S
stridsberry
Guest
Ryan Newman’s long reign at the top of the ratings has now come to an end, as Tony Stewart rides a wave of momentum into the top spot. The only driver making a big gain this week was Joe Nemechek, the only driver taking a real nosedive was Johnny Benson.
1. (2) TONY STEWART 150.6
This is certainly Tony’s championship to lose, and knowing him, he won’t let it happen.
2. (1) RYAN NEWMAN 144.8
A long reign come has come to an end, along with a possible belated championship bid.
3. (4) KURT BUSCH 134.7
I keep reading articles saying that Kurt is the 2nd back-to-back winner this year. WRONG!! He’s the 3rd, after Elliott and Jeff Gordon.
4. (5) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 133.4
Another strong finish has Dale on the cusp of entering the top-10 in points. And with the way Ricky’s been running of late, I wouldn’t bet against Dale passing him.
5. (3) JIMMIE JOHNSON 125.5
Wait a minute; isn’t a car supposed to get tighter as it cools down, rather than looser? Guess they screwed up the setup pretty big.
6. (6) RUSTY WALLACE 121.3
Rusty’s darn near run out of time to keep that winning streak alive. Just harken back to 1998, when Rusty won at Phoenix – in the next-to-last race, like this year – to extend it.
7. (7) DALE JARRETT 121.2
This has really been the opposite of Dale’s season last year, when he was red-hot the 1st-half only to fade late.
8. (8) MARK MARTIN 119
Not much momentum for this team heading into these last few, crucial races – at least not as much as Tony.
9. (12) MARLIN/McMURRAY/BLISS 113.4
I think Jamie made some sort of deal with Mother Nature, because he’s three races into his WC career and still has yet to run a qualifying lap.
10. (10) MATT KENSETH 110.9
Take note of the fact that Kurt’s and Matt’s peripheral statistics are nearly identical down to top-20s, only being separated by the win.
11. (13) JEFF GORDON 109.7
And also take note that Kurt and Jeff’s peripheral stats are exactly identical, also down to top-20s. No wonder they’re only four points apart.
12. (9) RICKY RUDD 106.9
I honestly thought that Ricky would have a lot more than twelve top-10s with only three races to go – this is a much better team than that, even with all the problems.
13. (11) MICHAEL WALTRIP 105.9
Boogity, boogity, boogity yourself, Michael. Who talked you into uttering such a vile line as that? Oh yeah, got to appease the sponsor, of course.
14. (14) JEFF BURTON 104.6
While on the topic of underachieving, what about Jeff Burton? Only three top-5 finishes all season – I mean, every other Roush car has at least nine.
15. (15) BOBBY LABONTE 99.6
And while I’m handing out the underachiever awards, a special one goes out to Bobby, who went from champion two years back to struggling at a place where he once was king.
16. (16) JEFF GREEN 97.1
I don’t know how long the AOL contract is for, but this news of getting out of racing strikes a major blow to this team.
17. (19) ROBBY GORDON 94.2
The rally monkey didn’t exactly help Robby at all. Sure, he finished 20th, but you’re supposed to finish about there when you’re also 20th in points.
18. (21) KEVIN HARVICK 90.2
Last year at Atlanta: 1st and 3rd. This year: two blown engines. I thought this team had its problems solved, but I was wrong. Dead wrong.
19. (18) RICKY CRAVEN 89.5
The car looked stout through the first long green flag run, but it was all downhill from there.
20. (20) BILL ELLIOTT 87.7
10 races ago, Bill longed like a potential contender for the championship. But now he’s down to 12th in points with zero forward momentum.
21. (22) DAVE BLANEY 86.9
19th. It may seem like a lot lower than Dave should have finished. But then again, it’s way better then the final result in this race last year.
22. (17) JOHNNY BENSON 86.5
Fantasy tip: Johnny may be a good long shot pick for Rockingham – he was third in this race last year.
23. (26) WARD BURTON 86.2
24th in points, and yet 2nd in money won. It’s amazing what the Daytona 500 can do for your coffers, isn’t it?
24. (25) KYLE PETTY 84.3
C’mon Kyle, why didn’t you stay out, or at least just take two tires? Even if you’d lost a spot a lap in the final sprint (heh heh), you’d have had a season-best run.
25. (23) JEREMY MAYFIELD 83.8
Heyyyy Jeremay! What do you think of this new team member concept? Feel good about (likely) costing Casey his job?
26. (27) STEVE PARK 82
Steve’s sure building a lot of momentum, isn’t he? I’d pick him for Rockingham, but he hasn’t raced there since his win.
27. (24) JOHN ANDRETTI 78.2
Four laps…not even enough time to break a sweat. Heck, not even enough time to walk to the refrigerator and back.
