NASCAR power rankings: Watkins Glen delivers typical road course wackiness

No shortage of entertaining moments, thrilling finishes and frayed nerves have become the identifiable characteristics of NASCAR when it tackles a road course.

And Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen was no exception. A thrilling battle for the lead between Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick went down to very last turn before Harvick ran out of fuel, while numerous plot twists jockeyed around which drivers are in position to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

NASCAR Power Rankings

1. Kyle Busch (Last week: 1)

Another lap and it would’ve likely been Kyle Busch in Victory Lane celebrating a sweep of both road courses. As it were Logano had enough gas to make it to the finish with Busch finishing second. But it was enough to move him inside the top 30 in points, making him provisionally eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

2. Joey Logano (LW: 2)

Any victory is significance, though a road course wins does carry a bit of importance, as it’s not an accomplishment every driver owns. And with Logano now possessing wins on every style of track -- superspeedway, short track, road course and intermediate oval -- he’s done something several of his peers -- including Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski -- have not.

3. Kevin Harvick (LW: 3)

Instead of running dry with just a corner remaining, a splash of fuel was all Kevin Harvick needed to maintain his lead on the white flag lap. That’s been the recurring theme for the defending series champion in recent weeks. Who in spite of being dominant and in position to win for some reason or another, wins continue to largely escape his grasp be it strategy (New Hampshire), a late-race restart (Indianapolis) or mechanical issues (Pocono).

4. Matt Kenseth (LW: 5)

A fourth-place run Sunday snaps one of the more mystifying streaks in NASCAR. As it marked the first time Matt Kenseth recorded a top-five finish in 32 combined road course starts at Watkins Glen and Sonoma.

5. Brad Keselowski (LW: 4)

Just as in each of the four races prior to Watkins Glen, Brad Keselowski had a car capable of winning Sunday. But again no victory materialized due to strategy working against the No. 2 team, a perpetual problem as of late. He did, though, make a dash from 22nd to seventh over the final 30 laps to net his fifth straight top-10.

6. Kurt Busch (LW: 7)

A penalty on his first pit stop for too many crewmember over the wall put Kurt Busch in scramble mode for the rest of the afternoon. But by the end he had worked himself up to the fifth for his 10th top-10 in the past 12 races.

7. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 6)

Between a dust-up with Justin Allgaier, who vowed revenge, and twice spinning out, Jimmie Johnson’s day didn’t lack excitement en route to finishing 10th. That included an encounter with Denny Hamlin, who ran into the back of the No. 48 car then apologized for doing so. Contriteness which Johnson was having none of telling Hamlin to “Suck my balls” after being informed of his mea culpa.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 8)

His lack of enthusiasm about road courses is well noted, but that disdain often masks Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s ability to turn left and right. That skillset was on display Sunday, as he consistently ran in the top 10 and only sliding to 11th due to conserving fuel in the waning laps.

9. Carl Edwards (LW: 11)

Steady, productive, drama-free weekends have become the norm for Carl Edwards following an up-and-down start to the season. And Watkins Glen was no exception. He started 15th, ran mostly in the top 10 and finished eighth.

10. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 9)

For three-fourths of Sunday’s race, Martin Truex Jr. looked like a contender to score his win of the season. Then a pileup on the restart with 30 laps to go resulted in a flat tire and relegated him to 25th. On the plus side he officially clinched a Chase berth, just the second time Furniture Row Racing has put a driver into the playoffs.

11. Denny Hamlin (LW: 10)

For the second time in three weeks Denny Hamlin saw his hood open up and fly back into the windshield while running at speed. Unlike Indianapolis, the latest occurrence came during the race and not practice. Nonetheless, he somewhere was still able to maintain speed and navigate around Watkins Glen’s seven corners until a caution came out allowing him to pit without losing a lap. He then drove back into the top-10 before running out of fuel and finishing 27th.

12. Clint Bowyer (LW: Unranked)

Even as Michael Waltrip Racing undergoes a radical restructuring that in all likelihood will see it dissolve, Clint Bowyer is making a push to lockup a Chase spot. A sixth Sunday was his third consecutive top 10 finish, which has moved to 14th in the standings. And provided his performance doesn’t fall apart or there is first-time winners in the next four races, Bowyer will be back in the playoffs after a year’s absence.