S
stridsberry
Guest
The latest ratings are now in, and there’s definitely been a lot of shuffling this week. Drivers making big gains are led by Bill Elliott and Robby Gordon. The biggest tumbles were taken by Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer. (It’s just a coincidence, I swear.)
1. (9) BILL ELLIOTT 130
It looks like Awesome Bill has made a return, following his 2nd straight win. I’ve never seen Ray speechless like that.
2. (3) JIMMIE JOHNSON 129.8
Just hung around and stayed out of trouble all day, and came out with another top-10.
3. (2) STERLING MARLIN 125.6
It’s been like this all year: whenever Sterling has problems, and it looks like he may lose the point lead, his nearest challenger (or two) has problems too, and Sterling keeps the lead.
4. (1) MARK MARTIN 124.5
Engine problems cost him an opportunity to take the points lead, but he’s going to a track where he dominated for most of the ‘90s.
5. (8) TONY STEWART 122.5
Somehow, you just knew Tony’s year wasn’t complete without a stint on probation. It likely would have been worse had the photographer not stood up for him, in a sense.
6. (7) RYAN NEWMAN 122.3
His hot streak has given him the tour lead in top-5 finishes, and put him right on the heels of JJ in the ROTY race.
7. (5) RICKY RUDD 121.9
It may not have been much of run…but it was 23 spots better than last year, and gave him the circuit lead in top-20s.
8. (11) RUSTY WALLACE 119.3
The car just came alive after the adjustments (and two tires) on the final pit stop, and the resulting 2nd-place finish gets him right back into championship contention.
9. (6) DALE JARRETT 118.5
I’m guessing that some of his late charge came from pure anger, but it was a great effort for him to go from 23rd to 10th in about 25 laps, on a track where you supposedly can’t pass.
10. (10) JEFF GORDON 118
Once again, he never really was a threat to win, and was only able to get up into the top-10 by using pit strategy. If it’s the same song at Watkins Glen, than you may be able to say that the team has some problems.
11. (4) KURT BUSCH 116.9
It was actually pretty entertaining to see Kurt show some political incorrectness like that. NASCAR may not like it, but us fans don’t like seeing a herd of corporate drones.
12. (14) KEVIN HARVICK 112
It looks like the crew swap really has paid off, seeing as Kevin leads the circuit in total points over the last 6 races. And he got a top-5 despite food poisoning! That takes a lot of heart to gut out.
13. (12) MATT KENSETH 109.8
2 straight weeks of strong finishes help to ease the horrible stretch of luck that he had in the J months (June/July).
14. (17) TERRY LABONTE 103.3
This team has definitely turned the corner, with five top-15s in the last six races. He’s now a legitimate contender for the top-15 in final points.
15. (13) MICHAEL WALTRIP 102.8
Just hung around all day, got another top-20 finish, and gained two spots in the points.
16. (15) JEFF GREEN 99.6
Considering the runs that his teammates are on, he may not be ahead of them for much longer.
17. (16) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 97.6
When you combine a tight raise car with that darn aero push (*shudder*), it must really be a bear to drive. As Geoff Bodine once said, “This thing is pushing like a dump truck.”
18. (23) ROBBY GORDON 95
Ran in the top-10 for most of the day, and the top-5 for about half the day. He now has a career high for top10 finishes in a season.
19. (20) BOBBY LABONTE 93.8
It looks like this Labonte is beginning to come back too, with consecutive 11th-place finishes.
20. (18) ELLIOTT SADLER 92.4
His simple, obvious analysis upon pounding the wall was, “flat right front tire”. That can be expected when you go straight up the track.
21. (19) RICKY CRAVEN 89.2
I read on PPI’s website that something broke in the rear end, and it caused the right rear tire to spin faster than the left rear. What a tough way to lose a needed top-10 finish.
22. (21) JEFF BURTON 84.6
Two Roush cars with engine trouble on the same lap? I bet Jack was going a little batty over that.
23. (26) WARD BURTON 83.5
It may have been the worst possible time to need to make an unscheduled pit stop. It appears Lady Luck is going to be chewing on him again.
T24. (25) DAVE BLANEY 82.8
Made an early charge to the front, slipped back a bit, then climbed back for a top-15 finish. I’m still waiting for that 1st career top-5.
T24. (24) KYLE PETTY 82.8
Didn’t hardly see any of Kyle on Sunday, but I’m sure he’ll take 25th over last year’s DNQ.
