Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2011 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville

Sometimes older really is better. NASCAR’s classic short track in Martinsville, Va., on the schedule since 1949, treated us to one of the best races of the season Sunday. It also provided the Most Popular Driver in the sport a giant tease, dangling the end of a 98-race winless streak in front of him before Kevin Harvick snuck by for his second victory in as many weeks, a phenomenal finish to a 500-lapper that left the fans on their feet with a record 31 lead changes.

Most importantly, Harvick brought a new face to the front of the pack, allowing someone besides Denny Hamlin or Jimmie Johnson to take home the coveted grandfather clock for taking the checkers first. In fact, the two drivers who have owned the speedway in recent years both ended up outside the top 10, the first time that’s happened since Johnson was a rookie back in 2002.

Further back, Carl Edwards lost his power steering and, although he led a lap for the first time at the big paperclip in Virginia he lost the points lead. Was that enough to kick him out of the top spot in this week’s Power Rankings? Could Harvick, the winner of two straight races take his place despite sitting fifth in points? Or was Kyle Busch’s strong performance, a third-place effort enough to move him up from second in this poll?

Read this week’s Power Rankings to find out if your favorite driver was able to bump and run his way up the rankings or if they got shuffled to the outside and sent into those nasty Martinsville marbles.

FRONTSTRETCH TOP-15 POWER RANKINGS: APRIL 6, 2011
Rank Driver (First-Place Votes) Votes Last Week
1 Kevin Harvick (4) 117 T-3
He’s never won three straight in Sprint Cup. Richard Childress has won just once at Texas. It’s either a recipe for disaster or a career-defining trifecta upcoming.
2 Kyle Busch (2) 116 2
The “old Kyle” nearly came out during two heartbreaking losses, but “new Kyle” kept it all tucked inside. We’re beginning to wonder if it’s healthy; hopefully Samantha has a punching bag or something he can use down in the basement? Or maybe that’s why he signed Kimi Raikkonen.
3 Jimmie Johnson 102 5
The pit-road speed radar jamming device must have malfunctioned on that pit stop.
T-4 Matt Kenseth 90 8
A ho-hum top-10 finish is good for Kenseth, but we liked it better when he and Jeff Gordon spent the end of the race nearly wrecking, then verbally going after each other. The most underrated NASCAR rivalry there is.
T-4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 90 10
99 races without a win and he’s worried about being the bad guy? He’s definitely a different driver than his daddy.
6 Carl Edwards 89 1
Finally led a lap at Martinsville, even if he did have to use all of those big muscles to do it with no power steering.
7 Juan Pablo Montoya 79 12
Shocking fact of the week: this guy hasn’t been lower than eighth in the points all year.
8 Jeff Gordon 78 13
Not sure what this team did after Phoenix, but boy, was that one hell of a hangover. Next time take some Vitamin C before bed.
9 Ryan Newman 66 T-3
Krissy Newman and Harvick appear to be friends. Maybe they can convince her husband to play nice?
T-10 Kurt Busch 65 6
After missing the last two events, Kurt returns at… wait, he was actually competing in those races?
T-10 Clint Bowyer 65 T-15
Looks like this team has stopped pressing the snooze button two months into 2011. Now, can someone go set the alarm at Jeff Burton‘s house?
12 Mark Martin 53 NR
The only driver inside the top 20 in points who hasn’t led a lap. Maybe he’s thinking NASCAR will apply the senior discount and let him into victory lane for finishing 10th?
13 Tony Stewart 40 7
His weekend was so bad, FOX didn’t care to tell the viewers that Smoke went behind the wall.
14 AJ Allmendinger 38 NR
Making last year’s near-bankrupt disaster at Richard Petty Motorsports seem like a distant memory. That is, of course, until the next merger comes around this summer.
15 Jamie McMurray 33 NR
Still not sure about the green car, but his pit crew certainly wasn’t making anyone turn green with envy on Sunday.
Dropped Out: Paul Menard (9), Kasey Kahne (11), Martin Truex Jr. (14), Greg Biffle (T-15)
Also Receiving Votes: Denny Hamlin (23), Paul Menard (19), David Ragan (19), Brian Vickers (16), Greg Biffle (15), Joey Logano (5), David Reutimann (5), Martin Truex Jr. (4), Brad Keselowski (2), Ken Schrader (2), Bobby Labonte (1)
Writer Voters Include: Phil Allaway, Bryan Davis Keith, Tom Bowles, Tony Lumbis, Mike Neff and Garrett Horton

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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