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Power Rankings After New Hampshire: Heading Towards Pocono
1-(1)-Jimmie Johnson-builds on points lead with another good finish. Hasn't won in a while,
but they might not really be trying hard yet because they know they will make the CHASE.
2-(2)-Jeff Burton-moves up to 3rd in the points. Just one more good race or 2 and he will have this
team in the 2006 CHASE.
3-(4)-Matt Kenseth-we will give him the position in the rankings ahead of Gordon since he finished
one spot ahead of Gordon Sunday. Didn't have a good car all day though, got lucky to manage 14th place.
4-(3)-Jeff Gordon-15th place was a good run considering the damage he had on the front of the car
and the loss of track position because of untimely cautions. This team is in 9th now, they need no DNFS and they will make
the CHASE.
5-(6)-Kasey Kahne-much better run for this team at New Hampshire than their last couple races. He
is pretty solid in the CHASE, but not safe enough to take any race easy.
6-(8)-Greg Biffle-he has put this team back in the Top 10 in points. That was like he only good race
with Subway on the hood, maybe the Subway curse is over.
7-(5)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-he ran well, but engine problems made his day bad. It also took a big hit
on this team, they looked safe to be in the CHASE, now they are going to have to fight to stay in like in 2005.
8-(9)-Kyle Busch-a win has really took this team up in the standings. Once again, he just has to
race clean and he can finish good any week. I see his only problem between now and the CHASE being Watkins Glen and maybe
Bristol.
9-(10)-Mark Martin-he finished well Sunday and thanked all of his fans like he does every week of
his life..lol
10-(7)-Tony Stewart-has fallen out of the Top 10, thats hard to believe, but his summer has been
all downhill in a bad way. Falling down a hill. He is also about to fall out of the power rankings. He has been in The NASCAR
Edge Power Rankings every week. Will he rebound at Pocono or could he fall out for the first time.
Racers Edge Power Rankings After Chicagoland: Heading Towards New Hampshire
1-(2)-Jimmie Johnson-one bad week at Daytona and now hes back in the Top 10 at Chicagoland.
Only wrecks and mechanical failures will hurt this team.
2-(7)-Jeff Burton-For a couple weeks I have been saying this team is consistent but not contenders
for wins and the championship. Well he proved me wrong Sunday with a 2nd place finish at Chicagoland, congrats to the cingular
team.
3-(8)-Jeff Gordon-What an amazing couple weeks, 2 wins out of 3 races. Daytona would have
been a good finish also if he wasn't involved in the wreck. 75 career wins, only 1 away from Dale Earnhardt Sr.
4-(1)-Matt Kenseth-Hopefully he don't win the championship, because he is a big crybaby. He
said Gordon wrecked him on purpose, well don't he remember Bristol, he wrecked Gordon on purpose. So what is so different
about the 2 situations.
5-(4)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-Good consistent finishes all season long and 1 win also. He will be
in the CHASE after 1 year of missing it. Will he get title #1?
6-(3)-Kasey Kahne-What the heck happened at Chicagoland? He was using his undefeated car at
a 1 and 1/2 mile track. So what went wrong, he was horrible, fell off lead lap and got a bad finish. This team better not
let that happen many more races if they want a title.
7-(5)-Tony Stewart-had a good car, but just didn't have enough gas. Finished a horrible 32nd
after a win at Daytona. He needs no more bad luck or he will be fighting with the guys trying to make the CHASE.
8-(6)-Greg Biffle-they finished good again. Hes ready for New Hampshire, a good track for
this team in 2005 and a chance to get back in the Top 10 in points.
9-(10)-Kyle Busch-This team could make their first CHASE for the championship in 2006. They
can run good if the Busch brother can keep his nose clean all race long.
10-(9)-Mark Martin-what started out as a good season is falling apart. The team seems to get
worse every week. Will they turn things around before his career is over or not?
Independence Day in USA Power Rankings-After Daytona-Heading Towards Chicagoland
1-(3)-Matt Kenseth-ugly green and yellow car, but another good finish. He has cut Johnson's
points lead to 13 points. They will battle for the #1 spot going into the CHASE, but does it really matter whos #1 and #2
heading into New Hampshire?
2-(1)-Jimmie Johnson-Shamu didn't do too good for Johnson. He had a great car but got loose
and wrecked. Is it just a 1 week slump for the team or will bad luck haunt them for a while now?
