Power Rankings: Michigan

Four red flag periods made it hard for the drivers to get in a groove during Sunday’s race; Johnson got out of sorts early and never recovered. Still, his four wins speak volumes – with no other driver having more than two – so it’s tough to knock a 19th-place finish in a fluky race.

Sunday certainly appeared to be Harvick’s for the taking, with his dominant No. 4 car leading a race-high 63 laps. We’ll never know if he would’ve been able to rebound from a bizarre tire issue that saddled him with his second-worst finish of the season, but it’s safe to assume he’d have made it interesting if he’d gotten the chance.

Considering Truex finished 37th and 36th in two Michigan races last year in his first Furniture Row campaign, it’s clear everything’s coming up Milhouse for the No. 78 team these days and we’ve no reason to suspect it won’t continue at Sonoma.

Busch sort of lucked into his second win of the season via the rainout at Michigan, but you’ve got to credit the driver for how well he’s performed. Despite missing the season’s first three races, the 2004 champion is loudly knocking on the door of the top 10 in points.

Tough break for Logano, who finished fifth and drops a spot this week, ceding position to Kurt Busch. Perhaps a trip to Daytona in a few weeks might see the most recent track winner move up a tick.

Junior has finished in the top five in more than half the season’s races. Pretty good, right? Think about this: that total nearly matches his top-five finish count (9) from 2009-11. Pretty great.

Keselowski remains winless at his home track after a 6th place finish at Michigan, but when the series shifts to Sonoma in two weeks, he’ll have a chance to end another drought: picking up his first road course win (0-for-10).

It’s a good thing Kenseth managed a good finish at Michigan. He’s only finished inside the top 10 once at Sonoma, and that came all the way back in 2008.

McMurray is the highest driver in the standings without a win, sitting pretty in seventh place. He earned a road win earlier this year in the Rolex 24 – could he be looking at another at Sonoma?

Historically speaking, Hamlin is not exceptional at road courses, and Sonoma is no exception. He hasn’t finished above 23rd since 2009.

Edwards comes into Sonoma as the defending winner, but last year’s victory came with a different team and manufacturer. Still, his No. 19 has been fast in recent weeks, even leading 41 laps at Michigan. He should be fine.

Gordon was last year’s Sonoma runner-up and you’d have to think he’ll be a force again in his final race at one of his favorite tracks (five wins).

Kahne said at Michigan he’s had fast cars lately, but his team is looking for just a little bit more. It could come at Sonoma, where he has one win and finished sixth in each of the last two races.

Menard is currently 12th in points, which lines up well with where he’s been in the standings post-Michigan each of the past three years. Unfortunately for him, it’s also where his mid-season tailspin typically starts.

So, so close. Just a few laps longer and Larson’s gamble to stay out on low fuel would have resulted in his first Sprint Cup Series win. Calling it now: Larson wins Sonoma in his home state (especially now that he’s actually old enough to drink the Victory Lane wine).

So far, so good for Bowyer and new crew chief Billy Scott. How we’ll really know if it’s a match made in heaven? If the MWR driver succeeds at Sonoma, which is one of his best tracks. If not, there could be more changes on the horizon.

Newman had a decent stretch to open the season, but has really struggled the past three races. Needless to say, he’ll be looking forward to having crew chief Luke Lambert back in the saddle soon.

Uh oh. Busch could ill afford to suffer another poor race in his effort to win a race and enter the top 30 in points. After finishing dead last at Michigan, the dream is looking more and more like just that.

After a pair of races in which he finished 43rd and 22nd, the single top-10 finish that Almirola has in 2015 looks a lot more glaring than it did a few weeks ago.

Patrick’s two laps led at Michigan were just her first two of the season, but her 16th-place finish was her sixth top-16. Small gains, but gains nonetheless.