Power Rankings: Homestead – Miami Speedway

Nov 9, 2014; Avondale, AZ, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) and Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) and Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano (22) during the Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

While most race fans will be glued to the final four, let’s not forget it takes a combination of drivers to fill out your fantasy team, and this is where Power Rankings Homestead – Miami Speedway comes in.

Let me refresh your memory. Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman will be racing for the ultimate prize in NASCAR racing, The Sprint Cup Championship trophy.

This is a one race round with the highest finisher of the four taking home the hardware in a downpour of confetti.

Harvick has the best record of the final four at Homestead with five top fives and 11 top 10s and and average finish of 8.1. If you’re Harvick, you’re looking forward to Homestead. He ranks second all time to Carl Edwards and third for the last five years. He also ranks fourth in driver ratings, leading all Chase finalists. His 8.1 average finish might be enough for him to hoist the Sprint Cup.

The only other challenger that could give Harvick a run is Hamlin. He’s the defending winner of this race. Hamlin’s two  wins, four top fives and five top 10s rank him fifth all time at Homestead. He ranks eighth in driver ratings and 10th for the last five years. His two wins tie him for second all time with Edwards. Where Hamlin lacks to Harvick is career average finish at 11.2.

Logano has only five races at Homestead with an average finish of 20.8. His driver rating doesn’t help much either, as he’s last among the four Chase drivers.  Don’t get discouraged because of his lack of performance the past five years.  Logano was the highest finisher among the four drivers during the nine races of the Chase. He finished in the top 10 last year driving a Ford and has one pole to his resume.  Ford is sponsoring the Homestead race, and I can’t see Ford taking a black eye at the conclusion Sunday night.

For those of you who think Newman will be an also ran, think again. He has the 13th best driver rating for Homestead among all active drivers. His career stats of one top five and four top 10s prove he can handle the track. On the downside are two career DNFs at Homestead. Newman has nothing to lose and everything to gain and that could be a great formula to pull the mother of all NASCAR upsets.

Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne are all tied with the two poles at Homestead. Edwards has the best average finish out of all active drivers at 6.6.

Chevrolet has won two out of the last four races. Ford and Toyota each have one win.

Here are my Power Rankings Homestead for the last five years:

10 Denny Hamlin- 1 win, 1 top 5 and 2 top 10s, average finish 12.2.

9 Kasey Kahne- 1 pole, 2 top 10s, average finish 11.8.

8 Ryan Newman- 1 top 5 and 2 top 10s, average finish 9.8.

7 Aric Almirola- 1 top 5 and 2 top 10s, average finish 9.0.

6 Tony Stewart- 1 win, 1 top 5 and 2 top 10s, average finish 8.7.

5 Matt Kenseth- 1 pole, 2 top 5s and 3 top 10s, average finish 8.3.

4 Kevin Harvick- 1 top 5 and 4 top 10s, average finish 7.3.

3 Carl Edwards- 1 pole, 1 win, 2 top 5s and 2 top 10s, average finish 6.8.

2 Clint Bowyer- 2 top 5s and 3 top 10s, average finish 6.3.

1 Martin Truex Jr- 2 top 5s and 3 top 10s, average finish 6.0.

I want to personally thank all my readers who followed me during this exciting season. Check back after qualifying for my last Ice Picks Chase Edition, a must read.

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