NASCAR Power Rankings Week 1
The first weekend of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing is in the books, with Kurt Busch winning the non-points Budweiser Shootout and Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon qualifying on the front row for the Daytona 500.
Here’s the Daytona Speedweeks edition of the FOXsports.com Power Rankings, Powered by SPEED.com.
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FOX SPORTS NASCAR POWER RANKINGS
| RK | DRIVER | WINS | CHANGE | HIGH/LOW | COMMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Jeff Gordon |
0 | 5 | 1/17 |
With an outside pole for the Daytona 500 and a sixth-place finish in the Bud Shootout, Original Four-Time looks ready to roll in 2011. He’ll go for his fourth Daytona 500 win on Sunday.
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| 2 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
0 | - | 2/12 |
Earnhardt Nation rejoiced when Junior qualified on the pole for the Daytona 500. Could he make history? It will be his 400th Cup start on the 10th anniversary weekend of his father’s death.
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| 3 |
Kurt Busch |
0 | 11 | 2/14 |
After pushing Ryan Newman to a Daytona 500 victory in 2008, the karma wheel came around Saturday night with Jamie McMurray helping Busch to a Shootout victory.
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| 4 |
Jamie McMurray |
0 | 1 | 4/30 |
The 2010 Daytona 500 winner sure looked good in the Shootout, where he finished second behind Kurt Busch.
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| 5 |
Ryan Newman |
0 | 12 | 3/18 |
It was a great run for Newman on Saturday night, as he nearly won the Shootout.
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| 6 |
Clint Bowyer |
0 | 2 | 4/25 |
Bowyer was fast all weekend and is a legitimate threat to win his first Daytona 500. Of course, lots of Earnhardt-Childress Racing horsepower helps.
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| 7 |
Greg Biffle |
0 | 5 | 7/26 |
So far, Biffle has been best in class among all of the Ford Motor Co. drivers. He was fifth in the Shootout and the second-fastest Ford in time trials.
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| 8 |
Jeff Burton |
0 | 11 | 8/29 |
Not surprisingly, Burton has demonstrated real speed in his Richard Childress Racing Chevy so far in Speedweeks. He could sneak in there.
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| 9 |
Kevin Harvick |
0 | 7 | 1/20 |
In a somewhat unexpected circumstance, the two-time defending Bud Shootout winner has consistently flown under the radar all week.
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| 10 |
Denny Hamlin |
0 | 3 | 7/20 |
Hamlin’s steering wheel fell off at the start of Daytona 500 qualifying. Seriously. Not exactly a confidence-inspiring way to begin the season.
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| 11 |
Carl Edwards |
0 | 8 | 1/11 |
Cousin Carl had a good Shootout car, but got wrecked. In general, Fords have been off ever so slightly compared to the Chevrolets.
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| 12 |
Jimmie Johnson |
0 | 11 | 1/15 |
Johnson was a total non-factor in the Shootout and slow in qualifying. He will not stay back here very long.
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| 13 |
Tony Stewart |
0 | 2 | 1/13 |
Although he has never won a Daytona 500, Stewart has a sensational career record at Daytona.
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| 14 |
Kyle Busch |
0 | 6 | 1/20 |
The younger of the Busch brothers got wrecked by Mark Martin in the Shootout. Man bites dog.
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| 15 |
Mark Martin |
0 | 5 | 8/22 |
NASCAR’s elder statesman made an uncharacteristic mistake in the Shootout and wasn’t as fast in qualifying as he expected.
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| 16 |
Matt Kenseth |
0 | 3 | 2/26 |
So far, the 2009 Daytona 500 winner hasn’t had much speed at all in his Roush Fenway Racing Ford.
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| 17 |
Joey Logano |
0 | 1 | 17/30 |
Despite getting wrecked in the Shootout, JLo could be one of those guys who really does something in the Daytona 500.
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| 18 |
Juan Pablo Montoya |
0 | 2 | 5/25 |
Of all the cars with Earnhardt-Childress Racing engines, Montoya has been the least impressive.
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| 19 |
Brian Vickers |
0 | 10 | 9/27 |
Honestly, neither Vickers nor his Red Bull teammate Kasey Kahne has shown much so far.
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| 20 |
Brad Keselowski |
0 | - | 1/26 |
By his own admission, Keselowski says Penske Racing team needs to find a little more speed in their Dodges.
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NASCAR Standings
| RK | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Biffle |
| 2 | Matt Kenseth |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin |
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 7 | Tony Stewart |
| 8 | Kevin Harvick |
| 9 | Kyle Busch |
| 10 | Carl Edwards |
| 11 | Clint Bowyer |
| 12 | Brad Keselowski |
| 13 | Paul Menard |
| 14 | Ryan Newman |
| 15 | Joey Logano |
| 16 | Kasey Kahne |
| 17 | Jeff Burton |
| 18 | Marcos Ambrose |
| 19 | Juan Pablo Montoya |
| 20 | Jamie McMurray |