2009 Power Rankings: Texas Motor Speedway
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Each week of the Sprint Cup season, ESPN The Magazine's Ryan McGee ranks the top 20 drivers in the series.
Don't agree with McGee's list?
Let him -- and the whole world -- know in the Conversation section at the bottom of the page. But remember, make your mama proud.
New this week
Jamie McMurray.
Dropped out
Casey Mears.
Biggest mover
Greg Biffle climbs five spots, from 16th to 11th.
Biggest loser
David Reutimann falls five spots, from 13th to 18th.
Also considered
Bobby Labonte, Brad Keselowski, Robert Richardson Jr., Richard Brickhouse, Buddy Baker.
| 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings - Week 35 | ||||
| RK(LW) | DRIVER | TOP 10s | COMMENT | |
| 1 (1) | Jimmie Johnson | 21 | Best Post-Race Quote No. 1: Hey, Jimmie, what's the best way to improve the racing at Talladega? "Bring in tractors to knock down the banking." |
| 2 (4) | Mark Martin | 19 | Best Post-Race Quote No. 2: "It was a successful day." Why? "Because I'm leaving the track still able to walk." |
| 3 (2) | Jeff Gordon | 23 | Best Post-Race Quote No. 3: "The good news is that after running out of gas, we were able to get back out there so I could wreck my race car." |
| 4 (3) | Juan Pablo Montoya | 17 | He was there at the front at Talladega, then he wasn't, then he was, then he wasn't. On the bright side, he finished seventh at Texas in the spring and no one said anything inappropriate about him during a football game |
| 5 (4) | Tony Stewart | 22 | All you "Smoke" fans still griping about the Chase robbing Stewart of his rightful place atop the standings can officially drop it. Under the old system, he'd now be second, seven points behind Jimmie Johnson. |
| 6 (6) | Ryan Newman | 15 | To understand why "Rocket Man" was so mad after the race, find some bungee cords and hang upside down from the ceiling of your garage with your head stuck in a bag of mulch for 12 minutes. |
| 7 (7) | Kurt Busch | 18 | At the end of Sunday's race, his Dodge looked like Fred Sanford's pickup truck. |
| 8 (9) | Kyle Busch | 12 | The only guys with more wins than Shrub are the top two in the Cup points standings. He also has more top-5s (nine) than six of the 12 Chase drivers. So naturally, he fired his crew chief. |
| 9 (12) | Carl Edwards | 13 | Cuz's stated goal prior to the Talladega race was to take the checkered flag with all four tires on the ground. Mission accomplished. |
| 10 (11) | Clint Bowyer | 14 | Is it just me, or does Richard Childress Racing seem to be getting its deal turned around? |
| 11 (16) | Greg Biffle | 15 | With the three tracks left on the schedule -- Texas (one win), Phoenix (three top-10s in past four races) and Homestead (three wins) -- The Biff has a real shot to end the year in the top five in points. |
| 12 (8) | Denny Hamlin | 17 | If they gave bonus points for being "The Car That Looked The Best Early In The Race But Wasn't Around At The Finish," DH would be leading the league. |
| 13 (15) | Kasey Kahne | 14 | Kahne does own a win at Texas Motor Speedway, that coming back in 2006. Since then, his eyes haven't been his bluest feature, thanks to an average finish of 23.2 in his past six TMS starts. |
| 14 (10) | Matt Kenseth | 11 | Finished 24th at Talladega, son Ross's race at Nashville got rained out and his Packers were beaten at home by Brett Favre. That's what you call a bad weekend. |
| 15 (14) | Brian Vickers | 13 | NASCAR originally ruled that The Sheriff had finished 11th, then moved him back to 13th. No biggie. If the 11 car has one more blown engine, BV might sneak his way to another 11th -- as in 11th in points. |
| 16 (20) | Joey Logano | 7 | "Sliced Bread's" week started with some really bad acting on WWE's "Monday Night Raw." It ended with an out-of-nowhere third-place finish, his second top-5 in three weeks. |
| 17 (19) | Jeff Burton | 7 | You heard it here first. Baby Burton will end RCR's winless season this weekend at Texas. |
| 18 (13) | David Reutimann | 9 | Led laps early. Finished 26th. The Reut is starting to look like those poor people who are just trying to cross the finish line of a marathon so they can collapse on the other side. |
| 19 (18) | Kevin Harvick | 7 | In 13 Texas starts, "Happy" has led just four more laps than you or I have ... unless you are an actual Sprint Cup Series driver who is reading this right now. And if you are, thanks for stopping by. |
| 20 | Jamie McMurray | 5 | Good for McMurray, who won Sunday at Talladega. His career had been in a bit of a downward spiral ever since he lost that race when Ricky Bobby passed him at the finish running backward. |
INSIDE NASCAR
Kyle Busch has been making plenty of noise in the Nationwide and Truck series, but he's been awfully quiet in Sprint Cup. What gives?
The math says Mark Martin is still in contention for his first Sprint Cup championship. The reality? The best Martin likely can do is finish second -- for the fifth time in his career.
There is a kinship between racers and soldiers that runs deeper than sponsorship dollars. That much was evident Friday at Texas Motor Speedway, where NASCAR Nation remembered the fallen at Fort Hood.
Jimmie Johnson already has a concrete monster trophy this year. What if NASCAR had a Heisman? We'll call it the Petty Trophy, and JJ gets that, too.
Marty Smith
You want Chase drama? Let's end the 10-race playoff at Daytona ... on a figure-eight course ... and force the winner to run a match race against Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the title.