Martinsville NASCAR Power Rankings
What your reading here is a sample of my Onpitrow.com Power Rankings. It looks better there, but you can also read it here.
1. Jimmie Johnson- 6 Wins, 20 Top Tens
All of Jimmie Johnson’s biggest competitors fell wayside at Lowes and the 48 team capitalized on the situation with a win. The only team that can beat the 48 team right now is themselves.
2. Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 22 Top Tens
Performance/ Schedule wise I believe that my pre-Chase championship pick is the only team that has anything for the 48 right now. He’ll need a little bit of help to catch up, but when it he does the 48 will be in trouble.
3. Mark Martin- 5 Wins, 18 Top Tens
If your a Mark Martin fan then you knew the bubble would burst somehow. I’m not saying that he’s out of it yet, but the remaining races in my opinion give the others drivers an edge over the 5 team.
4. Juan Pablo Montoya- 6 Top Fives, 16 Top Tens
Juan Pablo Montoya arguably had the fastest car at Lowes until his COT tank didn’t hold up very well to the damage. Montoya now sits 6th in the points 195 points out of the lead.
5. Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 18 Top Tens
Lowes was a tough track on the Chase drivers and only 4 of them finished in the top ten. Kurt luckily was one of them, but don’t expect Martinsville to be an easy task for this team.
6. Tony Stewart- 4 Wins, 21 Top Tens
Martinsville and Talledega are “do or die” races for this team. If Stewart doesn’t finish in the top 5 in both of these races and gain ground on Johnson then his Chase chances are effectively zero.
7. Kasey Kahne- 2 Wins, 13 Top Tens
If Kasey Kahne didn’t have problems on the race restarts then the 9 might very well have been the car in victory lane. I expect Kahne to move up to about 7th in the points this season before his points progression stops.
8. Denny Hamlin- 2 Wins, 16 Top Tens
Hamlin had another good run but now he’s back to 11th in the point standings. If you take away Hamlin’s rookie Chase appearance then I believe Hamlin almost has to fall into people’s conversations of who’s the biggest choke in the Chase.
9. Greg Biffle- 9 Top Fives, 14 Top Tens
Somehow Greg Biffle has managed to score the 8th most points in the series over the last 6 races. At Martinsville I expect this team to have a rough day. Roush cars usually always struggle at this track.
10. Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 14 Top Tens
If Newman’s going to win a race this year then I believe it will have to happen either here at Martinsivlle or Talledega. These are both “skill tracks” which Newman has excelled at this year.
11. Carl Edwards- 7 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens
It’s shocking how uncompetitive Carl’s been in the Chase. Last year Edwards was a challenger all the way until the end and this year they’re not even close to being competitive.
Brian Vickers- 1 Win, 13 Top Tens
Jimmie Johnson isn’t the only driver who’s on the verge of making history this year. Vickers is on pace to easily surpass Hamlin’s 2007 Chase record of finishing 580 points behind the champion. Vickers currently is 485 points behind.
