The Martinsville Power Ranking is for both Atlanta and Martinsville NASCAR Cup Series races over the past week. Kevin Harvick continues his dominating season.
Nineteen years ago, Kevin Harvick picked up his first career victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Present-day, not much has changed. Harvick picked up his second win of the season by dominating the field over the last hundred or so laps, leaving just ten cars on the lead lap by the end of the race. The race also brought a strong performance from Joe Gibbs Racing, with Kyle Busch finishing second, and Martin Truex Jr. finishing third with two stage wins.
Three days later, the drivers faced a tough battle with a new short track package and increased tire wear, causing a new type of Martinsville Speedway racing. Both of the drivers who started on the front row were off the lead lap by the competition caution, and Martin Truex Jr. was able to run away with the victory at the end of the race for his second straight win at the track.
1. Kevin Harvick
LR: 1
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 1st
Blue Emu 500 Result: 15th
Through eleven races, Harvick has nine top-ten finishes, and with his victory at Atlanta, two wins as well. Even following a somewhat disappointing race at Martinsville, in which Harvick finished 15th, his worst finish of the season, he still holds a 28 point lead over Joey Logano at the top of the standings. Consistency has been key for Harvick, and the points just continue to roll in.
2. Brad Keselowski
LR: 2
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 9th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 3rd
Keselowski wasn’t outstanding at Atlanta on Sunday but did enough to finish in the top-ten yet again after his crazy win at Bristol. On Wednesday, he had one of the best cars on the track for the entirety of the race and was in contention for the win until Truex got the lead and drove away. 2019 didn’t end the way Keselowski wanted, with an exit in the Round of 12, but 2020 looks like it could be a much better year for him, as he sits fifth in the standings.
3. Chase Elliott
LR: 3
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 8th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 5th
Elliott wasn’t able to pick up a win this week, and the feeling that he should have more than one victory continues to linger. That being said, with Elliott grabbing two top-tens and a top-five and is looking the part of a true championship contender as we approach the halfway point of the regular season.
4. Martin Truex Jr.
LR: 9
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 3rd
Blue Emu 500 Result: 1st
After nine races without a stage win, Truex was able to end his streak by winning not one, but two stages and gaining some crucial points with a third-place finish at Atlanta. If that wasn’t enough for the No. 19 team, he dominated the final stage to win at Martinsville on Wednesday, climbing to fourth place in the standings and locking his spot in the playoffs. Luck may finally be turning for Truex and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.
5. Joey Logano
LR: 4
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 10th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 4th
Logano dropping a spot in the rankings is more about the performance of the drivers above him than his performance, as he finished in the top-ten twice this week, including grabbing a stage win at Martinsville. It looked like Logano would hold on to win at the ‘paper clip,’ but in the end, he and his Penske teammates had nothing for eventual winner Truex. Still a good points week for Logano, who kept pace for the most part with points leader Harvick.
6. Kyle Busch
LR: 7
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 2nd
Blue Emu 500 Result: 19th
Kyle Busch looked like Kyle Busch at Atlanta. He didn’t win the race, but was upfront the entire time and ended up finishing second. Then, he reverted to early 2020 Kyle Busch at Martinsville, falling flat on his face and driving most of the race one lap down. Considering Busch’s typical performance at short tracks, the race was that much more disappointing for a team that hasn’t put it all together yet.
7. Alex Bowman
LR: 5
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 12th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 6th
Bowman has cooled off following his great start to the season. In the seven races since NASCAR returned, Bowman has just two top-tens, a second-place finish at Darlington, and Martinsville on Wednesday, and has finished outside of the top-15 four times. However, his performance at Martinsville was impressive, as he nearly took a beat-up Chevy into the top-five. Maybe this is another turn of the tide for Bowman.
8. Kurt Busch
LR: 8
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 6th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 9th
Over the past few races, Kurt Busch has been one of the best cars on the track. He has five straight top-tens and six in the seven races run in the Post-Coronavirus era of NASCAR. His performance in what is considered a B-tier car is very impressive and his tenth place standing is almost exclusively due to his finishing results without much aid from stage points.
9. Denny Hamlin
LR: 6
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 5th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 24th
Hamlin quietly drove himself into the top-five at Atlanta, but like teammate Kyle Busch, really struggled at Martinsville. Hamlin was off the lead lap very quickly and was unable to put himself in a good enough position to grab the free pass. It’s been a very up and down season for Hamlin, but his two wins have boosted him comfortably into the top-ten, so he probably isn’t sweating anything yet.
10. Ryan Blaney
LR: 11
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 4th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 2nd
It was two more races, two more top fives for Blaney, who, if not for his early wreck at Bristol, would also be in the top-five in the points standings. While his race at Atlanta was great, Martinsville was special. Blaney fell a lap down early after starting on the pole, got the free pass, and drove himself nearly back o the front. It didn’t end in a win, but you have to believe one may not be far off.