28. (30) ELLIOTT SADLER 72.7
He hasn’t even turned a competitive lap for Robert Yates, and he may already be losing his crew chief. And if so, because of slow test session(s).
29. (29) TERRY LABONTE 70.9
Terry showed so much promise in the first 2/3 of the season, and yet here he is, right where he finished in points last year.
30. (35) JOE NEMECHEK 67.7
A big HOO-RAH for Joe! Way to try and stake your claim to a ride for next year. A good run at a non cookie-cutter track, and you should be all set.
31. (28) JIMMY SPENCER 65.9
Pop Quiz: How much of an advantage does Jimmy get with that extra left-side weight? Answer: not enough.
32. (31) KEN SCHRADER 61.6
Kenny’s racing for a ride, and I don’t think you can get a ride based solely on competitive desire. You’ve got to have results too.
33. (32) MIKE WALLACE 61.1
Mike’s in nearly the same situation he was last year: driving his heart out for a team that may be shut down, or just give him the boot.
34. (34) MIKE SKINNER 59.9
Once upon a time, there was a man named Mike Skinner. Mr. Skinner was a rising star, and considered to be one of the best drivers never to win a race…
35. (33) TODD BODINE 58.3
Sheesh, why’d you announce you were leaving Herzog if you were just going to come back three races later? “Sabbatical” would be a more appropriate term.
36. (38) CASEY ATWOOD 50.4
So, Jayski says that Kevin Lepage is going to be replacing Casey, and that Casey may go to the 27 or 37 for next year. It may not pay as much, but he’ll be happier there. I’m a huge fan of Kevin’s, but with Evernham running the show, I doubt he’ll have as much fun as at the end of last season.
37. (37) BOBBY HAMILTON/GREG BIFFLE 50.1
The first of Bobby’s two (count ‘em, two) top-10 finishes this year came at The Rock the first time around. Reason for hope? You bet.
38. (36) JERRY NADEAU 48.6
Think Jerry enjoyed being on the sidelines at Atlanta, of all places? I wonder how he feels now about go-kart racing.
39. (39) KENNY WALLACE 48.2
Kenny, I honestly hope that you’ll lobby for a different paint scheme of next year’s car, because that’s about the ugliest hunk of sheet metal I’ve ever seen.
40. (40) BRETT BODINE 43.2
I hate to break this to Brett, but even Buckshot has a higher points-per-race average this year.
1. (2) TONY STEWART 150.6
This is certainly Tony’s championship to lose, and knowing him, he won’t let it happen.
2. (1) RYAN NEWMAN 144.8
A long reign come has come to an end, along with a possible belated championship bid.
3. (4) KURT BUSCH 134.7
I keep reading articles saying that Kurt is the 2nd back-to-back winner this year. WRONG!! He’s the 3rd, after Elliott and Jeff Gordon.
4. (5) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 133.4
Another strong finish has Dale on the cusp of entering the top-10 in points. And with the way Ricky’s been running of late, I wouldn’t bet against Dale passing him.
5. (3) JIMMIE JOHNSON 125.5
Wait a minute; isn’t a car supposed to get tighter as it cools down, rather than looser? Guess they screwed up the setup pretty big.
6. (6) RUSTY WALLACE 121.3
Rusty’s darn near run out of time to keep that winning streak alive. Just harken back to 1998, when Rusty won at Phoenix – in the next-to-last race, like this year – to extend it.
7. (7) DALE JARRETT 121.2
This has really been the opposite of Dale’s season last year, when he was red-hot the 1st-half only to fade late.
8. (8) MARK MARTIN 119
Not much momentum for this team heading into these last few, crucial races – at least not as much as Tony.
9. (12) MARLIN/McMURRAY/BLISS 113.4
I think Jamie made some sort of deal with Mother Nature, because he’s three races into his WC career and still has yet to run a qualifying lap.
10. (10) MATT KENSETH 110.9
Take note of the fact that Kurt’s and Matt’s peripheral statistics are nearly identical down to top-20s, only being separated by the win.
11. (13) JEFF GORDON 109.7
And also take note that Kurt and Jeff’s peripheral stats are exactly identical, also down to top-20s. No wonder they’re only four points apart.
12. (9) RICKY RUDD 106.9
I honestly thought that Ricky would have a lot more than twelve top-10s with only three races to go – this is a much better team than that, even with all the problems.
13. (11) MICHAEL WALTRIP 105.9
Boogity, boogity, boogity yourself, Michael. Who talked you into uttering such a vile line as that? Oh yeah, got to appease the sponsor, of course.
