Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2010 Auto Club 500 at Fontana

Taking the plates off at Auto Club Speedway meant the first “unrestricted” race of the regular season Sunday; and for once, the 2-mile oval didn’t disappoint. No pothole appeared to stop the action, but a threat from Mother Nature sure helped start it, with rain clouds keeping the racing hot and heavy the second we reached the halfway point. Yet while the finish was better, it was the same old story up front, with the reigning four-time champ using both luck and savvy to end the day in victory lane at Fontana.

Jimmie Johnson led a fairly large group who successfully recovered from Daytona disaster, leaving our poll more jumbled than ever this week. 30 different drivers received votes in all, with four receiving at least one first-place ranking from our pollsters. Which wheelman was able to snag the top spot? Find out below as the experts decide if your favorite is worthy of a place inside our Power Rankings.

How the Rankings Are Calculated: Frontstretch does our power rankings somewhat similar to how the Associated Press does them for basketball or football – writers on 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 one batch of Power Rankings to serve to our fans.

FRONTSTRETCH TOP-15 POWER RANKINGS: FEBRUARY 24, 2010
Rank Driver (First-Place Votes) Votes Last Week
1 Kevin Harvick (4) 204 2
Got so excited about winning a race he turned the wrong way.
2 Jimmie Johnson (5) 202 8
Hey Chad, the guys remembered to swap axles with the No. 88 this morning, right?
3 Mark Martin (1) 172 4
Word is there is a new GoDaddy.com commercial featuring Mark. Lord, please… do not let it be him in a convertible being pulled over by a guy cop.
4 Jeff Burton 158 NR
Since Todd Berrier came on board, he hasn’t finished lower than 11th. It’s about time the Caterpillar Chevy actually started bulldozing its competition.
5 Clint Bowyer 155 5
Finally shared some secrets with his teammates. It only took him a year!
T-6 Greg Biffle 137 1
Don’t look now, but Biffle is starting to look like the old guy with all the potential.
T-6 Kurt Busch 137 10
Being the only really competitive Dodge team in the field should be a disadvantage, right?
T-6 Matt Kenseth 137 11
Initial results, while inconclusive, show that Todd Parrott is worth one on track position.
9 Jamie McMurray 129 3
For those wondering how long the Daytona momentum would last – it looks like last Friday was your answer.
10 Carl Edwards 125 7
Appeared that the No. 99 team didn’t know “quack” about Fontana on Sunday.
11 Kyle Busch 92 14
Made a green-flag pit stop the same time as Johnson when the caution flag came out. Johnson ended up in front of the pace car – Busch ended up a lap down. That’s just the way it goes for Busch in Cup these days.
12 Tony Stewart 90 12
How long before we see Tony on a horse in an Old Spice commercial?
13 Joey Logano 89 NR
In the top 10 in points for the first time in his Cup career. Sweet!
14 Jeff Gordon (1) 83 9
It’s beginning to look like the No. 24 and the No. 5 should switch spots – Gordon’s running more like teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. than that four-time champ inside his shop.
15 David Reutimann 79 NR
The last two years, Michael Waltrip Racing has collected a total of seven engine failures. How many of those are attributed to Reutimann? How about none. Things that make you go “Hmmm….”
Dropped Out: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6), Kasey Kahne (13), Juan Pablo Montoya (15)
Also Receiving Votes: Juan Pablo Montoya (52), Scott Speed (52), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (43), Brian Vickers (40), Martin Truex Jr. (25), Denny Hamlin (24), Paul Menard (21), Kasey Kahne (18), David Ragan (13), AJ Allmendinger (12), Ryan Newman (7), Sam Hornish Jr. (7), Elliott Sadler (3), Regan Smith (3), Brad Keselowski (1)
Writer Voting Panel: Phil Allaway, Brock Beard, Thomas Bowles, Bryan Davis Keith, Tony Lumbis, Mike Neff, John Potts, Vito Pugliese, Mike Ravesi, Kurt Smith and Matt Taliaferro

 

About the author

What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? The writer, radio contributor and racetrack announcer coordinates the site’s local short track coverage, hitting up Saturday Night Specials across the country while tracking the sport’s future racing stars. The writer for our signature Cup post-race column, Thinkin’ Out Loud (Mondays) also sits down with Cup crew chiefs to talk shop every Friday with Tech Talk. Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He's also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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