NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth survived to finish 20th at Talladega, seven spots behind Jimmie Johnson. Kenseth’s four point lead became a four point deficit to Jimmie Johnson in the standings.
“I drove like I was expecting the ‘big one,’” Kenseth said, “and it never came. So the fans weren’t the only ones upset that there wasn’t a big crash. I guess I should have been more aggressive. If I’ve been faulted for being anything, it’s too ‘laid back.’”
2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 13th in the Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega, leading a race-high 47 laps to earn two crucial bonus points. He took over the lead in the points, and holds a four-point edge over Matt Kenseth.
“I was playing ‘catch’ with points-leader Kenseth,” Johnson said, “and I ‘overthrew’ him.”
3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick, in the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, took 12th at Talladega and is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, tied with Kyle Busch 26 points out of first.
“This is the only way I can possibly share space with Kyle Busch,” Harvick said.
“That was one of the least exciting Talladega races, despite the fact that cars were topping out at near 200 miles per hour. I guess that’s why they call it ‘full bore.’”
4. Kyle Busch: Busch posted his second consecutive top-5 finish, taking fifth at Talladega. He is tied for third in the points standings, 26 out of first.
“I’m back in the championship hunt,” Busch said. “But if I don’t have a good finish at Martinsville, I’ll likely be done. The last time I was ‘officially eliminated,’ I was taken off the road by a state trooper in North Carolina.”
5. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led 19 laps at Talladega and finished 14th at Talladega, rendering unable to make up ground in the Sprint Cup points standings. He is now fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 34 behind Jimmie Johnson.
“Jimmie’s got the lead,” Gordon said. “Let’s see if he can hold it. With Martinsville up next, history says he can. He’s won eight races there, rewarded with a grandfather clock for each victory. It’s just further proof that the 5-time Cup champ’s greatness is measure in ‘times.’”
6. Kurt Busch: Busch came home 18th at Talladega and is now ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 61 out of first.
“We had Wonder Bread on the No. 78 Chevrolet,” Busch said. “As if you needed more proof that I’m as white bread as they come.”
7. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished tenth at Talladega, his first top-10 finish since a tenth at Dover. He is eighth in the points standings, 57 out of first.
“Kudos to 5-Hour Energy for their contribution to NASCAR,” Bowyer said. “Like its name states, 5-Hour Energy will stay with you for awhile, which is more than I can say about some of Michael Waltrip’s other sponsors.”
8. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 11th in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford, while teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. took third. Biffle is seventh in the points standings, 53 behind Jimmie Johnson.
“That was a great run by Stenhouse,” Biffle said. “He finished 30 places better than his girlfriend Danica Patrick. Contrary to popular belief, Danica is the one who is ‘whipped.’”
9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Running second on the final lap, Earnhardt’s bid for victory at Talladega ended when the caution flew on the final lap, allowing Jamie McMurray to coast to victory. Earnhardt’s second was the best result among Chase drivers, and moved him up to sixth in the points standings.
“I’ve made second a habit at Talladega,” Earnhardt said. “And speaking of ‘habits,’ I’ve got as many wins this year as that lady wearing the habit—none.”
10. Ryan Newman: Newman started 17th and finished ninth at Talladega, earning his 16th top 10 of the year.
“That was the most incident-free race at Talladega I’ve ever seen,” Newman said. “Take it from me, that race was turned upside down.”
A Question For NASCAR Nation – Why Do You Watch?
At the conclusion of the Bank of America 500, fans were raving about the finish and seemed generally satisfied. The first 300 laps though featured very little passing with rare, evanescent battles but the enthralling fight for the win still made it a good race in the eyes of many. Talladega on the other hand was a non-stop thrill ride and had everyone on the edge of their seat until the anti-climatic finish that left fans with a bitter taste in their mouths. That begs the question; does the finish make or break a race? Should we be basing the quality of a four hour event simply on how it ends? What makes a NASCAR race a good race and what do fans really want to see?
I judge a NASCAR race based on four factors. Said factors are the racing, the finish, the wrecks and the unexpected variables that are sometimes described as the “wow” moments. A perfect NASCAR race in my mind has incredible racing from green flag to checkered flag, a photo finish with a winner being someone we don’t get to see much. I don’t want to see any track clearing pile ups but a good dose of spins and small crashes to keep the race from getting dull and strung out. A fantastic race with a disappointing finish like Talladega’s is better than an awful race with a good finish like Charlotte’s in my book although some will argue otherwise.
I see a contingent of fans out there that only care about the finish and the three hours of racing prior to the white flag means very little in their minds which is very shortsighted and not fair to the race. We live in a society full of people with short attention spans who need constant stimulation of their senses to keep them engrossed in an event and NASCAR is not the kind of event to satisfy those needs. The NFL has a stop-and-go feel to it with an intense few seconds of action followed by a pause and then they do it again…perfect for the people that I just described. Baseball has suffered a decline in ratings just as NASCAR has due to the fact that they aren’t able to hold the attention of these people.
An idea to keep less people from tuning out would be to shorten the races or do what the V8 Supercar series does for many of its events…they have two or three sprint races over the course of one weekend and the races are always wild. Their popularity has exploded over the last few years because of all the action. Many now call it the 3rd most popular motorsport on the planet next to NASCAR and Formula 1. I would love to see a few (not all) races on the calendar cut down into short, sprint races to add excitement to them and draw in a bigger audience. It works for V8 Supercars and it works for local short tracks so why wouldn’t it work for NASCAR? The sense of urgency would raise the level of intensity and aggression to riveting levels that would entertain both the die-hards and the new age fans.
