Sporting News Power Poll after Phoenix

Sporting News Power Poll after Phoenix


Jimmie Johnson swapped spots with points leader Denny Hamlin and leads this week’s Sporting News Power Poll. Johnson finished fifth in Sunday’s race at Phoenix, his eighth top 10 of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, to move to 15 points behind Hamlin going into Sunday’s season finale at Homestead. Kevin Harvick, who also has eight top 10s in the Chase, is third in the poll. Hamlin has seven top 10s. The weekly poll is a collaboration of Sporting News and Rowdy.com.

1. Jimmie Johnson (Last week: 2nd) The 48 team finally comes through on a gas-mileage play. And what a time to do it, too.
2. Denny Hamlin (1st) Even if his Phoenix race was a huge disappointment, he should have never let Johnson see him sweat.
3. Kevin Harvick (3rd) Harvick was second in the three-horse race Sunday but is still third-best among the contestants.
4. Carl Edwards (11th) What a weekend! A Nationwide win to go with a Cup victory and pole. About time.
5. Joey Logano (7th) The streak continues! Logano finished third, meaning he has finished 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd in the past five races. He’ll finish second at Homestead.
6. Mark Martin (4th) Martin carded his third top 10 in the past four races, and Homestead suits him much better.
7. Matt Kenseth (6th) Kenseth posted back-to-back top 10s for the first time since Michigan and Bristol in August.
8. Greg Biffle (8th) Banner days for Roush Fenway don’t usually come at Phoenix: Edwards wins, Biffle 4th, Kenseth 7th. Guess the FR9 gets good mileage, too.
9. Kyle Busch (16th) Could his 2010 goals boil down to this: win one more race and help somebody else win the championship?
10. Clint Bowyer (5th) Bowyer’s string of top-10 finishes ends at two.
11. Jeff Gordon (10th) The former 48 crew had trouble on Gordon’s car, too.
12. Jamie McMurray (15th) McMurray pulled out a top 10 after going down a lap at Phoenix.
13. Juan Pablo Montoya (17th) Since his spectacular five-race run leading up to the Chase, Montoya has one top 10 but seven finishes in the top 20.
14. Ryan Newman (22nd) Newman’s second-place finish was his fifth top 10 during the Chase. Only Johnson, Harvick, Hamlin and Logano have more.
15. Tony Stewart (9th) When the Chase went north to Loudon and Dover, Stewart went south—and he hasn’t recovered.
16. David Reutimann (13th) Reutimann finished 26th, his 12th finish 20th or worse, equaling his total from 2009. In fact, most of his numbers are similar to last year’s.
17. David Ragan (14th) One more race to prove he deserves to keep going in the 6 car in 2011.
18. Kurt Busch (24th) Busch posted his second top-10 finish of the Chase at Phoenix. In other words, his finish to the season is pretty forgettable.
19. Martin Truex Jr. (NR) Twenty-second in points heading to Homestead—probably not what Truex wanted in his first year at MWR.
20. Paul Menard (12th) Menard couldn’t put together consecutive top 10s for the second time this season, finishing 29th, his worst finish since Atlanta in September.
21. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (NR) Had a strong car but couldn’t overcome a 31st-place qualifying effort. Ran as high as 12th before finishing 14th.
22. Jeff Burton (20th) Burton’s 19th-place effort far better than the 41st and 36th efforts that preceded it. Would like to see a top 10 at Homestead to help going into 2011.
23. AJ Allmendinger (18th) Allmendinger finished 18th, which makes sense: His average finish this year is a career-best 18.2.
24. Regan Smith (23rd) Smith has one more shot this year to get the first top 10 of his career. His best finish this year is 12th, twice.
25. Marcos Ambrose (21st) Since a spurt of three top 10s, including two top fives, in five races, Ambrose has a 26.1 average finish in the past nine races with no top 10s.