- Admin
- #1
Time for our latest round of power rankings. Each week throughout the season, we'll size up who's rising and who's falling, based on current standings, behind-the-scenes changes, expected staying power, recent history and general gut feelings. The STP 400 wasn't the greatest race we've ever seen, but it worked out just fine for a few drivers.
1. Carl Edwards. Another reliably solid run from Edwards, who's continuing to prove he can run well at tracks all across the country. Though, after Saturday's Nationwide race, he's proving to have a habit of coming in second to punk kids all looking for a breakthrough win. In the movie business, they'd call that "foreshadowing." Here in NASCAR, we'd say he probably needs to spin somebody else and throw a scare into the pups. Last week's ranking: 1.
2. Kevin Harvick. There are four drivers who, right now, could seize the championship by themselves, without needing help (i.e. bad luck to befall) the rest of the field. Harvick is in that group, as is Edwards. But Harvick, along with the group's other two members, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, didn't have an exceptional day Sunday. In these terms, that means he finished 11th. Yeah, Cupcake is having a pretty good year.* Last week's ranking: 2.
3.*Dale Earnhardt Jr. For some reason, Junior incites more hate than any other driver even though he's about as inoffensive as a bowl of oatmeal. It's probably because of the outsize attention he receives proportionate to his results, which means people will howl about this ranking. But let's look at some numbers, shall we? Over the last five races, Junior has averaged a finish of 10.8. Over that same period, Kyle Busch averaged 12.0 and Jimmie Johnson, 13.4. Numbers don't lie; that's some fine oatmeal.* Last week's ranking: 5.
4. Kyle Busch. We'll write more about this in the coming days, but for right now ... wow. For a guy who specializes in winning races, Kyle Busch sure ran himself into the perfect no-win situation on Saturday night. If he even lifts a finger to challenge a grandfather, he's the villain; if he lies there and takes it, he's a chump. Not much you can do in that situation. Kyle thought he was playing checkers; turns out he was playing chess. Badly. Last week's ranking: 3.
5. Jimmie Johnson. It's rare that you'll see a top-10 run that's as anonymous as that one Sunday by Jimmie Johnson. Seriously, did Vader even get more than a cursory mention? I don't think so. He's still the favorite to win his sixth Cup, but 48 fans can't be feeling quite so comfortable right now that Homestead will be a victory lap. At least there weren't any crew problems this time around. Last week's ranking: 5.
6. Matt Kenseth. Kenseth was the trendy pick to win this race, and while he had a decent enough run, he was never really any kind of serious threat. He finished in sixth place, and look where he is here: sixth place. There's a lot of positioning going on right now, with guys figuring out what works and what doesn't in order to make that last strike. It's like the dull part of a blockbuster, where the characters talk about their feelings and dreams and stuff. More explosions! Last week's ranking: 6.
7. Denny Hamlin. And it's about dang time. Hamlin's run last year was one of the best stories of the sport, a guy finally getting everything together to win an armload of races and give the sport's reigning champion his toughest challenge to date. So when he fell off the map early this year, we were all just a wee bit disappointed. Now, though, he's just one point out of a Chase berth. Not bad.* Last week's ranking: 8.
8. Tony Stewart. Sunday's race is one that Stewart and his crew will be kicking around for quite some time. Dude was leading the race by at least a quarter of the track, and came in for fuel when Brad Keselowski managed to stretch roughly the same amount into a win and burnout. Could Stewart have preserved his gas as well as Jet Ski? Could Jet Ski have stayed on the throttle if he was trying to catch Stewart? Bottom line, Smoke went for the guaranteed points rather than the potential win. Smart long-term thinking.*Last week's ranking: 9.
9. Kurt Busch. Welcome back, Kurt. The world's a much better place with your radio rantings in it. Sunday, Urt screamed on the first lap that his car was junk and they'd be lucky to finish 43rd; within five laps, he was running the fastest laps on the track and ended up leading 152 of 267 laps. Yep, moderation in moderation, that's Kurt's rule.* Last week's ranking: NR.
10. Ryan Newman. We're seeing this a lot of late: guy posts a good run for a few races, then begins a long slow fade in which the glow of previous impressive results overshadows current mediocre ones. We call this the "Pearl Jam Rule." Newman needs another "Evenflow" to get himself back in the mix, pronto.* Last week's ranking: 10.
11. Clint Bowyer. Another substandard run for Clint Bowyer, who finished 18th and was never really even within sight of being a factor. I honestly have nothing more to write here, so let me own up to this: Sunday, I wondered live on the chat why Richard Petty was the Grand Marshal, since it seemed like a lazy and easy pick. ("We don't have anybody ... hey, there's The King! Grab him!") I was patiently reminded that this was the STP 400. Sometimes, I am a dope.* Last week's ranking: 7.
12. Jeff Gordon. For a brief moment there, it looked like Gordon was going to challenge Five-Time for the name "Five-Time." Then, after a win at Phoenix, Gordon apparently forgot that his car could get out of first gear. But he posted a fourth-place finish Sunday, and with a bit of fuel luck, it could've been a whole lot better. Last week's ranking: NR.
Lucky Dog: Thanks to the wild card, Brad Keselowski has suddenly become a legitimate Chase competitor. He'll need to get into the top 20, but he just has to run seven places better than Paul Menard next race to get there. No offense to Menard, given that he had a good start to the season, but, well, there are tougher challenges in life.
DNF: Marcos Ambrose, who ended up 26th, saw a promising run of races end in fairly sorry fashion. That's what happens when you're running back with Landon Cassill. He dropped two spots in the standings to 19th, and he's going to have to go for the Hail Mary to get into the Chase. Fortunately, road courses await.
Dropping out of the rankings: Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne.
Charging upward: David Ragan continues to impress, with two top fives in his last five races. But is it too late to save his seat? It's like an NFL head coaching job now!
Next up: Pocono. Bust out your Red Bull and your jet-fuel coffee and send comments to us Twitter at @jaybusbee, email by clicking here, and via Facebook at The Marbles page.
Lucky Dog: Thanks to the wild card, Brad Keselowski has suddenly become a legitimate Chase competitor. He'll need to get into the top 20, but he just has to run seven places better than Paul Menard next race to get there. No offense to Menard, given that he had a good start to the season, but, well, there are tougher challenges in life.
DNF: Marcos Ambrose, who ended up 26th, saw a promising run of races end in fairly sorry fashion. That's what happens when you're running back with Landon Cassill. He dropped two spots in the standings to 19th, and he's going to have to go for the Hail Mary to get into the Chase. Fortunately, road courses await.
Dropping out of the rankings: Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne.
Charging upward: David Ragan continues to impress, with two top fives in his last five races. But is it too late to save his seat? It's like an NFL head coaching job now!
Next up: Pocono. Bust out your Red Bull and your jet-fuel coffee and send comments to us Twitter at @jaybusbee, email by clicking here, and via Facebook at The Marbles page.