October 6th - October 10th, 2008
Wednesday: Did your driver survive the Talladega carnage, or did the Big One spell disaster for his spot in the Top 15? Find out where the Frontstretch Staff rates your favorite in this week's Power Rankings!
Thursday: Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off about whether a broadcaster's interest in a race team constitutes a conflict of interest when they're on the air.
Friday: Our John Potts tells it like it is in racing because he lived it - and he'll share it all with you in Driven to the Past.
- This week on the Frontstretch!
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The Coca-Cola 600 is the longest race on the NASCAR schedule, and the twists and turns that take place over those four and a half hours of racing led to plenty of opportunities for writers to change their votes in the rankings. As you might expect, Kasey Kahne made a leap from unranked to well inside the Top 15, while Denny Hamlin's blown tire cost him more than a few positions at the end of Sunday's race; he tumbled from third to well down the bottom half of our list. But despite all the movers and shakers around them, one thing remained the same at the conclusion of 600 miles: with his third place finish, Kyle Busch maintained his stranglehold on the top spot in the rankings, with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. following close behind. Let the budding rivalry between the two continue! Where did Hamlin, Kahne, and the rest of your favorite drivers wind up? Read on below to find out, and be sure to comment and let us know if you agree or disagree with the latest rankings by our Frontstretch writing experts.
How The Rankings Are Calculated: Frontstretch does their power rankings somewhat similar to how the Associated Press does them for basketball or football — writers on our staff will vote for the Top 20 on a 20-19-18-17-16-15…3-2-1 basis, giving 20 points to their first place driver, 19 for their second, and so on. In the end, Mike Neff calculates the points, adds some funny one liners, and … voila! You have the power rankings from our dedicated staff.
| FRONTSTRETCH TOP 15 POWER RANKINGS: MAY 28th, 2008 | |||
| Rank | Driver (First Place Votes) | Votes | Last Week |
| 1 | Kyle Busch (8) | 178 | 1 |
| A third place finish matches nicely with that third finger he held up to Jeff Gordon after the race. Oh, Kyle … | |||
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 164 | 2 |
| The standard bearer for Hendrick this year pulled that one off with smoke and mirrors (and duct tape). | |||
| 3 | Jeff Burton | 155 | 5 |
| The only driver to run every lap of every race this season — now that's consistency. | |||
| 4 | Carl Edwards | 144 | 4 |
| Ruh-roh! It looks like everyone has caught up to Edwards at intermediate tracks — and they're just not good anywhere else! | |||
| 5 | Tony Stewart | 120 | 8 |
| It’s a good bet there will be a bomb threat phoned into Goodyear headquarters from a certain Columbus, Indiana household very soon. | |||
| 6 | Kasey Kahne (1) | 118 | NR |
| Could this be the first time in professional sports history that the fans have turned a season around for an organization? | |||
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 117 | 11 |
| Making something out of nothing, the No. 24 team showed signs of becoming itself once again at Lowe's. | |||
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | 114 | 6 |
| When you're out of contention 30 miles into a 600-mile race, that's going to lead to a looong day. | |||
| 9 | Greg Biffle | 110 | 10 |
| Beginning to look more and more like the former Busch and Truck champion that he is. | |||
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | 109 | 3 |
| Acting more and more like his mentor Tony Stewart when it comes to dealing with the press … and that's not exactly a good thing. | |||
| 11 | Jimmie Johnson | 98 | 7 |
| Blown engine aside, this team has to be pleased it's keeping up with the big dogs once again. | |||
| 12 | David Ragan | 77 | 9 |
| After a year of wadding up Jack Roush's racecars, Ragan's showing signs of returning the No. 6 car to its former glory and consistency. | |||
| 13 | Kevin Harvick | 60 | 12 |
| Hoping the upcoming rush of intermediate tracks doesn’t derail his strong start to the season. | |||
| 14 | Matt Kenseth | 51 | NR |
| The No. 17 bunch is looking more and more like a team getting back to their championship caliber performance of the past. | |||
| 15 | Mark Martin | 42 | 14 |
| With a broken header, shocked he didn't die of carbon monoxide poisoning 200 laps into the race. | |||
| 15 | Bobby Labonte | 42 | NR |
| For as much grief as Petty Enterprises gets, they really aren't running that bad. | |||
| Dropped Out : Ryan Newman (13), Martin Truex, Jr. (15). | |||
| Also Receiving Votes : Ryan Newman (38) Martin Truex Jr. (36) Brian Vickers (24) Travis Kvapil (22) Kurt Busch (16) Juan Pablo Montoya (15) David Reutimann (14) Casey Mears (8) Elliott Sadler (7) Dave Blaney (7) Sam Hornish, Jr. (2) Jamie McMurray (1) David Gilliland (1) | |||
| Who Voted: Ren Jonsin, Tom Bowles, Cami Starr, Mike Neff, Kim DeHaven, Tony Lumbis, Vito Pugliese, and Bryan Keith. | |||
Still haven’t joined the Frontstretch Forums? Here’s a peek at what you’re
missing this week:
How do you feel about A.J. Allmendinger’s release from Red Bull Racing?
Are you surprised to see Paul Menard leaving DEI?
If you’d prefer to stay out of controversial NASCAR topics, feel free to join us in The Infield, where we talk about everything from politics to stick and ball sports to jokes and odd news from around the world.
And for those of you that might visit The Frontstretch Forums to kill time, feel free to join in our Games forum. It’s the perfect place to waste away countless hours playing word association, hangman, and much, much more.
Click here to join the forums and tell us what you think. Don’t miss out on a chance to share your opinion with a growing community of fans just like you!
Message Board Quote of the Week: “I don’t see how Rusty + DEI + COT = competitive on the racetrack in 2009. I do see how Rusty could hook a sponsor, though, which DEI needs more than ever with Paul Menard leaving and taking the Menards money with him.” Scott B on rumors that Rusty Wallace would be making a return to NASCAR behind the wheel of a DEI-owned machine
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