Power Rankings: Charlotte
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
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October 11, 2006
1:33 PM EDT (1333 GMT)
Biggest Gain this week: Martin Truex Jr., up nine spots
Biggest Drop this week: Dave Blaney, down five spots
New this week: Dale Jarrett (23), David Gilliland (25).
Dropped out: Ken Schrader (20), Scott Riggs (22).
Week 31 of 36, Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Rank Prev Number Driver Comments
1 1 Jeff Burton A lot of people are already saying NASCAR can't afford for a Cingular driver to win the Nextel Cup. But that is nothing a late-race caution for debris can't fix.
2 6 Mark Martin Report: MB2 Motorsports signs Martin to get their name in the paper
3 4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Well, Brian Vickers won't be invited to Dale Jr.'s 32nd birthday party this week, which is almost as bad as being uninvited to meet all of the women that Jeff Gordon's fiancée knows.
4 2 Matt Kenseth A lot of people wonder why Robbie Reiser would even consider leaving Matt Kenseth's pit box to become Roush GM. It's because Gatorade wanted Reiser to star in his own shirtless commercial in 2007.
5 5 Carl Edwards Report: Sadler cured of Overactive Adrenaline Disorder; Edwards still affected
6 8 Kevin Harvick North Korea obviously decided to explode that nuclear bomb only after hearing that GM Goodwrench would be leaving RCR's primary sponsor spot.
7 11 Jimmie Johnson Report: Vickers uninvited to team meetings, invited to team beatings
8 3 Denny Hamlin Obviously, Denny's momma was baking Tony some cookies. They looked pretty tasty, too.
9 14 Kasey Kahne I guess you saw in qualifying where he signed the lady's neck brace. Are you like me? Did you see that and think, "Is she the one who crashed the car into the scoring pylon?"
10 7 Jeff Gordon He didn't get hit with beer cans concerning his garage-area comments about Dale Jr.'s bump-drafting style, but that was only because fans can't throw that far.
11 10 Kyle Busch Report: Kyle Busch really hoping he doesn't become the third and final Hendrick driver really angry at Vickers
12 12 Greg Biffle Note to Subway: Quit running that sandwich-in-front-of-the-windshield commercial. It says, "Here's to a better 2006." Unless the Biff gets on a little hot streak, it ain't going to happen.
13 9 Tony Stewart Dadgum you, J.J.! Why did you have to cut a tire and wreck in front of me? Go get me a chicken pot pie!
14 17 Kurt Busch I'll be serious for a second. Did you see the race after the last-lap spin? If racing back to the line was allowed, Kurt, Kahne and Vickers would have had a heck of a battle.
15 23 Brian Vickers I see where Lowe's Motor Speedway ordered extra security for Vickers. He doesn't need those fancy rent-a-cops. Just make sure Jimmy Spencer is on his right, Tony Stewart is on his left, and Fatback in front. No will get near him.
16 25 Martin Truex Jr. Actual conversation overheard: 1st person: "Did you hear? Martin is headed to MB2?" 2nd person: "I thought DEI re-signed him to a new contract last year."
17 13 Clint Bowyer Hey bud. They showed you and your girlfriend during the anthem for the first time. You've officially hit the big time. And it was so nice that you weren't chewing gum during the shot.
18 21 Bobby Labonte He has to be glad that Vickers took out a couple of cars. It gave him a top-10 finish, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.
19 15 Elliott Sadler I have heard that his fans are giving up M&M's because of his move to Evernham. Unless you're Tony Stewart, which, in his case, you simply switch allegiances to David Gilliland.
20 18 Casey Mears Report: Juan Montoya bracing for Iowa media crush in ARCA event this weekend
21 16 Dave Blaney The team is back to running 28th, which is normal for them. Of course, now that I say that, I can hear Bill Weber right now. "Dave Blaney pulls into Victory Lane! A shocking win at Atlanta, err, I mean Charlotte Motor Speedway! Err! I mean Lowe's!"
22 24 Reed Sorenson They actually had a Ladies' Night at the Ganassi shop. Hopefully it wasn't held too late for Reed's fans. A lot of them have homecoming activities at school this week.
23 NR Dale Jarrett David Reutimann is going to be his teammate at MWR, which is great news for David. Hopefully, Reutimann will win a race or a pole early in the year, and someone can go up to him and say, "David, why the long face?"
24 19 Ryan Newman He has posted five consecutive top-25 finishes. It is his longest such streak since July. So get excited or something.
25 NR David Gilliland I loved his post-Bud Pole qualifying quote: "The car felt good and I don't feel that I could have done any better of a job. It was perfect on my end and the car was great."
I dunno, Dave. I think you left a lot on the table in Turn 3. But that is just me.
The Power Rankings are written by Ryan Smithson and the opinions listed here are solely those of the writer. To email Ryan about the Rankings, click here.
