2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Rankings: Week 16 Edition
This is getting mighty interesting.
With Kurt Busch gambling correctly on rain showers at Michigan to become the third Sprint Cup driver with multiple race wins this season, and with Martin Truex Jr. finally cracking the win column a week earlier at Pocono, it's getting tight at the top of the Bleacher Report driver rankings.
Eleven races remain before the Chase for the Sprint Cup field that will determine the 2015 champion is set. But NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip wrote recently for FoxSports.com that now is not the time to expect any of the top dogs to back off:
"Don't expect to see the drivers who are already locked into the Chase backing off any. Sure a win gets you into the Chase but every win gives you bonus points for when the 16-car Chase field is set after the checkered flag at Richmond in September.
So it's going to be a real dogfight between those drivers simply wanting to get a win to make the Chase and those drivers who are already in wanting yet another win to have those all-important bonus points in the bank when the Chase starts."
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So who sits where in the latest rankings? Remember, these are based not only on race wins (although they count the most) but also on drivers' chemistry with crew chiefs and pit crews, current momentum and the ability of the boys back at the shop to build fast race cars.
10. Jamie McMurray
1 of 10
Previous ranking: Not ranked
Why he's here
McMurray hasn't won a race yet in 2015 and Carl Edwards, who was No. 10 in the previous B/R rankings, has. But McMurray is now up to seventh in the points standings, with two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes. Edwards' lone top-five finish is the one race he won on a fuel-mileage gamble in the Coca-Cola 600. Edwards has just one other finish in the top 10. McMurray has far and away been faster and more consistent on the whole.
Key 2014 moments
When your numbers come up 7-7-7 on a slot machine at a casino, it usually means you just hit the jackpot. Well, McMurray is on a weird run of consecutive seventh-place finishes in the last three Sprint Cup races at Dover, Pocono and Michigan, respectively. Maybe that means he's about to cash in with that first victory of the season at Sonoma, the road course that is the next stop on the circuit.
The problem is, he still isn't leading many laps. He's led laps in only three races, not at all since Richmond in April, and no more than nine in any of the three he's led.
What's next
Despite starting from the pole in each of the last two races at Sonoma, he's never won there, with his best two finishes being second there in 2004 and fourth last year. Then, though, it's on to one of his favorite tracks in Daytona, where he owns two of his seven career victories.
9. Denny Hamlin
2 of 10
Previous ranking: 3
Why he's here
Every time it seems Hamlin is about to break through, or already has, he instead takes a step back or at least sideways in what has been so far a wildly inconsistent yet arguably successful season.
He's won twice, although one win was in the Sprint All-Star Race, which came with a $1 million paycheck but no points in the championship standings. His No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota also has limped home in 21st or worse in seven of the first 15 races, including the Bristol race where he had to get out of the car, when his neck reportedly stiffened up during a long rain delay.
Key 2014 moments
A win in the All-Star Race is big any year, even if it doesn't pay points. He also won at Martinsville in a race that did count in the standings, locking him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup field. If he wants to actually contend for a championship during the Chase, though, he absolutely will have to eliminate the tendency to alternate great runs with terrible ones.
What's next
He's never won at either of the next two tracks in a combined 28 career starts. In fact, he's been absolutely clueless at Sonoma, with only one top-five finish in 2009 and an average finish of 31.0 in the five races he's run there since.
8. Brad Keselowski
3 of 10
Previous ranking: 6
Why he's here
Keselowski hasn't had a terrible season, but he basically stole the only race he's won so far, leading only the final lap at Auto Club Speedway back in March. And in too many other events, he just hasn't had the speed in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford to keep up with the Chevys of Hendrick Motorsports or Stewart-Haas Racing.
