How do the 14 full-time NASCAR Cup Series teams rank against one another following the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway?
Stewart-Haas Racing earned their 11th victory of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season in the second race of the three-race second round of the four-round, 10-race playoffs, the 1000Bulbs.com 500, at Talladega Superspeedway.
This means that with five races remaining on the 36-race 2018 schedule, Stewart-Haas Racing have three more victories than the team with the second highest win total so far this season.
Joe Gibbs Racing currently sit in second place on the 2018 wins list with eight victories, effectively meaning that the odds of a team other than Stewart-Haas Racing finishing the season with the most victories are the smallest that they have been all season long.
Stewart-Haas Racing earned their 11th victory of the season after dominating the 193-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) Talladega Superspeedway oval in Lincoln, Alabama, but neither one of the team’s two drivers who dominated the race, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick, finished in the top 13.
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Instead, it was Aric Almirola leading just one lap of the race and taking the checkered flag for the first time as a Stewart-Haas Racing driver in his #10 Ford. His victory makes Stewart-Haas Racing the third team to have all of their drivers win at least one race this season.
The other two teams that have had all of their drivers win at least one race this season are Furniture Row Racing and Team Penske. Furniture Row Racing are a one-car team, so the fact that Martin Truex Jr. has earned four victories so far this season means that all of their drivers have won at least one race in 2018. Team Penske are a three-car team. Brad Keselowski has earned three victories so far this season for the team while Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have each earned one.
Stewart-Haas Racing, however, are a four-car team, which makes this feat even more impressive. In addition to Almirola earning his first victory of the season in the 1000Bulbs.com 500, Harvick has earned seven victories so far this season while Busch has earned one. Clint Bowyer has earned the other two.
How did Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cup Series-leading 11th victory of the season affect the NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings? Here are the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings and the non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings following the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings are calculated, click here.
NOTE: Because of the fact that Kasey Kahne has retired and he was Leavine Family Racing’s lone full-time driver, Leavine Family Racing have been removed from each of these sets of power rankings.
Formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings
Rank – Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Furniture Row Racing, Toyota – [3rd (+2)]
2nd – Team Penske, Ford – [1st (-1)]
3rd – Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [2nd (-1)]
4th – Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [4th (0)]
5th – Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [5th (0)]
6th – Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [6th (0)]
7th – Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [7th (0)]
8th – Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [8th (0)]
9th – Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [9th (0)]
10th – JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [10th (0)]
11th – Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [11th (0)]
12th – Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [13th (+1)]
13th – Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [14th (+1)]
14th – Go Fas Racing, Ford – [15th (+1)]
{15th – Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet – [12th (-3)]}
Biggest Movers
Up: Furniture Row Racing (+2)
Down: Team Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing (-1)
Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings
Rank – Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [2nd (+1)]
2nd – Team Penske, Ford – [1st (-1)]
3rd – Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [3rd (0)]
4th – Furniture Row Racing, Toyota – [4th (0)]
5th – Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [5th (0)]
6th – Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [6th (0)]
7th – Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [7th (0)]
8th – Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [8th (0)]
9th – Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [9th (0)]
10th – JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [10th (0)]
11th – Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [11th (0)]
12th – Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [14th (+2)]
13th – Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [13th (0)]
14th – Go Fas Racing, Ford – [15th (+1)]
{15th – Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet – [12th (-3)]}
Biggest Movers
Up: Furniture Row Racing (+1)
Down: Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports (-2)
Formulated rankings predictions for after next race
The calculation used to calculate the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings predicts that after this Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway, the Hollywood Casino 400, here is how the formulated set of rankings will look.
Rank – Team (Trend)
1st – Stewart-Haas Racing (+2)
2nd – Team Penske (-)
3rd – Furniture Row Racing (-2)
4th – Joe Gibbs Racing (-)
5th – Hendrick Motorsports (+1)
6th – Chip Ganassi Racing (-1)
7th – Richard Childress Racing (-)
8th – Roush Fenway Racing (+1)
9th – Wood Brothers Racing (-1)
10th – JTG Daugherty Racing (-)
11th – Germain Racing (+1)
12th – Front Row Motorsports (-1)
13th – Richard Petty Motorsports (-)
14th – Go Fas Racing (-)
Biggest Movers
Up: Stewart-Haas Racing (+2)
Down: Furniture Row Racing (-2)
The second round of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, October 21 with the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. That race is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET.