NASCAR power rankings: Matt Kenseth’s Bristol DNF results in new leaders

Reshuffling the weekly rankings following Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway where Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick staged a memorable showdown culminating with Logano winning for a second year in a row.

1. Kevin Harvick (Last week: 3)

He may not have led, but that doesn’t matter as Harvick again placed second for the 10th time this season. The result further adds to what has been a superlative title defense, as he’s now finished second or better in half of the races this season. This exceptionalness bears repeating: Harvick has finished either first or second in 12 of 24 races.

2. Joey Logano (LW: 4)

Amid Harvick’s brilliance and Joe Gibbs Racing’s pervasive dominance, there’s Logano, who’s won two of the past three races, with nine top-10s in the past 11 races. That provides additional evidence why, if the Chase for the Sprint Cup started today, any list of title favorites requires that Logano to be at or very near the top.

3. Kyle Busch (LW: 2)

Despite an unscheduled stop for a loose wheel (a problem incurred by many drivers Saturday night) and a speeding penalty on pit road with 68 laps remaining, Kyle Busch still mustered an eighth-place finish. Still, when you have the dominant car and lead a race-high 192 laps, anything less than a victory is going to feel like a letdown. On the positive side, because he’s now 46 points above the Chase cutline, Busch is virtually locked into a playoff spot barring a total collapse or something catastrophic.

4. Matt Kenseth (LW: 1)

Any chance Matt Kenseth had of completing the Bristol sweep ended when a blown engine sent him to the garage prematurely. Pouring salt into the wound, Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards all took turns leading, giving the impression Kenseth would’ve been in contention alongside his teammates without the motor failure.

5. Carl Edwards (LW: 6)

Brand-new teams are expected to struggle with consistency, which is what Edwards dealt with earlier this season. Not so anymore, however, as the No. 19 team has six top-10s in seven races, including a seventh at Bristol, which would’ve been better had Edwards not suffered a flat tire while leading, which caused him to fall a lap behind.

6. Brad Keselowski (LW: 5)

Never a factor except when he played the track-position game by not pitting, Brad Keselowski started sixth and finished sixth Saturday night. He did, though, extend his streak of top-10s to seven, which ties a personal best set in 2012 -- the year he won the Sprint Cup championship.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (LW: 7)

Finishing ninth isn’t usually cause for celebration, but in this instance it’s acceptable because Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to overcome being a lap down on two separate occasions. But the reason he dropped one of those laps should concern the No. 88 team, as a loose wheel necessitated an extra pit stop under caution, which cost valuable track position. And the issue of sloppy pit work has continually hampered Earnhardt throughout the season, presenting a significant hurdle that must be addressed if he’s to be a factor in the Chase.

8. Denny Hamlin (LW: 10)

After starting on the pole then leading 54 laps in the early going, Hamlin appeared well-positioned to carry JGR to its seventh win in nine races. However, the speed he showed in the first half didn’t manifest itself in the second, and Hamlin was unable to keep pace with Logano and Busch. Although he ended the night third, it was a finish that felt it could’ve been better.

9. Jimmie Johnson (LW: 11)

What should be made of Jimmie Johnson posting his best finish (fourth) since a runner-up July 5 at Daytona: Does that mean the summer malaise, which has infected the No. 48 team -- and all of Hendrick Motorsports, for that matter -- is over? The only definitive that can be deduced is it takes more than one race to determine if Bristol was the beginning of a return to normalcy or merely an aberration.

10. Kurt Busch (LW: 8)

A good run that saw Kurt Busch a mainstay near the front came undone when David Ragan inadvertently pushed the No. 41 car into the wall. Although the damage Busch suffered didn’t require a trip to the garage for repairs, it was debilitating. He finished 14th, a lap down.

11. Ryan Newman (LW: 12)

As he’s done all season, Ryan Newman quietly continues to crank out solid finishes, the latest a 10th-place effort. That provides him with a 63-point cushion to make the Chase for a third straight year, which would be a career-best. Now, if Newman could just figure out a way to snap a winless streak spanning two-plus years and 76 races.

12. Martin Truex Jr. (LW: 9)

Having experienced essentially a lost weekend, it’s understandable if Martin Truex Jr. forgets everything Bristol altogether. Things began going downhill when an accident in practice dictated a change to a backup car, and then in the race he dealt with a tire problem, getting swept into a wreck not of his own creation and later, a black flag when the driver-door came apart.