S
stridsberry
Guest
There was surprisingly little change in the standings this week, as deficits were often too large to overcome. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon took over the rankings lead for the first time this season. The only drivers making notable gains were Kyle Petty and Ryan Newman, while the only driver taking a large dive was Terry Labonte.
1. (2) JEFF GORDON 139.3
This was the big explosion that people were just waiting for to happen. Now Jethro’s got to hope his luck will be better at Richmond than at this time last year.
2. (1) TONY STEWART 137.5
Considering he was at a disadvantage virtually from the start of competitive racing, an 8th place isn’t anything to sneeze at.
3. (3) STERLING MARLIN 132.8
Sterling’s finally started to drive again like he was at the start of the season. And it’s come none too soon.
4. (5) BILL ELLIOTT 131.3
Two years ago, Bill Elliott fans would have been ecstatic with a 3rd-place run. This year, it can be considered a bit of a disappointment.
5. (4) DALE JARRETT 126.8
Dale has become this season’s king of overcoming pit road problems. If the problems weren’t happening in the first place…
6. (12) RYAN NEWMAN 121.8
Both of the Penske drivers now have three 2nd-places this season. So why can’t either of them manage to break into Victory Lane?
7. (8) JIMMIE JOHNSON 121.7
I’m entirely confused as to how JJ didn’t lose a lap from the shredded tire. He was on pit road when the leaders blew by; doesn’t that constitute going a lap down?
8. (6) MARK MARTIN 121.1
In a mild slump as of late, but Mark’s still capable of reeling off a few top-5s and getting back into the championship chase.
9. (7) RUSTY WALLACE 112.1
In the middle of the race, the car looked great. At the beginning and the end, it wasn’t so great.
10. (13) JEFF BURTON 111.7
A potential victory fell victim to the oil that NASCAR managed to leave on the track. Perhaps the safety crews should be reviewed.
11. (9) KEVIN HARVICK 109
His recent surge got a slight setback on Sunday, but he’s still capable of reeling off some more top-5s.
12. (10) RICKY RUDD 108.7
He just never was competitive all race. What happened?
13. (11) MATT KENSETH 108.1
A classic case of a slow, methodical taming by the great Lady in Black.
14. (14) MICHAEL WALTRIP 106.5
The car seemed to be getting better as the race went on. Problem was, he got lapped pretty darn early.
15. (15) KURT BUSCH 103.9
Fought, and fought, and fought some more, to overcome everything thrown at him. Came out of it pretty well, too.
16. (17) BOBBY LABONTE 100.8
Yet another instance of Bobby running great all day and then fading late. At least he’s consistent about it.
17. (16) ROBBY GORDON 100.1
At least there wasn’t anything that instigated him to complain about being picked on.
18. (19) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 97.7
Didn’t see much of him at all either.
19. (18) JEFF GREEN 95.8
It was a very solid day, in spite of an encounter with the wall. But this is Darlington, is it not?
20. (20) RICKY CRAVEN 89.4
Ran strong in the 1st half of the race, but the handling went south after becoming a victim of the oil.
21. (27) KYLE PETTY 83.7
Kyle’s gotten back to the consistency he had throughout the 1st half of the season. Now, time for some more top-10s.
22. (22) BOBBY HAMILTON 83.2
He may not exactly be tearing up the circuit performance-wise, but he has finished on the lead lap in 10 straight races.
23. (23) DAVE BLANEY 80.9
He’s sunk to roughly the same spot that he was to close out last season. And things had been looking so promising!
24. (24) WARD BURTON 79.5
Top-10 finish for Ward! Way to fight all day and not get victimized by Lady Luck. Remember how dominant he was the first time around at Richmond.
25. (21) TERRY LABONTE 78.5
I haven’t seen hide or hair of this team since Indy. Anyone know the number to the Missing Persons Hotline?
26. (26) KEN SCHRADER 78.3
Kenny kept fighting and begging, but the leaders sure weren’t listening. And the spaced out cautions didn’t help either.
27. (25) JOHN ANDRETTI 74.8
His faulty engine ended up collecting almost as many cars as the track did, when all was said and done. I guess there was a 45th driver on Sunday.
