How do the 15 full-time NASCAR Cup Series teams stack up against one another following the third race of the 2019 season, the Pennzoil 400?
After Joe Gibbs Racing took the early lead in the wins category by sweeping the top three positions in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season opener, the 61st annual Daytona 500, at Daytona International Speedway, Team Penske have pulled off what Stewart-Haas Racing pulled off last year to vault themselves to the top of the wins list just two races later.
After Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski won last Sunday’s race, the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, Team Penske’s Joey Logano took the checkered flag in the season’s third race, the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he did it with Keselowski just 0.236 seconds behind him in second place.
Last season, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon won the season opener before Kevin Harvick went on to win the next two (in fact, the next three) races to shoot Stewart-Haas Racing to the top of the wins list.
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The difference this season (aside of different teams winning the season’s first three races) is, of course, the fact that as opposed to only one driver winning two consecutive races to vault his team to the top of the wins list, two different Team Penske drivers have won one race to vault the team to the top of the wins last.
This is the case despite the fact that last season, it took Team Penske until the 25th race at Darlington Raceway to earn their second victory of the year. Up until this point, their only victory was Logano’s victory in the April race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Team Penske combined to win six of the 2018 season’s final 12 races, however, so the fact that they have started off the 2019 season with two victories in three races is not all that surprising. That said, their third driver, Ryan Blaney, is still searching for his first top 21 finish of the season.
How did Team Penske’s second victory of the season and the rest of the action from the high banks of Las Vegas Motor Speedway 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 season’s third race.
To see how the formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings are calculated, click here.
Formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings
Rank – Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [1st (0)]
2nd – Team Penske, Ford – [2nd (0)]
3rd – Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [3rd (0)]
4th – Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [4th (0)]
5th – Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [5th (0)]
6th – Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [6th (0)]
7th – Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [8th (+1)]
8th – Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [7th (-1)]
9th – Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [9th (0)]
10th – JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [10th (0)]
11th – Leavine Family Racing, Toyota – [13th (+2)]
12th – Go Fas Racing, Ford – [12th (0)]
13th – Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [11th (-2)]
14th – Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [14th (0)]
15th – StarCom Racing, Chevrolet – [15th (0)]
Biggest Movers
Up: Leavine Family Racing (+2)
Down: Front Row Motorsports (-2)
Non-formulated NASCAR Cup Series Team Power Rankings
Rank – Team, Manufacturer – [Last Rank (Trend)]
1st – Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – [1st (0)]
2nd – Team Penske, Ford – [2nd (0)]
3rd – Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet – [3rd (0)]
4th – Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – [4th (0)]
5th – Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – [5th (0)]
6th – Roush Fenway Racing, Ford – [6th (0)]
7th – Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – [9th (+2)]
8th – JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – [7th (-1)]
9th – Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – [10th (+1)]
10th – Leavine Family Racing, Toyota – [11th (+1)]
11th – Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet – [14th (+3)]
12th – Go Fas Racing, Ford – [13th (+1)]
13th – Germain Racing, Chevrolet – [8th (-5)]
14th – Front Row Motorsports, Ford – [12th (-2)]
15th – StarCom Racing, Chevrolet – [15th (0)]
Biggest Movers
Up: Wood Brothers Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports (+3)
Down: Germain Racing (-5)
The TicketGuardian 500 is the next race on the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. This race is set to be broadcast live on Fox from ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET next Sunday, March 10, so be sure to tune in to it.