NASCAR Team Power Rankings: STP 500 Edition

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March 26, 2017; Fontana, CA, USA; NASCAR Cup series driver Martin Truex Jr. (78) during the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3 – Furniture Row Racing

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Auto Club Results: Martin Truex Jr. (4th) and Erik Jones (12th)

One of the biggest surprises through five races this season is Erik Jones and the No. 77 team. I will be the first to admit that thus far, I was 100 percent wrong about the impact that Jones was going to have on Furniture Row Racing. I thought adding a second car might make the team take a step back and that Jones would struggle as a result.

So far Truex looks just as strong as he looked in 2016 and Jones might be the best rookie in the series right now.

After running 39th in the Daytona 500, Jones has four consecutive top-15 finishes over his last four races. Truex won his first race of the season a couple of weeks ago and he has not posted a finish worse than 13th this season. If Jones is able to maintain his fast start, these two could end up being one of the best 1-2 punches in the series this season.

However, that might be a lot of pressure to put on Jones as a rookie. Even Chase Elliott had his share of struggles later in his rookie season in 2016.

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