3-(2)-Kasey Kahne-R-plate track, no one expected him to run good. Luckily for him, there are
only 4 in the entire schedule.
4-(7)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-He didn't get up front and battle for the lead much this week. That
could have been a smart thing, cause a lot of top contenders wrecked. He played it safe and walked away with a decent finish.
He is probably thinking big picture, make the CHASE.
5-(9)-Tony Stewart-he ended his bad luck this week with a win at Daytona. Funny thing was
when he went down into the crowd by mistake, he was terrified and had his whole team act as body guards to get through the
insane fans.
6-(4)-Greg Biffle-shouldn't have finished that bad, shouldn't really drop on the power rankings
either. He had a great car, was just involved in a wreck. But it was no ones fault but his...
7-(8)-Jeff Burton-he keeps getting decent finishes good enough to keep himself easily in the
Top 10, but when is he going to ever be up front and contend for a win. He can't win the title finishing 10th-15th every week
and a DNF is likely to come at any time.
8-(5)-Jeff Gordon-1 week after his win, everything is looking bad again. He had a great car,
capable of winning or at least a Top 5 and he was involved in a wreck by "idiots". He is going to have a challenge now against
Biffle, Hamlin and others to get in the Top 10.
9-(6)-Mark Martin-not a good result this week, but he never has good results at the restictor
plates. Im sure he will be back to consistency next week.
10-(NR)-Kyle Busch-had a chance to beat Stewart after pushing Stewart pass Said for the lead.
But NASCAR throws a stupid caution on the last lap. They should have got to race to the line, sooo stupid by NASCAR.
Power Rankings After Sonoma-Heading Towards Daytona
1-(1)-Jimmie Johnson-a road coarse, everyone expected Johnson to struggle,
but he pulled off another Top 10. Will any type of track be bad for the Lowes team in 06?
2-(2)-Kasey Kahne-he didn't get a great finish at Sonoma, but he could
have. He was running up in the Top 10-15 most of the race. The finish didn't show, but Kasey was running good at a road coarse
for the first time in his young career.
3-(3)-Matt Kenseth-Actually not a very good race for the Dewalt team
for once. He has never been good at road coarses. Came away with 17th, and still safely in the CHASE.
4-(7)-Greg Biffle-A good run at the road coarse, and he is still on
the edge of the Top 10 in points. But so far hes staying in, and he has some good tracks coming up. He might not fall back
out of the Top 10, now that he got in it.
5-(8)-Jeff Gordon-King Of The Road Racing is back. He has finally got
that first win of the season, now he can look forward to bigger and better things, like Daytona and making the 2006 CHASE.
6-(5)-Mark Martin-Just been staying consistent in the Top 5 in points.
Doesn't show any signs of falling out, but hes probably not looking forward to Daytona, a place where a big wreck could hurt
you bad in the standings.
7-(4)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-not good at all at Sonoma. Hes really got some
tracks left before the CHASE where he needs to shine and solidfy his spot in the Top 10. Daytona is a place where he will
be in contention for a win. But the big one can take out any favorites at any time.
8-(6)-Jeff Burton-his consistent Top 10's all year will get him in
the CHASE. He has avoided DNF's all season. But the problem with this team is they are not contending for wins. They are just
5th-10th most weeks. After he makes the CHASE, he has to contend for 1st-5th each week to try and win the title.
9-(9)-Tony Stewart-at this time in 2005, he was turning up the heat,
winning and building his run for the title. Now he is falling and ice cold. Bad luck is hitting this team for the first time
in 06.
10-(10)-Denny Hamlin-he has now fell out of the Top 10 in points. Will
this rookie be able to fight against the pressure and get back in for the CHASE. Daytona is where he won his first event,
the Bud Shootout, now hes hoping to win a restrictor plate points race.
Power Rankings After Michigan-Heading Towards Sonoma
1-(1)-Jimmie Johnson-They know what they are doing this season, used a brand new car
at Michigan and another Top 10. They are on fire, can anyone stop them?
2-(4)-Kasey Kahne-He is over his sophmore slump and having a championship 3rd year.
The car he won with this week is the car he has used for his other 3 wins this season. He is unbeatable in that car. He has
won every race in that chassis in 2006. They plan to race it again at Chichagoland.
