Power Rankings - Week of 9/24 to 9/30
1. Jeff Gordon – Has maintained the points lead for the majority of the season and has backed that up with 2 top 5’s in the past 3 races.
2. Jimmie Johnson – Coming off a victory at Richmond just 3 races ago to pick up his sixth win of the season, Johnson has just 1 Top 10 finish in the first two races of the Chase. If he hopes to repeat as the Cup Champion this year he will need to get things going this week at Kansas.
3. Tony Stewart – After a very disappointing start to the “Car of Tomorrow” season where the two-time Cup Champion showed points of extreme dominance only to suffer various mishaps, Stewart has turned up the heat as of late and has scored 2 Top 5’s and a Top 10 Finish in the past three races. He’s now second in points, just 2 points behind leader Jeff Gordon and has the best average at Kansas amongst all active drivers.
4. Carl Edwards – Carl picked up his third win of the season last week at Dover, only to have it marred in controversy via failing post-race inspections. Nonetheless, Carl is still in the Chase and the last time he as (2005), the man from Missouri really turned up the heat in the last 10 races of the season. Edwards still has momentum heading into Kansas.
5. Kyle Busch – After posting back-to-back Top 5 finishes in the last 2 races, Kyle will look to improve on his 2006 7th place Kansas finish in an effort to improve his chances of a Cup Championship before leaving Rick Hendrick.
6. Clint Bowyer – After more than a year and a half of trying, all of his efforts finally paid off when Clint Bowyer picked up his first career victory in the big leagues just two weeks ago. He’s now fifth in points and is hoping to keep his championship dreams alive with a solid outing in Kansas.
7. Matt Kenseth – He was solid in Dover until a late race accident put him out of contention and put a serious dent in his chances to win it all this year. He’s still looking for the momentum that guided him to a 2004 Championship, and it’s crucial that he makes good this week.
8. Denny Hamlin – As we’ve seen so many times already in this youngster’s career, Hamlin was the class of the field last week in Dover only to suffer a fatal blow late in the race. Still, Hamlin has been very consistent in the Car of Tomorrow when he’s not experiencing mechanical failures or pinned up against the outside retaining wall.
9. Martin Truex, Jr. – This has without a doubt been a career year thus far for the young Truex Junior, and things are looking optimistic for him next year as well, as he is expected to become the number one driver at DEI with the departure of Earnhardt Jr. Truex scored a Top 5 in the first week of the Chase.
10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – After missing out on the Chase this year, Junior’s looking to match Tony Stewart’s performance from last year by dominating the final portion of the season and ending the 2007 year on a high note. Last week was a good start as Dale looked solid and was able to avoid trouble while bringing home a Top 5 Finish.
Tags: Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, dale earnhardt jr, Denny Hamlin, jeff gordon, jimmie johnson, kansas speedway, Kyle Busch, lifelock 400, martin truex jr, Matt Kenseth, NASCAR, nextel cup series, richmond international raceway, rock & roll 400, Tony StewartRelated Stories
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