14. (14) JEFF BURTON 104.6
While on the topic of underachieving, what about Jeff Burton? Only three top-5 finishes all season – I mean, every other Roush car has at least nine.
15. (15) BOBBY LABONTE 99.6
And while I’m handing out the underachiever awards, a special one goes out to Bobby, who went from champion two years back to struggling at a place where he once was king.
16. (16) JEFF GREEN 97.1
I don’t know how long the AOL contract is for, but this news of getting out of racing strikes a major blow to this team.
17. (19) ROBBY GORDON 94.2
The rally monkey didn’t exactly help Robby at all. Sure, he finished 20th, but you’re supposed to finish about there when you’re also 20th in points.
18. (21) KEVIN HARVICK 90.2
Last year at Atlanta: 1st and 3rd. This year: two blown engines. I thought this team had its problems solved, but I was wrong. Dead wrong.
19. (18) RICKY CRAVEN 89.5
The car looked stout through the first long green flag run, but it was all downhill from there.
20. (20) BILL ELLIOTT 87.7
10 races ago, Bill longed like a potential contender for the championship. But now he’s down to 12th in points with zero forward momentum.
21. (22) DAVE BLANEY 86.9
19th. It may seem like a lot lower than Dave should have finished. But then again, it’s way better then the final result in this race last year.
22. (17) JOHNNY BENSON 86.5
Fantasy tip: Johnny may be a good long shot pick for Rockingham – he was third in this race last year.
23. (26) WARD BURTON 86.2
24th in points, and yet 2nd in money won. It’s amazing what the Daytona 500 can do for your coffers, isn’t it?
24. (25) KYLE PETTY 84.3
C’mon Kyle, why didn’t you stay out, or at least just take two tires? Even if you’d lost a spot a lap in the final sprint (heh heh), you’d have had a season-best run.
25. (23) JEREMY MAYFIELD 83.8
Heyyyy Jeremay! What do you think of this new team member concept? Feel good about (likely) costing Casey his job?
26. (27) STEVE PARK 82
Steve’s sure building a lot of momentum, isn’t he? I’d pick him for Rockingham, but he hasn’t raced there since his win.
27. (24) JOHN ANDRETTI 78.2
Four laps…not even enough time to break a sweat. Heck, not even enough time to walk to the refrigerator and back.
28. (30) ELLIOTT SADLER 72.7
He hasn’t even turned a competitive lap for Robert Yates, and he may already be losing his crew chief. And if so, because of slow test session(s).
29. (29) TERRY LABONTE 70.9
Terry showed so much promise in the first 2/3 of the season, and yet here he is, right where he finished in points last year.
30. (35) JOE NEMECHEK 67.7
A big HOO-RAH for Joe! Way to try and stake your claim to a ride for next year. A good run at a non cookie-cutter track, and you should be all set.
31. (28) JIMMY SPENCER 65.9
Pop Quiz: How much of an advantage does Jimmy get with that extra left-side weight? Answer: not enough.
32. (31) KEN SCHRADER 61.6
Kenny’s racing for a ride, and I don’t think you can get a ride based solely on competitive desire. You’ve got to have results too.
33. (32) MIKE WALLACE 61.1
Mike’s in nearly the same situation he was last year: driving his heart out for a team that may be shut down, or just give him the boot.
34. (34) MIKE SKINNER 59.9
Once upon a time, there was a man named Mike Skinner. Mr. Skinner was a rising star, and considered to be one of the best drivers never to win a race…
35. (33) TODD BODINE 58.3
Sheesh, why’d you announce you were leaving Herzog if you were just going to come back three races later? “Sabbatical” would be a more appropriate term.
36. (38) CASEY ATWOOD 50.4
So, Jayski says that Kevin Lepage is going to be replacing Casey, and that Casey may go to the 27 or 37 for next year. It may not pay as much, but he’ll be happier there. I’m a huge fan of Kevin’s, but with Evernham running the show, I doubt he’ll have as much fun as at the end of last season.
37. (37) BOBBY HAMILTON/GREG BIFFLE 50.1
The first of Bobby’s two (count ‘em, two) top-10 finishes this year came at The Rock the first time around. Reason for hope? You bet.
38. (36) JERRY NADEAU 48.6
Think Jerry enjoyed being on the sidelines at Atlanta, of all places? I wonder how he feels now about go-kart racing.
39. (39) KENNY WALLACE 48.2
Kenny, I honestly hope that you’ll lobby for a different paint scheme of next year’s car, because that’s about the ugliest hunk of sheet metal I’ve ever seen.
40. (40) BRETT BODINE 43.2
I hate to break this to Brett, but even Buckshot has a higher points-per-race average this year.
Very good job as usual.