by Jorge A. Mondaca

27 comments

Alright, that's a bit misleading, as this affair has taken us from coast to coast as NASCAR's best drivers have competed for fame, fortune, and of course, power.

Who were the most successful this season? Here's a look at the final Power Rankings of the 2008 season.

Shameless plug: Don't forget that we start this journey all over again in just under 100 days with the Daytona 500 on FOX, Feb. 15, 2009.

Power Rankings following the Sprint Cup Series race in Phoenix

1. Jimmie Johnson — 107.7 driver rating (No. 2 last week): Just how good is Jimmie Johnson this season? Sure, I could tell you all about his seven victories (including his dominating triumph last weekend in Phoenix), or his 4.67 average finish in NASCAR's postseason -- the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But no, there's one statistic that says it all: the standings. No matter whether you use the current Chase standings or the conventional season-long format used until 2003, Johnson is on top heading into the season finale.

2. Carl Edwards — 107.5 driver rating (No. 1 last week): Just like Jeff Gordon last year, if Carl Edwards had run in any other Sprint Cup season, the engravers would be preparing to put his name on the trophy. Unfortunately, both drivers faced off against Johnson at the peak of his game, so he'll have to settle for second best in 2008.

3. Kyle Busch — 104.3 driver rating (No. 3 last week):Oh, how the mighty have fallen. At the start of the playoffs, Busch looked unbeatable. But in the nine races since, he had the same number of finishes of 25th or worse (four) as he did in the first 26 races. Sure, he looks to be back to his old self over the last three races with three consecutive top 10 finishes, but it's too little, too late.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. — 100.0 driver rating (No. 4 last week): I know, all of Junior Nation probably has one question on their mind as we reach the end of year one at Hendrick Motorsports: "Did Dale Jr. make the right move?"

Here's the answer straight from the horse's mouth:

"I feel like I'm real happy with how things have worked out," Earnhardt said. "I would have liked to perform better on the race track the last half of the season. The first half of the season I was really excited. We were running really well every week. We were running better than I thought we would at the first half of the year. The second half of the year we still run up front a lot, we run really well every weekend, but I couldn't get the finishes I was wanting to get and it was getting frustrating at times. That's just a performance issue. We need to evaluate how we can do a better job of putting the finishes in the bank for the rest of the year, and we'll try to work on that next year."

5. Jeff Gordon — 95.9 driver rating (No. 5 last week): There are a lot of rumblings about Jeff Gordon's season because so much is expected out of the four-time champion. But once the season ends, take a look at his results. Even if he doesn't win the finale and has a zero in the victory column, he has been among the best in the sport and has not lost a step.

6. Denny Hamlin — 94.1 driver rating (No. 7 last week): Ever been on a rollercoaster ride you thought would never end? Welcome to Denny Hamlin's 2008 season. The results have been there (one win, 12 top fives and 18 top 10s), but he also has three DNFs and three additional finishes of 35th or worse. A few weeks off the rollercoaster may do wonders for Hamlin in 2009.

7. Greg Biffle — 93.8 driver rating (No. 6 last week): Even though the Biff's performance has fallen off in recent weeks after his back-to-back wins to start the Chase, he deserves kudos for thrusting himself into the title fight and clinching his first top 10 championship finish in the Sprint Cup Series since 2005, and only the second of his career. And with Homestead looming this weekend, keep an eye out for him to impress even more.

8. Tony Stewart — 92.8 driver rating (No. 8 last week): This may not have been Smoke's best season ever, but it is worth noting that he will finish out his decade of racing at Joe Gibbs Racing with zero finishes outside of the top 12 in the final standings. That's impressive.

9. Kevin Harvick — 90.3 driver rating (No. 9 last week): See Jeff Gordon.

10. Jeff Burton — 89.8 driver rating (No. 10 last week): Oh, what could have been for Jeff Burton this year. In a season of impressive consistency, Burton notched 23 finishes of 12th or better. Unfortunately, bobbles during the Chase (finishes of 17th, 18th and 13th at Martinsville, Atlanta and Texas, respectively) cost him in the end and eroded his driver ranking. He may not have as many wins as others this season, but Burton deserves respect for his results this season.

11. Matt Kenseth — 88.5 driver rating (No. 11 last week): As a former Cup champion, Kenseth has earned the right to describe his season in his own words:

"As the season comes to end, you can kind of sit back and reflect a little bit about things. And, I think with some of the changes with this car and changing our group around a little bit, I think it's been a fairly successful season," Kenseth said. "We made the Chase, which, in turn, gave us a chance to at least run for a championship, so there's that aspect of it. But there's just one race left and we haven't been to Victory Lane yet, so that's very disappointing. We're out of the championship hunt, which is very disappointing, but there are certain things that happen that are out of your control, and things that happen that are in your control you try to look at and try to fix and try to do better the next time, and just keep trying to improve ... We certainly want to get back to Victory Lane real bad and we're out there just trying to bring our best stuff and do the best we can."

12. Clint Bowyer — 83.3 driver rating (No. 12 last week): Call me crazy, but this low ranking for Clint Bowyer is a sort of blessing for his future hopes. If you see the description below, Power Rankings uses a formula that ranks how drivers performed year-round -- both during a race and their overall results. Bowyer was not strong throughout, yet he still finds himself solidly in the top 10 in the championship. If he can improve his performance during the offseason, look for him to be one of the title favorites in 2009 and beyond.

Editor's Note: Jorge A. Mondaca's weekly Power Rankings are based on NASCAR's Driver Rating system. Why these statistics and not others? The NASCAR Driver Rating system is based on a formula combining several categories which show how a driver is racing, not only how he is finishing, by looking at the point-paying races this season. As a result, it offers a much clearer explanation as to how they are currently performing than results alone.

The statistics used to determine the final numeric value are: Wins, finishes, top-15 results, average running position while on lead lap, average speed under green, fastest lap, most laps led and lead-lap finishes.

The system has a maximum of 150 points per race. Drivers must have raced in 75 percent of scheduled point-paying races to be included in this rating.