3-(2)-Matt Kenseth-great finish for having hit a car in the pits and spinning down
the backstreth. Good comeback from those hits in his chances.
4-(5)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-one of his best races of the year. Besides his win at Richmond,
that was the first chance he had for his 2nd win of 06. He said it was the best car hes ever had at Michigan.
5-(3)-Mark Martin-he can run good every week but his team seems to be hurting him
some way. One week it is a pit stop mistake, this week its a bad decision to pit when the rain was coming. Mistakes hurt bad
when your chasing the Nextel Cup.
6-(6)-Jeff Burton-just a consistent team this year. Seems to have a Top 15 car if
not Top 10 every week. Hes doing good like the old #99 Exide Batteries days.
7-(NR)-Greg Biffle-In the Top 10 now, with the way his team is running now, he will
probably not fall out of the Top 10 now. He will probably make the CHASE if he can avoid accidents.
8-(10)-Jeff Gordon-Just when he was about to fall out of the power rankings for the
first time in 06, he runs very well at Michigan. He leads the most laps and finishes 8th. A very big improvement from how
he ran at Michigan in 2005.
9-(7)-Tony Stewart-sure his injury is fine now, no problems with his health, but his
luck may be going downhill at the time he got all the luck last year. He should be able to turn things around at a road coarse
this week.
10-(9)-Denny Hamlin-was just decent at Michigan. The only Gibbs car to survive. JD
Gibbs has to be happy about that cause he has to pay for Stewart and Yeley's damaged cars.
Power Rankings-Happy Fathers Day!-After Pocono-Heading Towards Michigan
1-(1)-Jimmie Johnson-Better than consistent. He will be in the CHASE unless hes injured or
something major happens. Can he carry his momentum now all the way til November?
2-(2)-Matt Kenseth-Good run at Pocono, was racing hard with Harvick at times, thought we were
going to see Harvick v Kenseth at Pocono Round 2 lol
3-(3)-Mark Martin-The Top 5 in points are doing good every week. Mark Martin is holding his
position but not gaining on 2nd or 1st cause they are doing just as good. Mark will be in the CHASE for his final season.
4-(5)-Kasey Kahne-Good run at Pocono, kinda under the radar at Pocono. Wasn't talked about,
but walked away with a Top 10. He's counting the days to the next 1 and 1/2 mile track.
5-(4)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-Another good run, hes not being talked about this season for the
first time in his career. His that a good thing? could he get his first championship of his Cup career?
6-(6)-Jeff Burton-nothing is stopping this team from knocking off the Top 10's each
and every week. He will make his first CHASE if he keeps this up.
7-(9)-Tony Stewart-looks like he is A ok for racing again. A 3rd place finish is
a great medicine for his injury.
8-(7)-Kevin Harvick-needs to get back to contending for wins to make this chase. Not bad yet,
but nothing good the last couple weeks.
9-(NR)-Denny Hamlin-Congrats to this young man, first cup win, many more to come, also first
time on the Power Rankings. Can he make another first and make the CHASE?
10-(8)-Jeff Gordon-Hardest hit of his career into Turn 1 with no brakes. Also a hard hit to
his 2006 season. He needs to turn some of his performance around and get some luck back to make the chase. Out of chase right
now, almost off the power rankings for the first time of 06.
Power Rankings After Dover-Heading Towards Pocono
1-(1)-Jimmie Johnson-amazing performance at Dover. Sucked so bad and everything was expecting
a new points leader and then BOOM, jimmie rebounds and finishes 6th. That is the reason why the #48 Lowes Team will be
in the 2006 CHASE, they always get something good out of each week.
2-(2)-Matt Kenseth-Good win for the #17 team. He made some fans upset though. Everyone was
like Good, Burton is finally gonna win, then Good, McMurray will finally win, and then out of no where Kenseth wins! oh another
expected winner
3-(3)-Mark Martin-Is it just me, or do they never talk about him anymore. They talked about
him every race last year because it was his last try at every race, but now it really his the last tour and hes not getting
any publicity.
4-(5)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-moving up some more, quietly having a good season, but is his efforts
good enough to contend for the title in the CHASE?
5-(4)-Kasey Kahne-falls 1 this week, i think he will take a big hit the next couple weeks,
pocono and the road coarse will probably be his worst races of the season, but who knows, hes much better this year.
6-(9)-Jeff Burton-having his best runs since the old days of the #99 purple Exide roush car.