There is another contingent of fans out there that I’d like to address for a moment and they kind of tick me off. I’m talking about the ones that love to see large, vicious crashes and watch for that specific reason. When you tell these pervasive people off, they will say you’re a liar and you love to watch wrecks too. My answer to that…there is a big difference between being captivated by a terrifying accident and wishing or cheering for it. It’s no secret that we have a primal instinct that craves violence and brutality; that is why so many people enjoy horror movies, gory video games and also why some of our ancestors went to the Colosseum to watch gladiators fight to the death. When some of us went to YouTube after the Cup race, it was most likely to see Austin Dillon’s airborne crash out of awe, amazement and curiosity; nothing wrong with that but if you only watch racing because you enjoy seeing drivers brush shoulders with death in horrifying accidents, then I say good riddance when you walk away.
There is so much emphasis put on violence in our culture today and people are becoming numb or desensitized to the reality of it. I don’t think these people that wish for wrecks want drivers to get hurt but they seem ignorant and blind to the fact that it can and will happen. I see a handful of tweets from people every time there is a big crash stating how awesome that wreck was before they even think about the welfare of the driver(s) involved. Then they are disappointed when we go to Talladega and don’t wad up at least half the field.
With the fast-paced tempo of the world today, the attention span of the average human has gotten shorter and shorter which hinders the growth of sports such as baseball and NASCAR. Like I stated before, a way NASCAR can counter this is by replacing some of the 500 mile marathons throughout the season with short, intense sprint races that last no more than an hour or so. We can either adapt and capitalize on the ever-changing needs of today’s society or be doomed by it…our choice.
Lastly, next time you tune into a race, I’d like you to ask yourself this question…
Why do you watch?
I watch for good, hard racing with hopes of a thrilling finish to cap it off but a monotonous ending doesn’t undermine the greatness of the race itself for me.
I hope that’s how you feel too.
Hot 20 over the Chase six – Past 10 matters little to Johnson, as it is all about the 6 since Richmond and the 4 to come
Usually, one gets a general perspective on how a driver has been performing recently by taking a look at his past ten efforts. Ten, a nice round number that just so happens to also be the exact number of races in the Chase. You would think, barring adjustments for pre-Chase bonuses, it might give you an idea how things are going for those chasing a championship. You would think.
That was before Jimmie Johnson sandbagged the final four pre-Chase events. In those races, Johnson picked up a whopping 33 points. That is the same as he got last week finishing 13th at Talladega. Matt Kenseth, in those same four races, earned 148 points. Then they leveled the playing field. However, before anyone moans how unfair the Chase is to the season’s best, it actually has penalized Johnson and benefited Kenseth. Remember, before the re-jig, Kenseth was in fifth place, 35 points behind Carl Edwards and 34 in arrears of Johnson, who was still second despite his pre-Chase problems. If not for the Chase, the standings would have Johnson leading Harvick by 33, with Kenseth third 41 back. So, the right guy is leading the way, albeit by 4 Chase points.
As for being hot or not with four races to go in the season, it comes down to room for growth. As we replace the results from Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta, and Richmond with those coming from Martinsville, Fort Worth, Phoenix, and Homestead, Kenseth can better his total by no more than 44 points. Johnson can better his by 159.
What that does, however, is make the hot 20 over the past ten races rather meaningless, with Kenseth presently 108 points better than the 15th ranked Johnson. Compress it down to the six Chase races to date and it becomes clear who indeed leads the way. The ten race average will again become meaningful, but not before Homestead. Thanks a bunch, Jimmie.
Here is a look at our hottest 20 drivers over the course of the Chase…
|
|
Driver |
Wins |
T-5 |
T-10 |
Points |
Rank |
|
|
1 |
Jimmie Johnson |
1 |
4 |
5 |
242 |
1 |
|
|
2 |
Matt Kenseth |
2 |
3 |
4 |
235 |
2 |
|
|
3 |
Kevin Harvick |
1 |
2 |
4 |
222 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
Jeff Gordon |
0 |
2 |
4 |
220 |
5 |
|
|
5 |
Kyle Busch |
0 |
5 |
5 |
216 |
4 |
|
|
6 |
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. |
0 |
2 |
4 |
202 |
6 |
|
|
7 |
Jamie McMurray |
1 |
2 |
2 |
198 |
14 |
|
|
8 |
Greg Biffle |
0 |
1 |
2 |
198 |
7 |
|
|
9 |
Clint Bowyer |
0 |
0 |
3 |
197 |
8 |
|
|
10 |
Kurt Busch |
0 |
2 |
2 |
193 |
9 |
|
|
11 |
Ryan Newman |
0 |
0 |
4 |
182 |
11 |
|
|
12 |
Carl Edwards |
0 |
1 |
3 |
180 |
10 |
|
|
13 |
Jeff Burton |
0 |
0 |
1 |
176 |
20 |
|
|
14 |
Joey Logano |
0 |
2 |
2 |
176 |
12 |
|
|
15 |
Martin Truex, Jr. |
0 |
0 |
2 |
173 |
17 |
|
|
16 |
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. |
0 |
1 |
2 |
170 |
19 |
|
|
17 |
Brad Keselowski |
1 |
1 |
2 |
169 |
15 |
|
|
18 |
Paul Menard |
0 |
1 |
2 |
167 |
16 |
|
|
19 |
Aric Almirola |
0 |
0 |
1 |
155 |
18 |
|
|
20 |
Kasey Kahne |
0 |
1 |
1 |
153 |
13 |
|
