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Frontstretch Sprint Cup Power Rankings : Top 15 After Lowe's
Frontstretch Staff · Wednesday May 27, 2009
While racing was supposed to be the focus at Charlotte, rain wound up being the headline. Since the 600-miler was called short due to weather, the final standings were a jumbled mess of drivers who took a risk on the final pit stop to steal a good finish — leaving the fastest cars in the field scrambling for what little they could get.
With such a haphazard end to a Memorial Day race plagued by Mother Nature’s wrath, our voters seemed to be left unaffected by these random results. That left the power rankings mostly intact, although there were a few exceptions to the rule — in particular two drivers from mid-level teams who made some serious strides up the list. Who are they? Look below to find out, seeing if your driver stayed high and dry or wound up fighting a torrential downpour down the Top 15 following Monday’s Coca-Cola 600.
| FRONTSTRETCH TOP 15 POWER RANKINGS: MAY 27th, 2009 | |||
| Rank | Driver (First Place Votes) | Votes | Last Week |
| 1 | Tony Stewart (5) | 195 | 1 |
| Thank goodness FOX only has one more week covering races – otherwise, they would beat his “Billy Bad Butt” comment to a slow, agonizing death. | |||
| 2 | Jeff Gordon (2) | 177 | 2 |
| His bad back isn’t the only thing leading him to some agonizing finishes as of late. | |||
| 3 | Ryan Newman (3) | 174 | 4 |
| How great would it have been to see the Army car win on Memorial Day? | |||
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 161 | 5 |
| 173 laps led and nothing to show for it … again? The only thing missing from Busch’s bad luck month of May was the Bad Boy temper tantrum that usually gets him double secret probation. | |||
| 5 | Jimmie Johnson | 151 | 7 |
| For the second week in a row, factors outside of their control sabotaged the No. 48 team. Three strikes and you’re out … either that, or Chad Knaus starts to cheat. | |||
| 6 | Mark Martin | 140 | 6 |
| Mark Martin to Hendrick on Tuesday: “Dale Junior will get my crew chief when you pry him from my cold, dead hands.” | |||
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 120 | 3 |
| Not even torrential rains could clean the horrid paint scheme off of Busch’s car — that’s when you know you’re doomed to fail. | |||
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | 118 | 8 |
| Started 13th, finished 11th, didn’t do anything spectacular or stupid … sounds like a Denny Hamlin race to us. | |||
| 9 | Matt Kenseth | 116 | 9 |
| Roush may have lost its dominant grip on intermediate tracks, but Kenseth showed flashes of getting that loving feeling back. | |||
| 10 | David Reutimann | 103 | T – 15 |
| Well, it wasn’t like he was never going to win a race… | |||
| 11 | Carl Edwards | 92 | 12 |
| Should have known the car with a duck on it would do well on a day dominated by rain. | |||
| 12 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 90 | 13 |
| Sleeper pick for the Chase? Eh, probably not. Maybe he’ll get into a slap fight with Harvick again, though. That was fun. | |||
| 13 | Greg Biffle | 83 | 11 |
| Considering it was the site of his last win in September, the concrete of Dover’s Monster Mile can’t come soon enough for The Biff. | |||
| 14 | Jeff Burton | 76 | 10 |
| Last Fall, Burton ran circles around the competition at Lowe’s. This Spring, everyone else simply ran circles around him. Need any more proof RCR is in a slump? No, we didn’t think so either. | |||
| 15 | Brian Vickers | 62 | NR |
| Needs to remind his pit crew there’s a big difference between drinking Red Bull and Red Bull Sugar Free before a stop. | |||
| Dropped Out: Joey Logano (14), Clint Bowyer (T-15). | |||
| Also Receiving Votes: Joey Logano (59), Kasey Kahne (47), Marcos Ambrose (22), Sam Hornish, Jr. (22), Clint Bowyer (20), Martin Truex, Jr. (15), Bill Elliott (13), Brad Keselowski (10), Robby Gordon (10), Bobby Labonte (8), Jamie McMurray (8), Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (4), Kevin Harvick (3), Scott Speed (1). | |||
| Who Voted: Thomas Bowles, Ren Jonsin, Mike Neff, Tony Lumbis, Doug Turnbull, Matt Taliaferro, Vito Pugliese, Bryan Keith, Phillip Allaway, and Kurt Smith. | |||
Do you want the chance to win a free Frontstretch T-Shirt, and are you really good at talking about NASCAR? Well, we have the perfect opportunity for you. Our staff will be giving away a free T-Shirt to the reader who makes the best post in our Frontstretch Forum between now and the end of the season. So, what makes a good post? It’s pretty hard to impress us, but here are some things we are looking for:
Does your post spark passionate reactions from other readers? Are you commenting on meaningful NASCAR-related events? Do your posts have substance? In other words, “Dale Jr. is the best driver ever” or “Danica Patrick is hot” will not cut it.
So go to the Frontstretch Forums, post early, post often, and post well! We’ll announce the winner following the final race of the season at Homestead.
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