S
stridsberry
Guest
Matt Kenseth doesn’t appear to be in position to surrender his ratings lead anytime soon. Nor does Kurt Busch in 2nd. Perhaps the most interesting part of this week’s ratings is that Ricky Craven and Jimmie Johnson are tied for 7th for the 2nd straight week. Drivers who have the momentum on their side are Mark Martin, Jerry Nadeau, and Ryan Newman; those who are in need of a good run are Tony Stewart, Sterling Marlin, and Joe Nemechek.
1. (1) MATT KENSETH 165.2
At Talladega, he only needs to make the race to keep the points lead. It’s been a long time since that’s happened for anybody.
2. (2) KURT BUSCH 141.1
He got lapped twice, still finished 9th…and was upset with the performance. I think he’s a mite spoiled.
3. (4) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 139.8
I didn’t think Dale could contend for championship this year. He’s doing everything in his power to prove me wrong.
4. (9) RYAN NEWMAN 125.3
‘Bout time this boy finished the job! If only he were a little better at the two bullrings.
5. (10) JEFF GORDON 125.1
I wondered what NA$CAR was up to with that ruling on the “gentleman’s agreement”, too.
6. (5) MICHAEL WALTRIP 120.8
Who would’ve thought he’d still be 4th in points going into the 2nd plate race? Maybe Dale will let him have a win here, this time.
T7. (T7) RICKY CRAVEN 117.8
The last two weeks haven’t brought great finishes, but they’ve shown me more desire and resolve from Ricky than ever before. A lesser driver would have finished 30th in both races.
T7. (T7) JIMMIE JOHNSON 117.8
At least Jimmie’s motor waited until the last few laps to start giving out. And at least it wasn’t all smoky like Benson’s motor.
9. (6) BOBBY LABONTE 112.7
Winning the pole seems to have been a curse these last couple weeks. How else do you explain Bobby spinning all by himself?
10. (3) TONY STEWART 111.3
Two straight weeks of late-race trouble have him in need of a pick-me-up. Then there’s the issue of the confiscated car…
11. (20) MARK MARTIN 104.3
This has not been a Mark-like season at all. He’s normally the most consistent Roush driver, but he’s a little down on that scale quite a bit.
12. (13) KEVIN HARVICK 103
How Kevin in 10th in points with only one lead-lap finish is beyond me. Then again, I’m not sure his fans even care how he’s there; what matters is that he is.
13. (19) RUSTY WALLACE 101.2
From the Same Song, Umpteenth Verse Department: Rusty runs strong early before fading to a mid-teen’s finish. That’s not how you keep the top-10 (in points) streak going.
14. (12) ELLIOTT SADLER 99.9
What a tough break! Too bad that wreck wasn’t in a passenger car; then he could have sued Goodyear for defective tires.
15. (11) RICKY RUDD 99.7
Missing the wrecks? Check. Converting that into a good finish? Still needs a little work.
16. (18) DALE JARRETT 97.3
There’s two possibilities: 1) The new logo must look really good, and all the other drivers want a piece of it for their own car, or 2) it’s so ugly that it’s being used for target practice.
17. (22) GREG BIFFLE 97
Three unscheduled pit stops in quick succession pretty much sends any hope of a good finish to hell.
18. (17) DAVE BLANEY 95.5
Two straight miserable weeks now have him scrambling just to stay in the top 25.
19. (15) JOE NEMECHEK 94.6
Just like Dave, two straight bad weeks. But at least he won the Busch race – with an illegal car.
20. (14) JOHNNY BENSON 93.6
If Johnny was hoping for any sort of sponsorship from Smokey the Bear, he can forget about it now.
21. (27) JAMIE McMURRAY 91.9
Poor final pit stop cost him a shot at the top 5 – but there’s nothing wrong with 10th from a rookie.
22. (24) ROBBY GORDON 91.7
I didn’t hear a word about Robby all race – which means that he stayed out of all the wrecks.
23. (23) JIMMY SPENCER 90.8
I guess ol’ Smokey isn’t all that fond of Mongo anymore, either.
24. (21) JEFF BURTON 90.6
No wrecks, no engine problems, no nothing – he just wasn’t competitive. How many more races will Andrews last?
25. (16) STERLING MARLIN 88.7
I thought Sterling would need a few races to be competitive again. I didn’t think he’d still be 23rd in points right now.
26. (29) JEFF GREEN 85.1
Now here was the potential that Jeff flashed throughout the 2nd half of last year. And he’s already ahead of himself in the top 10 department.
