SportingNews Power Poll After New Hampshire

SportingNews Power Poll After New Hampshire

Oh, what a weekend for Denny Hamlin. Even after spinning in the latter stages of the Sylvania 300, he showed the strength of his No. 11 Toyota and came back to finish second. Meanwhile, perhaps his toughest Chase competitor, Jimmie Johnson, had problems after his own spin left him with a finish in the 20s. It can't get much better for the No. 11, though his lead is only 35 points over Clint Bowyer.


1. Denny Hamlin (last week: 2nd). Has finished no worse than third in the last four Chase races dating to last season. He has it figured out
2. Clint Bowyer (7th). Yes, he won only because Tony Stewart ran out of gas, but he was the man, leading the most laps and sporting the best driver rating. He earned it.
3. Kevin Harvick (4th). Started 27th and slowly made his way to a fifth-place run. He's done that better than anyone all year.
4. Kyle Busch (1st). Didn't show the calm of his teammate in the face of adversity. But after a top 10 at New Hampshire , a strong run at Dover will keep Kyle very much in the mix.
5. Jeff Gordon (12th). The 24 team didn't gamble on fuel mileage and settled for sixth at Loudon—a sensible choice with nine races left.
6. Carl Edwards (3rd). Hard racing with Ford "teammate" AJ Allmendinger cost both drivers. Edwards came home 11th after running solidly in the top 10 for most of the afternoon.
7. Jamie McMurray (15th). "Fast" Jamie showed up at Loudon. Let's hope he stays around for the rest of the Chase, even though he can't win the title.
8. Tony Stewart (6th). Won the Sylvania 298, but, thanks to a fuel shortage, finished 24th in the Sylvania 300. Can't afford another burp in the Chase.
9. Kurt Busch (9th). After the race, Kurt said, "I was just over-driving. I wasn't quite in the zone. I wasn't quite feeling it today." Umm, Kurt, you know it's the Chase, right?
10. Ryan Newman (13th). Newman has three top 10s in last four races. Problem is, he preceded that run with nine double-digit finishes in 10 races.
11. Jimmie Johnson (5th). If Chasers get one mulligan, this was it for Johnson, who finished 25th after getting caught up in someone else's mess. He needs to do well at Dover to reset the tone.
12. David Reutimann (19th). Stayed out. Saved fuel. Stole a top 10.
13. Jeff Burton (10th). Had a top-five car, but not top-notch gas mileage. He ran out with two laps left and finished 15th—which is at least better than what Tony Stewart can say.
14. Juan Pablo Montoya (8th). Montoya's average running position was 13th. That's his worst since the Coca-Cola 600 back in May.
15. Greg Biffle (16th). Didn't look good in New Hampshire , but didn't look as bad as he did at Richmond . Dover now absolutely critical.
16. AJ Allmendinger (18th). Like Burton and Stewart, AJ ran out of gas. Of course, Burton and Stewart waited until Lap 299. AJ outfoxed everyone by doing it on Lap 98.
17. Matt Kenseth (11th). Yes, Loudon was a disappointment (23rd), but those in fantasy leagues must use him at Dover , where he has five straight top fives.
18. Kasey Kahne (22nd). The Richard Petty Motorsports post-race report states Kahne, "rallied back to finish 14th…" Can anything ending in 14th be considered a rally?
19. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NR). The fourth-place finish at Loudon came from the middle of nowhere, despite glitches in the pits. A one-hit wonder or the promise of better things to come?
20. Martin Truex Jr. (20th) It would have been nice to see Truex running with teammate Reutimann … oh, well.
21. Brad Keselowski (23rd). The pole was a great place to start, but Keselowski couldn't crack the top 15 by the finish.
22. Sam Hornish Jr. (NR). If only the entire world were flat. Hornish picked up his first top 10 of the season and continued to show his most strength on NASCAR's flattest tracks.
23. Mark Martin (21st). His first race of the Chase looked a lot like his last race of the regular season—not very competitive. At least Dover is one of his favorite tracks.
24. Marcos Ambrose (14th). Never had his car handling right, but still will be fun to see him with RRM next year.
25. Joey Logano (17th). Fading back at the end, and contact from Kurt Busch made him fade farther, finishing 35th.