NASCAR Barometer: Logano Sweeps Eliminator Round

Joey Logano extended his run at the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings with another win last week – his third win in as many races – in the Contender Round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Logano has been the best driver in the last 10 races and was one of the fastest throughout Sunday's CampingWorld.com 500. While Dale Earnhardt Jr. did his best to continue his recent superspeedway domination, the final caution of the race came just a few seconds too soon for the No. 88 to get ahead of the No. 22. Earnhardt was eliminated from the Chase as a result, and Logano's momentum continues.

Talladega usually produces an exciting afternoon of racing, but not many expected the race we saw last week. The first half of the race was caution free, which is a rarity at Talladega, and the race was nearly won on a fuel mileage gamble from Greg Biffle. The final caution periods were where the real drama began, however. There were two attempts at a green-white-checker finish after Jamie McMurray lost his engine and caused two crashes (one before an actual attempt at a restart was made), which created the controversy. NASCAR was left to sort the debris after a wild finish that saw Logano named the winner by a hair's width over Earnhardt in a make-or-break finish for the No. 88.

UPGRADE

Joey Logano – Logano became the first driver to sweep an entire round of Chase eliminations by narrowly taking the win over Earnhardt at Talladega. The Penske driver made it three wins from three races in the Contender Round, and has been the best driver in the past 10 races on the schedule. The win was his second on a superspeedway this season. Logano hasn't won at Martinsville, but does have three consecutive top-5s in his last five visits to the track. To win three consecutive races in the Sprint Cup is a massive feat, but Logano checks that off of the list and now aims solely to claim his spot in the final round of the championship.

Martin Truex Jr. – Truex's weekend started poorly when his qualifying lap on Saturday was disallowed because he went below the double-yellow lines. The infraction put him at the tail of the field at the start, which is difficult to overcome, even at Talladega. He found himself off of the lead lap relatively early, and his chances to move forward were few and far between due in part to the long run without a caution. He persevered to get back on the lead lap, and that proved invaluable, as he worked his way forward to finish inside the top 10 to advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase. Truex finished sixth at Martinsville earlier this year so he could get a good boost toward entry to the finale in Miami.

Jeff Gordon – Having put forth a valiant effort to help his teammate advance in the Chase, Gordon found himself through to the penultimate round of Chase eliminations by finishing in the top 5 last week. The veteran driver turned in one of his best restrictor-plate performances in recent memory by finishing third at Talladega, after spending the entire afternoon near the front of the field. Gordon was nervous ahead of the race, stating that he crashed more often at Talladega than other circuits, but he made his way through to the next round of the championship. He has eight prior wins at Martinsville, and the upcoming portion of the Chase schedule should play to his strengths.

Kyle Busch – Busch wasn't in the most confident position in the melee that became the Talladega finish. In the end, however, his finish was enough to see him through to the Eliminator Round of the Chase and keep his championship hopes alive. Busch was in a poor position in the standings before Talladega, but the circumstances played to his favor by the time the distance was complete. The next three races could be the most defining of Busch's career. He's already overcome a significant injury to make the Chase, now he needs to finish well enough to remain in championship contention until Miami. First step is to conquer Martinsville, where he hasn't had a top-10 since 2013.

DOWNGRADE

Denny Hamlin - Hamlin ran into a number of problems in Talladega. The No. 11 was one of the fastest cars in the field until a hinge broke on one of his roof flaps, which forced him to pit. That alone didn't sink Hamlin, though. He was running in decent position until the end of the race, when he was caught in a crash on a final restart. The result was enough to drop him out of Chase contention, and he'll have to wait another year for another chance at the championship. Fantasy players would be right to wonder if the elimination will see him undergo surgery on his injured knee earlier than anticipated.

Greg Biffle – Biffle did everything he could to win last week in Talladega. Biffle, who has struggled much of 2015, found his way to the front in practice and also in the race on Sunday. With just a handful of laps remaining, Biffle gambled on fuel strategy to win an unlikely fuel-mileage race at the superspeedway. Jamie McMurray's engine failure put those hopes to rest, though. The late cautions meant Biffle was forced to pit for fuel, ruining the No. 16's strategy. Talladega might have been the last track at which the Roush Fenway Racing cars are considered contenders to win. Biffle has never run well at Martinsville and should be expected to struggle again this week.

Jamie McMurray – Though he wasn't in contention to advance in the Chase, McMurray was putting the pieces of a top weekend together on Sunday. He was running near the front of the field in a difficult race with just a handful of laps remaining, when his engine expired and set off a series of inexplicable events that concluded the race. McMurray went from a potential top-10 finish all the way down to 39th place, when all was said and done. For the team that showed so much promise at various times it has been a difficult season. McMurray is already out of championship contention, but did score a top-10 at Martinsville earlier this year. He still has the potential to surprise but won't be a favorite this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Small mistakes can sometimes be the difference between championships and failures, and a pit infraction Sunday in Talladega put Earnhardt into the latter category. He nearly lost the lead lap as a result of his crew coming over the wall too soon, which resulted in a penalty that took him out of contention in a race with few cautions. A caution did save him, however. He worked his way back to the front where the final green-white-checkered restarts left him unable to truly challenge Logano. The second-place finish wasn't enough for the king of the superspeedways to advance in the Chase, and he's one more driver who will now begin to focus on 2016, despite another top superspeedway finish.

Matt Kenseth – Three lackluster performances in the Eliminator Round of the Chase were not good enough to see Kenseth through to the next round of eliminations. He entered the weekend at Talladega knowing that he essentially needed a win to continue his championship fight, which didn't happen. After a stout beginning, Kenseth was then caught in the drama that unfolded in the closing laps. Though Kenseth was always near the front Sunday, he wasn't a top contender for the win. His championship Chase ended last week, and his goal now is to win the remaining races on the schedule. A Martinsville win this week would be his first at the venue.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Kevin Harvick – Harvick's final attempt to finish Sunday's race at Talladega was thwarted when his slow getaway created a crash after his attempt to jump out of line. That crash actually was enough to put Harvick through to the next round of the Chase, though. On the prior restart he said his engine wasn't allowing him to come up to speed quickly. His attempt to move out of the way on the next effort was what caused the wreck that ended the race and drew the ire of a number of drivers. Directly after the race, NASCAR deemed that Harvick did nothing wrong, but plenty of questions seemed to remain. Harvick is the defending champion, and as of now is in the Eliminator Round of the championship.