
Kevin Harvick remains my pick to win Phoenix II in my final driver rankings. (photo courtesy nascar)
Here are my final driver rankings for tomorrow’s race at Phoenix. I compiled them by crunching the practice and qualifying data from Phoenix on Friday and Saturday, and then melding it with the historical data:
- Kevin Harvick
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Busch
- Matt Kenseth
- Kyle Larson
- Brad Keselowski
- Chase Elliott
- Denny Hamlin
- Jimmie Johnson
- Carl Edwards
- Kurt Busch
- Jamie McMurray
- Alex Bowman
- Austin Dillon
- Kasey Kahne
- Ryan Newman
- Ryan Blaney
- Tony Stewart
- AJ Allmendinger
- Paul Menard
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Greg Biffle
- Danica Patrick
- Aric Almirola
- Casey Mears
- Trevor Bayne
- Michael McDowell
- Clint Bowyer
- Chris Buescher
- David Ragan
- Regan Smith
- Landon Cassill
- Brian Scott
- Matt DiBenedetto
- D.J. Kennington
- Michael Annett
- Reed Sorenson
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Gray Gaulding
I was looking at the recent past races at phoenix and can’t find anyone who had more than a 15 spot differential, and that includes some of the top drivers. Do you really think Truex can advance from the back to 2nd?
I hear ya, but short answer = yes. It’s rare that a car that fast starts at the back, so he should crush that differential stat. And 312 laps gives him plenty of time. Cup races are long, even the shorter races. I used to knock top cars down in the rankings if they had to start at the back, but I’ve seen them power to the front numerous times over the years.