Sprint Cup Power Rankings - NASCAR Power Rankings - ESPN
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2009 Power Rankings: Brickyard
New this week
Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 CHEVY
Dropped out
Jamie McMurray. #26 FORD
Biggest movers
#39 Ryan Newman moves up 3 spots from 9`th to 6`th,
#83 Brian Vickers moves from 17th to 14th.
Biggest losers
#17 Matt Kenseth falls 4 spots from 7`th to 11`th,
#18 Kyle Busch falls from 8`th to 12`th.
Also considered
A.J. Allmendinger #44 DODGE
Kevin Harvick #29 CHEVY
2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings - Week 21
#14 Tony Stewart = 15 TOP 10s
Evidence No. 234 that Tony Stewart is a changed man: When Kyle Busch kept saying the Daytona wreck was Stewart's fault, Smoke never even considered rearranging Shrub's face with a torque wrench.
#24 Jeff Gordon = 13 TOP 10s
So you think Four-Time lost his cajones? Did you see the closing laps at Chicagoland? By the way, he's the all-time Brickyard leader in wins, poles, top-5s, top-10s, laps led, money won and average finish.
#48 Jimmie Johnson = 13 TOP 10s
All that stuff we just said about how good Jeff Gordon has been at Indy during his career -- JJ has been even better over the past 3 years, even when his tires were popping like balloons in a pizza oven.
#11 Denny Hamlin = 8 TOP 10s
Lost amid all the talk about his bad luck and his 2 high-profile teammates, Hambone has gotten on a roll with 4 top-5s in 5 races and a jump from 12th to 5`th in points.
#2 Kurt Busch = 10 TOP 10s
Busch showed his old teeth after Chicago when he said he'd "lost respect" for Jimmie Johnson. I can't go to Indy without remembering Busch declaring Jimmy Spencer a "decrepit old has-been."
#39 Ryan Newman = 9 TOP 10s
In 8 previous trips to IMS, this Indiana native has never started lower than 8`h but has finished inside the top 10 only once. Do what?
#99 Carl Edwards = 9 TOP 10s
King Carl seemed destined for his 6`th top-10 in 8 weeks but got shuffled back during the crazy wave of restarts. He was the runner-up at the Brickyard 400 presented by
Badyear Tires one year ago.
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya = 9 TOP 10s
I can't believe all the confused e-mails I got from last week's JPM reference to the theme song from "The Jeffersons." Hey, we're moving on up.
#5 Mark Martin = 9 TOP 10s
While the young whippersnappers keep whining about double-file restarts, NASCAR's grand old man keeps whipping their snappy little butts.
#9 Kasey Kahne = 7 TOP 10s
Kahne and Jeff Gordon looked like they were running an old USAC dirt race during the closing laps at Chicago. Between Gordon's hair and Kahne's blue eyes, they also looked good doing it.
#17 Matt Kenseth = 7 TOP 10s
The numbers said Matty K was due for a great Chicago finish. The sleep deprivation resulting from having a new baby just a few days before the green flag made that math useless.
#18 Kyle Busch = 6 TOP 10s
It's time to start preparing ourselves for the fact that Shrub might miss the Chase. Wait, why is everyone smiling?
#47 Marcos Ambrose = 5 TOP 10s
Drivers from 10 nations have won the Indianapolis 500.
Drivers from four nations have won at Indy in the U.S. GP.
No one from Australia has won a race at IMS. Just sayin'.
#83 Brian Vickers = 8 TOP 10s
Pssst. Red Bull execs are in Europe trying to convince the boss to bail on Toyota and do a deal with Hendrick Motorsports for 2010. Hey, remind me, what team was it Vickers used to drive for?
#16 Greg Biffle = 8 TOP 10s
Show of hands: Who among you really truly believes in The Biff as a Chase contender? Mrs. Biffle, put your hand down.
#33 Clint Bowyer = 7 TOP 10s
In 3 trips to the Brickyard, the Pride of Emporia, Kan., has finished fourth, 13th and 19th.
To quote "Planes, Trains and Automobiles":
"You're going the wrong way!"
#00 David Reutimann = 5 TOP 10s
Reut's Chase hopes are fading. He has a new teammate on deck (Martin Truex Jr.) and is only slightly better at Indianapolis than Mike McDowell and Mike Wallace. Spend your off week praying, brother.
#31 Jeff Burton = 6 TOP 10s
Baby Burton has done an about-face on double-file restarts. Wanna know why? Perhaps it's his average finish of 25.5 since the rule was put in place.
#20 Joey Logano = 4 TOP 10s
If they ran Nationwide Series cars in the Cup series, he might already have 6 wins. Regardless, I still say he'll win two Cup races before the end of the season. Seriously.
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. = 3 TOP 10s
Poor Tony Eury Jr. All he did Thursday was speak the truth -- that Earnhardt is feeling the pressure and not having any fun -- and the 88 fans still trashed him. Then again, so did Earnhardt.