Driver Ratings | Standings | Stage Points
MRN’s Pete Pistone unveils this week’s Power Rankings following the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.
1. Kyle Busch – He became this season’s second driver to win three straight races joining Kevin Harvick, who achieved the three-peat earlier this season. Busch’s win Saturday was even more impressive as he came from the 32nd starting spot to do so, the furthest back of any driver in Richmond Cup history dating back to 1953. He’ll shoot for a fourth consecutive victory this Sunday at Talladega.
Driver Rating: 115.9
Point Standings: 1st
Previous Ranking: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick – He started 10th, finished fifth and led eight laps Saturday night at Richmond. Nothing spectacular by any means but Harvick was in the lead pack (7.6 average running position) most of all 402 laps.
Driver Rating: 111.6
Point Standings: 4th
Previous Ranking: 2nd
3. Joey Logano – Richmond has been a place where Logano has shined in his Cup career and he carried that on again Saturday. He’s finished inside the top-four in the last three Richmond races and knocked down his eighth top-10 finish of this season’s nine races.
Driver Rating: 102.8
Point Standings: 2nd
Previous Ranking: 3rd
4. Martin Truex Jr. – Three of the last four Richmond races have been dominated by Truex Jr. and yet he has nothing to show for the effort. He led a race-high 121 laps Saturday only to be doomed by a late pit stop fumble that cost him a chance at Victory Lane and ran his short track winless record to 0 for 75.
Driver Rating: 97.7
Point Standings: 7th
Previous Ranking: 4th
5. Kyle Larson – The weirdest part of Larson’s night might have been an on-track dust-up with teammate Jamie McMurray, which both drivers dismissed as nothing after the race. Larson faded back late but battled back to notch a seventh-place finish.
Driver Rating: 92.1
Point Standings: 10th
Previous Ranking: 6th
6. Ryan Blaney – A rough night for Blaney, who finished 22nd and he was forced to watch his two Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano have much better outings.
Driver Rating: 96.4
Point Standings: 8th
Previous Ranking: 5th
7. Clint Bowyer – He had his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in front for 45 laps as part of a very nice effort for Bowyer and company. He feels like there may be another win or two ahead this year after his Martinsville victory a couple weeks ago and a top-10 finish in Richmond wasn’t too bad.
Driver Rating: 96.9
Point Standings: 3rd
Previous Ranking: 7th
8. Brad Keselowski – He came all the way from the 28th starting spot to continue his strong Richmond record with an eight-place performance although Keselowski was not able to lead any laps on Saturday night.
Driver Rating: 96.9
Point Standings: 5th
Previous Ranking: 9th
9. Denny Hamlin – A steady run for Hamlin who started inside the top five and finished there. Surprisingly the Richmond favorite wasn’t able to get out and lead more laps than six, but after the way Hamlin struggled in practice earlier in the weekend it was a nice rebound.
Driver Rating: 97.9
Point Standings: 6th
Previous Ranking: 10th
10. Erik Jones – An average run for Jones in Richmond, which was a step up from his struggles earlier in the week at Bristol. A 13th-place finish kept the sophomore driver’s spot in the rankings.
Driver Rating: 83.7
Point Standings: 12th
Previous Ranking: 8th
Dropped Out: None
