Here are the Nascar Sprint Cup Series Power Rankings for the upcoming race in Texas. One thing to keep in mind this weekend is how well the tires will do, as they were a handfull at Atlanta, Texas' sister track. Without further delay, here are the rankings:
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Another race, another top-10 finish for Jr. at Martinsville, where he led the most laps and says he could have contended for the win if he had just been a little more patience. Jr. goes to Texas looking for his first win in 68 races, the same track where he earned his first career victory.
2. Jeff Burton
He is showing that he can contend for wins every week, as last week in Martinsville he was just a few tenths behind leader Denny Hamlin in the closing laps, but lapped traffic slowed his progress and allowed Jeff Gordon to get bye. However, Burton is one of the favorites at Texas, as he is the only driver with multiple victories at the track, including a victory in this race last year.
3. Carl Edwards
Surprising well at Martinsville with a 9th place finish, now he goes to Texas where can again contend for the win. At Atlanta earlier this year, it was his race to lose until he lost the motor. Expect him to run out front at Texas as well.
4. Kyle Busch
He didn't exactly shine at Martinsville, having rear-end gear trouble and finishing at the tail end of the pack and losing the point lead. However, Texas is a good place for Shrub to rebound, as he won at Atlanta earlier this year.
5. Greg Biffle
He was an also-ran at Martinsville, but Texas is a good place for the Biff to flex his muscles, as he's won here before.
6. Jeff Gordon
Comes out of Martinsville silencing critics, for the time being, however he'll have to perform at Texas to keep them quiet, a place that he has struggled at in the past, though last year he was the car to beat in the spring race. However, most of the time he is just an average car, as he has an average finish of 15.7.
7. Denny Hamlin
Hamlin earned a victory in front of a crowd of fellow Virginians for the first time, something he has looked forward to doing since his career started. Expect a good finish at Texas out of Hamlin, he has an average finish inside the top-10.
8. Tony Stewart
Recovered from his late-race wreck at Bristol to finish 5th at Martinsville, and he heads to Texas looking for more success. In 12 starts he has 7 top-10's, and a win here back in the fall race of 2006.
9. Clint Bowyer
The two short tracks were kind to Bowyer, as he finished 3rd at Bristol and then 10th at Martinsville. At Texas Bowyer only has a best finish of 16th, though he has improved lately at intermediate tracks.
10. Jimmie Johnson
He's back in the top-12 in points after recovering from a spin to finish 4th at Martinsville. The challenge for Johnson is the same as Gordon, to perform well at Texas. Earlier this year at Atlanta, Johnson was lapped twice en-route to a sub-par 13th place finish, thanks to well timed cautions. Johnson and crew need to figure out what to do with the car if they want to avoid falling out of the top-12 after this race, as a bad finish could find them out of it once again.
Other Notables:
11. Matt Kenseth- Had a temper tantrum at Martinsville, something we rarely see out of the 2003 champion. He finished runner-up in both races at Texas last year.
12. Martin Truex Jr.- He has failed to contend this year, but Texas could be where he turns things around. He has an average finish of 6.6 in 5 starts.
13. Jamie McMurray- Back in the top-35 after finishing 8th at Martinsville, but needs to continue to perform if he wants to stay in the top-35 or, more importantly, keep his job after the end of the season.
14. Kasey Kahne- Finished 17th at Martinsville, off the lead lap, but should perform better at Texas, where he won in 2006.
15. Regan Smith- He had the best finish of his young career at Martinsville, finishing 14th. He's now locked into the show at Texas, as he is 35th in points. Maybe the rookie can come up with another solid finish.
I'd put my money on Kenseth this weekend. He raced JJ last year at Texas like a wild man and I think he will be hungry to erase last weekend. Great stuff Tyler!
I think I'll put my money on an unknown winning like what's his name who replaced Petty. You seem to think that one race leads to another, or that last season has anything to do with this one. Well it does only in the top 35 at the start, but after that, if you can keep Crash Busch from screwing up everyones day, and not finish under the traditional G-W-C, there is no way we, you or me, can pick a winner, or say who'll probably do better. Are you kidding me? There is as much left to racing luck in NASCAR as there is to driving skill. We've seen the skilled drivers shuffled to the rear, while the dangerously poor drivers are crashing in the middle of the field. The top 5-6 cars that stay out of the wrecks will be the only ones who have a shot. Where they are in relation to Crash will determine their fate, not crews and drivers. Nice job NASCAR of giving us demolition derby cup! How much for a seat at TMS?
ts20toy08- I could have sworn he did, but when I looked at the stats on FOX it said he didn't, so that's why there was that mess up. That was the year he had like 3 wins or something like that in the chase right? I'll fix that. Thanks for telling me. That would give him 7 top-10's in 12 starts too...
Last edited by tylerhead24 on April 2nd at 2:20 PM.
Isn't it about time for the usual suspects to step aside and allow a different driver and team to rise to the challenge? We'll see how they do on the cookie cutter track...
Where's Kevin Harvick? And why is Biffle in the Top 5 when he struggled at Martinsville? Biffle had a better car than Harvick and finished a lap or two down. Harvick's car was a POC and he finished 12th. And Harvick is second in points to Burton.
Harvick had a solid top 10 in Atlanta, a track very similar to Texas.
While you normally do great work, I couldn't disagree with you more.
With an average finish of 14.8, Harvick is ranked 10th among active drivers in highest average finish. In nine starts at Texas, he has three top 10's and a top 5.
jon_464- Biffle is top-5 because I expect him to do very well at Texas, given past success he's had there and his run at Atlanta.
I should have put Harvick in, considering he has been consistent all year, and the fact that he did run well at both Atlanta and Las Vegas. A lapse in judgement on my part.
BTW, are you looking at FOX's stats for Harvick? Because for some reason they are convinced the Fall 2006 race at Texas, along with a few others I've noticed before, never happend. In that race he finished 3rd, adding more to your point.
Tyler, I based my stats on Fox's NASCAR page. I should have gone to NASCAR.com. Thanks for coming correct.
I figure that Biffle will do well at Texas, more than likely a Top Ten. These next few races will determine if he's a pretender or contender. I think he's the latter, at least this year.
I think Biffle will win a few races this year, almost certainly make the chase, I just wonder how well he can do in the chase at tracks like New Hampshire, Talladega and Martinsville, and for some reason he hasn't done well at Lowe's in the past, which is surprising considering the runs he's had at Texas and Atlanta.
Hello, I'm Tyler Head. I live in Utica, NY and currently attend Ilion Jr. Sr. High School. I'm in 10th grade this year, and I'm persuing a career in Computer Hardware design, or Journalism... I guess I'm undecided, lol. I enjoy a lot of sports, with my favorite being NASCAR. My favorite driver is Jeff Gordon, I even made a fansite. As much as I enjoy NASCAR, I also like Baseball, Football, and College Basketball.
All articles from February 2008 on can also be found on my website, 24fansite.5u. com.