Key 2014 moments
Give him credit. He led the one lap that mattered most to earn his win at ACS. But that was more than three months ago, and he's finished 12th or worse in five of his last eight starts. Crew chief Paul Wolfe, one of the smartest in the Sprint Cup garage, continues to work hard with Team Penske engineers to find more speed in the car. But so far, they haven't seemed to be able to figure out what's missing that is preventing them from making it happen.
What's next
He's never been very good at Sonoma, where in five career starts his best finish is 10th in 2011. Surprisingly, he's never won at Daytona, either, despite owning three career wins at Talladega, NASCAR's only other restrictor-plate track.
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7. Matt Kenseth
4 of 10
Previous ranking: 8
Why he's here
Matt Kenseth knows he's getting old when his eldest son, Ross, starts running in the Xfinity Series. But while Ross Kenseth earned a respectable sixth-place finish in his Xfinity debut last Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, his old man isn't finished racking up his own impressive runs as a driver. Matt finished sixth and fourth in the last two Sprint Cup races at Pocono and Michigan, respectively.
Key 2014 moments
The highlight thus far of Matt's season came when he won a rain-delayed race at Bristol. Thus began a stretch where over the last eight races, he's finished seventh or better six times. So the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is showing signs of life at all types of race tracks, which bodes well for his chances in the Chase.
What's next
Sonoma is the only current Sprint Cup track where he's never led a single lap in his long and otherwise distinguished career. But he's won twice and has 14 top-10 finishes in 31 career starts at Daytona, meaning he's finished in the top 10 there nearly half the time he's run, which is no small feat.
6. Joey Logano
5 of 10
Previous ranking: 5
Why he's here
The winner of the season-opening Daytona 500 hasn't been back to Victory Lane since, but Joey Logano has been consistently impressive, with eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in the first 15 races. He's third in the points behind only Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. and ahead of four-time race winner Jimmie Johnson.
Key 2014 moments
Nothing beats winning the Daytona 500. Yet Logano clearly aches to return to Victory Lane. He finished fourth at Pocono and fifth at Michigan in his last two starts, but much like Keselowski, his teammate at Team Penske, his No. 22 Ford has been lacking in the speed to match Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing. The gap isn't great, though, as evidenced by the 471 laps Logano has led this season. That's more than he's led in any other entire season in his career, and there are still 21 races left.
What's next
Coming off the earlier win in the 500, he'll be one of the favorites to contend at Daytona. But the only time he's ever finished in the top 10 at Sonoma was when he started from the pole and finished sixth in 2011.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6 of 10
Previous ranking: 4
Why he's here
It's already been a pretty good couple of weeks for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who flew to Germany with his longtime girlfriend, Amy Reimann, who became his fiance when the popular driver proposed and she said yes. This came after he finished second to winner Kurt Busch in the rain-shortened race at Michigan that led into the rare off-week and the romantic getaway.
Key 2014 moments
Earnhardt Jr. locked himself into the Chase by winning earlier this season at Talladega. But his transition to new crew chief Greg Ives, who took over after Steve Letarte left to join NBC's broadcast booth after last season, has been surprisingly smooth. Earnhardt also has finished third a remarkable five times, piling up a total of eight top-five finishes already that indicate more wins are likely sooner rather than later.
What's next
He's mostly struggled throughout his career at Sonoma but has worked hard to improve as a road racer, and it finally showed when he finished third there last year. Meanwhile, he's always loved Daytona, and it shows in his body of work at the superspeedway: three wins, 12 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes in 31 career starts.
4. Martin Truex Jr.
7 of 10
Previous ranking: 9
Why he's here
It's difficult to argue that there has been a more widely popular win this season than the one Truex Jr. recently registered at Pocono Raceway. After coming so close so many other times this season, only to fall short, Truex finished the job at Pocono and now has a win that enhances his overall stature and places a stamp of legitimacy to his current position of second in the points.
Key 2014 moments
Truex's win not only was hugely emotional for him, but also for his longtime girlfriend, Sherry Pollex, who is dealing with cancer. In addition, it came after he had led a total of 357 laps in the previous three races but could only come away with a best finish of fifth. It also broke a long, painful 69-race winless streak. And then, as if to prove it was no fluke, he followed it up with a strong third-place run at Michigan.