26. (22) JIMMY SPENCER 82.3
Got a little aggressive with the front bumper, then got a lap down because he THOUGHT he had a flat tire. I bet Kurt was happy to see Jimmy screw up like that.
27. (27) BOBBY HAMILTON 77.6
Another day where I really didn’t even know he was competing. When’s he going to break out of this nearly 1½ year funk?
28. (28) JOHN ANDRETTI 73.8
Watkins Glen was one of his better tracks last year. What about this year?
29. (29) JEREMY MAYFIELD 67.2
Yeesh, he’s been doing even worse in this car than the 12 car. Think he’s a fan of Ryan Newman anymore?
30. (33) KEN SCHRADER 65.9
He got his best finish of the year, and it came in the Pedigree car. And his best finish last year came in the Pedigree car. Coincidence? Probably, but it’s still fun to think about.
31. (30) MIKE SKINNER 64.6
Raced it up into the top-15 after having to go to the rear, and then had another motor give out. It’s been sad to see Morgan-McClure take such a fall from glory.
32. (31) CASEY ATWOOD 63.8
That was really a no-win situation that Casey was in. Better luck next week.
33. (32) HUT STRICKLIN 63.2
Got his first top-20 finish in a while, but it wasn’t enough to avoid having one his tire changers replace him for a race.
34. (37) STEVE PARK 60.2
A 7th-place effort proves that he’s still got what it takes to contend on the Winston Cup level. Even the commentators were surprised when you showed up in the top-10.
35. (34) BRETT BODINE 54.4
Started up the chain of Bodine problems when he got caught up with the old field-filler itself.
36. (36) TODD BODINE 52.5
It looked like the car was capable of a top-10, but the motor just wasn’t up to the task.
37. (38) JERRY NADEAU 50.5
It turned out a lot better than at Pocono. Now it’s time to see if they can recapture the road-course magic – and if they do, if the car will hold up.
38. (39) JOE NEMECHEK 47.9
Another race led, and a top-20 finish. Slowly but surely, he’s inching back to the front of the pack.
39. (35) JOHNNY BENSON 45.3
The front end may have been crumpled a bit, but he still looked capable of a 15th-20th-place run before the engine gave out.
40. (40) STACEY COMPTON 41.6
It looks like Stacey may be in this spot for a while, ‘cause there’s (currently) no other full-timers to step up. I’ll have to start tracking his BGN runs, so I’ll have something to write about.
1. (9) BILL ELLIOTT 130
It looks like Awesome Bill has made a return, following his 2nd straight win. I’ve never seen Ray speechless like that.
2. (3) JIMMIE JOHNSON 129.8
Just hung around and stayed out of trouble all day, and came out with another top-10.
3. (2) STERLING MARLIN 125.6
It’s been like this all year: whenever Sterling has problems, and it looks like he may lose the point lead, his nearest challenger (or two) has problems too, and Sterling keeps the lead.
4. (1) MARK MARTIN 124.5
Engine problems cost him an opportunity to take the points lead, but he’s going to a track where he dominated for most of the ‘90s.
5. (8) TONY STEWART 122.5
Somehow, you just knew Tony’s year wasn’t complete without a stint on probation. It likely would have been worse had the photographer not stood up for him, in a sense.
6. (7) RYAN NEWMAN 122.3
His hot streak has given him the tour lead in top-5 finishes, and put him right on the heels of JJ in the ROTY race.
7. (5) RICKY RUDD 121.9
It may not have been much of run…but it was 23 spots better than last year, and gave him the circuit lead in top-20s.
8. (11) RUSTY WALLACE 119.3
The car just came alive after the adjustments (and two tires) on the final pit stop, and the resulting 2nd-place finish gets him right back into championship contention.
9. (6) DALE JARRETT 118.5
I’m guessing that some of his late charge came from pure anger, but it was a great effort for him to go from 23rd to 10th in about 25 laps, on a track where you supposedly can’t pass.
10. (10) JEFF GORDON 118
Once again, he never really was a threat to win, and was only able to get up into the top-10 by using pit strategy. If it’s the same song at Watkins Glen, than you may be able to say that the team has some problems.
11. (4) KURT BUSCH 116.9
It was actually pretty entertaining to see Kurt show some political incorrectness like that. NASCAR may not like it, but us fans don’t like seeing a herd of corporate drones.
12. (14) KEVIN HARVICK 112
It looks like the crew swap really has paid off, seeing as Kevin leads the circuit in total points over the last 6 races. And he got a top-5 despite food poisoning! That takes a lot of heart to gut out.
