NASCAR Horsepower Rankings

The Roush boys look a little tight. (ASP, Inc.)

1. Brad Keselowski   What has kept Keselowski and his team near the top of the Horsepower Rankings all season is the ability to win on most any style of track. To come out connecting in the Chase is big.

2. Jimmie Johnson   Certainly, an argument could be made for Johnson to be No. 1. However, he got beat in a race he seemed to have in hand. Don’t worry about this bunch, though — they’ll get theirs in the coming weeks.

3. Denny Hamlin   Mistakes like Hamlin’s team made (not getting the car full of fuel) are what turn top-5 runs into 16th-place finishes. It also costs teams championships.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.   After a month of pre-Chase, live-fire testing, Earnhardt’s No. 88 team appears back to its fourth- to 10th-place ways. Is that good enough to win a title?

5. Clint Bowyer   Follows up Richmond win with a 10th-place showing somewhere relatively near Chicago. Considering the last two months’ worth of performances, Bowyer and the boys may be getting overlooked.

6. Kasey Kahne   Loudon’s July winner returns with the Chase lead in his sights. Like Bowyer, he may not be getting the credit he deserves for his pre-Chase surge.

7. Tony Stewart   Look who appears to be rounding into form at just the right time. After a miserable month, Stewart clicks off a fourth at Richmond and a sixth to begin the Chase. Shouldn’t we all see this coming?
 

See it here while it still exists. (ASP, Inc.)

8. Jeff Gordon   A boatload of momentum sinks with Gordon’s stuck throttle at Chicagoland. After a valiant run into the Chase, it’s a shame to see the hard work go for naught.

9. Martin Truex Jr.   Credit this team for making a 20-something car into a top-10 ride by race’s end on Sunday. The “ultimate underdog” is still alive.

10. Matt Kenseth   A broken shock? Really? Isn’t that something that would happen to Gordon this year? Kenseth and the guys go from top 5 to 18th ... but I’d bet we haven’t heard the last of them.

11. Kevin Harvick  Harvick is averaging a 10.5-place finish since the return of Gil Martin as crew chief.

12. Greg Biffle  Since his Michigan win in August, Biffle has looked extraordinarily mediocre.

13. Ryan Newman  Could bust up the Chasers’ party in Loudon and steal a win this weekend.

14. Kyle Busch  Wondering if his attention will suddenly shift to the Nationwide Series team he owns.

15. Sam Hornish Jr.   Hornish has three consecutive 11th-place finishes. I wonder if Joey Logano has ever done that.

Just off the lead pack: Marcos Ambrose, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Paul Menard

by Matt Taliaferro
Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattTaliaferro