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stridsberry
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Welcome, folks, to the first full season of Stridsberry’s Power Ratings! At this point in the season, the ratings are still about half-dependent on last year’s performance, which involved a special formula that would drive me insane if I tried to explain it. This part will be gradually phased out over the next few weeks. I’ve made a number of changes to the formula this year, in order to give a better indication of Who’s Hot and Who’s Not. I’ll explain those changes in a separate post. For now, read on, enjoy, and critique!
1. TONY STEWART 149.5
Last year, Tony didn’t break the top-10 in points for the first time until Atlanta. This year, he’s 5th going into Atlanta. A much better start to the season, no?
2. MATT KENSETH 148.3
Two straight top-5’s have Matt just out reach of his first career point lead.
3. JIMMIE JOHNSON 146.2
A last lap spin at Vegas cost Jimmie a 3rd straight top-10, but he still has the best average finish of this young season. (It didn’t cost him the point lead, either; even if he’d held on to 8th, he’d be 2 points back of Michael.)
4. KURT BUSCH 141.8
I predicted that Kurt’s luck would run out at Las Vegas, and it turned out that I was right. Consecutive 2nd-place finishes still point to a good season ahead.
5. MICHAEL WALTRIP 138.2
Everyone who thought Michael would be leading the points this late in the season, raise your hand. Everyone who did so is a liar.
6. MARK MARTIN 132
It just wasn’t meant to be this time around. At least he didn’t have the worst Roush performance of the weekend.
7. JEFF BURTON 125.2
Jeff hasn’t been spectacular to date, but he’s been consistent enough to stand forth in the points. Sort of like what Rusty Wallace did the 1st half of last year.
8. DALE JARRETT 122
The wreck at Vegas offset the win at Rockingham, but he had a strong car beforehand. Too bad that doesn’t show up in the box score.
9. RYAN NEWMAN 119
A stellar comeback from a major hole at Vegas should answer the question of whether Ryan will willingly fall into a sophomore slump.
10. JEFF GORDON 115.8
I didn’t see much of Jeff at Daytona or Rockingham, and what I did see at Vegas was nullified by the wreck. Even last year, he got a better start.
11. RICKY RUDD 113.3
The last several years, the main thing the Wood Brothers have been lacking is consistency. So far, Ricky has giving that to them.
12. STERLING MARLIN 112.5
The bumping deal with Jimmie, if you look strictly at the video, appeared to be a racing incident. But when you read that Sterling “hurriedly left the track without comment,” you start to get suspicious.
13. DALE EARNHARDT JR. 108.5
Considering Jr.’s track record, I thought it would be Atlanta and not LV where Jr. got his first strong finish of the year. But what do I know?
14. RUSTY WALLACE 108.3
A strong showing at Rockingham, sandwiched by sub-par runs at Daytona and LV. Undoubtedly not the way that Rusty wanted to start off his Dodge tenure.
15. KEVIN HARVICK 102.5
After 3 races, Kevin has 72 more points than he did after 4 races last year. Does that mean he’s back on track? Only time will tell.
16. JOHNNY BENSON 100.7
Steady but unspectacular has worked so far for Johnny. Just don’t get hurt again.
17. BOBBY LABONTE 98.8
People keep talking about the great start that Bobby is off too, but it’s actually a worse start (to date) than last year.
18. RICKY CRAVEN 96.2
Ricky needs to learn how to spin someone out without getting himself caught up in the resulting mess. The same thing happened at Martinsville last year with Jimmy Spencer.
19. ROBBY GORDON 91.8
A strong performance at Daytona, followed by two lackluster runs. Which one will turn out to be the real Robby?
20. BILL ELLIOTT 90.7
After an unimpressive Daytona, and a horrifying 2nd-half slide at Rockingham, ol’ Bill finally showed some signs of life at LV.
21. DAVE BLANEY 87.5
Went from a pole and top-10 to near invisibility. Even when he dropped out of the race, he wasn’t mentioned.
22. JAMIE McMURRAY 81.2
He had another strong run going before a rookie mistake led to a spin, which led to right-rear problems for the rest of the race.
T23. JOE NEMECHEK 78.8
A great overall weekend gives the team momentum heading to Atlanta, where they finished 2nd in the fall of last year.
T23. ELLIOTT SADLER 78.8
It’s hard to put together a decent finish when you’re sitting behind the wall with a busted engine. One time, it’s a fluke; twice, and you’re doing something wrong.
25. JEREMY MAYFIELD 77.7
Had to be disappointed with his day, especially considering that he almost won LV last year.
26. CASEY MEARS 76.7
Very quietly became the 3rd rookie in as many races to be the highest finisher of the class.
27. STEVE PARK 76.5
Capped a strong return to Busch with a strong Cup race, but he took a lot of misplaced blame for DJ’s crash. The same thing happened between Skinner and Rusty, and Rusty was willing to forgive.
28. KYLE PETTY 76.3
It’s not the start I expected of him, but he does have 51% more points than at this time last year. These next three weeks should be a turn for the better.
29. TERRY LABONTE 75.5
Quietly came within shouting distance of the top 10 before dropping back after the final pit stops.
30. JACK SPRAGUE 75.2
One week after being christened with a new nickname, “One Whack Jack” managed to keep his nose clean. (That’s very fun to say, by the way.)
31. WARD BURTON 74.5
He’s looking for a jolt to get his season going, and with a 9.75 avg. finish over the past two seasons, Atlanta is a good bet for that occurrence.
32. JEFF GREEN 73.7
He’s behind four rookies and two unsponsored cars in the points – which includes one rookie who drives an unsponsored car. Yeah, I’d say he’s off to a bad start.
33. GREG BIFFLE 69.5
A DNQ for the ROTY favorite! It’s disappointing, but somehow not surprising; he failed to qualify for 30% of his WC attempts in 2002.
34. JIMMY SPENCER 68.5
In each of the last two races, he’s run very well before fading late. If he can figure out and fix why he’s fading (oversized waistline, perhaps?), he could potentially be a legitimate contender.
35. KENNY WALLACE 65.5
He finished 30th. That’s about six spots better than his LV average was coming into the race.
36. TONY RAINES 64.5
Drove a steady race and is now tied in points with the OTHER white car.
37. TODD BODINE 63.8
Ran a long time in the top 10 before suffering damage in the lap 175 mess – but still salvaged a top-20 finish.
38. JOHN ANDRETTI 61.3
Stretched the fuel in order to lead a lap, and halved last year’s finish of 36th. Unfortunately, he’s now going to a track where he crashed out of both races last year.
39. JERRY NADEAU 61
If he can come close to matching the Atlanta success he had with Hendrick, he should be a factor this coming weekend.
40. LARRY FOYT 55.5
Larry’s been a little SLOW in making the jump to WC, which has resulted in being KNOCKED AROUND. He’ll need to PICK UP THE PACE before he can be a FACTOR on Sunday.
41. KEN SCHRADER 55
The last two weeks have netted the two best non-plate finishes ever for this team. It’s good progress.
42. MIKE SKINNER 53.5
It takes a lot of guts to admit that you screwed up and caused a big wreck. I gained more respect for Mike than I would have for a top-10 finish.
43. DERRIKE COPE 38.5
Congrats on being the only part-time driver to make the rankings this week! And for actually finishing the race! Now pick up your paycheck and see if you can do it again.
1. TONY STEWART 149.5
Last year, Tony didn’t break the top-10 in points for the first time until Atlanta. This year, he’s 5th going into Atlanta. A much better start to the season, no?
2. MATT KENSETH 148.3
Two straight top-5’s have Matt just out reach of his first career point lead.
3. JIMMIE JOHNSON 146.2
A last lap spin at Vegas cost Jimmie a 3rd straight top-10, but he still has the best average finish of this young season. (It didn’t cost him the point lead, either; even if he’d held on to 8th, he’d be 2 points back of Michael.)
4. KURT BUSCH 141.8
I predicted that Kurt’s luck would run out at Las Vegas, and it turned out that I was right. Consecutive 2nd-place finishes still point to a good season ahead.
5. MICHAEL WALTRIP 138.2
Everyone who thought Michael would be leading the points this late in the season, raise your hand. Everyone who did so is a liar.
6. MARK MARTIN 132
It just wasn’t meant to be this time around. At least he didn’t have the worst Roush performance of the weekend.
7. JEFF BURTON 125.2
Jeff hasn’t been spectacular to date, but he’s been consistent enough to stand forth in the points. Sort of like what Rusty Wallace did the 1st half of last year.
8. DALE JARRETT 122
The wreck at Vegas offset the win at Rockingham, but he had a strong car beforehand. Too bad that doesn’t show up in the box score.
9. RYAN NEWMAN 119
A stellar comeback from a major hole at Vegas should answer the question of whether Ryan will willingly fall into a sophomore slump.
10. JEFF GORDON 115.8
I didn’t see much of Jeff at Daytona or Rockingham, and what I did see at Vegas was nullified by the wreck. Even last year, he got a better start.
11. RICKY RUDD 113.3
The last several years, the main thing the Wood Brothers have been lacking is consistency. So far, Ricky has giving that to them.
12. STERLING MARLIN 112.5
The bumping deal with Jimmie, if you look strictly at the video, appeared to be a racing incident. But when you read that Sterling “hurriedly left the track without comment,” you start to get suspicious.
13. DALE EARNHARDT JR. 108.5
Considering Jr.’s track record, I thought it would be Atlanta and not LV where Jr. got his first strong finish of the year. But what do I know?
14. RUSTY WALLACE 108.3
A strong showing at Rockingham, sandwiched by sub-par runs at Daytona and LV. Undoubtedly not the way that Rusty wanted to start off his Dodge tenure.
15. KEVIN HARVICK 102.5
After 3 races, Kevin has 72 more points than he did after 4 races last year. Does that mean he’s back on track? Only time will tell.
16. JOHNNY BENSON 100.7
Steady but unspectacular has worked so far for Johnny. Just don’t get hurt again.
17. BOBBY LABONTE 98.8
People keep talking about the great start that Bobby is off too, but it’s actually a worse start (to date) than last year.
18. RICKY CRAVEN 96.2
Ricky needs to learn how to spin someone out without getting himself caught up in the resulting mess. The same thing happened at Martinsville last year with Jimmy Spencer.
19. ROBBY GORDON 91.8
A strong performance at Daytona, followed by two lackluster runs. Which one will turn out to be the real Robby?
20. BILL ELLIOTT 90.7
After an unimpressive Daytona, and a horrifying 2nd-half slide at Rockingham, ol’ Bill finally showed some signs of life at LV.
21. DAVE BLANEY 87.5
Went from a pole and top-10 to near invisibility. Even when he dropped out of the race, he wasn’t mentioned.
22. JAMIE McMURRAY 81.2
He had another strong run going before a rookie mistake led to a spin, which led to right-rear problems for the rest of the race.
T23. JOE NEMECHEK 78.8
A great overall weekend gives the team momentum heading to Atlanta, where they finished 2nd in the fall of last year.
T23. ELLIOTT SADLER 78.8
It’s hard to put together a decent finish when you’re sitting behind the wall with a busted engine. One time, it’s a fluke; twice, and you’re doing something wrong.
25. JEREMY MAYFIELD 77.7
Had to be disappointed with his day, especially considering that he almost won LV last year.
26. CASEY MEARS 76.7
Very quietly became the 3rd rookie in as many races to be the highest finisher of the class.
27. STEVE PARK 76.5
Capped a strong return to Busch with a strong Cup race, but he took a lot of misplaced blame for DJ’s crash. The same thing happened between Skinner and Rusty, and Rusty was willing to forgive.
28. KYLE PETTY 76.3
It’s not the start I expected of him, but he does have 51% more points than at this time last year. These next three weeks should be a turn for the better.
29. TERRY LABONTE 75.5
Quietly came within shouting distance of the top 10 before dropping back after the final pit stops.
30. JACK SPRAGUE 75.2
One week after being christened with a new nickname, “One Whack Jack” managed to keep his nose clean. (That’s very fun to say, by the way.)
31. WARD BURTON 74.5
He’s looking for a jolt to get his season going, and with a 9.75 avg. finish over the past two seasons, Atlanta is a good bet for that occurrence.
32. JEFF GREEN 73.7
He’s behind four rookies and two unsponsored cars in the points – which includes one rookie who drives an unsponsored car. Yeah, I’d say he’s off to a bad start.
33. GREG BIFFLE 69.5
A DNQ for the ROTY favorite! It’s disappointing, but somehow not surprising; he failed to qualify for 30% of his WC attempts in 2002.
34. JIMMY SPENCER 68.5
In each of the last two races, he’s run very well before fading late. If he can figure out and fix why he’s fading (oversized waistline, perhaps?), he could potentially be a legitimate contender.
35. KENNY WALLACE 65.5
He finished 30th. That’s about six spots better than his LV average was coming into the race.
36. TONY RAINES 64.5
Drove a steady race and is now tied in points with the OTHER white car.
37. TODD BODINE 63.8
Ran a long time in the top 10 before suffering damage in the lap 175 mess – but still salvaged a top-20 finish.
38. JOHN ANDRETTI 61.3
Stretched the fuel in order to lead a lap, and halved last year’s finish of 36th. Unfortunately, he’s now going to a track where he crashed out of both races last year.
39. JERRY NADEAU 61
If he can come close to matching the Atlanta success he had with Hendrick, he should be a factor this coming weekend.
40. LARRY FOYT 55.5
Larry’s been a little SLOW in making the jump to WC, which has resulted in being KNOCKED AROUND. He’ll need to PICK UP THE PACE before he can be a FACTOR on Sunday.
41. KEN SCHRADER 55
The last two weeks have netted the two best non-plate finishes ever for this team. It’s good progress.
42. MIKE SKINNER 53.5
It takes a lot of guts to admit that you screwed up and caused a big wreck. I gained more respect for Mike than I would have for a top-10 finish.
43. DERRIKE COPE 38.5
Congrats on being the only part-time driver to make the rankings this week! And for actually finishing the race! Now pick up your paycheck and see if you can do it again.