13. (12) MATT KENSETH 109.8
2 straight weeks of strong finishes help to ease the horrible stretch of luck that he had in the J months (June/July).
14. (17) TERRY LABONTE 103.3
This team has definitely turned the corner, with five top-15s in the last six races. He’s now a legitimate contender for the top-15 in final points.
15. (13) MICHAEL WALTRIP 102.8
Just hung around all day, got another top-20 finish, and gained two spots in the points.
16. (15) JEFF GREEN 99.6
Considering the runs that his teammates are on, he may not be ahead of them for much longer.
17. (16) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 97.6
When you combine a tight raise car with that darn aero push (*shudder*), it must really be a bear to drive. As Geoff Bodine once said, “This thing is pushing like a dump truck.”
18. (23) ROBBY GORDON 95
Ran in the top-10 for most of the day, and the top-5 for about half the day. He now has a career high for top10 finishes in a season.
19. (20) BOBBY LABONTE 93.8
It looks like this Labonte is beginning to come back too, with consecutive 11th-place finishes.
20. (18) ELLIOTT SADLER 92.4
His simple, obvious analysis upon pounding the wall was, “flat right front tire”. That can be expected when you go straight up the track.
21. (19) RICKY CRAVEN 89.2
I read on PPI’s website that something broke in the rear end, and it caused the right rear tire to spin faster than the left rear. What a tough way to lose a needed top-10 finish.
22. (21) JEFF BURTON 84.6
Two Roush cars with engine trouble on the same lap? I bet Jack was going a little batty over that.
23. (26) WARD BURTON 83.5
It may have been the worst possible time to need to make an unscheduled pit stop. It appears Lady Luck is going to be chewing on him again.
T24. (25) DAVE BLANEY 82.8
Made an early charge to the front, slipped back a bit, then climbed back for a top-15 finish. I’m still waiting for that 1st career top-5.
T24. (24) KYLE PETTY 82.8
Didn’t hardly see any of Kyle on Sunday, but I’m sure he’ll take 25th over last year’s DNQ.
26. (22) JIMMY SPENCER 82.3
Got a little aggressive with the front bumper, then got a lap down because he THOUGHT he had a flat tire. I bet Kurt was happy to see Jimmy screw up like that.
27. (27) BOBBY HAMILTON 77.6
Another day where I really didn’t even know he was competing. When’s he going to break out of this nearly 1½ year funk?
28. (28) JOHN ANDRETTI 73.8
Watkins Glen was one of his better tracks last year. What about this year?
29. (29) JEREMY MAYFIELD 67.2
Yeesh, he’s been doing even worse in this car than the 12 car. Think he’s a fan of Ryan Newman anymore?
30. (33) KEN SCHRADER 65.9
He got his best finish of the year, and it came in the Pedigree car. And his best finish last year came in the Pedigree car. Coincidence? Probably, but it’s still fun to think about.
31. (30) MIKE SKINNER 64.6
Raced it up into the top-15 after having to go to the rear, and then had another motor give out. It’s been sad to see Morgan-McClure take such a fall from glory.
32. (31) CASEY ATWOOD 63.8
That was really a no-win situation that Casey was in. Better luck next week.
33. (32) HUT STRICKLIN 63.2
Got his first top-20 finish in a while, but it wasn’t enough to avoid having one his tire changers replace him for a race.
34. (37) STEVE PARK 60.2
A 7th-place effort proves that he’s still got what it takes to contend on the Winston Cup level. Even the commentators were surprised when you showed up in the top-10.
35. (34) BRETT BODINE 54.4
Started up the chain of Bodine problems when he got caught up with the old field-filler itself.
36. (36) TODD BODINE 52.5
It looked like the car was capable of a top-10, but the motor just wasn’t up to the task.
37. (38) JERRY NADEAU 50.5
It turned out a lot better than at Pocono. Now it’s time to see if they can recapture the road-course magic – and if they do, if the car will hold up.
38. (39) JOE NEMECHEK 47.9
Another race led, and a top-20 finish. Slowly but surely, he’s inching back to the front of the pack.
39. (35) JOHNNY BENSON 45.3
The front end may have been crumpled a bit, but he still looked capable of a 15th-20th-place run before the engine gave out.
40. (40) STACEY COMPTON 41.6
It looks like Stacey may be in this spot for a while, ‘cause there’s (currently) no other full-timers to step up. I’ll have to start tracking his BGN runs, so I’ll have something to write about.
Actually thought Harvick might move up a little closer in your system.