Update: I’ve posted my final Phoenix I driver rankings, which improve upon the below early rankings.
Here are my early driver rankings for this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Phoenix. I compiled them by crunching:
- The loop data for the past 15 Sprint Cup races (excluding Daytona, Talladega, Sonoma and Watkins Glen);
- the loop data for the past four races (excluding Daytona);
- the loop data for the past four races at Phoenix;
- the loop data for the past eight races at the other tracks in the Flats track group (i.e., Richmond, Martinsville, Indy, Pocono and New Hampshire);
- the practice and qualifying data for the past four races at Phoenix; and
- the practice and qualifying data for past eight races at the aforementioned Flats.
The results:
- Kevin Harvick
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Busch
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kyle Larson
- Brad Keselowski
- Matt Kenseth
- Jimmie Johnson
- Chase Elliott
- Denny Hamlin
- Kurt Busch
- Kasey Kahne
- Jamie McMurray
- Erik Jones
- Ryan Newman
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Austin Dillon
- Ryan Blaney
- Paul Menard
- AJ Allmendinger
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Aric Almirola
- Danica Patrick
- Trevor Bayne
- Clint Bowyer
- Ty Dillon
- Daniel Suarez
- Michael McDowell
- Chris Buescher
- David Ragan
- Landon Cassill
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Cole Whitt
- Reed Sorenson
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Corey LaJoie
- Gray Gaulding
- Timmy Hill
- Derrike Cope