Power Rankings: Hamlin's big chance
by Jorge A. Mondaca, FOXSports.com
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This weekend's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway is the 14th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. That may not sound very important since the season is a grueling 36-race marathon, but this weekend's race does take on greater significance when you consider that the "regular season" is only 26 races long. After race No. 26, the field for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is separated from the herd and the title is decided over the final 10 races.
The first half in the race to the Chase is officially complete. Drivers only have 13 more races to not only improve their performances to qualify for the Chase, but also to gain momentum to make a serious bid for this year's championship.
Which drivers will get closer to their goal? Here's a look at the top performers so far this year.
Power Rankings after the Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway
1. Kyle Busch — 115.2 driver rating (No. 1 last week): Obviously, one track is not challenging enough for Kyle Busch, so he's competing at three this weekend.
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A week after Busch's dominant performance at Dover, where he led 158 of 400 laps in the Sprint Cup race alone, Wild Thing has scheduled a triple-header of racing this weekend at Pocono, Nashville and Texas.
Is he worried? Yes, but not for the reason you'd expect.
"The only thing that I do worry, we have a TV crew and stuff like that going with us. They're wanting to film what goes on the plane, off the plane, this and that and everywhere. That's kind of going to be probably the most draining thing, is just toting them around with us," Busch said.
"Right now I feel like we've got a good stature in the Cup Series, where we're at in the points standings, like 140-something ahead. You know, that's a good cushion to have. I think we're 430 and something like that ahead of 12th place. We've got a good cushion that we can still keep ourselves solidly into the top 12 to make the Chase."
With confidence like that, don't bet against him winning at least one -- if not all three -- of the races this weekend.
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. — 105.0 driver rating (No. 2 last week): Bad luck struck Dale Earnhardt Jr. again this weekend, yet he continued to prove why he is among the best performers this season -- even though he has yet to score a victory.
For only the second time in 13 races this season, Earnhardt finished outside the top 15. Both times it was because of accidents not of his making. Even after sustaining some heavy damage at Dover, Earnhardt and Co. put their heads together and charged up to finish 35th.
It's good he picked up those extra points after the wreck, as he faces a tough stretch of races which begins at Pocono -- where he has zero victories and an average finish of 17.3.
3. Carl Edwards — 103.9 driver rating (No. 3 last week): You know, if not for that pesky Kyle Busch character, all of the buzz in the Sprint Cup Series would be about Edwards -- especially as his win tally would be up to five right now (including this weekend at Dover, where he finished runner-up to Shrub for the second time this season).
Don't play the "what if" game too long though as Edwards could steal back some of the spotlight this weekend at Pocono Raceway. In six career starts at the 2.5-miler, he has a victory and another top-five finish to his record. Although both of those positive results came in 2005, and he has not finished better than 14th since, look for things to change this weekend.
4. Jimmie Johnson — 96.5 driver rating (No. 5 last week): With two Sprint Cup championships in his cabinet, Johnson may be content to let others hog the spotlight early while he sets up for the time of the year that matters.
At Dover, Johnson had a workmanlike seventh-place finish. While not flashy, it was a good rebound from his weekend in Charlotte, where he was en route to a strong result until a rare engine malfunction dropped him to 39th.
"We're getting closer and it's really nice to see all this hard work pay off that the team has been putting into it," he said.
Although Johnson does have two victories at Pocono, it is more likely that he has another solid outing as his team continues to find their footing before making another championship run.
5. Denny Hamlin — 95.5 driver rating (No. 4 last week): Is there anybody looking forward to going to Pocono more than Denny Hamlin?
The driver of the No. 11 had a miserable race day at Dover, wrecking out in the Lap 16 multi-car accident and finishing 43rd as a result.
Whether or not Hamlin could have avoided the wreck is not important, finding a way to rebound from that poor result is -- which is why Pocono comes at the perfect time. In four career starts at the tri-oval, Hamlin has a mind-boggling average finish of 2.8, which includes two victories in his first two visits.
You never expect one driver to just dominate a race, but if anybody can this weekend, look towards Hamlin.
6. Jeff Gordon — 95.5 driver rating (No. 8 last week): From the "In case you missed it" files, Jeff Gordon has quietly been on a roll lately.
After finishing 43rd at Texas, only the second time in his illustrious career that he finished that poorly, Gordon has recorded finishes of 13th (Phoenix), 19th (Talladega), ninth (Richmond), third (Darlington), fourth (Lowe's) and fifth (Dover). As a result, he has climbed from 14th to sixth in the points.
It sounds like a no-brainer that he could continue the "building" process this weekend at Pocono, where he has four career wins, but Gordon admitted that he felt like a rookie during the test last week.
In a season already filled with twists and turns, get ready for another one this weekend.
7. Greg Biffle — 95.0 driver rating (No. 9 last week): Straight from the horse's mouth:
"Pocono has historically not been one of my best tracks. We had a good run there a couple of years ago and were in contention to win. We ended up with a sixth-place finish but I'd be happy if we could just have a run like that again this weekend," Biffle said. "We've got momentum behind us right now and we just need to keep it. A top-five or even a solid top-10 finish in Pocono this weekend would keep the momentum going and then we can get ready for Michigan, which is one of my favorite tracks."
8. Jeff Burton — 94.4 driver rating (No. 7 last week): The streak is over!
Following 12 races of completing every lap of competition, Burton crossed the finish line at Dover one lap behind the winner. As a result, he now has run 4463 of 4464 laps this season.
Still, Burton's eighth-place run at Dover was his 13th finish of 15th or better this season.
Will he remain as consistent this weekend? Although he has an average Pocono finish of 16.8, he enters the weekend with four consecutive finishes of 11th or better.
Stay tuned.
9. Tony Stewart — 90.7 driver rating (No. 6 last week): Forget the disappointment he experienced at Dover, Tony Stewart comes into Pocono with the confidence of a race winner after winning his Dirt Late-Model charity race Wednesday evening.
Don't laugh, that just might be the catalyst Smoke needs this weekend.
In 18 career Cup starts at Pocono, Stewart has one victory (2003) and 13 top 10 finishes, including five straight coming into this weekend's race.
10. Martin Truex Jr. — 86.5 driver rating (Not in top 10 last week): Is Truex ready to make a charge?
Last season, the driver of the No. 1 DEI Chevrolet used a victory at his hometown track at Dover to score four top three results in five races, a string of races which kick started his Chase bid.
He wasn't able to repeat at Dover last weekend, but by picking up his fourth top 10 of the season he cut his deficit to 12th-place Kasey Kahne and gave himself momentum as the series heads to Pocono -- a track where he has two top 10s and is among his better tracks on the circuit.
Dropped out: Kevin Harvick
To check out where all the Sprint Cup drivers rank, read the complete list here.
2008 Power Rankings: | | | | | | Post Martinsville | | Post Phoenix | Off Week 2 — Crew Chiefs | Post Talladega | Post Richmond | Post Darlington | Off Week 3 — Endurance special | Post Lowe's
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.
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, led most laps 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.
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