Looking really good on making the CHASE.
7-(8)-Kevin Harvick-having an average season, so far good enough to make the CHASE, but will
he hold up down the stretch.
8-(7)-Jeff Gordon-The #24 team hasn't had that many GREAT runs this season, but that is what
might make him the champion. He hasn't hit his stride of the season yet and a lot of people are expecting this team to hit
it big when they do.
9-(6)-Tony Stewart-not a good run by Rudd at Dover. But better than nothing. Stewart says
he will run all 500 miles at Pocono. He better not wreck and hurt hisself seriously.
10-(10)-Kyle Busch-consistent in a weird way, good runs but now 10th in the standings ???
Power Rankings After Lowes-Heading Towards Dover
New Format Starting This Week
Rank (Last Week Rank)
1-(1)-Jimmie Johnson-gave it another run for a win at Lowes, but came up
a little short this time. 3 Coke 600 wins and a 2nd place, still not bad.
2-(2)-Matt Kenseth-that consistency continues, he will be in the Chase,
but can Roush win without the 50% chance they had in last year's chase.
3-(6)-Mark Martin-moving up the rankings this week. He has been finishing
so good, just not getting much TV time for some reason?
4-(NO RANK)-Kasey Kahne-big jump back into the rankings this week. Probably
the biggest win of his career Sunday. Now can he hold his spot in the points for a month or so before they go back to a 1
and 1/2 mile?
5-(4)-Dale Earnhardt Jr-running good, but just not good enough to contend
for a title yet.
6-(3)-Tony Stewart-big hit into the wall, will be a big hit in the 2006
season for the #20 team. Ricky Rudd will take over for Stewart at Dover, and who knows how many weeks before Stewart is 100%
again.
7-(5)-Jeff Gordon-horrible run at Lowes, 2nd week in the last 3 points
races that something has broke in the car.
8-(7)-Kevin Harvick-bad break at Lowes, could have easily got a good finish
if it wasn't for a problem.
9-(9)-Jeff Burton-another great run, this team deserves a win soon. He
could be the surprise to make the Chase.
10-(8)-Kyle Busch-letting his temper get the best of him. Cost him some
more fans, and 25 points in the standings.
Power Rankings After Darlington-ALL-STAR BREAK
1) Jimmie Johnson-no wins recently but wow this team is consistent. Also resigned with Lowes
this week through 2010.
2) Matt Kenseth-very good 3rd place run at Darlington. Consistency and a win or 2, he
will be in the CHASE in September.
3) Tony Stewart-ridiculous race at Darlington. Wrecked hisself when he needed a caution because
he was about to go a lap down? hmmm, didn't dale jr get penalized for that before
4) Dale Earnhardt Jr-moving up this week because he pulled off a Top 5 while driving very
sick. Impressive run
5) Jeff Gordon-impressive 2nd place finish. Was chasing down Biffle until an
old guy (little debbie man) got in the way.
6) Mark Martin-too much talk about old Darlington, Fox didn't talk about this old consistent
guy.
7) Kevin Harvick-really tough break at Darlington, didn't even get to see how good he was
this week, now Jeff Gordon isn't the only one to get screwed by a piece of a track.
8) Kyle Busch-Fox never seems to talk about him until the results after the race, and wow
KYLE got another Top 10, not to be confused with Kyle "30th-40th place" Petty.
9) Jeff Burton-moving into the Rankings this week as he moves into the Top 10 in Nextel Cup
points. He could be the 2nd RCR driver to make the CHASE in 06.
10) Greg Biffle-still not among the Top 10 in points but he now has a win and hes really moving
up in the standings. He always runs good in the National Guard car, drop Subway Biffle. But the problem is, hes dropping
National Guard after 06, oh no, he will never win again!
Looking Good
Jimmie Johnson stays at 1st
Matt Kenseth from 3rd to 2nd
Dale Earnhardt Jr from 6th to 4th
Jeff Gordon from 7th to 5th
Kyle Busch from 9th to 8th
Jeff Burton from NO RANK to 9th
Greg Biffle from NO RANK to 10th
Not Too Good
Tony Stewart from 2nd to 3rd
Mark Martin from 5th to 6th
Kasey Kahne from 8th to NO RANK
Casey Mears from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After Richmond-Heading Towards
Darlington
1) Jimmie Johnson-just when it looked like a bad finish for the #48 team, he came
out of nowhere and pulled off 12th at Richmond. Now heading to Darlington and Lowes, two of his favorite tracks.
