Sporting News Power Poll after Richmond

Sporting News Power Poll after Richmond

 (September 12, 2011)

Jeff Gordon’s third-place finish Saturday at Richmond, his third finish in the top three in as many races, lifted Gordon into the top spot in the weekly Sporting News Power Poll. Kyle Busch moved up a spot to second, and Jimmie Johnson fell from first to third. Winner Kevin Harvick moved up two spots to fifth, and runner-up Carl Edwards moved up to fourth. The power poll is a weekly collaboration of Sporting News, SceneDaily.com, Rowdy.com and NASCAR Illustrated.

1. Jeff Gordon (last week: 2nd) The race was Gordon’s until he got beat out of the pits during the final caution. Gordon couldn’t help but point out that the caution was brought out by a teammate of eventual winner Kevin Harvick.

 2. Kyle Busch (3rd) Busch fought through a series of annoying issues for a sixth-place finish at Richmond. That’s what it takes in the Chase.

 3. Jimmie Johnson (1st) Johnson’s feud with Kurt Busch picked up steam at Richmond. Expect Johnson to put it on the back burner in the Chase, but Busch could be an X factor in Five-Time’s bid for No. 6.

 4. Carl Edwards (5th) Edwards had the best car at Richmond but didn’t win with it. In the Chase, Edwards can’t let those opportunities escape.

 5. Kevin Harvick (7th) It’s amazing how much one race can make a driver look better. And with four wins, Harvick has a head start on everyone except Kyle Busch.

 6. Brad Keselowski (4th) BK gave Dale Earnhardt Jr. some nervous moments before falling back to 12th at the finish.

 7. Kurt Busch (8th) Busch charged into the Chase with a second straight strong run. Now, if he can just leave Johnson alone, he could be a contender.

 8. Matt Kenseth (6th) Kenseth limped into the Chase with a pitiful run at Richmond. If that’s any indication of where he’s headed, forget it.

 9. Ryan Newman (9th) Newman scored his 13th top 10 of the season, but he’s going to need top fives if he wants to contend for the championship.

 10. Tony Stewart (10th) For the past two races, Smoke has started in the 20s and finished with a top 10. That’s a good trend as the Chase looms.

 11. Denny Hamlin (11th) Fortunately for Hamlin, cars aren’t graded on appearance after the race. Bent and battered, Hamlin’s car was just good enough to get him a spot in the Chase.

 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12th) If Junior wasn’t nervous Saturday night, his fans definitely were. But after trouble early, he rallied to get the top 20 he needed.

 13. AJ Allmendinger (13th) AJ didn’t sneak into the Chase but continued his solid season with an 11th at Richmond.

 14. Greg Biffle (16th) A better than average finish at Richmond wasn’t enough to get the Biff back to the postseason.

 15. Mark Martin (17th) Martin’s tenure at Hendrick Motorsports began with a second-place points finish in 2009. It will end with him being the only Hendrick driver to miss the Chase.

 16. Clint Bowyer (15th) Bowyer felt he was beaten even before the race started. Guess that’s what happens when your livelihood is in question.

 17. David Ragan (25th) Ragan’s first top five since winning at Daytona was a worthy effort, but Ragan needed victory Saturday to secure the final wild-card spot.

 18. Martin Truex Jr. (14th) It was a long night for Truex, who started the race in the back half of the field and never progressed.

 19. Kasey Kahne (18th) Another hard-luck day for Kahne. He got caught in the spin that triggered the Marcos Ambrose-Brian Vickers dust-up. The subsequent hard crash ended his hopes of a Chase Hail Mary.

 20. Juan Pablo Montoya (24th) Brake issues likely kept JP out of the top 10 and saddled him with his fourth straight finish of 15th or worse.

 21. Jamie McMurray (23rd) McMurray started second and finished 14th. He has 10 more races to get a win to have one-third as good a season as 2010.

 22. Marcos Ambrose (19th) Marcos managed a 21st-place run after three wrecks, two lucky dogs and a partridge in a pear tree.

 23. Paul Menard (21st) If Keselowski had raced into the top 10, Menard’s spin could have cost him a wild-card spot and been the mistake of the year. Instead, it simply pushed Menard’s long shot out of reach.

 24. Jeff Burton (20th) Considering Richmond is one of his best racetracks in terms of average finish, Burton’s 29th-place result was a disappointment.

 25. Joey Logano (22nd) A blown engine results in 35th. That’s not 35 blown engines, it just seems like it.