11. Jimmie Johnson
LR: 10
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 7th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 10th
Watching Johnson win the second stage at Martinsville made it feel like the mid-2000s again. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stay up front, but he grabbed another top-ten following a seventh-place run at Atlanta. Homestead has also traditionally been a great track for Johnson, as seven championship wins would attest to. Johnson’s final season may not bring number eight, but it looks like it will go much better than 2019.
12. Clint Bowyer
LR: 12
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 20th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 17th
Two middle of the pack finishes this week for Bowyer didn’t allow him to make up any ground on the drivers above him in the standings. Luckily, nobody near him in points (examples: Almirola, Jones, Byron, Dillon) had stellar weeks either. So Clint held his ground in 12th-place, which is crucial given the structure of the random starting order draw. Bowyer probably deserves more than the three top-ten finishes he has this year, but luck hasn’t been on his side yet.
13. Tyler Reddick
LR: 13
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 16th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 16th
In 2019, a 16th-place finish for the Richard Childress No. 8 car probably would have been considered a success with Daniel Hemric behind the wheel. Now, with impressive rookie Tyler Reddick piloting the car, it’s a slight disappointment. Reddick finished 16th not once, but twice this week. He sits 25 points out of the final spot in the playoffs as the standings currently sit, but as a rookie, Reddick has been shockingly competitive, and making up that ground isn’t out of the question.
14. Matt DiBenedetto
LR: 16
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 25th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 7th
After finishing 25th at Atlanta, DiBenedetto’s streak of non-top-ten finishes was at four, and he had dropped right into the middle of the playoff bubble after being inside the top-eight just a couple of weeks ago. His seventh-place finish at Martinsville was huge, not only to stop his slide in the standings but to show that his early-season performance wasn’t a mirage. DiBenedetto is still outperforming his equipment and is a likely playoff driver with a chance to make a deep run.
15. Ryan Newman
LR: 20
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 14th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 12th
Well, Newman’s climb to the top-16 following his three-race absence early in the season is looking a lot more possible. He has risen to 23rd, which is 70 points out of the final playoff spot. Yes, still a very difficult task for the veteran driver, especially without a victory. But if he continues to keep the car clean and come home with decent finishes, the inconsistencies of the drivers above him may allow for a shocking playoff run.
16. Aric Almirola
LR: 14
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 17th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 33rd
For 25 laps, Almirola looked like one of the fastest cars on the track at Atlanta. Then after a loose wheel, he fell from second to eighth on his first pit stop and was never seen in the top-ten the rest of the day. Martinsville was an even more shocking fall, as Almirola led the first 19 laps, but was a lap down by the time the competition caution came out at lap 60. His night was marred by poor handling, and issues with his battery, eventually causing him to bow out of the race. A promising start to the year is slowly going down the drain.
17. Austin Dillon
LR: 17
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 11th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 37th
Even with his 37th place result at Martinsville, Dillon’s performance this year has come as a pleasant surprise after a very disappointing 2019 campaign for the Richard Childress Racing driver. Dillon is just a few points outside of the playoff cut line, and he’s been trading the final spot with William Byron for the last few races. A nice finish at Homestead could get him back on the inside looking out.
18. Erik Jones
LR: 15
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 28th
Blue Emu 500 Result: 20th
As the season continues to move through June, Jones still hasn’t truly contended to win a race. In Joe Gibbs’s equipment, even in what has been a down year for the team, that’s a bit shocking. Jones has only two top-fives and four top-tens and has finished 20th or worse five times already. Not an encouraging start for a guy who is essentially in a ‘prove it’ year.
19. John Hunter Nemechek
LR: 18
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 23rd
Blue Emu 500 Result: 25th
Nemechek was able to recover from an early race spin to finish 23rd at Atlanta, a decent finish given his caliber of equipment. His Martinsville race was competitive but ended with him off the lead lap in 25th-place. Even so, Nemechek has far exceeded expectations for his ride at Front Row Motorsports and sits ahead of drivers like Christopher Bell, Cole Custer, Ryan Preece, and teammate Michael McDowell in the standings.
20. William Byron
LR: 19
Folds of Honor 500 Result: 33rd
Blue Emu 500 Result: 8th
Byron is clinging to a spot as the final driver inside the cut line as of now in what has been a largely underwhelming season. He did, however, finish inside the top-ten at Martinsville after cutting a tire at Atlanta. A little more consistency would do Byron well. Through eleven races, he has finished outside of the top-20 four times, including finishes in 40th, 35th, and 33rd. He hasn’t finished higher than eighth yet either, which isn’t making up for the points he’s losing by crashing.
BEST OF THE REST
21. Chris Buescher (LR: 21)
22. Bubba Wallace (LR: 24)
23. Matt Kenseth (LR: 22)
24. Christopher Bell (LR: 23)
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (LR: 28)
26. Michael McDowell (LR: 26)
27. Cole Custer (LR: 25)
28. Corey LaJoie (LR: 30)
29. Ty Dillon (LR: 27)
30. Ryan Preece (LR: 29)