Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(July 4, 2011)
Carl Edwards’ second finish of 37th in the past four races cost him the top spot in this week’s Sporting News Power Poll. Edwards fell to fourth, and Kevin Harvick is the new No. 1 after finishing seventh in Saturday’s race at Daytona. Kyle Busch moved up to second, and Matt Kenseth, who pushed Roush Fenway Racing teammate David Ragan to victory, is third. Surging Jeff Gordon rounds out the top five of the weekly collaboration of Sporting News, SceneDaily.com, Rowdy.com and NASCAR Illustrated.
1. Kevin Harvick (last week: 2nd) Harvick stuck with Paul Menard all night and survived with a seventh-place finish.
2. Kyle Busch (5th) Busch kept his nose clean, if not the right side of his car, and brought home a top five at Daytona.
3. Matt Kenseth (7th) Kudos to Kenseth for pushing his teammate to his first career victory. Shows why Kenseth is a class act,
4. Carl Edwards (1st) Edwards got a bump from the Biff at the wrong moment and went spinning out of the points lead.
5. Jeff Gordon (6th) An amazing save by Gordon on Lap 159 and a sixth-place finish after restarting 31st on the final GWC … anybody seen Jimmie’s horseshoe?
6. Kurt Busch (3rd) Busch’s luck and momentum ran out when he got caught up in a crash.
7. Jimmie Johnson (4th) The decision to pit late without teammate and tandem buddy Dale Earnhardt Jr. was curious. A late wreck then sealed JJ’s fate.
8. Denny Hamlin (10th) Hamlin was leading until he and Ryan Newman got shuffled in the draft and dropped like a stone. The important thing: The No. 11 was strong again. They’ll be fine.
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (9th) A tough three-race stretch should be a thing of the past after Kentucky—Junior has had many of his best finishes at 1.5-mile tracks this season.
10. Ryan Newman (11th) Strange bedfellows, he and Hamlin, but the duo nearly made the pairing pay off. Newman is clinging to 10th in points despite a late-race crash.
11. Clint Bowyer (8th) A multicar wreck near the end resulted in Bowyer’s worst finish of the year—36th.
12. Tony Stewart (12th) Now there are two guys with wins in positions 11-20, and neither is Tony Stewart.
13. Greg Biffle (13th) Biffle has one top-10 finish in the past seven races, but he’s far from out of the Chase hunt with his ability to win.
14. AJ Allmendinger (15th) Allmendinger is back into his patented top-15 mode after a 10th-place run at Daytona.
15. David Ragan (24th) Ragan got his first Cup win—sweet redemption after his late gaffe in the Daytona 500—and a public show of support from sponsor UPS after the victory.
16. Kasey Kahne (22nd) Kahne scored his first top five since Darlington. The finish bodes well for the No. 4 team as they enter the second half of the season when they’re sure to face a lot of distractions.
17. Paul Menard (17th) Menard is at his best on plate tracks. He won’t be in the Chase, but his drafting partner Harvick can look forward to working with the No. 27 at Talladega.
18. Joey Logano (21st) Logano had a big weekend with a Nationwide win and third-place finish. Don’t throw away that Logano-Home Depot gear just yet.
19. Mark Martin (14th) Martin won the pole but was victimized by a late wreck. He deserved a better finish after flashing strength with Gordon.
20. Brad Keselowski (16th) Keselowski finished a respectable 15th at Daytona but got leap-frogged by Logano in the standings.
21. Juan Pablo Montoya (20th) Montoya was swept up in one of the late-race crashes but still managed to pull together a ninth-place run and move up to 14th in points.
22. Marcos Ambrose (18th) It is now five straight races in which Ambrose has failed to lead a single lap.
23. Martin Truex Jr. (19th) Truex led six times for 16 laps. Then all hell broke loose and he found himself in the garage when the checkered flag fell.
24. Brian Vickers (25th) Vickers finished 12th at Daytona despite some damage. After the circus at Infineon, that’s a solid finish.
25. Regan Smith (23rd) Oh, those late-race wrecks. Smith deserved better than his 24th-place finish. His average running position was 14th.
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