NASCAR Power Rankings

By Adam Ruggiero
Love of Sports Correspondent

Leaving a cerebral, if not entirely exciting weekend at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania, the standings look very much the same. And that’s in spite of a last-place finish by upstart phenom and points leader Kyle Busch.

Yellow flags made lead-changes interesting, but green-flag stops shaped overall strategy as pole-sitter Kasey Kahne more-or-less paced the field. He was forced to race back into contention after recovering from a pit road SNAFU where left-side lug nuts were pulled off on a two-tire stop, but ultimately took the checkers. The big story from Sunday’s race was the newly laid asphalt stripe that ran part of the front and backstretch (and turns), giving the track a definitively “grippy” line.

Despite the unchanged point’s rankings, the race saw some new faces posting solid Top 5s and Top 10s, and the Power Rankings will reflect some of the momentum shifts of the past weekend.

Power Rankings

1. Kyle Busch (1)

He finished last, but still leads the series in wins and points. Additionally, Busch attempted to run over 1,200 miles of racing among the Cup, Nationwide and Truck series, which no doubt contributed to his poor Sunday finish. The young man is still amazing and frankly, if he finished last again, odds are he’s still to these rankings given what he’s accomplished thus far.

2. Jeff Burton (3)

Burton has no last-place finishes to Busch’s one. The steady hand of a veteran isn’t something to be taken lightly. While I’d like to see the man scoot through to some more wins, or at least hard-fought seconds, the fact remains that Burton is relentless, and is also smart. While he may not match the tenacity of Busch, Stewart or Edwards, he’s a man of patience and experience. That’s a combination that guarantees him a spot in the Chase and at the least, a shot at the championship.

3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2)

Once again, Lil-E is the class of Hendrick, and that’s worth a lot. However, Hendrick is clearly not the juggernaut it once was – say, last year – but Jeff Gordon is Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson is Jimmie Johnson. Junior took home another Top 5 at Pocono and he’s fourth overall. There’s not a NASCAR fan/pundit alive that doesn’t think Dale will snag a win this year, but we’re all getting a little antsy. Don’t be surprised if he takes Michigan this weekend.

4. Kasey Kahne (9)

OK, I’m a believer. His win at the All-Star Challenge was worth something, but not much – at least not in my book. When you change the rules of qualifying, shrink the field, remove points from the equation, and allow fans to decide some of the drivers in the lineup, I put less credence in the winner. With that said, Kahne was the first driver ever to win as the fans’ vote-in, and he backed it up with another win last weekend at Pocono, after taking the pole. Evernham looks like they’re on to something; with Elliott Sadler qualifying, if not finishing, well, and Kahne taking checkers like we’ve expected him to these last few years.

5. Denny Hamlin (5)

Third place and the man is piloting a Gibbs Camry. Combine that with his fifth-place points standing and you’ve got a solid Power Ranking. Here’s the deal: Stewart is clearly snake-bitten, and Busch is once again running in all three series’. You’ve got to like Hamlin to be the class of Gibbs Racing, and that alone virtually guarantees him a Top 5 finish.

6. Jimmie Johnson (7)

He’s dangerous. With Chad Knaus calling the shots, the 48 Lowe’s team is evolving into the force that they’ve been the last years, when they won their Cup titles. Johnson and crew seem to be acclimating to the full-time COT schedule, and once they’ve hit their stride, which I think they’re about to do, look for them to be Top 10 finishers most weeks.

7. Carl Edwards (6)

Roush, like Hendrick, is finally starting to figure out this COT thing. Clearly, Gibbs had an advantage of sorts by entering this season with a new make and a new COT template for all 36 races. They seemingly had less to transition out of, and therefore had an easier time starting from scratch. That said, the traditional power houses of Roush and Hendrick are beginning to come around and atop those gales are Edwards and Biffle, as well as Earnhardt and Johnson. Remember: Not long ago, Edwards was the series leader in wins. Give him and Roush another few weeks of testing, and they may be again.

8. Greg Biffle (4)

Poor guy needs to win a race, and soon. Biffle’s something of a diamond in the rough; although his talent is unquestionable. It’s easy to overlook the man and his successes are easily overshadowed by quality runs from his counterparts. He’s seventh in points and he’s consistently led laps the last few weeks. Biffle will win a race this year – mark it. Now it’s just a matter of when. I don’t expect him to crack the top three in these Rankings, but I think he’ll cruise into the Chase and finish seventh or better.

9. Matt Kenseth (15)
I think this old Wisconsinite is sliding back into his old self. He and crew chief Chip Bolin look like their clicking at last, and as a result, they’ve strung together five-straight top-10s in the last five weeks. Good ol’ steady-as-she-goes Matt is on to something, and that means one less Top-10 finishing spot available for the 42 other drivers vying Cup points this year.

10. Jeff Gordon (11)

I really can’t stand this. Gordon is having the most schizophrenic season of his career to date. He’s got three finishes of 35th or worse, but he’s also got nine Top 10s. He’s climbed to eighth in the point’s standings, which is helping his Power Ranking. But don’t take this as an endorsement of his odds of winning this year. I think Gordon will go winless in ’08, but he’ll still be in the Chase. Blegh!

11. Kevin Harvick (13)

I’m just not sold on Harvick this year, and I don’t see any way he pulls out a victory (though I see him taking a Top 3 in the road race at Infineon). Like the other Childress drivers, he finds a way to be there at the end – rarely will he wreck out of a race. But while he’s got the attitude to win races, I don’t think he’s got the team behind him to pull it off. Happy Harvick will make the Chase, and he may even finish third or fourth in points, but again, he won’t win this year.

12. Brian Vickers (14)

This is a personal pick. His second-place finish gave me hope that Vickers is a legitimate small-team contender. More than Gordon and Harvick ahead of him, I think Vickers can make his way to Victory Lane this year. The Camry program is obviously not lacking in the engineering department behind Ford, Chevy, or Dodge – as evidenced by Kyle Busch alone – and Vickers has won before at this level. The kid is hungry to put himself and Red Bull Racing on the map. Look for him to win at least once, if no twice, this year.

Looking Ahead – Michigan Speedway LifeLock 400

Pole Winner – Jeff Gordon
Biggest Mover – Matt Kenseth
Disappointment – Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Honorable Mention – Travis Kvapil
In the Garage – Kyle Busch
Race Winner – Denny Hamlin