NASCAR power rankings: Joey Logano makes case for No. 1

Joey Logano demurred the suggestion that by recording such a dominant victory Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway where he rather easily outran second-place Kevin Harvick, Logano in some form had sent a message that he was every bit the title contender as the defending Sprint Cup champion.

But while Logano preferred not to make a big deal over the proceedings, car owner Roger Penske acknowledged beating Harvick essentially straight up carried some added meaning. After all, Logano hadn’t just earned his fourth victory of the season, he was guaranteed a spot in the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoff.

“When you can beat (Harvick) any day, any time, that’s a big deal for us,” Penske said. “It was good that we could be on at least be on a level playing field with him today.

“I think it’s better when you can go on to the next bracket. I guess that’s the real end game here is to move on in this Chase.”

Penske’s comments make it sound as if Logano toppling Harvick was some kind of rarity, more due to happenstance than his own doing. But while Harvick showed little vulnerability during the regular season and impressive resiliency in Round 1 of the playoffs, Logano has again demonstrated a knack for getting the better of Harvick.

In three of the races Logano’s won this season (Daytona, Bristol, Charlotte), Harvick finished second. And in Logano’s other victory, which came on the Watkins Glen road course, he won after pushing Harvick into running out of fuel on the white flag lap.

“There’s 42 other cars we’ve got to beat, too,” Logano said. “He has been the one that has finished second. I think it’s just a coincidence.”

That Logano chose to downplay the possibility that Sunday was anything more than an aberration is even less surprising than him winning. Possessing an easygoing manner far beyond his 25 years, Logano would prefer to focus on the bigger picture. For the second consecutive season a spot in the next round is already secured and he’s one step closer to a career-first title.

“We want to win a championship at the end of the year and there’s still a long ways to go,” Logano said. “We’re not where we need to be yet by no means, but there’s going to be a lot of development still. You’ve got to be able to focus in and know what each track is calling for and try to put together the fastest piece we can.”

NASCAR Power Rankings

1. Joey Logano (Last week: 4)

Not boastfully, just confidently Logano has spoken frequently how the success of Harvick and Joe Gibbs Racing’s four drivers didn’t intimidate him. That, all thing equal, he knew his No. 22 Penske team was just as good. On Sunday, he backed up his talk by laying a smackdown on the field. Adding to the good vibes, Logano heads to Kansas where he just happens to be the defending winner.

2. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3)

After a disastrous start to begin the previous segment of Chase races, a runner-up Sunday should provide some solace and -- for at least one week, anyway -- levitate the pressure Harvick felt to win or otherwise face elimination throughout most of the first round.

3. Denny Hamlin (LW: 5)

While Denny Hamlin didn’t have a car capable of keeping pace with those of Logano and Harvick, finishing fourth is a fine to begin what many consider the most difficult of the four Chase brackets. Kansas should be equally as good to Hamlin, as it shares similar characteristics to Chicagoland where he won last month.

4. Matt Kenseth (LW: 1)

Encapsulating how quickly one’s fortunes can change, Matt Kenseth was regarded as a championship contender entering the Chase and reaffirmed that belief by winning in the opening round. Now, thanks to misguided strategy, mechanical failures and finally, a crippling crash, he’s facing a scenario where if he doesn’t win at Kansas or Talladega, he’ll be eliminated far sooner than expected.

5. Kyle Busch (LW: 2)

At best, Kyle Larson’s inexplicable decision to veer onto pit road was incredibly foolish and that he ended up slamming into Kyle Busch only compounds the absurdity. For Busch, it marks the second year in a row where a mistake by a young driver has the real potential of squashing his championship dreams.

6. Carl Edwards (LW: 6)

Should Carl Edwards have been so forceful in trying to pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. just 70 lap into a 500-mile race? A case could be made that Edwards needed to exercise greater patience, but in his defense Earnhardt did chop him entering Turn 1 and left Edwards with little alternative. Nonetheless, Edwards is public enemy No. 1 among Earnhardt’s legion of supporters and that ire will increase if Earnhardt doesn’t make it through to Round 3.

7. Kurt Busch (LW: 9)

Matching results to performance has been an issue for Kurt Busch, who’s frequently seen strong runs thwarted by issues of some kind -- a week ago he was headed for a likely top-five before a suspension failure required a prolonged pit stop. There were no such problems Sunday, with Busch staying up front all afternoon, finishing fifth.

8. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 10)

If there is a way to quietly finish third, Martin Truex Jr. accomplished it at Charlotte. That’s not surprising, considering he led the most laps there during the Memorial Day weekend race and has generally performed best on intermediate tracks this season. And wouldn’t you know it, Kansas, another midsize oval where Truex almost won in the spring, is up next.

9. Brad Keselowski (LW: 8)

Symbolic of how the two Team Penske cars have largely raced this season, Brad Keselowski had to fight just to finish ninth while Logano cruised. On the year, Keselowski owns just a single win -- which came via pit strategy where he led only the final lap -- and barely resembles the driver who led the series in victories in 2014.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 7)

For those of Junior Nation hoping their driver will seek payback against Carl Edwards after Sunday’s dust-up, it’s not going to happen. Earnhardt said during his weekly podcast that both he and Edwards were at fault and that any effort made to mete out retribution is better spent trying to win Kansas or Talladega and avoid Chase elimination.

11. Jeff Gordon (LW: 11)

A workmanlike effort by Jeff Gordon and crew led him to finish eighth, as the No. 24 car lagged for much of the afternoon -- Gordon’s average running position was 14th. With Gordon having finished fourth in the May Kansas race and nearly winning Chicagoland last month, the makings are there for him to score his first win of the season Sunday.

12. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 12)

Not often does Jimmie Johnson endure back-to-back mechanical failures, yet for the second week in a row a potentially winning car couldn’t make it to the finish line without a part breaking. But unlike Dover, the stakes weren’t as high Sunday and didn’t cost Johnson a shot at another Cup title.