2010 RACE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RANKINGS (THRU RACE 4)
The RCS rankings rank much like a college football/basketball poll. The drivers are ranked and weighted by the criteria of (a) recent performance, (b) overall performance for the current season, (c) recent career history, and (d) potential for the current season going forward.
 Jimmie Johnson (1) – Well, for once the #48 team did not have the magic pixie dust, Johnson overshoots pit leading to bad stop, and put him back far enough in the field to make contact on the restart moments later. That said, Johnson did a miraculous job to get through the first attempt at green-white-wreckers unscathed. On an upside down day 12th was not bad.- Kevin Harvick (2) – His top-ten much more impressive considering that the #29 was junk most of the weekend, and for most of the race with Harvick running most of it outside the top-25. The #29 stole about 60 points in the standings this week.
 Greg Biffle (5) – His weak point right now is not being able to generate headlines, but Biffle now with four top-tens to open the year.- Matt Kenseth (8) – The old Mark Martin color scheme looks so weird, as opposed to the old traditional yellow and black. Kenseth lands in the runner-up spot this week, the #29, #16, and #17 all remain four for four on top-tens.
- Mark Martin (3) – A long day until the very end, and just one of many dogged by tire problems during the event.
- Clint Bowyer (4) – A huge dose of reality for the Childress cars this week, while Harvick salvaged a good day, Bowyer was not nearly as fortunate. Look for RCR to bounce back with vengeance at Bristol.
 Kurt Busch (13) – Yeah, took him off my fantasy team last minute. For second str8 year the Blue Deuce marches through Atlanta. The shame was that at one point it looked like all three Penske cars were headed towards top-tens.- Tony Stewart (7) – The big winners in the Keselowski/Edwards deal going nuclear?? Goodyear representatives, as no one was looking for Tony during the post-race festivities.
- Jeff Burton (6) – Summing up the day, getting busted not once but twice for pit-road speeding, it even happens to the vets.
- Jeff Gordon (9) – Had a second straight top-five going before catching a case of blown tire fever.
- Juan Pablo Montoya (16) – The biggest loser of Keselowski/Edwards, as JPM would have had a legit shot at Kurt Busch if the race finished under green. JPM will get that elusive oval win – someday.
 Kyle Busch (11) – I think there are going to be some serious meetings over at Joe Gibbs racing during the off-week, Kyle usually does well at Bristol and is going to need a win there or close to it.- Joey Logano (12) – Hold off on the anointing oil for a week, Logano got caught back in the field with the decrepits (#12 and #99) early on. I'll just call it a bump in the road.
- Denny Hamlin (14) – Got a text from Michael Jordan pre-race, but the way things are going early on Hamlin is in just as much danger as the Bobcats in missing the playoffs. The shame was Hamlin had a top-five car for much of the day.
- Kasey Kahne (NR) – It happens every year, Kahne stinks it up SO much that I drop the #9 off the rankings altogether, only to see him win or come close to winning the next week, put Atlanta in the category of near-win.
- Carl Edwards (10) – Can't sum him up in one sentence, he's the subject of an entire blog today.
- Paul Menard (20) – You thought I just gave him a courtesy call this week. Two-tire gamble at the end did not work (it never does at Atlanta), but the #98 was legit top-ten all day, and now top ten in points.
Scott Speed (19) – I expect him to cool off, but actually getting better, top-ten this week. Has one more hurdle, one final race where the #82 will need to qualify on speed.
Brian Vickers (NR) – Red Bull drivers sitting 12th and 16th in points, they both could end up being in conversation for a Chase berth.
A.J. Allmendinger (NR) – Then there's the former Red Bull driver, a banner day for the Petty drivers finishing 4-5-6, with AJA's sixth marking his best non-plate showing ever. My only question is when exactly did Petty Blue become Seattle Seahawk slime green???
DROPPED OUT: David Reutimann (15), Jamie McMurray (17), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (18)
MANUFACTURERS POINTS (as awarded on a 20-19-18...3-2-1 scale):
116 (-11) 51 (+10) 29 (-5) 14 (+6)
2009 FINAL GRADES
(graded on a curve - 'third quarter grade in parenthesis)
| #00 |
David Reutimann |
B+ (B+) |
Did not contend in any races towards end of season, but entire body of work including one win more than acceptable. |
| #07 |
Casey Mears |
C (C-) |
Had an average finish of 12.6 in races 27-31, but cooled off while his RCR teammates surged. |
| #1 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
D+ (D+) |
Two top-tens to close his tenure at Earnhardt-Ganassi, and has finished top-ten at Homestead in each of last four years. |
| #2 |
Kurt Busch |
A- (A-) |
Time to sell high for the best non-Hendrick driver for the season, as there will be an adjustment period w/new crew chief in '10. |
| #5 |
Mark Martin |
A (A-) |
I predicted he would be in the hunt until Homestead, and he was, the only other driver besides the eventual Champ do to so. |
| #6 |
David Ragan |
F (F) |
Finally got his long-awaited second top-ten of the year at California. |
| #7 |
Robby Gordon |
D- (D-) |
Achieved goal on finishing the year in top-35 in owners points. |
| #9 |
Kasey Kahne |
A- (A-) |
Now goes into his contract year, and has hinted he may be looking elsewhere.
