S
stridsberry
Guest
For the 3rd straight week, Ryan Newman has remained on top of the ratings, while positions continue to shuffle behind him. Drivers making the biggest gains at Dover were Ricky Craven and Matt Kenseth; drivers taking major hits were Ricky Rudd and Ward Burton.
1. (1) RYAN NEWMAN 138.5
I seem to remember that Ryan spun out in the first time around at Dover, and came back to the top-5. So imagine how well he’d finish if he could keep the car pointed forward.
2. (3) MARK MARTIN 136
He’s extended his points lead, and he’s got momentum. And he sure isn’t counting any points.
3. (4) JIMMIE JOHNSON 134.7
If only they could run Dover 36 times a year. I’m sure Jimmie wouldn’t mind that one bit.
4. (2) TONY STEWART 134.2
Still holding steady in the points battle, but we’re at the time of the year where you can’t afford to be inconsistent. I’m also sure that Tony knows that.
5. (6) DALE JARRETT 126.9
I wonder which is more motivating to Dale: finishing in the top-10 in points, or beating out his teammate.
6. (9) MATT KENSETH 123
Continuing his late season surge, he’s moved within 45 points of the top-5.
7. (5) JEFF GORDON 119.9
The car was running poor enough for Jeff to be with the back markers, and thus more likely to be caught up in a wreck in the 1st place.
8. (7) BILL ELLIOTT 113.9
Any title hopes he had took a big hit with a sub-par performance, especially considering how well he ran a Dover the first time around/
9. (8) STERLING MARLIN 112.9
He’s still not out of it yet, but if he needs to build some momentum in the next few races. (And also quit complaining, ‘cause it’s too late in the game to get any rules changes, IMHO.)
10. (12) KURT BUSCH 112.4
Kurt just needs to become more consistent, and if he can do just that for the rest of the season, I’ll be penciling him in as a title contender for 2003.
11. (11) RUSTY WALLACE 109.5
Rusty’s sure been having a lot of tire problems this year. Who’s at fault, him team or Goodyear? (My money’s on the team.)
12. (13) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 108.8
He looked good early, but losing four laps to ill handling? Somebody’s probably gotten a major lecture at the shop by now.
13. (19) RICKY CRAVEN 106.7
Had a dominant car in the middle stages, but the handling deteriorated, and then the motor was going sour in the final few laps. Considering that, nothing wrong with 9th.
14. (14) JEFF BURTON 106
He’s still got 198 points to go before he catches Kurt, and thus is no longer the lowest-ranked Roush car.
15. (10) RICKY RUDD 104.9
Ricky could get away with the 11th-15th place finishes earlier in the year, but they’re not going to get him back in title contention.
16. (16) JEFF GREEN 100.7
After a one-week hiatus, Jeff gets back on track as the top gun of the RCR gang.
17. (15) MICHAEL WALTRIP 100.2
He’s about to return to being the top DEI driver in the points – yet also about to drop out of the top-15. What will happen first?
18. (17) KEVIN HARVICK 97.8
Somebody apparently sticks a fork in this team after Bristol, ‘cause they didn’t do anything for a while after the first race there, and haven’t done anything since the 2nd time around.
19. (20) BOBBY LABONTE 93.5
I’m guessing that the expired engine was a blessing in disguise for Bobby, since he no longer had to drive that “horrible car”.
20. (18) ROBBY GORDON 93.1
17th at NHIS, 17th at Dover…consistently unspectacular, I call it. At least he didn’t make any more enemies.
21. (21) DAVE BLANEY 84.6
Snuck up in the running order when it counted, and just missed out on the top-10. Still, I’m waiting on him to finally get a top-5. Kansas would be a good place for it.
22. (23) KYLE PETTY 84.1
Bounces back from the NHIS misfortunes for (another) steady finish, and two spots gained in the points.
23. (25) KEN SCHRADER 82.4
Keeps climbing the points, and climbing the ratings. A few top-10 finishes may just be enough to lure some corporate backing for next year.
24. (26) JOHNNY BENSON 82.1
Back-to-back top tens for the first time in nearly a year (10th at Phoenix, 3rd at Rockingham).
25. (24) JEREMY MAYFIELD 79.7
Has five top-20 finishes in seven races as the team tries for a strong finish.
