After each race of the IndyCar Series season, ESPN.com open-wheel correspondent John Oreovicz will rank the top 10 drivers in the series. Don't agree with Oreo's list? Let him -- and the whole world -- know in the Conversation section at the bottom of the page.

New this week
None.

Dropped out
None.

Biggest mover
Graham Rahal gained two spots from eighth to sixth.

Biggest loser
Dan Wheldon fell two spots from seventh to ninth.

2009 IndyCar Series Power Rankings - Week 9
	RK(LW)	DRIVER	TOP 10s	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Dario Franchitti	6	Driving as well as he has at any point in his life, Franchitti continues to show that saying "Thanks, but no thanks" to NASCAR in order to rekindle his open-wheel career was the right move. But for unlucky timing on a caution flag, he probably would have won at Richmond and enjoyed a 23-point lead in the championship. Instead, he leads teammate Scott Dixon by just one point.
	2 (3)	Scott Dixon	6	Dixon leads the IndyCar Series with three race wins but comes second in the power rankings. His season got off to a slow start at the St. Petersburg and Long Beach street courses, in direct contrast to Franchitti, who scored a win and a fourth. With five of the next six IndyCar events at road or street racing venues, Dixon needs to gain the upper hand on his teammate.
	3 (2)	Ryan Briscoe	5	Richmond was Briscoe's bogey track last year and it bit him again Saturday night, as the Australian crashed out just 30 laps into the 300-lap contest. But one mistake in eight races isn't a bad record, and Briscoe remains the IndyCar Series' most improved driver in 2009.
	4 (4)	Helio Castroneves	5	Castroneves continues to be maddeningly inconsistent, something that hasn't really changed since he started winning CART races a decade ago. His high points, whether a blistering road-course qualifying lap or a dominant run on an oval, inspire shock and awe. But seemingly just as often, there are moments like Saturday night's crash at Richmond when he makes a silly mistake.
	5 (5)	Danica Patrick	7	Danica lands in the upper part of the Power Rankings midpack because that's where she usually runs on the racetrack. Richmond was a typical story: Qualified 11th of 20, used radical strategy to run third for a while and raise hopes among her legion of fans, then a steady run to fifth at the checkered flag. Patrick ranks fifth in the standings and fifth in the Power Rankings.
	6 (8)	Graham Rahal	4	Third place at Richmond represents young Rahal's best career finish on an oval, and it's easy to forget the 20-year-old has made fewer than 20 oval race starts in his career. He and Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing should come into their own during the next stretch of road and street courses, and it would be a surprise if Rahal doesn't come away with a couple more podium finishes, if not a win.
	7 (6)	Tony Kanaan	5	At least TK made it to the finish at Richmond, even if he was beaten by two of his Andretti Green Racing teammates (Patrick and Hideki Mutoh). Kanaan got only three flying laps of practice before qualifying and started a miserable 17th. After a sixth-place finish, he stated the obvious: As a team, AGR needs to be doing better.
	8 (9)	Marco Andretti	5	Marco's start at Richmond was magic; he passed five cars on the opening lap in a manner reminiscent of his father back in the days when Michael was dominating the CART series. The problem was, Marco qualified 16th and he didn't make much progress after that mega-start on the way to seventh place at the flag, last in class among the four AGR cars.
	9 (7)	Dan Wheldon	6	Wheldon was quick at times during the Richmond weekend, running second-fastest in the final practice session. But in an era of spec car parity in the IndyCar Series, qualifying up front is vital, and Wheldon and Panther Racing didn't get it done, lining up 13th. From there, a top finish was unrealistic and the caution flags did not work in Wheldon's favor, so he took 10th place.
	10 (10)	Hideki Mutoh	5	Mutoh has distinguished himself on short ovals; the three best finishes of his two-year IndyCar Series career have come on tracks shorter than a mile, and Saturday night, he followed up a third-place finish at Iowa with a fourth at Richmond. Tenth in the standings, he could get knocked back during the road racing swing by Justin Wilson, Robert Doornbos or Rafa Matos.