28. (28) JIMMY SPENCER 72.4
Solid, solid day. Nothing real noteworthy, but those top-20 finishes have been rare these last few months.
29. (29) JEREMY MAYFIELD 70.7
Every time I saw him on the track, he was about to get put a lap down. So how did he finish on the lead lap in 20th?
30. (30) ELLIOTT SADLER 67.6
Made a serious bid for the top-10 at one point, by using short pitting to his advantage. But 19th sure is a far cry off of 2nd.
31. (32) JOHNNY BENSON 65.3
I don’t know why it was that Johnny got 7 laps down, but he did. And it’s kind of hard to finish well when you’re that far down.
32. (33) CASEY ATWOOD 62.1
The first time around at Richmond, Casey had his 3rd-best finish of the season. But then you realize that he finished 17th.
33. (34) STEVE PARK 55.5
Steven, Steven, Steven. Just because you’re contractually secure for next year is no reason to keep wrecking!
34. (36) MIKE SKINNER 53.7
How far has Mike’s career fallen? He hasn’t finished in the top-10 in 44 races, or in the top-5 in 73 events. Don’t even get me started on wins.
35. (35) TODD BODINE 52.2
Todd’s been having some trouble getting going at the start of the last couple races. Which means I can’t even speculate on where he might finish.
36. (37) HUT STRICKLIN 51.3
Hut’s going to end up like Stacey Compton, languished at the bottom of the ratings. That is, unless I find something akin to “The Conseco Car” to remedy that.
37. (39) BRETT BODINE 50.6
Need a few lessons on being a good spokesperson? Give Brett Bodine a call. How else does he manage to keep attracting sponsors?
38. (40) JOE NEMECHEK 49.7
One of the extreme definitions of “crawling before walking” these days is whenever Joe manages to finish on the lead lap in a WC race.
39. (38) JERRY NADEAU 49.6
Remember how well Steve Grissom did at Richmond the 1st time around? Does anyone think Jerry can come close to matching that?
40. (NR) MIKE WALLACE 34.2
“It was a good pit stop…after they put the hood down.” One of the many phrases in racing that you just don’t like hearing.
1. (2) JEFF GORDON 139.3
This was the big explosion that people were just waiting for to happen. Now Jethro’s got to hope his luck will be better at Richmond than at this time last year.
2. (1) TONY STEWART 137.5
Considering he was at a disadvantage virtually from the start of competitive racing, an 8th place isn’t anything to sneeze at.
3. (3) STERLING MARLIN 132.8
Sterling’s finally started to drive again like he was at the start of the season. And it’s come none too soon.
4. (5) BILL ELLIOTT 131.3
Two years ago, Bill Elliott fans would have been ecstatic with a 3rd-place run. This year, it can be considered a bit of a disappointment.
5. (4) DALE JARRETT 126.8
Dale has become this season’s king of overcoming pit road problems. If the problems weren’t happening in the first place…
6. (12) RYAN NEWMAN 121.8
Both of the Penske drivers now have three 2nd-places this season. So why can’t either of them manage to break into Victory Lane?
7. (8) JIMMIE JOHNSON 121.7
I’m entirely confused as to how JJ didn’t lose a lap from the shredded tire. He was on pit road when the leaders blew by; doesn’t that constitute going a lap down?
8. (6) MARK MARTIN 121.1
In a mild slump as of late, but Mark’s still capable of reeling off a few top-5s and getting back into the championship chase.
9. (7) RUSTY WALLACE 112.1
In the middle of the race, the car looked great. At the beginning and the end, it wasn’t so great.
10. (13) JEFF BURTON 111.7
A potential victory fell victim to the oil that NASCAR managed to leave on the track. Perhaps the safety crews should be reviewed.
11. (9) KEVIN HARVICK 109
His recent surge got a slight setback on Sunday, but he’s still capable of reeling off some more top-5s.
12. (10) RICKY RUDD 108.7
He just never was competitive all race. What happened?
13. (11) MATT KENSETH 108.1
A classic case of a slow, methodical taming by the great Lady in Black.
