Power Rankings: Rating the people in charge
by JORGE A. MONDACA, FOXSports.com
Yes, drivers still remain the reason millions of fans show up and tune in every race weekend, but it's the men and women in charge of the teams who allow drivers to work their magic. They are the ones hiring the personnel around the driver, paying the bills so that cars can be assembled and maintained, recruiting and developing teammates, finding sponsors, etc.
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It is during the off weeks that owners really shine, as they — along with other top- level team members — help get their organizations together to figure out what's gone right and wrong so they can perform better the rest of the way.
So who's the best owner in the sport following the first off-weekend of the 2008 season? Below are the first Owner Power Rankings of the year.
Owner Power Rankings after the first five races of the 2008 season
1. J.D. Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing — Nos. 11 (Denny Hamlin), 18 (Kyle Busch), 20 (Tony Stewart) Toyotas: Sure, J.D.'s title may be "Team President" and not owner, but there's no doubt about who's running the show at NASCAR's premiere organization.
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Prior to the season, there were questions about how the drivers would deal with one another as well as their new manufacturer (as they joined Toyota after spending their entire team history with General Motors). But guess what? After five races, Gibbs' three-car outfit has the championship leader (Busch), one victory, five top fives, eight top 10s ... and oh yeah, three drivers in the top 15 in the standings.
Expect this three-car organization to remain toward the top of the charts throughout the year as well as be in championship contention until the checkered flag falls at the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
2. Jack Roush, Roush Fenway Racing — Nos. 6 (David Ragan), 16 (Greg Biffle), 17 (Matt Kenseth), 26 (Jamie McMurray), 99 (Carl Edwards) Fords: Cheating controversies aside (both inside and outside the halls of RFR), this five-car outfit has demonstrated why it is among the very best in NASCAR five races into the season.
RFR is the only group in the Sprint Cup Series to have multiple victories (both by Carl Edwards) and has multiple drivers who have demonstrated strength early this year — including second-place Greg Biffle, 11th-place Matt Kenseth and 16th-place Carl Edwards.
Unlike rivals Joe Gibbs Racing, this is a five-car outfit, and two of their teams (David Ragan and Jamie McMurray) have not been as on the ball as the rest . It is unlikely that all of their teams will be in championship contention like they were in 2005, but they must get all teams at least making positive progress if they want to elevate ahead of Gibbs and the rest of the field.
3. Richard Childress, Richard Childress Racing — Nos. 07 (Clint Bowyer), 29 (Kevin Harvick), 31 (Jeff Burton) Chevrolets: Childress' teams may not be dominating races like Gibbs, have as many victories as Roush or get as much attention as Hendrick Motorsports, but they are quietly doing what they need to do to be there at the end of the year.
Jeff Burton recorded the first victory for this outfit at Bristol, adding to impressive early-season stats including five combined top fives and nine top 10s. No wonder all three of the team drivers are in the top 10 in the point standings.
4. Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports — Nos. 5 (Casey Mears), 24 (Jeff Gordon), 48 (Jimmie Johnson), 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) Chevrolets: Most every other owner in NASCAR would be overjoyed if they had three teams inside the top 15 in the point standings and seven combined top-10 results, but that's clearly not good enough for Rick Hendrick and his organization.
Because they spanked the rest of the Sprint Cup Series field last season en route to winning 18 of 36 races, perfection is demanded from Hendrick's outfit ... and that clearly hasn't taken place so far.
Fear not, though. Look for at least three of the four drivers at Hendrick to visit Victory Lane in the near future ... and Rick to rise up through the rankings once again.
5. Roger Penske, Penske Racing — Nos. 2 (Kurt Busch), 12 (Ryan Newman), 77 (Sam Hornish Jr.) Dodges: No matter what happens the rest of this season, "The Captain" Roger Penske will forever remember this year fondly after Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch finished 1-2 respectively in the season-opening Daytona 500.
That likely will not be the only highlight for this organization in 2008, though.
After five races, things are going well for Penske and his gang as his two marquee drivers (Newman and Busch) are inside the top 10 in the standings while rookie Sam Hornish Jr. is hanging on to his 35th-place spot in the standings, ensuring he has an automatic starting spot for the time being.
Could things be better? Sure, but don't look for Penske to complain this year.
6. George N. Gillett, Gillett Evernham Motorsports — Nos. 9 (Kasey Kahne), 10 (Patrick Carpentier), 19 (Elliott Sadler) Dodges: The organization formerly known as Evernham Motorsports was dealing with an extremely disappointing season in 2007, but then a deal was put in place for George N. Gillett to take over the majority control for this group, and progress has been evident ever since — particularly with Kasey Kahne, who looks like a contender for victories once again.
If they can get the No. 10 team running successfully, and inside the top 35 in the owner standings, this group can certainly become a force in the sport like they were just a few years ago.
Gillett is clearly showing he is the leader who can make that happen.
7. Teresa Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated — Nos. 01 (Regan Smith), 1 (Martin Truex Jr.), 8 (Mark Martin/Aric Almirola), 15 (Paul Menard) Chevrolets: Teresa Earnhardt may not be the most visible team owner in the sport's history, but she must be doing something right ... they lost their namesake Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the offseason, yet continue to chug along.
Trouble may be looming with Regan Smith dropping out of the top 35, but Martin Truex Jr. is showing that this organization is far from the museum people think it is doomed to become.
8. Michael Waltrip, Michael Waltrip Racing — Nos. 00 (Michael McDowell), 44 (David Reutimann), 55 (Michael Waltrip) Toyotas: Looking for the feel-good turnaround story of the year? Look no further than the job being done by Michael Waltrip and his crew.
Last season, they were marred by a cheating scandal right at the start of the year and became the butt of many jokes after missing race after race because they were one of the teams without an automatic starting berth in races.
While other groups may have crumbled, Waltrip was able to find outside help (partner Robert Kauffman) who infused money before the new season — a move that helped get the pieces together before 2008.
With personnel and financial resources in place, all three MWR cars came out of the box strong and as a result they all were able to find a position inside the top 35 in owner points for the first time in their short history.
9. Doug Yates, Yates Racing — Nos. 28 (Travis Kvapil), 38 (David Gilliland): No sponsors? No problem for this bunch.
Sure, Doug Yates' two-car group may be years away from actually contending for victories — never mind a championship — but they have competed most of the year without primary sponsors for either one of their cars yet they have combined to score two top-10 finishes.
As a result, they remain locked in the top 35 in the owner standings.
Hopefully for their sake, sponsors will step up and give them the money they need to remain competitive against the field before it's too late.
10. Robby Gordon, Robby Gordon Motorsports — No. 7 Dodge: One of the final remaining throwback driver/owners from NASCAR's "Good old days," Gordon continues chugging along and scoring victories often against the behemoths of the sport.
Gordon has received help by forming an alliance with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in the offseason, but this remains a one-man band, and he continues to go strong.
2008 Power Rankings: Post Daytona | Post California | Post Las Vegas | Post Atlanta | Post Bristol
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