Chicago power rankings
Nothing like a good sit-down talk to get your head right, especially if your name happens to be Tony Stewart.
After a contentious week were there was more sniping with teammate Denny Hamlin than grade-schoolers who don't know how to share, Stewart went out and won the USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicago.
But did he move up in the power rankings? Read on as we enjoy the off week before Indianapolis.
1. Jeff Gordon: Earned his 17th top-10 in the season's 19 races. That's sick, but in the best way possible.
2. Matt Kenseth: Won't settle for second, but didn't quite have the car to catch Stewart.
3. Denny Hamlin: Finished 17th, stayed out of Stewart's way.
4. Jimmie Johnson: Cut tire cost him three spots in the points.
5. Tony Stewart; Second-half driver starts out in style.
6. Carl Edwards: Back-to-back top-5s with third-place run at Chicago.
7. Jeff Burton: Finished 7th after starting 23rd.
8. Clint Bowyer: He'll be in Victory Lane before 2007 is done.
9. Martin Truex, Jr.: Engine trouble led to 39th-place finish.
10. Kevin Harvick: Had strong car, couldn't hold off Edwards near finish.
11. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Not having power steering may be fun, but finishing 19th just plain sucks.
12. Ryan Newman: Knocking on Chase door after 8th-place finish.
On the way up: Casey Mears (needs a few more finishes like Sunday's fifth at Chicago to have a Chase shot), Greg Biffle (11th-place run helping build momentum).
On the way out: Jamie McMurray (fell victim to flat tire at Chicago, lost his momentum after last week's win), J.J. Yeley (was 17th in points, finished 35th).
Indianapolis track fact: As if his season hasn't been good enough already, Jeff Gordon is coming to a track he loves. He's won at the Brickyard four times, more than any other driver.
The race will mark ESPN's debut with Nextel Cup coverage. ESPN will air the races until Richmond, then ABC carries all of the races in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
RSS feed
