Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards gain spots while Jeff Gordon drops in SceneDaily.com rankings
Tony Stewart moved up four spots to third in the SceneDaily.com rankings after his victory Sunday in Atlanta. // Sam Cranston, NASCAR Illustrated
Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards used a 1-2 finish at Atlanta to leave a lasting impression on the SceneDaily.com staff, as each rocketed up four spots in this week’s driver rankings.
Stewart shot from seventh to third thanks to his first victory of the season, Sunday’s Emory Healthcare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Edwards, eighth a week ago, rose from eighth to fourth on the heels of his runnerup finish.
Richard Childress Racing’s Kevin Harvick remained perfect for yet another week in spite of his 33rd-place finish.
Jeff Gordon’s 13th-place result cost the Hendrick Motorsports driver the most spots in the weekly rankings, as he fell four positions to settle in at No. 6.
1. Kevin Harvick – For just the third time this season, Harvick was saddled with a finish outside the top 30. But the series points leader had a fast hot rod before a tire issue took him out of contention.
2. Jimmie Johnson – If Atlanta was a tuneup for the Chase, the four-time champ will once again be a contender. But not the lock some thought him to be.
3. Tony Stewart – Even when others were leading, it was apparent Smoke had the best-handling car on the track. Will win No. 1 be the kick in the pants this team needed to steamroll the competition?
4. Carl Edwards – Has a worst finish of 12th in his last eight races. If any of those had been wins, this guy would be your Chase favorite.
5. Denny Hamlin – Claimed his team’s Chase efforts would begin at Atlanta instead of Loudon. He finished last. Might want to reconsider that call-out.
6. Jeff Gordon – Said earlier he felt Atlanta was team’s best opportunity to get back in winners’ circle. But the pink car finished 13th.
7. Kyle Busch – After going 3-for-3 at Bristol, Busch was shut out this weekend. Still, rallying from early setback to finish fifth was impressive.
8. Kurt Busch – Got to love his honesty. After inheriting lead when team opted not to pit late in the race, Busch admitted his expectations in the closing laps were merely to “fade gracefully.”
9. Greg Biffle – For the second straight week, contact with another driver put a damper on his efforts to get to the front. But unlike his Bristol finish, Biffle was unable to rebound, and was saddled with a 36th-place finish.
10. Jeff Burton – Team worked overtime to fashion a top-five finish at AMS with a loose handling race car. As Kyle Busch noted, “Burton was sideways. I told him, ‘You guys have more horsepower than the Lord allows.’ He’s just spinning the tires all the way to the start/finish line, pulling away from me.”
11. Clint Bowyer – It’s been a pressure cooker for the Richard Childress Racing driver in recent weeks, but Bowyer and the team proved to be up to the task. Seventh-place finish put a little padding between himself and those trying to take his 12th-place points position.
12. Matt Kenseth – Chalk it up to timing. A bad car actually got better on final runs, allowing Kenseth to finish 11th. Until then, his was a top-20 car at best.
13. Jamie McMurray – Said he’d take Daytona 500 and Brickyard wins if it meant not making Chase this year. Looks like he’ll get his wish.
14. Ryan Newman – Contact with Biffle didn’t hurt his efforts. Contact with Kasey Kahne did, especially after Kahne returned to the track and retaliated. But eighth-place finish was his second consecutive top-10.
15. Kasey Kahne – Said afterward that he has no issue with Newman. That didn’t appear to be the case when he punted the Stewart-Haas Racing driver moments from the finish.
16. Juan Pablo Montoya – Ninth-place finish was fourth consecutive top-10 for the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing driver. Team is arriving just as the party’s breaking up, though.
17. Mark Martin – If this team is focusing on 2011, they’ve got a ways to go. Martin’s finished 19th or worse in four straight races.
18. David Reutimann – One of only a handful of drivers to ever get black-flagged by his own team. Radio issues cost Reutimann two laps, and he spent most of the night fighting to get back on the lead lap. He eventually did, which was more impressive than his 16th-place finish might indicate.
19. Martin Truex Jr. – The Michael Waltrip Racing driver ran in the top 10 all night before getting shuffled back to 12th late in the race. That was enough to warrant a return to a spot inside the top 20.
20. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – After running as high as 10th, Earnhardt Jr. faded at the finish, coming home 22nd. Now 19th in points, he can start firming up those offseason vacation plans.
Others receiving votes: Joey Logano.
