Michigan Power Rankings
The Citizens Bank 400 from Michigan International Speedway is complete. News Flash: Hendrick Motorsports didn't win!
Then again, Ford and Dodge have a place where they can actually run well. Between the two, they've won the last 12 races at the 2-mile oval.
Here's the latest on the power rankings after Michigan:
1. Jeff Gordon: Finished 9th; was the last car on the lead lap.
2. Denny Hamlin: Had another bad pit stop and an issue with Clint Bowyer that cost him a better finish.
3. Jimmie Johnson: Tire problem hurt - finished 19th.
4. Tony Stewart: Started 41st, finished 3rd, led two laps. Adds up to a huge day.
5. Matt Kenseth: Went to garage early, wasn't the same after that.
6. Martin Truex, Jr.: Still on fire - another top-5 run has him 10th in points. Three weeks ago, he was 18th.
7. Clint Bowyer: Lost a spot in points, finished 16th and Michigan.
8. Carl Edwards: Broke out of winless funk, broke in to the rankings.
9. Kevin Harvick: Top-10 run at Michigan.
10. Kyle Busch: Second in the Hendrick delegation at Michigan to Casey Mears (6th overall).
11. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Pressure's off, but he's looking forward to racing for Hendrick.
12. Casey Mears; Like Truex before him, flying up the points chart.
On the way up: Michael Waltrip (only his third race of the year, gave Toyota a 10th-place run), Jamie McMurray (shook off Pocono finish with 8th-place run at Michigan).
On the way out: Jeff Burton (still fifth in points, but ran in 24th Sunday), Mark Martin (needs to run a few more races to grab a Chase spot).
Sonoma track fact: If a driver doesn't start inside the top 10 at the 2-mile road course in California's wine country, his chances of winning shrink to next to nothing.
In 18 prior races, only three winners had starting spots outside the top 10. Rusty Wallace won from 11th in 1990, Davey Allison won from 13th in 1991 and defending champ Jeff Gordon started 11th last year. Gordon has five wins in his career at the track.
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