Power Rankings: Some drivers to note in Chase also-rans
Updated Sept. 8
In the coming days and weeks you'll hear plenty about the championship combatants, but today I'd like to note some of the drivers who missed the Chase.
The list includes two who made it a year ago -- Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch.
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| David Ragan improved upon his rookie season, but it wasn't enough. (Getty Images) |
Former champions (who still race full-time) missing from title contention? Busch is on that list too, along with Bobby Labonte.
Busch, Newman, Kahne and Labonte have another thing in common. All four drive a Dodge, the only manufacturer without a driver in the Chase.
And the season started so well for the Dodge camp, which finished 1-2 in the Daytona 500.
Kahne still had a mathematical shot of making the Chase at Richmond, but was never able to mount a charge on Clint Bowyer for the 12th and final spot.
"I feel like I drove everything I could all day," said Kahne, whose hopes took a big hit with back-to-back 40th-place finishes in mid-August. "I tried to take chances. I tried to be smart at the same time to get what we could get.
"Track position hurt us all day. I was trapped in between a couple of Roush cars on pit road and it didn't matter where I came in (to the pits), I was trapped. It was a long day in the pits. I came out about last every single time it seemed like. That didn't help, but either way, we weren't going to beat Clint."
Roush-Fenway Racing's David Ragan was the only other driver outside the top 12 with hopes of racing his way into the Chase, but it wasn't meant to be for the second-year driver.
"It's very disappointing," said Ragan, who finished 32nd in large part because of a wreck on Lap 122. "We've got 10 more races to try and get a win and certainly to finish 13th in points is our goal now, but running back there 30th and 25th, you don't deserve to make the Chase running like that."
That Ragan was even in position to make the Chase was a testament as to how much he has matured and improved since finishing 23rd in points in his rookie season.
"Regardless of how we ended up today, I told everyone before the race that whether we made the Chase or not wasn't going to be solely be on the Richmond race," Ragain said. "I can look back at three or four races earlier in the year we didn't do a good job that resulted in the loss of a few points.
"Our speed has been in the race car, it's just a matter of making good decisions on Saturday or Sunday."
Power Rankings after Richmond:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Greg Biffle | 1 |
| Won the pole and led 74 laps on Saturday night but faded down the stretch to finish 12th. Still hanging on to the Sprint Cup Series points lead but by only a pair over Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth. | ||
| 2 | Matt Kenseth | 2 |
| Climbed to within a whisker of the points lead with a sixth-place finish on Saturday night. Now the world awaits the announcement regarding the potential change of Kenseth's car number. Relax Kenseth fans, the 17 isn't going anywhere. | ||
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 7 |
| Roared back up the rankings and the points standings with his first win since October of last season and in the process gave team owner Rick Hendrick historic Sprint Cup victory number 200. Johnson's history has been to bunch up wins once he gets to victory lane. | ||
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 3 |
| Was in the mix for a second Darlington win but wound up settling for a fourth-place finish. Like Johnson Busch has returned to form in recent weeks and delivered on the expectations most had for the No. 18 team this season. | ||
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | 5 |
| Was behind the wheel of one of the coolest looking cars in recent weeks with a Cale Yarborough-inspired retro paint scheme on the No. 11 Toyota. Looked almost Yarborough-like at Darlington for a while but didn't have enough mustard to run down Johnson for the win. | ||
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 6 |
| Wasn't exactly pleased with his team for some suspect pit work at one point of the race but kept his composure and battled back for yet another finish inside the top five. | ||
| 7 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 4 |
| It was a struggle for Junior to just finish 17th. Had a decent car early in the night but handling issues plagued the No. 88 squad, and you can be sure crew chief Steve Letarte won't bring the same set-up back to Darlington next season. | ||
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | 8 |
| A rather quiet night for the Michael Waltrip Racing driver with an 11th-place finish. Still not bad when an "off night" can be within a hair of a top-10 run. | ||
| 9 | Tony Stewart | 12 |
| An interesting night for Smoke, who was very strong in spurts but had to fight through handling issues, a broken clutch and a fuel pressure problem during the 500 miles. Pretty solid performance to deal with all that and still come home third. | ||
| 10 | Carl Edwards | 11 |
| A seventh-place finish and another top 10, but now that Johnson's 17-race winless drought has ended will the questions mount for Edwards on his not visiting Victory Lane for more than a year? | ||
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | 10 |
| Was the focal point of Darlington's promotional campaign trying to capitalize on Harvick's tussle with Kyle Busch last season. But overall a very quiet night for the No. 29 Chevrolet driver who left Darlington with a rather mediocre 16th-place finish. | ||
| 12 | Brad Keselowski | 9 |
| Hasn't performed well at Darlington during his Sprint Cup career and that remained intact on Saturday with a 15th-place Southern 500 effort. A downer for the Blue Deuce after Keselowski's Talladega win last weekend. | ||
| 13 | Ryan Newman | 13 |
| Was headed for a better night than what the results show when Newman got caught up in the aftermath of Kurt Busch's spin late in the race when he got punted from behind. The frustration overflowed once the checkered flag flew with both teams getting involved in a scuffle as well as Newman and Busch exchanging harsh words. | ||
| 14 | Paul Menard | 15 |
| A decent day with a 13th-place finish for the Richard Childress Racing driver. Continues to hang around on the fringe of the top 10 in the points standings. | ||
| 15 | Kasey Kahne | NR |
| Has finally completed the turnaround from his dismal start to the season and is knocking down consistent finishes on a weekly basis. Kahne's eighth-place run was his fifth straight top-10 finish. | ||
