posted March 30, 2009 at 12:50 EST in NASCAR Articles
The musical chairs continue in the NASCAR Power Rankings with Team Hendrick, well, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, jumping to the top of the rankings.
Jimmie won his first race of the year in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. Jimmie’s victory signaled that he’s still the champ no matter how well the rest of the drivers are doing.
How did Jeff do? Well enough to garner the second spot in the power rankings. There are two big difference from this week’s power ranking to last week’s. Kyle Busch drops a few spots after his 24th place finish in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 and Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, due to their fantastic finishes in the Goody’s, jump into the top five.
Let’s take a look at the power rankings.
NASCAR Power Rankings: To Win Sprint Cup
1. Jimmie Johnson - - Jimmie was one of the favorites, like he is every week, to win the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. He didn’t disappoint by taking down his first checkered flag of the year. Jimmie and his team have been dominating at Martinsville and were good enough again to the tune of +500 in the sportsbook.
2. Jeff Gordon - - Like Jimmie, Gordon was one of the favorites in the sportsbook. He raced well enough to finish fourth after starting from the pole. Gordon hasn’t won a race this season but he’s turning into a solid bet in the sportsbook to win the Sprint Cup. He, like Jimmie, should only get stronger as the weeks pass by.
3. Denny Hamlin - - Hamlin’s second place finish in the Goody’s comes on the heels of a very good Food City 500. Hamlin jumps into the top ten because he’s suddenly getting hot. We can’t forget that before last season, Hamlin was considered one of the up and comers for Joe Gibbs Racing.
4. Kyle Busch - - Kyle’s finish in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 isn’t alarming, he did finish in the top 25 at 24th, but it isn’t a great sign considering that Kyle had won the Food City 500 a week ago. He might find it difficult to make his way back to the top now that Jimmie notched his first victory.
5. Tony Stewart - - A former Gibb’s driver takes the fifth spot. Smoke finally came through with a terrific run to finish 3rd in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief. Like Gordon he could be turning into a solid bet to win, or at least challenge for, the Sprint Cup.
6. Mark Martin - - Martin’s 7th place finish in the Goody’s comes on the heels of a good top ten finish in the Food City 500 a week ago. Martin was going off at roughly +700 to win the Goody’s. So, the top ten finish isn’t surprising, but he’ll have to do better to get into the top five.
7. Kurt Busch - - The elder Busch actually started the race in second and even though he ended up out of the top ten in the Goody’s, he did do well enough to get into the power rankings. He also did well enough to beat his younger brother by six spots when finishing 18th.
8. Clint Bowyer - - My favorite long shot to win the Sprint Cup, at +3000 in the Sportsbook the last time I checked, proved that he’s going to be around for the entire season when finishing 5th in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 after starting 3rd. Bowyer’s average finish in races this year is 8th. That makes him a contender for the Cup.
9. Jeff Burton - - Burton did okay in the Goody’s when finishing 15th, but he’ll have to turn it on if he’s to compete with the Hendrick Two, Joe Gibbs, and a fella like Clint Bowyer.
10. Carl Edwards - - What’s up with Carl? Roush Racing can’t be happy after Edwards finished 26th in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. Carl’s average finishing position so far this season has been 12th. He could be in trouble of not making the Chase if he continues the poor finishes.
