NASCAR power rankings: It’s Joe Gibbs Racing, then everyone else

Joe Gibbs Racing concluded the regular season by winning eight of 11 races, raising the question of whether that dominance would carry over to the Chase for the Sprint Cup or if Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske or another organization could rise up and unseat JGR in the playoffs.

That answer came in the form of Denny Hamlin delivering the team its third consecutive win and 12th overall Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway. It was Hamlin’s second victory of the season. Adding to the notion that the championship may be JGR’s to lose is the fact that his teammates also performed well -- Kyle Busch led a race-high 121 laps, Carl Edwards finished second and Matt Kenseth fifth.

One Chase race is complete, and so far NASCAR’s postseason is looking very similar to how its regular season played out.

NASCAR Power Rankings

1. Matt Kenseth (Last week: 1)

Chicagoland was a struggle for the No. 20 team, as Kenseth labored much of the afternoon in the teens showing none of the speed that had won him three of the past six races. At one point he was in danger of dropping a lap to the leaders. And yet, when the race was over he somehow recorded a fifth-place finish, allowing him to maintain the top spot in the point standings.

2. Kyle Busch (LW: 2)

Led the most laps and was well-positioned to earn his first Chase race win since 2005 were it not for an untimely yellow caution that jumbled the running order. Instead Busch finished ninth when he scraped the wall on the restart with five laps remaining. Not a result that he otherwise deserved, but by no means damning his chances to advance out of Round 1.

3. Denny Hamlin (LW: 6)

Understandably Hamlin was full of confidence following his second win of the season and one look at recent history shows why he thinks a championship is attainable. Since Chicagoland became the Chase opener in 2011, twice the winner of the race has gone on to capture the Sprint Cup trophy (Tony Stewart, 2011; Brad Keselowski, 2012), while 2013 winner Kenseth finished a close second to Johnson in the standings. Considering the remaining schedule is full of tracks that are among Hamlin’s best, there’s every indication Sunday was a prelude of what’s to come.

4. Carl Edwards (LW: 5)

Between a pit road speeding penalty and having to deal with mechanical gremlins that sapped the power of the No. 19 car, Edwards’ Chase began rather ignominiously. But he overcame the penalty, and whatever engine issues were hampering him were resolved, allowing Edwards to rally for a borderline miraculous second-place finish.

5. Joey Logano (LW: 4)

Though Harvick’s ire was initially directed toward Johnson for cutting his tire, replays conclusively show it was Logano who triggered the chain reaction accident by tagging Johnson’s bumper. And with a history of bad blood between Harvick and Logano, don’t be shocked if/when the defending champion seeks some kind of retaliatory action against his longtime nemesis.

6. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3)

From championship favorite to facing the distinct possibility of not advancing out of the first round, Kevin Harvick’s reversal of fortune is a prime example of what makes the elimination-style Chase format so compelling. But as he demonstrated last year, Harvick has a knack for coming through in must-win situations and it would surprise no one if he scored a victory at either New Hampshire or Dover -- even though he’s got just a single win in 58 combined starts at the two tracks.

7. Brad Keselowski (LW: 7)

Continues knocking out solid results -- an eighth extends Brad Keselowski’s top-10 streak to a career-best 10 races -- but wins continue to elude the Team Penske driver. His only victory came in March by way of strategy, which is in contrast to last season when he had four entering the playoffs and then started the Chase with a win at Chicagoland.

8. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 9)

Give Jimmie Johnson credit for doing the right thing and attempting to talk with Harvick about the incident that culminated in the defending champion crashing into the Turn 3 wall. And Johnson also deserves kudos for not engaging Harvick further after being smacked in the chest, as that could’ve quickly spiraled into something far more.

9. Kurt Busch (LW: 10)

Being the leader when a yellow flag comes out with single-digits remaining is often a no-win proposition. If you hit pit road, inevitably many others will forgo stopping to grab track position; if you don’t pit, those who do get fresh tires will have the decided advantage on the ensuing restart. That was the quandary Kurt Busch, who was leading comfortably, found himself in when the caution waved with eight laps left. Crew chief Tony Gibson decided not to pit, Busch fell to third, and what appeared to be a certain victory turned out otherwise.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 8)

After a summer test, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was expecting to be a challenger Sunday. That didn’t happen, as he floated in and out of the top 10 before settling for 12th. That finish left Earnhardt frustrated with both his performance and lack of luck after he got trapped behind a backsliding Gordon in the final laps.

11. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 11)

Electing not to take tires, Martin Truex Jr. lined up fourth on the restart with five laps to go. While that same decision propelled Hamlin to the win, Truex had a decidedly less favorable outcome. Unable to get going when the race resumed and pinned in the upper groove, he slid back to 13th. A disappointing end to what had been a promising day in which Truex led 39 laps and appeared to have one of the strongest cars.

12. Jeff Gordon (LW: 12)

In recent years restarts have habitually flummoxed Jeff Gordon, whose inability to get up to speed during the resumption of a race has cost him several potential victories. That again was the case Sunday, as the four-time champion was the leader on the restart with five laps left. But as he’s so often done, Gordon spun the tires and any chance of grabbing a win evaporated as the field quickly swallowed him up and he slid to 14th.