With now two wins in seven races it’s almost as if Kyle Busch never missed a large chunk of the season recuperating from serious leg injuries that put his year into question.
But there Busch was celebrating a dominant performance that saw him lead the most laps Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway. He looked every bit the driver who now has 31 victories to his name, and is seemingly destined not to just qualify for the playoffs but be a force when the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins in September.
NASCAR Power Rankings
1. Jimmie Johnson (Last week: 1)
Kentucky was a tale of two races for Jimmie Johnson. In the first half his car was handling so poorly that the No. 48 crew needed to make significant chassis adjustments, including an extensive stop to see if the rear axle was broken. While the second half saw the changes take effect and Johnson grind out to finish ninth in a race in which he otherwise appeared to be a nonfactor.
2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 2)
Cue the alarm bells. For a third race in a row Kevin Harvick didn’t lead a lap and instead had to “settle” for a rote top-10. And that consistency remains unmatched, with the defending champion continuing to lead all drivers in top-fives, top-10s, laps led and average finish.
3. Kurt Busch (LW: 4)
A solo spin through the infield grass on Lap 100 could’ve easily ripped the nose off the No. 41 car and inflicted other damage. But Kurt Busch escaped with minimal impairment and recovered to finish 10th. It was his fifth consecutive top-10, which is the longest active streak.
4. Kyle Busch (LW: 10)
A second victory in three races is great, but even better is the huge ground Kyle Busch erased to become eligible for a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. By winning and leading the most laps, he earned max points (48) and is now 87 behind 30th-ranked Cole Whitt with eight regular season races remaining. To move above the threshold, Busch will likely need to average a 17th-place finish the rest of the way. That’s more than doable.
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 3)
Two of NASCAR’s biggest stars striking up a feud would certainly generate some attention, but expect the ill will between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick to remain in Kentucky. It’s not Earnhardt’s nature to engage in bumper-slamming antics and he’s already apologized multiple times about the incident since. As for Patrick, she has little to gain by taking on the sport’s most popular figure, even if her own celebrity outside of racing eclipses Earnhardt’s.
6. Joey Logano (LW: 6)
He did all he could do to try and fend off Kyle Busch over the final 43-lap green flag run, but Joey Logano just didn’t have the car to keep Busch at bay. Logano can take solace in being the only non-Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the top five.
7. Denny Hamlin (LW: 8)
Pit road miscues have hampered the No. 11 team at times this the season and did so again at Kentucky. A speeding penalty required Denny Hamlin to come back down pit road right after an unscheduled stop for a flat right front tire. The sequence cost him two laps, but thanks to an aero package that allowed drivers to pass, he rallied to third.
8. Matt Kenseth (LW: 9)
If there’s a quibble with Matt Kenseth’s fifth-place effort, it’s that he was the only JGR driver who failed to lead a lap at Kentucky.
9. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 5)
Is it cause for concern that Martin Truex Jr.’s average finish is 25th in the four races since his Pocono victory? It’s easy to excuse what happened at Sonoma and Daytona, two wildcard tracks where a driver is often a victim of circumstance. But wheeling the same car that he used to lead the most laps in four straight spring races, Truex produced a lackluster outing (17th) Saturday night.
10. Brad Keselowski (LW: 11)
Kentucky was the best the No. 2 team has looked all season. Brad Keselowski had one of the fastest cars, if not the fastest, all night. Mistakes and pit strategy, however, had him playing from behind and any chance of a victory disappeared due to the constant lacking of track position.
11. Jamie McMurray (LW: Unranked)
Continues to do just enough every week to maintain a solid enough position in points (seventh) to make the Chase if he doesn’t snag a victory, which doesn’t seem likely considering Jamie McMurray’s led all of 14 laps this season and hasn’t won on a non-restrictor-plate track since 2010.
12. Jeff Gordon (LW: Unranked)
Following a bumpy few months, Jeff Gordon needed a solid result on an intermediate track. And by finishing seventh Saturday, he continues to build a points cushion that should get him into the Chase even if he fails to reach victory lane over the next eight races.
