NASCAR Cup * Power Rankings

[kup]

2009 NASCAR Cup Power Rankings
http://www.nascar.com/news/features/powe...index.html
WATKINS GLEN - Week 22 of 36 (By: Mark Aumann)

Who's Up - Biggest Gain this week:
#11 Danny Hamlin: 10`th to 3`rd
New This Week :#33 Clint Bowyer + #77 Sam Hornish Jr.

Who's Down - Biggest Drop this week:
#16 Greg Biffle: 6`th to 12`th
Dropped Out : #00 David Reutimann + #20 Joey Logano


Tony Stewart #14 CHEVY
After losing his Swagger on the first hot lap of practice Saturday, it was good to see Tony regain a bit of it in Monday's race.


Jimmie Johnson #48 CHEVY
Following that amazing series of circumstances, I'm surprised that Hollywood isn't already planning
"The Jimmie Johnson Story: All Lucky Dogs Go To Heaven."


Denny Hamlin #11 TOYOTA
Denny drove that race with emotion and intensity, and he made it obvious he wasn't about to let somebody else's dream (machine) stand in his way.


Mark Martin #5 CHEVY
They were making a big deal on television out of the fact that Mark's never won at Pocono. So what?
If he wins the championship, he'll have enough money to buy the place.


Jeff Gordon #24 CHEVY
"It was just nuts. I saw so many guys rubbing, banging, smokin' sideways, three-wide, four-wide, and I was right in the middle of it."
I'm not sure whether Jeff was describing the race or the parking lot afterwards.


Kasey Kahne #9 DODGE
Kasey's racing schedule this week:
Monday - Pocono, Wednesday - Williams Grove, Thursday - Oswego, Sunday - Watkins Glen.
What, he couldn't squeeze the Coney Island bumper cars in there somewhere?


Juan Montoya #42 CHEVY
In his post-race news conference, Juan was asked to repeat one of his answers in Spanish.
And no, it wasn't about Kasey Kahne being angry with him after the race.


Brian Vickers #83 TOYOTA
So, which Brian shows up at Watkins Glen this weekend?
The one who won the pole at Sonoma, or the one who has an average finish of 21st in 10 road-course starts?


Clint Bowyer #33 CHEVY
Signs that things haven't been going that great recently:
Somebody stopped Clint in the garage area after Monday's race and asked what he had been doing on his summer vacation.


Kurt Busch #2 DODGE
Bad karma chameleon: At Indy, Kurt needed the race to go yellow and it stayed green.
At Pocono, Kurt needed the race to stay green and it kept going yellow.


Carl Edwards #99 FORD
Carl had three goals coming into the season:
Win the championship, win at Martinsville and win a road course.
Unless they reconfigure Martinsville between now and October, this is probably Carl's best shot at goal No. 3.


Greg Biffle #16 FORD
Greg got to meet Buffalo Bills placekicker Rian Lindell this week.
Not only are they from the same hometown, but they both make a living using only their right foot.
(Just ask Sterling Marlin.)


Ryan Newman #39 CHEVY
Ryan's average finish on superspeedways: 18.5
Ryan's average finish on intermediate tracks: 17.5
Ryan's average finish on short tracks: 15.1
Ryan's average finish on road courses: 13.1


Matt Kenseth #17 FORD
In his Cup career, Matt has led a total of 5,622 laps.
Only one of those has come on a road course.


Sam Hornish Jr. #77 DODGE
Shelve the sideways nickname.
After his strong run at Pocono, a lot of new fans might be joining Sam's club.

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