27. (28) KENNY WALLACE 81
After a flash at Bristol, he’s right back to mid-pack, where this team has spent much of its existence.
T28. (35) JERRY NADEAU 77.7
When his luck goes good, this is the Jerry Nadeau that you usually see.
T28. (26) STEVE PARK 77.7
I had hoped that this side of Steve had finally been buried. But I guess somebody forgot to nail down the lid of the coffin.
30. (32) WARD BURTON 76.3
The pit road screw-up hurt, but not enough – for once – to keep Ward out of the top 15.
31. (30) TERRY LABONTE 74.2
He seemed to have a borderline top-10 car. But the track was apparently sick of his Texas power.
32. (25) BILL ELLIOTT 72.9
Ouch! That hurt. But it would have hurt even more if it had been on the final restart.
33. (33) JEREMY MAYFIELD 67.7
(Eds. Note: in light of Jeremy’s repeated un-noteworthy performances, I have decided that it is a waste of time to comment about them. Thank you.)
34. (31) CASEY MEARS 66.8
Um…he’s still finished every race! Not too shabby for a rookie, even this early in the year.
35. (40) TODD BODINE 63.9
It’s amazing how well you can finish when you don’t run into anything during the race! Todd should make a note of this.
36. (37) JOHN ANDRETTI 59.2
Position-wise, this was the closest that John has been to the lead lap all year. Not cool, if you’re him.
37. (38) KEN SCHRADER 59
Kenny seems to have settled in as a mid-pack car for most races. Which is still way better than he or this team was last year.
38. (36) MIKE SKINNER 57.7
Bill Elliott’s snake bit? What about Mike? He’s nearly torn down the wall twice in as many weeks, and it wasn’t his fault either time.
39. (34) KYLE PETTY/FTTIPALDI 56.9
After getting some needed laps in, Christian decided he needed a better look at the UPS logo, before deciding if he would ship with them.
40. (39) JACK SPRAGUE 56.8
Jack must love that we’re going to another plate track; it will likely be his only shot all year at a top 10 finish.
41. (41) TONY RAINES 43.2
I jinxed Tony. I said a few weeks ago that he would crack the top 20 soon, and he hasn’t even cracked the top 40 since then.
42. (42) LARRY FOYT 38.7
Top-30 finish! Way to make your sponsors happy for approximately five seconds.
43. (43) BRETT BODINE 33.8
Brett sure got a nice paycheck for such an unspectacular day. And unlike all the other drivers, he gets to keep ALL the money.
1. (1) MATT KENSETH 165.2
At Talladega, he only needs to make the race to keep the points lead. It’s been a long time since that’s happened for anybody.
2. (2) KURT BUSCH 141.1
He got lapped twice, still finished 9th…and was upset with the performance. I think he’s a mite spoiled.
3. (4) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 139.8
I didn’t think Dale could contend for championship this year. He’s doing everything in his power to prove me wrong.
4. (9) RYAN NEWMAN 125.3
‘Bout time this boy finished the job! If only he were a little better at the two bullrings.
5. (10) JEFF GORDON 125.1
I wondered what NA$CAR was up to with that ruling on the “gentleman’s agreement”, too.
6. (5) MICHAEL WALTRIP 120.8
Who would’ve thought he’d still be 4th in points going into the 2nd plate race? Maybe Dale will let him have a win here, this time.
T7. (T7) RICKY CRAVEN 117.8
The last two weeks haven’t brought great finishes, but they’ve shown me more desire and resolve from Ricky than ever before. A lesser driver would have finished 30th in both races.
T7. (T7) JIMMIE JOHNSON 117.8
At least Jimmie’s motor waited until the last few laps to start giving out. And at least it wasn’t all smoky like Benson’s motor.
9. (6) BOBBY LABONTE 112.7
Winning the pole seems to have been a curse these last couple weeks. How else do you explain Bobby spinning all by himself?
10. (3) TONY STEWART 111.3
Two straight weeks of late-race trouble have him in need of a pick-me-up. Then there’s the issue of the confiscated car…
11. (20) MARK MARTIN 104.3
This has not been a Mark-like season at all. He’s normally the most consistent Roush driver, but he’s a little down on that scale quite a bit.
12. (13) KEVIN HARVICK 103
How Kevin in 10th in points with only one lead-lap finish is beyond me. Then again, I’m not sure his fans even care how he’s there; what matters is that he is.