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
Email | Archive
October 11, 2006
1:33 PM EDT (1333 GMT)
Biggest Gain this week: Martin Truex Jr., up nine spots
Biggest Drop this week: Dave Blaney, down five spots
New this week: Dale Jarrett (23), David Gilliland (25).
Dropped out: Ken Schrader (20), Scott Riggs (22).
Week 31 of 36, Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Rank Prev Number Driver Comments
1 1 Jeff Burton A lot of people are already saying NASCAR can't afford for a Cingular driver to win the Nextel Cup. But that is nothing a late-race caution for debris can't fix.
2 6 Mark Martin Report: MB2 Motorsports signs Martin to get their name in the paper
3 4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Well, Brian Vickers won't be invited to Dale Jr.'s 32nd birthday party this week, which is almost as bad as being uninvited to meet all of the women that Jeff Gordon's fiancée knows.
4 2 Matt Kenseth A lot of people wonder why Robbie Reiser would even consider leaving Matt Kenseth's pit box to become Roush GM. It's because Gatorade wanted Reiser to star in his own shirtless commercial in 2007.
5 5 Carl Edwards Report: Sadler cured of Overactive Adrenaline Disorder; Edwards still affected
6 8 Kevin Harvick North Korea obviously decided to explode that nuclear bomb only after hearing that GM Goodwrench would be leaving RCR's primary sponsor spot.
7 11 Jimmie Johnson Report: Vickers uninvited to team meetings, invited to team beatings
8 3 Denny Hamlin Obviously, Denny's momma was baking Tony some cookies. They looked pretty tasty, too.
9 14 Kasey Kahne I guess you saw in qualifying where he signed the lady's neck brace. Are you like me? Did you see that and think, "Is she the one who crashed the car into the scoring pylon?"
10 7 Jeff Gordon He didn't get hit with beer cans concerning his garage-area comments about Dale Jr.'s bump-drafting style, but that was only because fans can't throw that far.
11 10 Kyle Busch Report: Kyle Busch really hoping he doesn't become the third and final Hendrick driver really angry at Vickers
12 12 Greg Biffle Note to Subway: Quit running that sandwich-in-front-of-the-windshield commercial. It says, "Here's to a better 2006." Unless the Biff gets on a little hot streak, it ain't going to happen.
13 9 Tony Stewart Dadgum you, J.J.! Why did you have to cut a tire and wreck in front of me? Go get me a chicken pot pie!
14 17 Kurt Busch I'll be serious for a second. Did you see the race after the last-lap spin? If racing back to the line was allowed, Kurt, Kahne and Vickers would have had a heck of a battle.
15 23 Brian Vickers I see where Lowe's Motor Speedway ordered extra security for Vickers. He doesn't need those fancy rent-a-cops. Just make sure Jimmy Spencer is on his right, Tony Stewart is on his left, and Fatback in front. No will get near him.
16 25 Martin Truex Jr. Actual conversation overheard: 1st person: "Did you hear? Martin is headed to MB2?" 2nd person: "I thought DEI re-signed him to a new contract last year."
17 13 Clint Bowyer Hey bud. They showed you and your girlfriend during the anthem for the first time. You've officially hit the big time. And it was so nice that you weren't chewing gum during the shot.
18 21 Bobby Labonte He has to be glad that Vickers took out a couple of cars. It gave him a top-10 finish, so he's got that going for him, which is nice.
19 15 Elliott Sadler I have heard that his fans are giving up M&M's because of his move to Evernham. Unless you're Tony Stewart, which, in his case, you simply switch allegiances to David Gilliland.
20 18 Casey Mears Report: Juan Montoya bracing for Iowa media crush in ARCA event this weekend
21 16 Dave Blaney The team is back to running 28th, which is normal for them. Of course, now that I say that, I can hear Bill Weber right now. "Dave Blaney pulls into Victory Lane! A shocking win at Atlanta, err, I mean Charlotte Motor Speedway! Err! I mean Lowe's!"
22 24 Reed Sorenson They actually had a Ladies' Night at the Ganassi shop. Hopefully it wasn't held too late for Reed's fans. A lot of them have homecoming activities at school this week.
23 NR Dale Jarrett David Reutimann is going to be his teammate at MWR, which is great news for David. Hopefully, Reutimann will win a race or a pole early in the year, and someone can go up to him and say, "David, why the long face?"
24 19 Ryan Newman He has posted five consecutive top-25 finishes. It is his longest such streak since July. So get excited or something.
25 NR David Gilliland I loved his post-Bud Pole qualifying quote: "The car felt good and I don't feel that I could have done any better of a job. It was perfect on my end and the car was great."
I dunno, Dave. I think you left a lot on the table in Turn 3. But that is just me.
The Power Rankings are written by Ryan Smithson and the opinions listed here are solely those of the writer. To email Ryan about the Rankings, click here.