Ryan Blaney surprised the racing world when he delivered on his promise to win at Pocono and captured his first-career NASCAR Cup victory in the Pocono 400 last weekend. Blaney only nearly edged out Kevin Harvick by about a car length to clinch the victory. Brad Keselowski finished fifth, Martin Truex Jr. placed sixth and Kyle Busch finished ninth in the race at Pocono. Meanwhile, it was a disappointing outing for Jimmie Johnson, who was fortunate to be able to walk away from his wreck. Here is a look at the NASCAR top five power rankings for this week.
1. Jimmie Johnson
Last Week: 1
NASCAR Cup Championship Odds: +600
Johnson was very fortunate that he didn’t suffer major injuries when his car experienced a major brake failure and sent him crashing hard in to the wall. Johnson was travelling at close to 200 miles per hour when he lost control and slammed in to the wall. The No. 48 car was running seventh at the time. Johnson officially placed 36th at Pocono but he was lucky that the damage to his body wasn’t worse. Johnson tweeted after the race, “I have a clean pair of underwear and I’m heading to my girls”. After a scare at Pocono, Johnson will look to bounce back at Michigan this weekend.
2. Kevin Harvick
Last Week: 2
NASCAR Cup Championship Odds: +700
Harvick only nearly missed out on his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season when Blaney beat him out by less than a car length at Pocono last weekend. The runner-up finish was his fifth top-five result and ninth top-10 finish in 14 starts this season. Harvick’s consistency has been key to his success this season. However, he is going to eventually need to figure out how to win if he is going to clinch a championship title this season.
3. Kyle Busch
Last Week: 3
NASCAR Cup Championship Odds: +700
Busch managed to lock down another top-10 finish when he placed ninth in the Pocono 400 last week. Busch has registered five top-five finishes and seven top-10 results so far this season. However, like Harvick he is still looking for his first win of the season. Busch will get another shot at a victory in the FireKeepers Casino 400 this weekend.
Busch is currently in fourth place in the standings, even though he’s in third place according to the odds makers. Busch has collected 463 points so far this season even though he has yet to win a single race.
4. Brad Keselowski
Last Week: 4
NASCAR Cup Championship Odds: +750
Keselowski registered his eighth top-five finish in 14 starts this season at the Pocono 400. He has been remarkably consistent all year and unlike the two names listed directly in front of him he already has multiple Cup wins this season. Keselowski has made no secret of that fact that he wants to win at his home track in Michigan so he will be running with an added sense of urgency in this weekend’s FireKeepers Casino 400.
Keselowski finds himself in fifth place in the Monster Energy Cup Series standings with 454 points. He is 130 points back of Martin Truex Jr. for the lead.
5. Martin Truex Jr.
Last Week: 5
NASCAR Cup Championship Odds: +750
Truex continued his excellent run at Pocono last weekend when he placed sixth in the Pocono 400. Truex has strung together three straight top-10 finishes and he has now placed in the top-10 in 10 of his 14 starts this year. He also already has two wins to his name this season. Truex currently has a one-point lead ahead of Kyle Larson at the top of the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series point standings. There is still a long way to go, but Truex has put himself in excellent position to contend for a title this season.
It’s interesting to see that Truex Jr. is fifth according to the odds when in reality, he’s in first place overall in the standings. The No. 78 Toyota car is obviously viewed with a little bit of skepticism in terms of his chances to win it all. There’s no denying that he’s had a great first half to the season, though.
Click here to get all of the latest NASCAR betting lines at BetDSI including head-to-head matchups, props and odds to win each NASCAR and NASCAR Xfinity tournament!