13. (19) RUSTY WALLACE 101.2
From the Same Song, Umpteenth Verse Department: Rusty runs strong early before fading to a mid-teen’s finish. That’s not how you keep the top-10 (in points) streak going.
14. (12) ELLIOTT SADLER 99.9
What a tough break! Too bad that wreck wasn’t in a passenger car; then he could have sued Goodyear for defective tires.
15. (11) RICKY RUDD 99.7
Missing the wrecks? Check. Converting that into a good finish? Still needs a little work.
16. (18) DALE JARRETT 97.3
There’s two possibilities: 1) The new logo must look really good, and all the other drivers want a piece of it for their own car, or 2) it’s so ugly that it’s being used for target practice.
17. (22) GREG BIFFLE 97
Three unscheduled pit stops in quick succession pretty much sends any hope of a good finish to hell.
18. (17) DAVE BLANEY 95.5
Two straight miserable weeks now have him scrambling just to stay in the top 25.
19. (15) JOE NEMECHEK 94.6
Just like Dave, two straight bad weeks. But at least he won the Busch race – with an illegal car.
20. (14) JOHNNY BENSON 93.6
If Johnny was hoping for any sort of sponsorship from Smokey the Bear, he can forget about it now.
21. (27) JAMIE McMURRAY 91.9
Poor final pit stop cost him a shot at the top 5 – but there’s nothing wrong with 10th from a rookie.
22. (24) ROBBY GORDON 91.7
I didn’t hear a word about Robby all race – which means that he stayed out of all the wrecks.
23. (23) JIMMY SPENCER 90.8
I guess ol’ Smokey isn’t all that fond of Mongo anymore, either.
24. (21) JEFF BURTON 90.6
No wrecks, no engine problems, no nothing – he just wasn’t competitive. How many more races will Andrews last?
25. (16) STERLING MARLIN 88.7
I thought Sterling would need a few races to be competitive again. I didn’t think he’d still be 23rd in points right now.
26. (29) JEFF GREEN 85.1
Now here was the potential that Jeff flashed throughout the 2nd half of last year. And he’s already ahead of himself in the top 10 department.
27. (28) KENNY WALLACE 81
After a flash at Bristol, he’s right back to mid-pack, where this team has spent much of its existence.
T28. (35) JERRY NADEAU 77.7
When his luck goes good, this is the Jerry Nadeau that you usually see.
T28. (26) STEVE PARK 77.7
I had hoped that this side of Steve had finally been buried. But I guess somebody forgot to nail down the lid of the coffin.
30. (32) WARD BURTON 76.3
The pit road screw-up hurt, but not enough – for once – to keep Ward out of the top 15.
31. (30) TERRY LABONTE 74.2
He seemed to have a borderline top-10 car. But the track was apparently sick of his Texas power.
32. (25) BILL ELLIOTT 72.9
Ouch! That hurt. But it would have hurt even more if it had been on the final restart.
33. (33) JEREMY MAYFIELD 67.7
(Eds. Note: in light of Jeremy’s repeated un-noteworthy performances, I have decided that it is a waste of time to comment about them. Thank you.)
34. (31) CASEY MEARS 66.8
Um…he’s still finished every race! Not too shabby for a rookie, even this early in the year.
35. (40) TODD BODINE 63.9
It’s amazing how well you can finish when you don’t run into anything during the race! Todd should make a note of this.
36. (37) JOHN ANDRETTI 59.2
Position-wise, this was the closest that John has been to the lead lap all year. Not cool, if you’re him.
37. (38) KEN SCHRADER 59
Kenny seems to have settled in as a mid-pack car for most races. Which is still way better than he or this team was last year.
38. (36) MIKE SKINNER 57.7
Bill Elliott’s snake bit? What about Mike? He’s nearly torn down the wall twice in as many weeks, and it wasn’t his fault either time.
39. (34) KYLE PETTY/FTTIPALDI 56.9
After getting some needed laps in, Christian decided he needed a better look at the UPS logo, before deciding if he would ship with them.
40. (39) JACK SPRAGUE 56.8
Jack must love that we’re going to another plate track; it will likely be his only shot all year at a top 10 finish.
41. (41) TONY RAINES 43.2
I jinxed Tony. I said a few weeks ago that he would crack the top 20 soon, and he hasn’t even cracked the top 40 since then.
42. (42) LARRY FOYT 38.7
Top-30 finish! Way to make your sponsors happy for approximately five seconds.
43. (43) BRETT BODINE 33.8
Brett sure got a nice paycheck for such an unspectacular day. And unlike all the other drivers, he gets to keep ALL the money.
