season's top qualifiers (by his own admission, Kenseth has never previously been considered a very good qualifier). That's noteworthy in this era when track position is more important than ever.
He has, in fact, qualified eighth or better nine times already and also won the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. He just needs to eliminate the bad finishes if he expects to contend for the championship in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
What's next
Kenseth has never won at Pocono and has only three top-five finishes in 30 career starts there, so he's much more likely to be a factor at Michigan, where he has won twice and has 12 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 31 starts.
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7. Kurt Busch
4 of 10
Previous ranking: 6
Why he's here
Kurt Busch continues to make up for time lost at the beginning of the season, when he missed the first three races while serving a NASCAR-issued suspension for alleged domestic abuse (criminal charges were never brought against him after an investigation by the state of Delaware's attorney general's office). The elder of the NASCAR Busch brothers already has won two poles (Fontana and Texas) and one race (Richmond).
Key 2015 moments
Until getting caught up in a wreck that led to him finishing a season-worst 31st at Dover, Busch hadn't finished worse than 15th all season.
In fact, in his first nine starts leading up to Dover, he had already recorded three top-five and five top-10 finishes, while leading a total of 659 laps that is second only to Kevin Harvick in the series for the season, despite Busch running three fewer races than almost every other driver. He was especially dominant in his win at Richmond, when he led a career-high 291 laps.
What's next
He's been particularly good at Pocono during his career, winning twice, while piling up 11 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes in 27 starts. He's also won twice at Michigan, so the driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet bears close watching the next two weeks.
6. Brad Keselowski
5 of 10
Previous ranking: 7
Why he's here
Brad Keselowski continues to be solid, if not spectacular, in 2015. He won at Fontana, where he only led the last lap, and he's led at least some laps in 10 of the first 13 races. He's also sixth in the points standings.
Key 2015 moments
The win at Fontana obviously is his top highlight of the season, but he also finished second one week later at Martinsville and has finished ninth or better eight times.
It's no secret, though, that crew chief Paul Wolfe has encountered some trouble in trying to match the speeds being generated by the Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolets. Now it seems that perhaps the Team Penske Fords also have fallen slightly behind the oncoming Toyotas fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing.
What's next
He's won once at Pocono in 10 career starts, but has never won in 11 starts at Michigan. He has, however, improved at Michigan over the years and owns two third-place finishes and a second-place finish there since 2011.
5. Joey Logano
6 of 10
Previous ranking: 4
Why he's here
Despite winning the season-opening Daytona 500 and currently ranking third in points, the fact is that Joey Logano has been rather average (or worse) with an average finish of 17.8 over the last six races. So he's dropped one spot since the last rankings.
Key 2015 moments
Nothing beats winning the sport's most prestigious race to open the season, and Logano backed that up with strong runs in the first seven races overall. But since then, his season has mirrored Keselowski's, as in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford has frequently lacked the speed to keep up with the fastest competitors in the Sprint Cup garage.
Is it something Logano and crew chief Todd Gordon can get figured out with the formidable army of Team Penske engineers? Or is the fact that Team Penske is only a two-car operation, with limited exchange of information with other Ford teams, finally catching up to them? Time will tell.
What's next
Logano has one win each at Pocono and Michigan in his still-young career. But he's finished in the top five only one other time at each of the two tracks.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7 of 10
Previous ranking: 3
Why he's here
With a win at Talladega and five third-place finishes this season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has demonstrated that he can run up front pretty consistently. He's also had some stumbles (43rd at Phoenix and 36th at Martinsville), and he wasn't much of a factor after getting caught speeding on pit road at Dover.
Key 2015 moments
He did like daddy at 'Dega, and that remains perhaps the coolest feat of the season all across NASCAR (Junior now has six career wins at the track, and his dad had 10). There also is great karma in him finishing No. 3 so often, when that's the number his father, the late Dale Earnhardt, made so famous.
All in all, this first season with new crew chief Greg Ives is going about as well as could have been expected, and perhaps even better, as Earnhardt Jr. has appeared to assume a more assertive role inside the car on race days.
What's next
Earnhardt Jr. used to hate going to Pocono, where he struggled mightily until sweeping both races at the Tricky Triangle last year. And he loves Michigan, where he also has won twice in recent years. Expect him to be a factor at both places.
3. Denny Hamlin
8 of 10
Previous ranking: 5
Why he's here
Denny Hamlin is coming on. The raw numbers might not completely capture it, but all of the cars at Joe Gibbs Racing are getting better, and Hamlin's No. 11 Toyota has been the fastest of late. He won the Sprint All-Star Race, then captured the pole at Dover, was fastest in all three pre-race practices and led 118 laps and likely would have contended for the win if Clint Bowyer hadn't wrecked him with 19 laps to go.
Key 2015 moments
Winning the non-points All-Star Race came with a $1 million prize, and earlier he won at Martinsville to almost certainly secure a spot in the Chase. The incident with Bowyer was unfortunate and costly at Dover, but it was not Hamlin's fault. Afterward, Hamlin was blunt and insisted JGR still has work to do to compete with the likes of Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.
"Our cars fade in the middle of the race it seems like," Hamlin said (via nascartalk.nbcsports.com). "We had some good raw speed while the track is clean, but it seems like our cars—they were fifth-place cars for the most part. ... We're not the best organization. We're not the fastest cars by any means right now."
What's next
Pocono always has been one of Hamlin's favorite tracks, as he's compiled four wins, nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 19 career starts. He likely will run up front and contend for another win. He also owns two career wins at Michigan.
2. Kevin Harvick
9 of 10
Previous ranking: 2
Why he's here
Kevin Harvick wasn't so happy finishing second to Johnson again at Dover. Dating back to last season, he's now finished runner-up in each of the last five wins Johnson has recorded, including all four this season. With two wins himself this year, and now a remarkable seven second-place runs, Harvick still leads the points standings.
Key 2015 moments
He won back-to-back earlier in the year at Las Vegas and Phoenix. And he is by far the series leader in total laps led with 1,123 already through the first 13 races. That's more than twice as many as every other driver except for Kurt Busch, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate who has led 683 in just 10 starts.
Bottom line is, Harvick and crew chief Rodney Childers are still clicking and actually should have two or three more wins at this point. The only frustrating part to their season is that they don't.
What's next
Harvick has never won and has only six top-five finishes in 28 career starts at Pocono and has one win in 28 starts at Michigan. Honestly, though, this No. 4 SHR Chevy has been bad fast no matter where it's run this season, and those numbers might not mean anything.
1. Jimmie Johnson
10 of 10
Previous ranking: 1
Why he's here
Four wins. That's twice as many as anyone else this season, including Harvick. And Johnson has earned those four victories while leading 740 fewer laps than Harvick. So the six-time Cup champion has been less dominant, yet somehow more productive than the defending Cup champ.
Key 2015 moments
The latest win at Dover came after Johnson led only the last 23 laps of a race that lasted 405 after the green-white-checkered finish. So give crew chief Chad Knaus lots of credit for instructing Johnson to stay out on older tires with 25 laps to go, and then lots of credit to Johnson for still being able to drive past Harvick on the ensuing restart.
Johnson's other wins this season have come at Atlanta, Texas and Kansas, and he's frequently had to come on late in races after Knaus makes adjustments to the car to be able to contend for the win.
What's next
Johnson and his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy team have visited Victory Lane at Pocono three times but have frequently struggled at Michigan, where he has won only once and has just five top-five finishes in 26 career starts.
That one win at Michigan, however, came last June, and then he also finished a respectable ninth in the second 2014 race there last summer. Knaus now has the luxury of being aggressive in his set-ups, as their spot in the Chase is secure, and they have nothing to lose.
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 for FoxSports.com as a Digital Content Producer. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and information were obtained firsthand.
Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.
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