Homestead Power Ranking this week as the NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the Superspeedway of Talladega for the upcoming weekend.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is no longer the site of the NASCAR Cup Series championship race, The 1.5-mile oval track, however, still provides some drama and exciting racing. Kyle Busch came into the weekend as the defending winner at the track, but instead, his teammate Denny Hamlin dominated the race by winning both stages and eventually the race. It was his third victory of the season. Hamlin’s win, as well as disappointing performances from other drivers near the top of the standings, caused some shake-ups in this week’s rankings.
1. Kevin Harvick
LR: 1
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 26th
For the first time this season, Kevin Harvick finished outside of the top-ten for the second straight week. Despite a rough night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick still holds a narrow lead in the points standings over Chase Elliott and Joey Logano. Talladega is an unpredictable track, but Harvick has had some success there in the past, and if he’s able to stay out of trouble, he has to be one of the favorites to win.
2. Chase Elliott
LR: 3
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 2nd
Chase Elliott has to be hoping his scrap with Joey Logano is over. After likely costing Logano a win at Bristol, and wrecking himself in the process, Elliott was held up by Logano. He was already off the lead lap at Homestead, likely keeping Elliott away from his second win of the season. Despite the hold-up, Elliott passed Logano to take second place in the standings after finishing as the runner-up and one of the fastest cars on the track.
3. Brad Keselowski
LR: 2
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 10th
Keselowski did a good job bringing home a decent finish at Homestead with a solid points night by finishing in the top-ten. Keselowski is one of two drivers, with Kevin Harvick as the other, who has an average finish of less than ten. With nine top-ten finishes in twelve tries, it’s been a great start for Keselowski, and he’ll hope the crazy wrecks of Talladega spare him on Sunday.
4. Denny Hamlin
LR: 9
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 1st
Even though he entered the weekend with multiple wins, Denny Hamlin’s season could be seen as topsy-turvy. His two wins came at Daytona, following Ryan Newman’s last-lap wreck, and at Darlington, which was rain-shortened and altered by the Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch fiasco. Now, he’s the only driver with three wins on the season, with Hamlin dominating at Homestead, winning both stages and the race. It was another big week for Hamlin.
5. Kyle Busch
LR: 6
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 6th
Following a dreadful night at Martinsville, Kyle Busch was able to grab a much-needed top-ten finish at Homestead. Busch’s car was one of the fastest on the track, but he didn’t have enough speed to contend with Hamlin or Chase Elliott at the front of the pack. Even with the strong show, it’s surprising to still see zero wins and zero playoff points for the defending champion through 12 races.
6. Martin Truex Jr.
LR: 4
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 12th
Truex followed up his first win of the season in Martinsville with a bit of a dud at Homestead, running simply okay for most of the night and finishing outside the top-ten. He dropped out of the top-five in the point standings, yet, spots three through eight in the standings are packed like sardines. While Truex hasn’t been a great superspeedway guy over his career, anything can happen at Talladega.
7. Joey Logano
LR: 5
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 27th
It was a poor night for Joey Logano, who took what appeared to be minor damage but wasn’t minor, on pit road early in the race. He then ran off the lead lap for the majority of the race. Even while running outside the top-25, Logano found a way to impact the race by harassing Chase Elliott enough to keep him from catching the leader Denny Hamlin. Elliott was able to leap Logano for second-place in the standings, so Logano may be the real loser here.
8. Alex Bowman
LR: 7
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 18th
Bowman is the owner of one of the weirdest stats in NASCAR this year. Despite sitting eighth in points right now, he has just three top-ten finishes, less than Aric Almirola, William Byron, and Austin Dillon, and the same number as Kyle Larson, who ran only four races. The 88 car has cooled off following a stellar first few races, but if Bowman can get back on track, the top of the standings is within reach.
9. Kurt Busch
LR: 8
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 17th
Busch didn’t do anything flashy at Homestead, finishing outside of the top-15, but didn’t lose much ground in the standings and didn’t tear up any equipment in the process. So it can be seen as an okay night. Last time the Cup Series came to Talladega, Busch was fighting for the lead when he was taken out in a huge wreck. He also missed out on a win there in 2018 when he ran out of fuel on the last lap. Busch is looking for a revenge race on Sunday.
10. Ryan Blaney
LR: 10
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 3rd
With six finishes inside the top-five this year, no driver has more than Ryan Blaney. Blaney and Kyle Busch have one thing in common so far; six top-fives, zero wins. Homestead brought another strong race for the No. 12 car, as he finished third and ran up front all night, but he’s hoping for his big break soon. Blaney will be one of the favorites at Talladega after winning there last fall and traditionally being a good superspeedway racer.
