Kevin Harvick continues blazing start, remains No. 1 in NASCAR power rankings

It’s everyone’s favorite time of the week, when SB Nation reveals its always controversial, completely biased against your favorite driver, seemingly chosen at random NASCAR power rankings.

1. Kevin Harvick (Last week: 1)

Kevin Harvick’s absurd start to the season continued at Texas Motor Speedway, and he now has four runner-up finishes in seven races. Add to that to his pair of wins and an eighth at Martinsville, and he has a ridiculous average finish of 2.6 this year.

2. Joey Logano (LW: 2)

When Harvick put the bumper to Joey Logano and sent him up the track, it seemed inevitable the confrontation they had in the Sprint Unlimited would rekindle. And what happened? Nothing. Logano admitted to blocking and said he understood why Harvick shoved him. Of course it helps to keep the tempers in check when each owns a win and is racing with little to lose.

3. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 7)

Texas gives Jimmie Johnson two victories on the season, extending his streak of consecutive multiple-win seasons to 14, a span that equals Jeff Gordon’s run from 1994-2007 and trails only Richard Petty’s record of 18. That’s pretty select company, but company Johnson is all too familiar being linked to throughout his career.

4. Brad Keselowski (LW: 3)

Sometimes when you attempt to snooker the competition, all you really do is overplay your hand. Witness Saturday night, when Brad Keselowski had the fastest non-Hendrick-powered car, but tried to bluff he was pitting and when doing so hit the commitment cone. The penalty dropped him from the top 10 to 24th, and any chance he had of winning went by the wayside.

5. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 4)

All Martin Truex Jr. does is continues to impress, and with each passing race it looks more and more likely he’ll earn himself a Chase bid. Like Harvick and Logano, he’s scored a top-10 in every race -- obviously, the difference is, they each have a victory while Truex remains winless.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 9)

The 88 car was every bit as fast as those of Johnson and Harvick Saturday, if not faster at times. But loose nuts that required an additional pit stop proved costly, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. never could get ahead of either Johnson or Harvick. And when he had his chance on a late restart to maneuver ahead, Earnhardt elected not to block Harvick, which allowed Johnson to pull away from both.

7. Jeff Gordon (LW: 6)

Jeff Gordon may have finished seventh, but that was only because of a gamble by Alan Gustafson to give his driver two tires on his last pit stop. Otherwise Gordon would’ve likely been the only Hendrick Motorsports driver outside the top 10, an ignominy considering how dominant the organization -- and those it supplies cars and engines to -- was at Texas.

8. Denny Hamlin (LW: 5)

Almost from the get-go, Denny Hamlin plummeted from his 11th starting position to 26th. The reason wasn’t an engine issue or something of the like; merely the No. 11 car was setup for later in the night when the track conditions would be different. That proved evident, and Hamlin gradually climbed back up the running order when the sun went down, eventually finishing where he started.

9. Kasey Kahne (LW: 12)

With the exception of a fourth at Phoenix, Kasey Kahne hasn’t been all that impressive this season. But he has been consistent, with a finish no worse than 17th. That’s good enough to have him fifth in points, which surprisingly is tops among all Hendrick drivers.

10. Kurt Busch (LW: 10)

Started on the pole, led 45 laps and finished 14th -- which would seem like a fairly decent race. Except more was expected of Kurt Busch, who after being strong early backslid with a car that struggled on long runs. Nonetheless, it’s evident the pairing of Busch and veteran crew chief Tony Gibson will soon pay dividends in a big way.

11. Ryan Newman (LW: 11)

Ryan Newman rebounded from the disaster that was Martinsville -- not only did Ryan Newman finish 27th, two days later NASCAR slapped the No. 31 team with heavy penalties -- to place 12th Saturday. Richard Childress Racing’s appeal of the aforementioned penalties is Thursday, and the outcome will dictate Newman’s approach the remainder of the season. If the sanctions are overturned, he can continue points racing his way into the Chase. If not, than last year’s championship runner-up will need to win to secure a playoff spot.

12. Jamie McMurray (LW: Unranked)

As Jamie McMurray and new crew chief Matt McCall continue to gel, the results continue to steadily improve. Texas was McMurray’s second straight top-10 and third in four races, jumping him from 25th in points to 11th.