Official Site Of NASCAR

NASCAR.com Power Rankings: Michigan/Sonoma

Harvick's stranglehold atop the standings is real, with a 30-point lead over second place. Pretty soon, it might not be the only submission move he's touting.

 

MORE: UFC's Tate offers Harvick fighting lessons

A series-leading 13th top-10 finish -- in 15 races! -- for Busch at Michigan continues to show off the No. 41's consistency, which will be ultra-important in the Chase.

2
Team Penske

Keselowski remained winless in his home state, but he's getting closer. 

 

MORE: 'No hugs' in talk between Kes, Gordon

Edwards is already trending in the right direction even before you consider we next head to a track at which he won in 2014 (Sonoma).

 

MORE: Edwards touts new package

For all his perceived struggles over the first half of the regular season, Logano's win on Sunday was his 12th since the start of 2014, the most in the series.

 

MORE: Logano lands first win of 2016 

-4
Joe Gibbs Racing

Busch is now 109 points behind leader Kevin Harvick, and he hasn't even missed any races, like last year. Perhaps he can get back on track at Sonoma, where he picked up his first 2015 win.

 

MORE: Engine issues send Busch to garage

-3
Hendrick Motorsports

Both Johnson and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. had issues with young, Roush-affiliated drivers Trevor Bayne and Chris Buescher. Expect some veteran lessons to be taught at some point.

 

MORE: Bayne battles Johnson, Blaney bobbles

2
Hendrick Motorsports

Elliott now has four top-five finishes in his last six races -- all of which were also top 10s. A win appears to be imminent.

 

MORE: Best finish, but Elliott hungry for win

Kenseth enjoyed a nice stretch of top-10 finishes that included a win, but that streak (four straight) ended at Michigan.

Despite his victory in 2013, don't expect Truex to recover from his Michigan woes at Sonoma, where his average finish is 21.0 -- fourth worst of any track at which he's raced.

Larson's average finish over the first 11 races: 22.64.

His average finish over the past four: 7.25. Larson is ultra-talented, but his car failed post-race inspection on Sunday.

 

MORE: No. 42 fails post-race inspection

1
Richard Childress Racing

If Dillon's game has truly improved this season -- as it appears it has -- Sonoma will be a good test for him. In four career road course starts in his Cup career, he has no top-10 finishes.

-1
Hendrick Motorsports

Earnhardt Jr. is tied with Kyle Busch and Cole Whitt for four DNFs, second-worst in the series to Matt DiBenedetto's five.

 

MORE: Earnhardt done early after wreck

-3
Joe Gibbs Racing

After another sub-par finish, now will be the time to grab Hamlin in NASCAR Fantasy Live, because he most certainly won't be down for much longer.

 

MORE: Hamlin blows tire, goes for wild spin

Newman's success at Michigan continued Sunday, as he hasn't finished worse than 18th at the Michigan track since 2010.

Despite falling to 17th from his starting position of fifth overall -- his highest of the season -- Blaney is in the midst of a quietly solid stretch of races, with four top-10 finishes in six races.

Kahne moved up a spot in the standings, but still has just five top 10s on the year -- glaring, considering his rookie teammate has more than double that amount.

Despite his third top-10 finish, McMurray didn't gain at all in the standings. He's five spots ahead of his teammate Kyle Larson in the standings, but the No. 42 driver appears much closer to a win.

Bayne's average finish of 18.1 in 2016 is well on pace for the best mark of his career, topping 2012's 22.5 on a part-time schedule.

-1
Roush Fenway Racing

Despite proving he's in incredible physical shape, Stenhouse is not in amazing shape in these Power Rankings, in danger of falling out of the top 20 after failing to notch a top-10 finish for the 10th straight race.