2) Tony Stewart-trying to make the Home improvement warehouse battle begin in 2006.
Chasing down Lowes.
3) Matt Kenseth-consistency ended at Richmond, weird problem for this dewalt team.
DNFs are horrible. Even if you are 2nd or 3rd in points.
4) Kevin Harvick-He won the Busch race AGAIN and had the cup race won until a stupid
team decision that cost him the win. He still came away with 3rd, not bad.
5) Mark Martin-old man happy going to old track (darlington)
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr-first win in a long time. Hopefully for him he will win more
than he did in 05 this season.
7) Jeff Gordon-Had a good car at Richmond but a weird problem. You could imagine Jeff
Gordon was laughing when Kenseth had a problem and then...something happened to Jeff.... that sucks
8) Kasey Kahne-just don't know what hes going to do this season. Started out the year
looking amazing but nothing too special recently and hes fading in the standings.
9) Kyle Busch-can always pull off a Top 10 if he don't wreck, but the keywords are
DON'T WRECK
10) Casey Mears-just flirting with the Top 10, happy to see DJ get a 25 point penalty
following Richmond. Could 25 points matter in September at Richmond?
Looking Good
Jimmie Johnson stays at 1st
Tony Stewart from 3rd to 2nd
Kevin Harvick from 6th to 4th
Mark Martin from 7th to 5th
Dale Earnhardt Jr from 8th to 6th
Kyle Busch from NO RANK to 9th
Casey Mears from NO RANK to 10th
Not Too Good
Matt Kenseth from 2nd to 3rd
Jeff Gordon from 4th to 7th
Kasey Kahne from 5th to 8th
Brian Vickers from 9th to NO RANK
Dale Jarrett from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After Talladega-Heading Towards Richmond
1) Jimmie Johnson-Finishing good everywhere and 2-0 at r-plate races this year. He has pretty much
already locked hisself into this years CHASE.
2) Matt Kenseth-Seems to be a contender every week if he stays out of trouble. Consistency may give
him a good 2006 season.
3) Tony Stewart-Good runs week in and week out. Wild flip in the Busch race, raced safe in Cup and
came away 2nd.
4) Jeff Gordon-Dominated the Talladega race but was left out to dry on the final lap and got 15th.
His finishes this season have not been bad, but they haven't showed how good hes really been running.
5) Kasey Kahne-Hopefully hes ok from that hard wreck. I think it was just a one week problem
called restrictor plates and he should be excited going to Richmond-location of his 1st cup win.
6) Kevin Harvick-Moving up in the power rankings because of the great effort after being involved
in the Lap 9 crash. His team didn't give up and he came away with 23rd, compared to 43rd, that is impressive for a messed
up car. That is how you win championships. Expect his contract signing within 2-3 weeks.
7) Mark Martin-Old man just can't stand Talladega. He gets caught up in the big one every time.
Consistency should start again next weekend.
8) Dale Earnhardt Jr-Hasn't won a restrictor plate race since 2004! Had a decent car and the famous black
scheme but his chances blew up with his engine failure.
9) Brian Vickers-Congrats on 3rd place, almost had that first victory. Gained 5 positions in
the points this week.
10) Dale Jarrett-Finally...into the Top 10 in points. Hes been staying at 11th for weeks and his
laying back for 400 some miles payed off for a good finish at the end on Monday.
Looking Good
Jimmie Johnson stays at 1st
Matt Kenseth stays at 2nd
Tony Stewart stays at 3rd
Jeff Gordon moves from 5th to 4th
Kevin Harvick moves from 8th to 6th
Brian Vickers from NO RANK to 9th
Dale Jarrett from NO RANK to 10th
Not Too Good
Kasey Kahne moves from 4th to 5th
Mark Martin moves from 6th to 7th
Dale Earnhardt Jr moves from 7th to 8th
Carl Edwards from 9th to NO RANK
Clint Boyer from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After Phoenix-Heading Towards Talladega
1-Jimmie Johnson-finished a decent car with a good finish. Coming to Tally, he has to be confident
being the 2006 Daytona 500 Champion.
2-Matt Kenseth-nothing exciting, not great on r-plates. Consistency has him at the top of the nextel
standings right now.
