2015 NASCAR Team Rankings
By Jay Horne of NASCARWagers.com
All 3 of NASCAR’s touring series will be out of action this week as teams have a week off before the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 11th. The first break of the season comes at a rather good time. Through the first 6 races of the season, we have witnessed a bit of every style of racing from Daytona to Atlanta and from Fontana to Martinsville. Therefore we have a pretty good idea of where drivers currently stand against the competition and we even took the time to release our NASCARWagers.com top 10 drivers ranking just more than a week ago.
While teams scramble to find speed and make some improvements during the “off” week, we take this time to analyze team performance. As most are aware, individual driver rankings can fluctuate on a near weekly basis. However, team rankings are usually more distinguished and can be really useful in handicapping from week to week. Last Sunday, Denny Hamlin ended a 32 race winless streak for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series. Hamlin is one of the best at Martinsville and the win marked his 5th victory in just 19 starts. However, does that win tell us anything about Toyota or Joe Gibbs Racing? Can we expect more wins from JGR or what other teams are primed to rack up the checkered flags in 2015? Take a look as we provide our 2015 NASCAR team rankings through Martinsville.
#1 – Team Penske
It is rather odd to have a team ranking list and not put Hendrick Motorsports atop the list. However, Team Penske has taken over the top spot and they have actually had the top spot for quite some time. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano finished 2014 with more wins than any other drivers. Keselowski led all drivers with six wins while Logano posted 5 victories. This year Team Penske has picked up right where they left off. Logano kicked off the season by winning the Daytona 500 and Keselowski come through with a clutch win in Fontana just two weeks ago. Both drivers have already clinched a berth in the Chase and are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the points. Last week, Penske cars had another very strong outing at Martinsville finishing 2nd and 3rd at a track (Martinsville) where neither driver has had much success at in the past. Logano and the #22 team has been strong all year. Now all of a sudden bad Brad has rattled off finishes of 7th, 6th, 1st, and 2nd so needless to say the #2 team is now firing on all cylinders which could be scary for the competition.
#2 – Hendrick Motorsports
It is kind of hard to believe that Hendrick Motorsports only has 1 victory through the first 6 races especially when you consider Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr all had 4 wins each in 2014. However, Hendrick Motorsports is currently not getting the job done. Do not get me wrong, they still have the most talented stable and perhaps best equipment in the entire garage. However, the team is just a bit off. Last week, Martinsville had Hendrick Motorsports written all over it. Both Johnson and Gordon have 8 wins a piece at the half-mile paperclip and it also serves as one of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s best tracks statistically. Instead of battling for a victory, Jeff Gordon was the highest finisher in 9th while neither Dale Earnhardt Jr nor Jimmie Johnson were a factor. Since Johnson’s victory at Atlanta, the entire Hendrick stable has struggled. If you take a look at the way Chevrolet’s have dominated the speed charts, it is very surprising to see such a pedestrian effort through the first 6 races from the tyrannical team force that is typically Hendrick Motorsports. Surely these guys will get things turned around but how long will it take?
#3 – Stewart-Haas Racing
If we based this ranking on the simple performance of Kevin Harvick, the #4 team would almost put Stewart-Haas Racing on the top of our list. However, we have to judge this by a full team performance. Harvick has undoubtedly carried the banner for Stewart-Haas Racing with 2 victories and 3 runner-up finishes. However, the team still needs to get more consistency from the rest of the group. Kurt Busch has looked fast in his 3 starts and is showing signs that they could have a promising year. Still, Stewart-Haas needs to get more good runs from their owner Tony Stewart and the #10 car in Danica Patrick. Patrick actually got her best finish of the year with a 7th place showing at Martinsville last week but has to prove she is worthy of such runs on a more consistent basis. Meanwhile, Smoke has to get the #14 team back into competition as they continue to be the biggest disappointment thus far in 2015.
#4 – Joe Gibbs Racing
Until Denny Hamlin came through with a victory last week at Martinsville, Joe Gibbs Racing has been one of the bigger disappointments of the season. The addition of Carl Edwards over the offseason gave JGR one of the most talented stables of drivers in NASCAR. However, Edwards has still not had a single top 10 finish. Of course the team took a big hit before the season technically ever began from a Sprint Cup standpoint when Kyle Busch was injured in the Xfinity Series race at Daytona. Busch gives the team a lot of firepower because he can win on nearly any surface. Instead, Hamlin and Kenseth have been left to lead the team. Before Sunday’s win, JGR drivers have not recorded a single top 5 finish all season and the team has definitely lacked speed at the bigger tracks. Until Toyota finds a way to get more horsepower on the tracks over 1 mile in length, I would not expect too much success from the JGR camp. Hamlin ended a 32 race winless drought for the team last Sunday. How long will it take before we see another JGR driver back in victory lane this time around?
#5 – Richard Childress Racing
Before last Sunday, I would have given the RCR brigade the nod over Joe Gibbs Racing. In fact, it could easily be argued RCR is still doing a better job than the Gibbs group especially when you consider the fact that Joe Gibbs Racing has an all-star type of roster behind the wheel of their machines. However, Richard Childress Racing has done a good job of competing this year and Ryan Newman continues to impress in the #31 machine. Even Paul Menard has been pretty solid throughout the early part of the year. Currently, RCR has 4 top 5 finishes between Ryan Newman and Paul Menard. Compare that to Joe Gibbs Racing drivers that just scored their first top 5 finish last week with Denny Hamlin’s win at Martinsville and you can easily see who is really getting the best out of their equipment.