14. (14) MICHAEL WALTRIP 106.5
The car seemed to be getting better as the race went on. Problem was, he got lapped pretty darn early.
15. (15) KURT BUSCH 103.9
Fought, and fought, and fought some more, to overcome everything thrown at him. Came out of it pretty well, too.
16. (17) BOBBY LABONTE 100.8
Yet another instance of Bobby running great all day and then fading late. At least he’s consistent about it.
17. (16) ROBBY GORDON 100.1
At least there wasn’t anything that instigated him to complain about being picked on.
18. (19) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 97.7
Didn’t see much of him at all either.
19. (18) JEFF GREEN 95.8
It was a very solid day, in spite of an encounter with the wall. But this is Darlington, is it not?
20. (20) RICKY CRAVEN 89.4
Ran strong in the 1st half of the race, but the handling went south after becoming a victim of the oil.
21. (27) KYLE PETTY 83.7
Kyle’s gotten back to the consistency he had throughout the 1st half of the season. Now, time for some more top-10s.
22. (22) BOBBY HAMILTON 83.2
He may not exactly be tearing up the circuit performance-wise, but he has finished on the lead lap in 10 straight races.
23. (23) DAVE BLANEY 80.9
He’s sunk to roughly the same spot that he was to close out last season. And things had been looking so promising!
24. (24) WARD BURTON 79.5
Top-10 finish for Ward! Way to fight all day and not get victimized by Lady Luck. Remember how dominant he was the first time around at Richmond.
25. (21) TERRY LABONTE 78.5
I haven’t seen hide or hair of this team since Indy. Anyone know the number to the Missing Persons Hotline?
26. (26) KEN SCHRADER 78.3
Kenny kept fighting and begging, but the leaders sure weren’t listening. And the spaced out cautions didn’t help either.
27. (25) JOHN ANDRETTI 74.8
His faulty engine ended up collecting almost as many cars as the track did, when all was said and done. I guess there was a 45th driver on Sunday.
28. (28) JIMMY SPENCER 72.4
Solid, solid day. Nothing real noteworthy, but those top-20 finishes have been rare these last few months.
29. (29) JEREMY MAYFIELD 70.7
Every time I saw him on the track, he was about to get put a lap down. So how did he finish on the lead lap in 20th?
30. (30) ELLIOTT SADLER 67.6
Made a serious bid for the top-10 at one point, by using short pitting to his advantage. But 19th sure is a far cry off of 2nd.
31. (32) JOHNNY BENSON 65.3
I don’t know why it was that Johnny got 7 laps down, but he did. And it’s kind of hard to finish well when you’re that far down.
32. (33) CASEY ATWOOD 62.1
The first time around at Richmond, Casey had his 3rd-best finish of the season. But then you realize that he finished 17th.
33. (34) STEVE PARK 55.5
Steven, Steven, Steven. Just because you’re contractually secure for next year is no reason to keep wrecking!
34. (36) MIKE SKINNER 53.7
How far has Mike’s career fallen? He hasn’t finished in the top-10 in 44 races, or in the top-5 in 73 events. Don’t even get me started on wins.
35. (35) TODD BODINE 52.2
Todd’s been having some trouble getting going at the start of the last couple races. Which means I can’t even speculate on where he might finish.
36. (37) HUT STRICKLIN 51.3
Hut’s going to end up like Stacey Compton, languished at the bottom of the ratings. That is, unless I find something akin to “The Conseco Car” to remedy that.
37. (39) BRETT BODINE 50.6
Need a few lessons on being a good spokesperson? Give Brett Bodine a call. How else does he manage to keep attracting sponsors?
38. (40) JOE NEMECHEK 49.7
One of the extreme definitions of “crawling before walking” these days is whenever Joe manages to finish on the lead lap in a WC race.
39. (38) JERRY NADEAU 49.6
Remember how well Steve Grissom did at Richmond the 1st time around? Does anyone think Jerry can come close to matching that?
40. (NR) MIKE WALLACE 34.2
“It was a good pit stop…after they put the hood down.” One of the many phrases in racing that you just don’t like hearing.
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