3-Tony Stewart-Good run at Phoenix and coming to a restrictor plate, where he always seems to be
up front.
4-Kasey Kahne-up in the air for this week. Never really ran too well at restrictor plate tracks.
5-Jeff Gordon-started out 30th-40th at Phoenix, finished 10th. R-plate king right now. Defending
race winner.
6-Mark Martin-tough break coming up short at Phoenix on gas. Roush Racing just has bad fuel mileage
cars.
7-Dale Earnhardt Jr-not a good race at Phoenix, wrecked people and tore his car up...but were going
to Talladega and hes racing a black car like Earnhardt Sr drove, well lets just say that is asking for a win.
8-Kevin Harvick-dominating Busch and Cup right now. Has things falling together perfectly. That
RCR contract should be signed soon too.
9-Carl Edwards-is it the new crew chief or has the sophmore slump finally left him.
10-Clint Boyer-His first Top 5 in the Cup Series, congrats and welcome to the power rankings, well
can he stay here lol
Looking Good
Jimmie Johnson stays at 1st
Matt Kenseth from 6th to 2nd
Tony Stewarts stays at 3rd
Jeff Gordon stays at 5th
Kevin Harvick stays at 8th
Carl Edwards from NO RANK to 9th
Clint Boyer from NO RANK to 10th
Not Too Good
Kasey Kahne from 2nd to 4th
Mark Martin from 4th to 6th
Casey Mears from 9th to NO RANK
Kyle Busch from 10th to NO RANK
EASTER BREAK POWER RANKINGS
HEADING TOWARDS PHOENIX
1) Jimmie Johnson-Good car or bad car, still gets good finishes after they work throughout
the race.
2) Kasey Kahne-No longer a sophmore, now a top Nextel driver. Things are looking great for
the #9 team, another story for the #19 team.
3) Tony Stewart-Good car most of race, just couldn't get the job done at the end. Still a
good finish.
4) Mark Martin-Consistency is paying off, could he retire with the Nextel title? possibly
his first title in his last season?
5) Jeff Gordon-Doesn't like Texas, but he needs to rebound on those type of tracks to contend
for the title. His number 1 goal this year is to probably run good and make the chase, but that title would be nice.
6) Matt Kenseth-Good 2nd place run, will be interesting to see his next couple races
to see if he will make the chase in 06.
7) Dale Earnhardt Jr-All average races recently, but is average good enough for a title
run or even the chase in 06?
8) Kevin Harvick-Seems like this team is getting better each week, nice paint scheme this
week too!
9) Casey Mears-I just don't know about him, hes good one week and then bad the next. Hopefully
the first win comes this year, then maybe in 07 he can run for the title.
10) Kyle Busch-Hendrick Motorsports not doing too bad so far in 06, they are looking for all
4 drivers in the Chase, i see 3 of them making it.
Looking Good
Jimmie Johnson stays at 1st
Kasey Kahne from 4th to 2nd
Mark Martin from 7th to 4th
Kevin Harvick from NO RANK to 8th
Casey Mears from NO RANK to 9th
Not Too Good
Tony Stewart from 2nd to 3rd
Jeff Gordon from 3rd to 5th
Matt Kenseth from 5th to 6th
Dale Earnhardt Jr from 6th to 7th
Kyle Busch from 9th to 10th
Kurt Busch from 8th to NO RANK
Elliott Sadler from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After Martinsville
1) Jimmie Johnson-One bad week and hes back. Seems like only flat tires or wrecks will stop this
team. Can they keep it going through November is the question. Almost a sure bet for the CHASE.
2) Tony Stewart-Great win for the #20 team, last year it took them a lot longer to get the first
season win. He seems to be a contender at most all tracks. Will have to see if they continue to act like Champs. Right now,
30-40% chance he will make the CHASE.
3) Jeff Gordon-Another Top 5, if he had not wrecked at Daytona and had not got wrecked at Bristol,
it would probably be all Top 5's in 06. Las Vegas 5th, Atlanta 4th, Bristol (should have been 3rd, Martinsville
2nd, could Texas be 1st?
4) Kasey Kahne-Didn't deserve a bad finish at Martinsville, had car problems. Hopefully car problems
won't be bad enough all year to keep him out of the CHASE. I can see him making it, but I also see 15 other guys that could
make it and thats not going to happen.
