NASCAR power rankings: Jimmie Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports keep rolling

Hendrick Motorsports’ path of dominance began Mother’s Day weekend in the plains of Kansas. From there it steamrolled into its home track at Charlotte then to Dover’s Monster Mile and the “tricky triangle” known as Pocono.

The latest triumph of excellence — its fifth consecutive win — occurred Sunday, and it may have been the most imposing yet. Hendrick drivers, or those of its affiliated teams, combined to lead 81 percent of all laps in the Quicken Loans 400, and nine of the top-13 finishers did so thanks to the strength of Hendrick horsepower.

And if there is an end to the reign of Hendrick it may be but brief. As the Sprint Cup Series travels this weekend to Sonoma Raceway, a road course where horsepower can be negated. But from there it’s back to the ovals for another five races on a set of tracks favoring Hendrick and its stable of associate drivers and teams.

So if the message wasn’t clear before, it’s crystal now: it’s a Hendrick ruled NASCAR in 2014.

1. Jimmie Johnson (Last week: 1)

Then there were four. As Chicago, Homestead, Kentucky and Watkins Glen are now the only tracks where Johnson has yet to record a victory. Odds favor the defending Sprint Cup champion of crossing another one off his list before the year is out with any of the three ovals the likeliest of candidates.

2. Dale Earnhardt (LW: 2)

Michigan has been one of Earnhardt’s better tracks in recent years, and coming off a victory at Pocono, conventional wisdom said he had an excellent chance at back-to-back wins for the first time in his career. That didn’t happen as his car lacked the speed of his Hendrick counterpart and Earnhardt finished seventh. A result Earnhardt said he was disappointed in, which says all you need about how well things are going for NASCAR’s most popular driver.

3. Brad Keselowski (LW: 4)

Though the wins are still missing, with two seconds and a third in the past three weeks the consistency is certainly present. Making Keselowski’s performance all the more impressive is that it has come against an onslaught of Hendrick dominance, with the No. 2 Ford one of the few non-Chevrolet cars to be able to challenge up front.

4. Kevin Harvick (LW: 5)

For the third time in five races Harvick finished in the runner-up position Sunday. So why was the man nicknamed “Happy” anything but afterwards? Because although he does have wins earlier this year at Phoenix and Darlington, Harvick’s angst stems from the inability of the No. 4 team to convert speed into even more victories. As there is no denying that his win total should be at least double if not more than its current amount.

5. Jeff Gordon (LW: 3)

Having led 36 laps and with a presence near the front all afternoon, Michigan was undoubtedly Gordon’s best effort since his May 10 win at Kansas. That he wasn’t in the mix late to challenge Johnson was because of strategy. Now let’s see if he can continue the surge at Sonoma, a track Gordon once dominated but where he hasn’t won since 2006.

6. Joey Logano (LW: 7)

After a bit of unevenness, Logano was back in his earlier season form at Michigan, leading laps (29) and finishing in the top-10 (ninth). And if you’re looking for a Sonoma dark horse, he could be your pick. In addition to being a former pole-sitter on the Northern California road course, Logano also has two top-10s in five career starts and led laps a year ago before strategy shuffled him back to 10th.

7. Matt Kenseth (LW: 6)

Pocono and Michigan represented rare consecutive off-weeks for the No. 20 team. That happens. But Kenseth’s fortunes aren’t likely to change for the better this weekend. As road racing, especially at Fontana, has never been his forte with just one top-10 in 14 career starts.

8. Kyle Larson (LW: 9)

Yeah, having his rear bumper knocked off aided Larson in notching an eighth-place finish Sunday. But it’s not like he did so deliberately. And by focusing on that you’re ignoring the remarkable consistency he has demonstrated in his rookie season. The 21-year-old is now seventh in points, and already has more top-10s (seven) than the past four rookie classes comprising seven drivers had combined (four).

9. Tony Stewart (LW: 13)

Running well and doling out lessons to rookies who dare to cross him, Stewart was in midseason form at Michigan. An 11th Sunday continues an upswing for the owner-driver, who has finished 13th or better four consecutive weeks.

10. Jamie McMurray (LW: 10)

In typical McMurray fashion he was good enough to post a respectable result (12th), but not good enough to seriously contend for the win at Michigan. But that consistency won’t do him a bit of good considering his ranking in points (20). Meaning, his only path to a first Chase berth is via Victory Lane.

11. Clint Bowyer (LW: 14)

The last time Bowyer won a Cup race was October 2010 at Charlotte. That 56-race drought, however, has an excellent shot of coming to an end Sunday in the Napa Valley wine country. Not only because Bowyer is very adept at road course racing — he won at Sonoma in 2012 and has four others finishes of fifth or better — but his team has undergone a resurgence in recent weeks with three straight solids runs.

12. Paul Menard (Unranked)

It’s Menard, and not Ryan Newman or Austin Dillon, who’s given Richard Childress Racing its only top-five finish of the season. In fact, Menard has done so twice in 2014 finishing third at Las Vegas and then a very stout fourth at Michigan. What made Sunday striking was that the No. 27 car was the only non-Hendrick powered Chevy to finish better than 15th.

13. Kyle Busch (LW: 11)

The 18 team is by no means in a freefall, but there are some ominous signs that have appeared as of late. In the past six races Busch’s best result is a ninth and his average finish is a pedestrian 21.8. Not helping matters, though, was a Dover crash and a parts failure this past weekend. The only solace is Busch’s March victory at Fontana, which virtually ensures he won’t miss the Chase for the Sprint for a third time in six years.

14. Kurt Busch (Unranked)

Maybe it was the buildup and the distraction that comes with running the Indianapolis-Charlotte double, or simply a new team working out the inevitable kinks. Either way, Busch is markedly improved since finishing sixth in the Indy 500 and turning his sole attention to NASCAR. He followed a third at Pocono with a 13th at Michigan — only the second time all year Busch has posted consecutive results inside the top-15.

15. Carl Edwards (LW: 12)

On a track where it places great emphasis on doing well and historically has been at its best, Roush Fenway Racing was abysmal Sunday. Greg Biffle in 20th was the highest finishing of the three Roush cars, with Edwards 23rd and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 27th after an early crash. So go ahead and sound the alarm bells and raise the red flags. Because if there was any doubt whether Roush Fenway Racing was in a tailspin, Sunday confirmed it.