26. (22) WARD BURTON 76.7
No surprise here – gets taken out in a wreck not his doing, again. At least he got it out of the way early.
27. (28) JIMMY SPENCER 74.3
I’ve been waiting all year for this team to live up to his potential, and it hasn’t happened yet. And now a 3rd team is being added, how will that affect Jimmy?
28. (27) JOHN ANDRETTI 71.6
Are you positive that you don’t want to come back to PE next year, John? It’d be a whole lot better than unemployment.
29. (30) ELLIOTT SADLER 68.7
Only eight races away now. Can you feel it?
30. (31) CASEY ATWOOD 62.6
Who wants to bet that Sirius is unhappy with this team, and is regretting getting involved with team sponsorship? Races are fine and dandy, but the team…
31. (29) TODD BODINE 61.5
Is it really true that the team has blown 7 Yates motors during the season? If so, then it’s time to start accepting them as is, and not tinkering at all.
32. (32) TERRY LABONTE 60.4
What happened? He was challenged for the top-15 in points about a month ago, and now…
33. (34) STEVE PARK 60.3
So, Steve’s gonna get his first crack at Kansas City this coming weekend. Knowing that, I’ll keep my big mouth shut when it comes to predicting his finish.
34. (35) MIKE SKINNER 57.9
Wow, a top-20 finish! His first since Infineon, and this despite hitting the jackman! It’s pretty sad when 19th qualifies as a “Kodak Moment”.
35. (38) JOE NEMECHEK 53
Always look at the positive side, Joe. You didn’t wreck, did you?
36. (39) MIKE WALLACE 52.3
Ho hum. *Yawn* I think I’ll go take a nap now.
37. (33) BOBBY HAMILTON 51.9
Another week of getting to watch Greg qualify great, and finish…well, not so great. I bet Bobby would love to teach him about maintaining your position.
38. (36) BRETT BODINE 48.1
What can I say? The car was slow, the provisional rules are stupid, and Brett didn’t make the show. Next!
39. (37) JERRY NADEAU 47.7
Another week, another torn up 44. Who wants to sponsor a car that only gets airtime for wrecking?
40. (40) KENNY WALLACE 41
His streak of beating Rusty is over at two – but Herman will find some way to make it look better than that.
1. (1) RYAN NEWMAN 138.5
I seem to remember that Ryan spun out in the first time around at Dover, and came back to the top-5. So imagine how well he’d finish if he could keep the car pointed forward.
2. (3) MARK MARTIN 136
He’s extended his points lead, and he’s got momentum. And he sure isn’t counting any points.
3. (4) JIMMIE JOHNSON 134.7
If only they could run Dover 36 times a year. I’m sure Jimmie wouldn’t mind that one bit.
4. (2) TONY STEWART 134.2
Still holding steady in the points battle, but we’re at the time of the year where you can’t afford to be inconsistent. I’m also sure that Tony knows that.
5. (6) DALE JARRETT 126.9
I wonder which is more motivating to Dale: finishing in the top-10 in points, or beating out his teammate.
6. (9) MATT KENSETH 123
Continuing his late season surge, he’s moved within 45 points of the top-5.
7. (5) JEFF GORDON 119.9
The car was running poor enough for Jeff to be with the back markers, and thus more likely to be caught up in a wreck in the 1st place.
8. (7) BILL ELLIOTT 113.9
Any title hopes he had took a big hit with a sub-par performance, especially considering how well he ran a Dover the first time around/
9. (8) STERLING MARLIN 112.9
He’s still not out of it yet, but if he needs to build some momentum in the next few races. (And also quit complaining, ‘cause it’s too late in the game to get any rules changes, IMHO.)
10. (12) KURT BUSCH 112.4
Kurt just needs to become more consistent, and if he can do just that for the rest of the season, I’ll be penciling him in as a title contender for 2003.
11. (11) RUSTY WALLACE 109.5
Rusty’s sure been having a lot of tire problems this year. Who’s at fault, him team or Goodyear? (My money’s on the team.)
12. (13) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 108.8
He looked good early, but losing four laps to ill handling? Somebody’s probably gotten a major lecture at the shop by now.
