September 8, 2009
New this Week
Ryan Newman Dropped Out
Carl Edwards |
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Gain of the Week |
Kasey Kahne
Up three spots |
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Drop of the Week |
Kyle Busch
Down three spots |
| Rankings |
| Rank |
Name |
Comments |
| 1: | Denny Hamlin | Becomes the sixth driver to hold the top spot this season, and couldn't come at a better time. Be aware of Denny, because he will get out of the Chase box quickly. | | 2: | Jimmie Johnson | Not exactly the way he'd like to enter the Chase, but the broken axle at Atlanta was a fluke, not a representation of how this team will perform going forward. | | 3: | Tony Stewart | Aside from the 34 laps he led at Watkins Glen, Smoke has only been out front for five laps in six of the last seven races. He'll have to be quicker to win the title. | | 4: | Jeff Gordon | Just about every race, Gordon has a period of time where he looks terrible. Really terrible. Then, when the checkered flag flies, he's somewhere in the top 10. | | 5: | Mark Martin | It used to be that a few DNFs wouldn't kill you. But anymore, with the resilience of the CoT, even two or three can doom your season, something Mark Martin is finding out the hard way. | | 6: | Brian Vickers | Last year, Clint Bowyer made the Chase with 3,116 points. B-Vick will have that and then some, but it still might not be enough. | | 7: | Kasey Kahne | Just when it looked like Double K was heading the wrong way, he pulls a major U-turn. Looking good to qualify for the Chase for the first time since 2006. | | 8: | Juan Pablo Montoya | Added a second top five to give him a little more respectability. Still, JPM needs a few more of those to convince some he's a legit Chaser. | | 9: | Kyle Busch | KyBusch said he needs to accumulate 3,160 points to make the Chase, meaning he'd have to finish 14th or better at Richmond, but that probably won't be good enough. | | 10: | Greg Biffle | With a 10th-place finish at Atlanta, recorded his first back-to-back top 10s since April 26. That pretty much sums up the entire Roush Fenway season. | | 11: | Kurt Busch | Like the Biff, KuBusch has had a hard time stringing together consecutive top 10s. Has only done it twice since April. | | 12: | Ryan Newman | Probably assured himself of a Chase spot with a top-10 at Atlanta. He hasn't been great lately, but making the Chase would exceed all expectations. | | Lucky Dog: | Kevin Harvick | Finishing second is a small consolation for Happy, who can't wait for Nov. 23 to come. | | DNF: | Carl Edwards | Not a great week for Cuz – broken foot, hole in his radiator – and now he finds himself in a position to have to drive his way into the Chase. Who'd have thunk that two weeks ago. |
Disclaimer: The NASCAR Power Rankings are based on the opinions of the
Yahoo! Sports editorial staff and do not necessarily reflect actual driver standings or race results.
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