NASCAR Fantasy and Betting Driver’s Ranking Preview
by NASCARWagers.com, NASCAR Handicapping Service
Last Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway registered as the 10th race of the 2015 season. Now the Sprint Cup Series schedule hits high gear as we approach the dog days of summer. As we prepare for another grueling stretch of racing, we take this time to rank the top 10 drivers in the Sprint Cup Series based on our observations thus far. Obviously, these rankings will change to a degree as the season progresses. However, we have had enough racing on different track layouts to formulate a reliable ranking through the first ten races of the season. Take a look at our top 10 driver’s ranking following Talladega:
#1 – Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick is currently still listed on top of the list but the gap could be closing just a bit. On paper, Harvick and the #4 team are still putting together an incredible season. Through the first 10 races, Harvick has two wins and five runner-up finishes. The #4 team had gained a bad reputation in 2014 for consistently finding trouble and getting poor finishes even when they typically had the fastest car at the track. This year things have been completely different. The #4 is still among the fastest cars in the field on a weekly basis but now the #4 team is finding ways to get quality finishes even when they run into trouble just as they did last week at Talladega. After an early accident on lap 47 that damaged the front bumper of the #4 machine, Harvick and company rallied back for an 8th place finish making it 9 out of 10 races they have finished inside the top 10.
#2 – Jimmie Johnson
The driver that is closing the gap on Harvick’s lead is the six-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has already matched Harvick with two wins this season and has 6 top 5 finishes as well. In fact, just look at Johnson’s last 4 finishes and it is pretty obvious that the #48 team is grooving right now. Johnson has finished no worse than 3rd over the last 4 races. If you take into consideration how great the #48 car has looked on the 1.5 mile tracks this season where they have scored both of their wins, Johnson should have a great opportunity to score a few more wins over the next few weeks.
#3 – Dale Earnhardt Jr
Dale Earnhardt Jr scored his first win of the season last Sunday at Talladega. In a sense, it almost felt like the king had returned to his throne. The win marked Junior’s 6th victory at Talladega matching Jeff Gordon for the most among active drivers. There is little doubt that Earnhardt is the best restrictor plate driver in the Cup Series but he was also having a really solid season before last week’s win. Despite a few incidents at Martinsville and Phoenix, Earnhardt has posted 5 top 5 finishes. Perhaps the most surprising has been the strength of the #88 car on 1.5 mile tracks. Earnhardt has the best average finish among all active drivers on 1.5 mile tracks this season with two 3rd place finishes and a 4th place finish. Therefore the #88 could easily be a guy that contend over the next few weeks as well if they can keep showing speed on the 1.5 mile speedways.
#4 – Joey Logano
Logano was caught up in that lap 47 wreck last week which ruined his afternoon resulting in a 33rd place finish for the #22 team. It was the 2nd time in the last 3 races that the #22 car ran into trouble. However, Logano and the #22 car have shown tremendous speed on a weekly basis. Logano has posted top 10 finishes in 8 of the first 10 races this year which includes a win and two poles. The last couple weeks have been more bad luck that bad performances so it is only a matter of time before the #22 car is battling for another victory.
#5 – Brad Keselowski
I keep waiting for Bad Brad and this #2 team to put together a string of really strong runs. However, it appears they are not quite at full song just yet. Still, Keselowski has been solid at the places where you would expect. Last week’s 22nd place finish at Talladega may have been a bit disappointing considering his resume on the 2.66 mile superspeedway. In fact, the last 3 weeks have been forgettable for the #2 team. At this point, we will keep waiting for the team to get it all together. We know it is going to happen. The question is when?
#6 – Martin Truex Jr
Martin Truex Jr remains one of the surprise stories of the 2015 season even though people have not talked about him much in recent weeks. However, Truex has posted 9 top 10 finishes which is tied with Kevin Harvick for the most on the season. Last week’s 5th place finish at Talladega also earned Truex his 2nd top 5 finish of the season. Even though the #78 car has not truly contended for wins yet, they are knocking on the door. If this #78 team keeps putting fast cars on the track, Truex could break through for a victory.
#7 – Matt Kenseth
If the Sprint Cup Series schedule was compiled of mostly short tracks, Matt Kenseth may be the biggest threat in the garage. Unfortunately for Kenseth, there are not many short tracks on the schedule and the #20 car’s 1.5 mile campaign has been pretty mediocre. If you exclude a 5th place finish at Atlanta, the remaining of Kenseth’s best finishes this season have all come on the short tracks with a win at Bristol, 4th at Martinsville, and 7th place finish at Richmond.
#8 – Kurt Busch
Let’s not forget that the elder Busch missed the first 3 races of the season. Since returning, Busch already has a win at Richmond along with a pair of top 5 finishes at Phoenix and California. In fact, you could easily argue that the California race should have been a win if NASCAR would have thrown the yellow flag on the last lap. Either way, Busch has been solid in the #41 car in his 7 starts finishing no worse than 15th. If this team can find some consistency, they could be a force as the season progresses.
#9 – Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman has been solid all season and perhaps deserves to be higher on the list. Newman has posted 4 top 5 finishes on the year and had another solid showing last week with a 7th place finish at Talladega. The good news is that the #31 car has looked really good on the 1.5-2.0 mile tracks that will be featured throughout the summer months on the schedule. It will be interesting to see if this team can keep their current momentum going and give Newman a few chances to get to victory lane before the year is over.
#10 – Denny Hamlin
Talk about consistency. Does it feel like Denny Hamlin is either fighting for a victory or the weekend goes by without anyone even mentioning his name? Hamlin punched his ticket to the Chase with his win at Martinsville while also sporting very solid performances at Las Vegas and in the Daytona 500. Outside of those showings, most everything else has been very forgettable. JGR has a good grip on their short track and restrictor plate packages. However, they are going to have to make improvements on the 1.5 mile tracks if they are going to be a factor moving forward.