5) Matt Kenseth-A wreck while running in the Top 10 with a few laps to go. hmmm, maybe that was
for what he did to Jeff Gordon last week.
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr-A great race Sunday, a damaged car to a 4th place finish, impressive.
7) Mark Martin-that consistency is paying off, 2nd in points now.
8) Kurt Busch-I don't know about him, he won Bristol but nothing else impressive all season long.
Has to start knocking down top 10s and top 5s to get in the Top 10 in points.
9) Kyle Busch-Great run at Martinsville, improving his short track program a lot.
10) Elliott Sadler-Has slipped into the Top 10 in points. Quiet in 06 but impressive too.
Looking Good
Jimmie Johnson from 2nd to 1st
Tony Stewart from 5th to 2nd
Jeff Gordon remains 3rd
Dale Earnhardt Jr remains 6th
Mark Martin from 9th to 7th
Kyle Busch from NO RANK to 9th
Elliott Sadler from NO RANK to 10th
Not Too Good
Kasey Kahne from 1st to 4th
Matt Kenseth from 4th to 5th
Kurt Busch from 7th to 8th
Greg Biffle from 8th to NO RANK
Casey Mears from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After Bristol
1) Kasey Kahne-Has everything going good in 2006. His short track program is improved
and hes already good everywhere else except for the 2 road coarses. He should make the chase and contend for his first title
in his 3rd Nextel Cup Season.
2) Jimmie Johnson-He finally had some bad luck. Chad's back and just like when Chad
was crew cheif at Homestead, Jimmie wrecked and had a bad race. But he should be back next week.
3) Jeff Gordon-Great run, easily had a Top 3 if he wouldn't have got wrecked by Matt
Kenseth with 1 lap to go. Hes got a great team working hard in 06. Just a couple bumps in the road like Kenseth.
4) Matt Kenseth-Ridiculous weekend. Tried to wreck Kyle Busch in the Busch Series
race and wrecks Jeff Gordon in the Cup race. Had a good car but didn't deserve it with the dirty way he raced.
5) Tony Stewart-A little unlike Stewart to fade back at the end of a race like he
did Sunday at Bristol, but he should be fine next week...also note hes back in the Top 10 in points.
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr-Good cars, just not quite good enough yet. He will get a win
soon in 2006. Has everything working good enough to make chase.
7) Kurt Busch-Fights against bad first 4 races for a victory in race 5. Hopefully
he can have better luck at other places other than Bristol. He did have to bump and run to win Sunday, but he beat rival Harvick.
8) Greg Biffle-Led laps at Bristol, fought tire problems and didn't do too bad.
9) Mark Martin-Mr. Consistency
10) Casey Mears-Short Track program not very good. But if he continues to run good
everywhere else he will still have a great season.
Looking Good
Kasey Kahne from 2nd to 1st
Jeff Gordon from 5th to 3rd
Dale Earnhardt Jr from 7th to 6th
Kurt Busch from NO RANK to 7th
Mark Martin stays at 9th
Not Too Good
Jimmie Johnson from 1st to 2nd
Matt Kenseth from 3rd to 4th
Tony Stewart from 4th to 5th
Greg Biffle from 6th to 8th
Casey Mears from 8th to 10th
Dale Jarrett from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After Atlanta
1) Jimmie Johnson-Can't be stopped. Not as good as first 3 races, but still championship material.
2) Kasey Kahne-This team is really working good right now. He has everything back to the way
it needs to be. Hes running his type of race each week. Top 5's will get him his first Chase apperance in 2006.
3) Matt Kenseth-Consistency, he looks like the best of the Roush cars this season. He reminds
me of how Greg Biffle started out last season.
4) Tony Stewart-He didn't get mad at anybody and try to wreck them this week, and so he gets
a Top 5.
5) Jeff Gordon-Very quiet each week so far, but his races keep improving in 06, 26th-13th-5th-and
now 4th at Atlanta.
6) Greg Biffle-Led the most laps, so you know he had a dominant car during some part of the
race. Still escaped with a decent run even though it all fell apart during the last laps of Monday's race.
7) Dale Earnhardt Jr-Improving each week, looking more like the way the fans want to see.
Jr fans have more the cheer about in 06, open up more Buds this year.
8) Casey Mears-His first NOT Top 10 of 2006. I don't know how they can explain what happened
Monday, just not like hes been running this year.