What's next
One of Truex's first two career wins (Pocono was his third) came in 2013 at Sonoma, so he knows he can win there again. He's never run particularly well at Daytona, where in 20 career starts he's only snuck into the top 10 twice, including eighth in this year's Daytona 500 and a career-best sixth back in 2010.
3. Kurt Busch
8 of 10
Previous ranking: 7
Why he's here
Kurt, the elder of the two racing Busch brothers, is the only other driver besides Johnson and Harvick to own multiple race wins this season, earning his second in the rain-shortened affair at Michigan. What's most impressive about that is that he's made three fewer starts than most of the other Sprint Cup competitors. He was forced to sit out the first three races of the season to serve a NASCAR-mandated suspension for alleged domestic abuse (the suspension was lifted when no criminal charges were brought against him).
Key 2014 moments
He took advantage of crew chief Tony Gibson's wise rain strategy to grab the lead at Michigan just before the final storm of the day ended the race for good. Say what you will, every other driver and team had the same opportunity, but Busch and his No. 41 Stewart-Haas team were the only ones to fully cash in on it.
He also won earlier in the season in dominating fashion at Richmond. His most impressive statistic, however, is that his total of 665 laps led is second only to Harvick despite the three starts Busch missed.
What's next
Busch should be a contender at Sonoma, where he won in 2011, finished third in 2012 and fourth in 2013. Surprisingly, he's never won a race at Daytona, despite finishing in the top 10 in exactly half of his 28 career starts and in the top five in 11 of those.
2. Kevin Harvick
9 of 10
Previous ranking: 2
Why he's here
Kevin Harvick has made such a habit of finishing second in races this season that it's uncanny. He's also won two, of course, but he's finished No. 2 on eight other occasions to give him 10 top-two finishes in the first 15 races. That puts him far and away first in the points, but not in these rankings because he hasn't finished the job and gotten to Victory Lane as often as the more opportunistic Johnson.
Key 2014 moments
Harvick's wins came back-to-back early in the season at Las Vegas and Phoenix, respectively. If he's getting tired of coming so close to winning again but falling short, he's hiding it well. Harvick appears to continue to have complete confidence in crew chief Rodney Childers, and why shouldn't he?
Childers helped him win his first Sprint Cup championship last season, and a driver who leads nearly twice as many laps as anyone else (a total of 1,225 so far) through the first 15 races knows he'll get back to Victory Lane soon enough.
What's next
Having said that, it won't likely be this weekend at Sonoma, where Harvick has never won. But he has finished second there, which should be no surprise, although that came way back in 2007. He owns two wins at Daytona.
1. Jimmie Johnson
10 of 10
Previous ranking: 1
Why he's here
Four wins is enough to put Johnson at the top of the rankings, despite being only fifth in the current points standings. No other driver has more than two wins, and only two other drivers have that many.
Key 2014 moments
Johnson got in the win column at Atlanta in the second race of the season and then visited Victory Lane again in Texas, Kansas and Dover, respectively. Three of those four tracks are of the 1.5-mile variety that is so important in the Chase, when half the venues are 1.5-milers.
Oh, and Dover, where Johnson has now won a record 10 times, also happens to be in the Chase. All of which bodes well for Johnson's chances of chasing down what would be a record-tying seventh Cup championship with wily crew chief Chad Knaus.
What's next
Johnson should be a factor at Sonoma, where he owns one career victory and has finished ninth or better in six consecutive races. Then it's off to Daytona, where he owns three wins, 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 27 career starts.
Joe Menzer has written six books, including two about NASCAR, and now writes about it and other sports for Bleacher Report while also assisting in coverage of NASCAR for FoxSports.com as a Digital Content Producer. Follow him on Twitter @OneMenz.
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