11. Tyler Reddick
LR: 13
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 4th
Tyler Reddick is arguably the biggest overachiever in the Cup Series this season. Even coming off of back-to-back Xfinity Series championships, Reddick is seen as a bit of an afterthought for the Rookie of the Year award with Cole Custer and Christopher Bell in more competitive equipment. A combination of Reddick’s massive talent and improvement in the Richard Childress Racing cars have put him firmly in the driver’s seat for the award, and right in the hunt for the playoffs.
12. Jimmie Johnson
LR: 11
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 16th
Jimmie Johnson was dealing with a poor handling car for the majority of his race at Homestead and wasn’t able to crack the top-15 at the finish. The result wasn’t necessarily poor, and Johnson didn’t lose a spot in the standings, but Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola are lurking behind him, threatening to knock Johnson out of the crucial top-12, the first group for random qualifying draws.
13. Clint Bowyer
LR: 12
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 11th
Even while he sits somewhat on the playoff bubble, 2020 feels like a considerable step up for Bowyer from what was a disappointing 2019 season. He has two top-five finishes, two stage wins, and has led 139 laps, which is good for tenth in the series. Bowyer just missed out on a top-ten at Homestead but was able to keep the car clean and get some decent points to stay inside the top 12. Bowyer could be a sneaky pick at Talladega as well.
14. Aric Almirola
LR: 16
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 5th
Almirola came into Homestead with a streak of four consecutive finishes outside of the top-15, including two DNF’s. He came out of Homestead with his first top-five of the season after a great run. One of Almirola’s two career wins came at Talladega in 2018, and he’s going to be hungry to pick up another win at the track.
15. Matt DiBenedetto
LR: 14
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 14th
Sunday marked DiBenedetto’s seventh finish of the season between 13th and 19th place, showing that while he’s running better than Paul Menard was able to last season in the No. 21 car, his Wood Brothers machine may not have the speed necessary to consistently run near the front. However, as long as DiBenedetto keeps the car safe and avoids too many poor finishes, he should be able to hold himself firmly in the playoff conversation.
16. Austin Dillon
LR: 17
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 7th
With three top-ten finishes in the past five races, Austin Dillon has encountered a hot streak that has boosted him inside the playoff cut line. It’s been good to see the RCR team as a whole improve over 2020, and there’s a chance that both cars may make the playoffs after neither did last year. It was also a huge recovery race for Dillon following his 37th place finish at Martinsville when he parked his car due to heat exhaustion.
17. William Byron
LR: 20
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 9th
Byron has begun to recover a bit from his slow start to the season, with three top-tens in the last four races. He is still without a top-five for the year, and his three finishes of 33rd or worse, have been big negatives in terms of his point situation. Byron will hope for better luck at Talladega than he had at Daytona when he finished dead last after being involved in an early crash.
18. Ryan Newman
LR: 15
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 30th
Homestead was not kind to Ryan Newman, and his 30th place finish puts a big halt on his momentum in terms of making an unlikely playoff run. Newman dropped from 23rd to 25th in the point standings, but he’s got a decent amount of time to make up the ground. Of course, there’s an easier way to make the playoffs too, win a race. Talladega is Newman’s best chance until the final race of the regular season when the series returns to Daytona.
19. John Hunter Nemechek
LR: 19
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 19th
Every week, Nemechek seems to find his way into the top-20. With finishes of 13th (twice), 16th, and 19th in the past six races, John Hunter continues to surprise and sits within reach of the top-20 in points as well. It’s great to see the improvements this team is making, as well as the fact that Nemechek is still second in the Rookie of the Year race, ahead of Christopher Bell and Cole Custer.
20. Bubba Wallace
LR: 22
Dixie Vodka 400 Result: 13th
After finishing 13th or better for the third time in the last four races, Wallace makes his first appearance in the top-20 of the power ranking. It’s been thoroughly impressive to see Wallace run near the front of the mid-pack cars more consistently as this season has gone, especially given the role he has taken on off the track. With rumors of increased sponsorship for Richard Petty Motorsports, Wallace could be running up front even more often soon.
BEST OF THE REST
21. Erik Jones (LR: 18)
22. Christopher Bell (LR: 24)
23. Chris Buescher (LR: 21)
24. Michael McDowell (LR: 26)
25. Matt Kenseth (LR: 23)
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (LR: 25)
27. Cole Custer (LR: 27)
28. Corey LaJoie (LR: 28)
29. Ryan Preece (LR: 30)
30. Ty Dillon (LR: 29)