NASCAR: Driver Power Rankings After Second Michigan Race

By Asher Fair | Aug 14, 2017

BROOKLYN, MI - AUGUST 13: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Toyota, and Erik Jones, driver of the #77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota, lead the field in a restart during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway on August 13, 2017 in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

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BROOKLYN, MI – AUGUST 12: Erik Jones, driver of the #77 5-hour ENERGY Extra Strength Toyota (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Honorable Mentions

HM. [Last Race: Not Ranked (+1)] — If there is one driver who is locked into the playoffs that you may have forgotten about, it’s Ryan Newman, who won at Phoenix several months ago. While not many would consider him a legitimate threat in the playoffs this season, he did just collect his fifth top 5 finish of the season and third in the last seven races with a 4th place finish at Michigan. If the other drivers aren’t careful, Newman may be able to do some unexpected damage in the playoffs.. No. 31. Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet. RYAN NEWMAN

Furniture Row Racing, Toyota. ERIK JONES. HM. [Last Race: Not Ranked (+2)] — Erik Jones tied his career-high Cup Series finish of 3rd place at Pocono with a 3rd place finish at Michigan in a race he came much closer to winning than he did at Pocono. He was a contender at the front of the field all race and actually challenged for the lead in overtime after restarting on the front row. While a 3rd place finish helps get him into these rankings as an honorable mention for the first time this season, he is going to need to win his first career race to qualify for the playoffs.. No. 77

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