NASCAR Power Rankings: Martin Truex Jr. back to victory lane, Kevin Harvick’s hot streak continues
By Asher Fair
Martin Truex Jr. kicked off the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series playoff with a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. How did the South Point 400 affect the NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings?
For the third time in the last four seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. opened up the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a victory. He won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday evening to secure his series-high fifth win of 2019.
How did Truex’s victory in his 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval in Las Vegas, Nevada affect the NASCAR Cup Series Power Rankings?
These NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings were calculated using a formula, which you can see here. But before they are revealed, take a look below at some of the highlights of this edition of these rankings.
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NASCAR Cup Series Driver Power Rankings Analysis
A new driver sits atop these power rankings following the first of three races in the opening round of the four-round, 10-race playoffs, the round of 16, and that driver is not Martin Truex Jr.
In fact, Truex did not move in these rankings even after winning the South Point 400, primarily due to the fact that his victory replaced his second place finish in the race at Watkins Glen International in the calculation for his average finish in the last five races. As a result, his only dropped by 0.20, from 12.20 to 12.00.
A separate driver, not Truex nor the new #1 driver, now owns the best average finish in the last five races despite the fact that he finished no higher than fourth place during this five-race span.
However, this driver dropped slightly in these rankings because of the fact that his average finish in the last five races actually went down following the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — even though it became the best among drivers. Meanwhile, other drivers close to him in the rankings saw theirs improve.