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2010 PRE-SEASON DRIVER RANKINGS NOW OUT...









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2010 RACE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES RANKINGS - (THRU RACE 25)

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.

  1. Kevin Harvick (1) – Keeps the top spot for another week, was storming towards a top-five from starting deep in the pack when tire blew.
  2. Kyle Busch (2) – No consecutive wins, but a solid top-five all night. Could peak at the right time this year.
  3. Carl Edwards (5) – No more of the dumb stat that the #99 had only led five laps or whatever all year. Second not a bad surpise as it's Edwards best track, but he fact that half the tracks in the Chase are 1 ½ milers along with recent momentum bodes well.
  4. Jimmie Johnson (4) – I still consider the #48 the favorite in the Chase, and a solid top-five night was sorely needed. But compared to Edwards last two months Jimmie has been sorely lacking.
  5. Tony Stewart (9) – The big mover of the week after first win in nearly a year, should be very much in the mix down the stretch.
  6. Denny Hamlin (3) – Open wide and swallow a 43rd. Dominant in qualifying, dominant in practice, and dominant first quarter of the race, but no prizes are given out for that. Hamlin has slumped like Johnson, and can't afford any engine failures in the Chase.
  7. Kurt Busch (7) – Sixth place exceptional on a night where the Blue Deuce was well off the pace before getting dialed in late, and made incredible save during Newman/Kahne incident.
  8. Jeff Gordon (6) – Stat of the week, Gordon has only won once in last 101 starts, if I took 100-1 odds for the next 100 races I have a feeling that would be a good investment.
  9. Matt Kenseth (10) – It would not win him his second title, but #17 has finished in top-20 in each of last nine races.
  10. Jeff Burton (12) – If not for Harvick tire trouble, it would had been great night for Childress entries, with Burton leading the way with top-five.
  11. Greg Biffle (8) – Like Hamlin, very disappointing night considering the #16 was strong early, but Biffle has all but locked up Chase berth.
  12. Jamie McMurray (11) – Chase berth in likelihood won't happen, but Daytona/Brickyard will continue to play in body of work.
  13. Juan Pablo Montoya (14) – McMurray and Montoya will be the best two drivers not in the Chase. Four consecutive top-ten's from JPM way too-little/too-late after early season disaster.
  14. Clint Bowyer (13) – Has a hammer-lock on final Chase invitation with seventh place finish. Look for a game-plan more conservative than Glenn Beck at Richmond.
  15. David Reutimann (16) – Basically treads water for the week, season about as good as planned, a win, but just short of a Chase bid.
  16. Ryan Newman (17) – Kasey Kahne made sure to hurt the #39's fleeting Chase hopes in revenge of earlier dust-up.
  17. Kasey Kahne (15) – Quote of the night was Kasey saying that he cost Newman 3-4 spots but the #39 cost him 25-30 positions. Both were going to be on the outside looking in anyways.
  18. Mark Martin (18) – Mathematically alive, but that's about it.
  19. Martin Truex Jr. (19) – Has finished 17th or better five consecutive races.
  20. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (20) – Looked headed for at least a top-15 until something not caught by TV or radio occurred on last stop, clings onto #20 for another week.


DROPPED OUT: None


MANUFACTURERS POINTS (as awarded on a 20-19-18...3-2-1 scale):
110 (+4) 44 (-2) 42 (-2) 14 (0)





2010 MID-TERM GRADES
(FIRST-QUARTER GRADE IN PARENTHESIS)


#00 David Reutimann B (D) That is much more like it, in fact the second quarter borders on being an A, finishing in top-20 all nine races. The lousy first quarter is what keeps Reutimann as a long-shot to make Chase.
#1 Jamie McMurray B- (B) The good, three second place finishes in five races. The ugly, nothing better than 15th in the five races since.
#2 Kurt Busch (A) B+ Maybe I had the bar set too low, but I see fourth in points and two wins on the season as an immense accomplishment considering Kurt is literally carrying the entire Dodge banner right now.
#5 Mark Martin D+ (B+) One of the big losers of the second quarter, outside top-ten in eight of nine races.
#6 David Ragan D- (C) Not a good year for Roush in general, and Ragan has finished no better than 24th last six races.
#7 Robby Gordon C (D+) Lives for the road courses, and came up with one of his best runs in a while with second at Sonoma, then followed with a 12th at Daytona.
#9 Kasey Kahne C+ (D) Kasey at the bat has either been three hits and a whiff in the last month, 2nd, 4th, 36th, 2nd.
#11 Danny Hamlin A (B+) Talk about roller-coaster year, 50 bonus points from five wins will look good when Chase begins, but the road course/plate track got him the last couple weeks.
#12 Brad Keselowski D (C) Why hasn't Brad gotten in any scraps lately?? He hasn't been running up front, 20th best showing last six weeks.
#14 Tony Stewart C+ (C-) Has righted the ship somewhat with four straight top-tens, but not an iron-clad lock for Chase yet.
#16 Greg Biffle C+ (B+) One of the Roush drivers hoping that the new FR9 motor package will end up being a boost...
#17 Matt Kenseth B- (B+) Somehow is still sitting seventh in points despite placing no better than tenth in last six races.
#18 Kyle Busch B+ (B) Remains a dangerous threat come Chase-time, and won twice in the month of May, but last four races (20th/39th/11th/40th) is shades of 2009...
#19 Elliott Sadler D (D-) Sadler reunited with Todd Parrott as crew chief this week, the two worked together at Robert Yates Racing, and won twice in 2004.
#20 Joey Logano C+ (C+) Biggest talking point of second quarter was dust-up w/Kevin Harvick. Other than that, I'm still waiting for Logano to take the next step.
#24 Jeff Gordon A- (B-) Remember when Bum Phillips was coaching in the NFL and said each year his team 'knocks on the door' and will eventually 'knock the damn thing down', that's been the #24 team lately, have done everything but won a race.
#29 Kevin Harvick A (A-) Why didn't he do a TV show to announce his 'decision', complete with hyperbole that his plans were being watched with 'breathless anticipation'. Without getting an offer from Hendrick, staying put at RCR was the best option, especially considering his 1st place standing
#31 Jeff Burton B (B) Remains steady, only times outside top-ten in last eight races was Charlotte (the Kyle Bush dust-up) and Sonoma.
#33 Clint Bowyer C (B) As great a year as RCR is having, Bowyer has now found himself in a precarious position sitting at 14th in points.
#34 Kevin Conway/Travis Kvapil C+ (C+) Conway was one of those who benefited by staying on the lead lap at Daytona, and ended up scoring a top-15.
#36 Steve Park/Casey Mears INC Steve Park returning to the Cup series and scoring a 13th place finish after a seven-year absence one of the true feel-good stories of this year.
#37 David Gilliland D+ (C-) Another of the Front Row Motorsports entries who have been able to stay in the coveted top-35 in points
#38 Kevin Conway/Travis Kvapil C- Kvapil picking it up lately with a couple of top-25's.
#39 Ryan Newman C (B-) More snakebit than the city of Cleveland at plate tracks, last four results 36th/34th/35th/26th...
#42 Juan Pablo Montoya C- (D+) 21st for the season one of the shockers of the season, remains a threat to win any given week.
#43 A.J. Allmendinger B (C+) Solid run of six straight top-15 finishes, but overshadowed by spat w/boss Richard Petty after early exit at Daytona.
#47 Marcos Ambrose D (D+) Outside of the expected contending run on the road course, one of the disappointments of the season, has taken a step back.
#48 Jimmie Johnson A (A) Funny when the rumblings of a Johnson slump emerge after a couple off weeks, with five years on the pace he remains THE favorite to win yet another title.
#56 Martin Truex Jr. C (B-) Has been in the mix a couple times, but has also swallowed a 42nd and 35th place run in recent weeks.
#71 Landon Cassel/Bobby LaBonte D- (D-) Bobby LaBonte recently left for the #09 Phoenix Racing team, as LaBonte is looking for a competitive ride at this stage of his career. The 21-year old Cassel now gets a chance to cut his teeth on the Cup stage.
#77 Sam Hornish C- (C-) Hornish had a nice two week run going 17th and 11th in Pocono and Michigan.
#78 Regan Smith C- (C-) 31st in owners points definitely not bad for that team, Regan has finished in top-20 three times in last eight races..
#82 Scott Speed C (C) Has cooled off a little bit, but still not having a bad season in the top-25 in owner's points
#83 Reed Sorenson D (D-) With Brian Vickers sidelined for the season, Sorenson is currently in the #83 seat after a failed stint with Casey Mears. A wild rumor of Mark Martin joining Red Bull in 2011 was vehemently denied by all parties.
#87 Joe Nemechek F (F) Start and Park Joe, has made the show in 17 of 18 races, but has only completed 25.2% of the laps.
#88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. B- (B-) Running well off the pace at Daytona very alarming, but got fourth place at end of day.
#98 Paul Menard B- (B-) One of the early-season surprises has not really gone away, sitting 23rd in points.
#99 Carl Edwards C (C-) My two favorite stats, the United States only led in three of 390 minutes in the World Cup and Carl Edwards has only led two laps all year, last amongst all regular drivers, but somehow remains 12th in points.















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