13. (19) RICKY CRAVEN 106.7
Had a dominant car in the middle stages, but the handling deteriorated, and then the motor was going sour in the final few laps. Considering that, nothing wrong with 9th.
14. (14) JEFF BURTON 106
He’s still got 198 points to go before he catches Kurt, and thus is no longer the lowest-ranked Roush car.
15. (10) RICKY RUDD 104.9
Ricky could get away with the 11th-15th place finishes earlier in the year, but they’re not going to get him back in title contention.
16. (16) JEFF GREEN 100.7
After a one-week hiatus, Jeff gets back on track as the top gun of the RCR gang.
17. (15) MICHAEL WALTRIP 100.2
He’s about to return to being the top DEI driver in the points – yet also about to drop out of the top-15. What will happen first?
18. (17) KEVIN HARVICK 97.8
Somebody apparently sticks a fork in this team after Bristol, ‘cause they didn’t do anything for a while after the first race there, and haven’t done anything since the 2nd time around.
19. (20) BOBBY LABONTE 93.5
I’m guessing that the expired engine was a blessing in disguise for Bobby, since he no longer had to drive that “horrible car”.
20. (18) ROBBY GORDON 93.1
17th at NHIS, 17th at Dover…consistently unspectacular, I call it. At least he didn’t make any more enemies.
21. (21) DAVE BLANEY 84.6
Snuck up in the running order when it counted, and just missed out on the top-10. Still, I’m waiting on him to finally get a top-5. Kansas would be a good place for it.
22. (23) KYLE PETTY 84.1
Bounces back from the NHIS misfortunes for (another) steady finish, and two spots gained in the points.
23. (25) KEN SCHRADER 82.4
Keeps climbing the points, and climbing the ratings. A few top-10 finishes may just be enough to lure some corporate backing for next year.
24. (26) JOHNNY BENSON 82.1
Back-to-back top tens for the first time in nearly a year (10th at Phoenix, 3rd at Rockingham).
25. (24) JEREMY MAYFIELD 79.7
Has five top-20 finishes in seven races as the team tries for a strong finish.
26. (22) WARD BURTON 76.7
No surprise here – gets taken out in a wreck not his doing, again. At least he got it out of the way early.
27. (28) JIMMY SPENCER 74.3
I’ve been waiting all year for this team to live up to his potential, and it hasn’t happened yet. And now a 3rd team is being added, how will that affect Jimmy?
28. (27) JOHN ANDRETTI 71.6
Are you positive that you don’t want to come back to PE next year, John? It’d be a whole lot better than unemployment.
29. (30) ELLIOTT SADLER 68.7
Only eight races away now. Can you feel it?
30. (31) CASEY ATWOOD 62.6
Who wants to bet that Sirius is unhappy with this team, and is regretting getting involved with team sponsorship? Races are fine and dandy, but the team…
31. (29) TODD BODINE 61.5
Is it really true that the team has blown 7 Yates motors during the season? If so, then it’s time to start accepting them as is, and not tinkering at all.
32. (32) TERRY LABONTE 60.4
What happened? He was challenged for the top-15 in points about a month ago, and now…
33. (34) STEVE PARK 60.3
So, Steve’s gonna get his first crack at Kansas City this coming weekend. Knowing that, I’ll keep my big mouth shut when it comes to predicting his finish.
34. (35) MIKE SKINNER 57.9
Wow, a top-20 finish! His first since Infineon, and this despite hitting the jackman! It’s pretty sad when 19th qualifies as a “Kodak Moment”.
35. (38) JOE NEMECHEK 53
Always look at the positive side, Joe. You didn’t wreck, did you?
36. (39) MIKE WALLACE 52.3
Ho hum. *Yawn* I think I’ll go take a nap now.
37. (33) BOBBY HAMILTON 51.9
Another week of getting to watch Greg qualify great, and finish…well, not so great. I bet Bobby would love to teach him about maintaining your position.
38. (36) BRETT BODINE 48.1
What can I say? The car was slow, the provisional rules are stupid, and Brett didn’t make the show. Next!
39. (37) JERRY NADEAU 47.7
Another week, another torn up 44. Who wants to sponsor a car that only gets airtime for wrecking?
40. (40) KENNY WALLACE 41
His streak of beating Rusty is over at two – but Herman will find some way to make it look better than that.