|
| #11 |
Danny Hamlin |
A (A-) |
Four wins in final 16 races may pave the way towards 2010 title charge. |
| #12 |
Brad Keselowski |
D (D) |
Team grade, and inking Keselowski should improve the #12 immensely next year, but his scraps with rival drivers are already well documented and could come back to haunt. |
| #14 |
Tony Stewart |
A- (A) |
First 22 weeks the #14 was as good as anyone, took a couple steps back after that but overall still successful first year as driver/owner. |
| #16 |
Greg Biffle |
C+ (C+) |
Finished a very respectable 7th in the Chase, finishing in the top-25 in all ten races. |
| #17 |
Matt Kenseth |
B- (C+) |
Showed signs of life with three top-5's in final ten races.
|
| #18 |
Kyle Busch |
C+ (C-) |
Was quiet down the stretch, but not necessarily a bad thing, top-15 in each of last six races. |
| #19 |
Elliott Sadler |
D+ (D-) |
Absolutely no upside, but did score a pair of top-ten's in final ten races. |
| #20 |
Joey Logano |
B (B-) |
The bar now gets raised for unopposed Rookie of the Year
|
| #24 |
Jeff Gordon |
A- (B+) |
The minus is for only one win for the season, which is below Gordon's standards. |
| #26 |
Jamie McMurray |
C (D+) |
Talladega win takes some of the sting out of year, expect similar results in his return to the Ganassi camp. |
| #29 |
Kevin Harvick |
C- (D) |
The last ten races can be graded at least a B as Harvick was one of the RCR cars that really turned it on late. |
| #31 |
Jeff Burton |
C (D) |
Have to grade him even a bit higher than Harvick after going 2nd, 2nd to end year. Can he keep up the momentum. |
| #33 |
Clint Bowyer |
C+ (C-) |
Top-12 in six of final seven events nothing to scoff at, things got very competitive late with the Childress cars |
| #34 |
John Andretti |
C- (C-) |
Bottom line, squeezed out 35th in owners points, will be in first five races of '10, mission accomplished. |
| #39 |
Ryan Newman |
B- (B) |
Still exceeded expectations by making Chase in first year at Stewart-Haas, but didn't do much in last half of season.
|
| #42 |
Juan Pablo Montoya |
B+ (B+) |
Slumped towards the end and never did get that win, but first Chase berth makes up for that. |
| #43 |
Reed Sorenson |
D (D+) |
Hot property just a few years back racing in the Busch Series, Sorenson suddenly finds himself without a Cup gig for 2010, as the #43 team has been contracted |
| #44 |
A.J. Allmendinger |
C+ (C-) |
The second best entry out of the Petty cars, Allmendinger showed promise late in the year as his team was used to run Fords in advanced to the entire team converting for next year. |
| #47 |
Marcos Ambrose |
B- (B) |
Did not finish the year strong, but overall MWR has to be happy about it's entries this season.
|
| #48 |
Jimmie Johnson |
A (A-) |
Why was I giving him A-'s??? As I said after the third quarter, no one is better at playing possum and turning it on once the title battle starts in ernest.
|
| #55 |
Michael Waltrip |
D (D) |
The hiring of Martin Truex should put the #55 on par with the other two MWR teams, for a 'mid-major', the #00, #47, and #55 should do well going forward. |
| #71 |
Bobby LaBonte |
D+ (D+) |
Another team that made an excellent hire. The #71 finished outside of the top-35 in points, but will be in the show next season due to LaBonte's past-Champions provisional. |
| #77 |
Sam Hornish |
D+ (C) |
Just too many bad weeks out of this team, 40th, 36th, 40th, 40th in one stretch this fall. |
| #82 |
Scott Speed |
D- (D) |
Has improved somewhat on the Cup side, and has shown even more in the Nationwide Series. Caught a bad break finishing the year outside the top-35 in Owner's points. |
| #83 |
Brian Vickers |
B (A-) |
Chase berth still means good year for this team, but must make sure the end-of-year slide does not extend into 2010. |
| #87 |
Joe Nemechek |
F (F) |
Start-and-Park Joe, best finish 38th in final nine races. |
| #88 |
Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
F (D) |
Every week the car showed potential for a top-ten finish, but never made it the distance, this is the ugly duckling of the Hendrick clan right now. |
| #96 |
Erik Darnell |
D- (D) |
Sponsor's call had the team cutting Bobby LaBonte loose for Darnell, who does have future upside. Angered some drivers with rookie mistake heading for the garage (and causing wreck) in season finale. |
| #99 |
Carl Edwards |
C- (C) |
After nine wins the previous year, no one would had envisioned the #99 not winning even once this year. |
|
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 