The NASCAR season is now officially, officially, underway. Obviously, Daytona started the season, but the second race is circled on every team’s calendar as a ‘test’ race of sorts, where car performance can first be seen without the help of a 200+ mile per hour draft. Joey Logano picked up the victory in the Pennzoil 400, and the top-ten was full of unexpected success stories. That led to some large shakeups in this week’s power rankings, but a driver who hasn’t yet won now leads the pack.
1. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4
LW: 2
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 8th
Harvick didn’t come away with the finish he was hoping for at Las Vegas after leading a number of laps, but he rolled home to his second straight top-ten finish to start the season. Consistency has always been one of the veteran’s biggest strengths, and while the season is young, 2020 looks like more of the same. As long as Harvick continues to avoid mistakes and finish near the front, the wins will come.
2. Joey Logano Team Penske No. 22
LW: 5
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 1st
Joey Logano and Las Vegas Motor Speedway have been a great pairing recently. He picked up yet another victory at the 1.5 mile oval in a great battle with teammate Ryan Blaney and others. He may have been lucky that Blaney and Alex Bowman elected to pit prior to the final restart, but it is a win nonetheless, and a great way to follow up a DNF at Daytona.
3. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11
LW: 1
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 17th
Hamlin really did not run well at Vegas, to the point where he was momentarily a lap down during a long green-flag run. He wasn’t alone, as the Toyota crew as a whole struggled. It’s still early in the season, obviously, but there are a good number of 1.5-mile races this year, so for Hamlin’s sake, hopefully, the issues get worked out.
4. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18
LW: 3
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 14th
It hasn’t been the ideal first two races for the defending champion, who blew an engine at Daytona and just never found a groove at Las Vegas. Throw in the L1 penalty handed to the 18 team, as well as Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell, and these first two races can be seen as less than ideal. With 34 races to go, nobody in the Busch team is worried, but JGR’s poor start has been inauspicious.
5. Ryan Blaney Team Penske No. 12
LW: 4
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 11th
Blaney’s questionable decision to pit before the last restart may have cost him a win at Las Vegas. Instead of running at the front, he was put a few rows back, which led to him becoming involved in the final wreck and finishing outside of the top-ten, putting a damper on an otherwise solid day. However, he is the Cup points leader through two races. Small sample size, but still good nonetheless.
6. Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports No. 9
LW: 7
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 26th
Chalk up Elliott’s 26th place finish as a fluke. After sweeping the first two stages, Elliott blew a tire and hit the wall, knocking him off the lead lap. It was a very unfortunate break for a car that ran extremely well for the first 200 or so laps, but the two stage victories give him three already for the season, which compensates for the poor finish.
7. Brad Keselowski Team Penske No. 2
LW: 8
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 7th
Credit to Brad Keselowski and his team for figuring out the issues with his car and getting him a top-ten finish. Early on, it appeared the 2 car was doomed for a poor finish, as he quickly slid out of the top-ten and near the back half of the field. He made adjustments as the race went on though and came home a solid seventh. It can be noted as a good day for Keselowski, who needed one after a DNF at Daytona.
8. Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42
LW: 9
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 9th
Vegas was a second straight uneventful race for Larson and the 42 team, but it was also their second straight top-ten to open the season, a pleasant change from last year’s atrocious start. His campaign is off to an encouraging start, and fans hoping for a breakout season are happy with the results. Larson is a former winner at Auto Club, and two-mile tracks are his biggest strength.
9. Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19
LW: 6
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 20th
Truex was battling for the lead during the middle portion of the race before rubbing (and eventually blowing) a tire, putting him into the wall and well out of the top-ten. He wound up finishing 20th, not too bad considering how the day went overall, but still a disappointment, given the early speed of the car. Truex desperately needs a good finish at Auto Club.
10. Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports No. 88
LW: 13
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 13th
Like Blaney a few spots above, Bowman could have stayed out on the final caution, taken his chances on old tires, and contended for a win. Instead, he elected to pit and essentially give up his shot at winning. Also like Blaney, Bowman missed out on the top-ten, but he ran a good race and battled for a top-five finish for the majority of the final stage. Good weekend for Bowman and the 88 team overall, but the missed opportunity stings.
11. Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing No. 21
LW: 18
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 2nd
That is what Wood Brothers Racing saw in Matt DiBenedetto this offseason. In his second race with his new team, DiBenedetto wheeled his car to a runner-up finish, nearly crashing the party for Joey Logano in the closing laps. If the race hadn’t been shortened by a caution, he may have been able to steal a victory, but either way, this was a huge weekend for a team looking to sneak into the postseason.
12. Chris Buescher (Roush-Fenway Racing No. 17
LW: 10
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 15th
Buescher followed up his impressive run at Daytona with another top-15 at Vegas, and it appears, at least in the early going, that Roush-Fenway may have slightly faster cars this year. His move to RFR seemed to be overlooked during the offseason, but it’s looking like he could be a sleeper to return the 17 car to the postseason. Auto Club should be an interesting test for this team.
13. Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 10
LW: 11
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 21st
It was a bit of a disappointing week for Almirola, who had one of the fastest cars in practice but couldn’t break the top-ten early on and eventually fell multiple laps down after cutting a tire. He was able to finish the race on the lead lap, but finishing outside of the top-20 was not the hope. He’s going to need a bounce-back race at Auto Club to get back on track.
14. Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14
LW: 17
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 12th
Bowyer completed another decent race in Vegas, running between 10th and 15th for a very large portion of the race and staying out of trouble. While it hasn’t been a flashy start to the year, it’s been effective. If he is able to stay consistent, there’s no reason he won’t be able to return to the playoffs.
15. William Byron Hendrick Motorsports No. 24
LW: 15
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 22nd
For the second straight week, Byron ran a good start to a race and ended with an extremely disappointing finish. His 22nd place result at Las Vegas didn’t reflect how he ran for the majority of the race, as he was able to stay pretty close to the front and appeared to be contending for the win. He was on the front row for the final restart but cut a tire and limped to the finish line. It’s obviously still early, but a good result at Auto Club could be crucial to changing Byron’s fortunes.
16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47
LW: 21
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 3rd
Through two races, Ricky Stenhouse sits fifth in the points standings. His strong performance at Daytona followed by aggressive late-race strategy at Las Vegas has given him a pair of solid results. While the strategy he employed at Vegas won’t always pan out, the speed he showed to be able to stay up front over multiple restarts was shocking. Sometimes a change of scenery is great for a driver, and Stenhouse moving over to JTG Daugherty may be a case of just that.
17. Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing No. 1
LW: 12
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 25th
Kurt really struggled at Las Vegas, and an unlucky break on his pit stop certainly didn’t help. His 2020 season has started with two very poor finishes, but both have involved a degree of bad luck that has to be considered. It’s difficult to get much out of these two races other than the position of Busch’s finish, which (likely) won’t reflect how he performs the rest of the season.
18. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports No. 48
LW: 20
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 5th
It was nice to see Jimmie Johnson running near the front again. He is still looking to break a long winless streak, and with this being his last season, he’s running out of opportunities to pick up another one. His top-five finish was well-deserved after a strong run at Las Vegas, and his car showed great speed all weekend.
19. Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20
LW: 16
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 23rd
Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole struggled to get anything going this weekend, but Jones was essentially an afterthought at Las Vegas. He ran outside of the top-20 for the majority of the race and ended up being involved in the wreck on the final lap, costing him a few more spots. For a guy who is in real danger of losing his ride at the end of the season, it hasn’t exactly been encouraging.
20. Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing No. 3
LW: 25
Pennzoil 400 Finish: 4th
After a considerable drop-off in performance between 2018 and 2019, Dillon badly needed something early in 2020 to hang his hat on. Las Vegas was just that, as he strategized late in the race to finish fourth. He’ll need more than just one good race to cement his status as a contender, but it’s a start.
BEST OF THE REST
21. Corey LaJoie GoFas Racing No. 32 LW: 23
22. Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 LW: 26
23. Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing No. 37 LW: 19
24. Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing #No. 41 LW: 22
25. Ty Dillon Germain Racing No. 13 LW: 29
26. Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing No. 8 LW: 28
27. Christopher Bell Leavine Family Racing No. 95 LW: 24
28. Ross Chastain Roush-Fenway Racing No. 6)LW: 27
29. John Hunter Nemechek Front Row Motorsports No. 38 LW: 30
30. Brennan Poole Premium Motorsports No. 15 LW: NR
Note: Ryan Newman was not included in these rankings due to missing the Pennzoil 400 with an injury. He will be re-inserted into the rankings when he returns to competition.