9) Mark Martin-Couldn't get to Kahne, but a great race. He started off with a bad car and
worked on it all day. Great stops, Roush Racing, enough said.
10) Dale Jarrett-Quiet, but successful. He stays in the back all day and then works his way
up at the end. Its paying off so far, but at Bristol he will probably go a lap down with that strategy.
LOOKING GOOD
Jimmie Johnson-Stayed at 1st
Kasey Kahne-Up 1 to 2nd
Tony Stewart-Up 1 to 4th
Jeff Gordon-Up 1 to 5th
Dale Earnhardt Jr-Up 1 to 7th
Mark Martin-From NO RANK to 9th
Dale Jarrett-From NO RANK to 10th
NOT TOO GOOD
Matt Kenseth-Down 1 to 3rd
Greg Biffle-Down 2 to 6th
Casey Mears-Down 1 to 8th
Kyle Busch-Down from 9th to NO RANK
Jeff Burton-Down from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After Las Vegas
1)Jimmie Johnson-Can this team be stopped. Without his normal crew chief, he has got 1st,
2nd, and 1st. Hendrick Motorsports is chasing the chase with all 4 drivers in 06.
2)Matt Kenseth-Very consistent this season so far, looks as strong as his great run in 03
when he won the Cup. Roush Racing seems to be good again with most of its 5 teams.
3)Kasey Kahne-Surprise, Surprise, no more sophmore slump, running up front again.
4)Greg Biffle-A tough race at Vegas, but managed a top 10, thats what wins championships.
5)Tony Stewart-No good luck in 06. Not a good car at Vegas. Now has an uphill battle for 06
but hes the defending Champion.
6)Jeff Gordon-Top 5 at Vegas, going to one of his favorite tracks, Atlanta, then 2 short tracks.
No Daytona 500 win but looking better than 2005 so far.
7)Casey Mears-When we see what he can do at short tracks and road coarses we will know if
he can make the chase in 06.
8)Dale Earnhardt Jr-Fixing his cars throughout the coarse of the race, just needs another
100-200 miles to get to first. They need to work a little faster during the race. He starts out bad and slowly gets better.
9)Kyle Busch-Good runs, but...a little too agressive, needs to calm down and be patient to
stay out of trouble all race long.
10)Jeff Burton-RCR looks really good this year, he already got a pole and good finishes, could
be a surprise of the year.
Looking Good
Jimmie Johnson-Stayed at 1st
Matt Kenseth-Up 2 to 2nd
Kasey Kahne-Up 4 to 3rd
Jeff Gordon-Stayed at 6th
Dale Earnhardt Jr-Stayed at 8th
Kyle Busch-From NO RANK to 9th
Jeff Burton-From NO RANK to 10th
Not Too Good
Greg Biffle-Down 1 to 4th
Tony Stewart-Down 3 to 5th
Casey Mears-Down 2 to 7th
Kurt Busch-Down from 9th to NO RANK
Mark Martin-Down from 10th to NO RANK
Power Rankings After California
1)Jimmie Johnson-No one can hurt this team. Take away Chad and hes
still winning and scoring top 5's. 1st and 2nd so far. Everything is looking good for Team Lowes in 06.
2)Tony Stewart-He blew up at California and got 43rd, but he had a
dominant car that could have got a Top 3 for sure. He ran good at Daytona and hes good on most all tracks.
3)Greg Biffle-Dominated the Busch race and most of the Cup race. If
it wasn't for his engine, he would have been in victory lane Sunday. Great cars at Roush Racing.
4)Matt Kenseth-Bad luck at Daytona, great car at California. Looking
consistent. Great cars at Roush Racing.
5)Casey Mears-Showing great skill and consistency but no one can believe
it yet. A few more weeks battling for the wins and everyone will look at him as a contender for the Cup.
6)Jeff Gordon-Bad luck at Daytona, you know what he can do in NASCAR,
looking better on intermediate tracks.
7)Kasey Kahne-Consistency, nothing amazing yet, but Top 10 in points.
8)Dale Earnhardt Jr-Most popular driver, didn't make chase in 05, enough
said. He should be there in September.
9)Kurt Busch-Not very good at California but bad luck also in both
races. Daytona bad luck killed him, california bad luck was just making a bad day worse.
10)Mark Martin-Salute to You Tour: Round 2, looking like 05
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