It’s time for a change. After three straight less than stellar performances for Tony Stewart, the time has come to mint a new number one.
A review of the numbers produces some interesting names at the top of the list. I would dare say you didn’t hear some of the names called much in Sunday’s race at Atlanta, yet they’re starting to peak at the right time.
THE TOP TEN
#10- Ryan Newman (unranked last week)- I’ll be honest, I’ve been waiting for Newman to fall out of the top 12 in the standings after his summer slump. Newman and his “Army strong” team have hung tough and produced two straight top ten finishes to keep their hopes alive.
#9- Greg Biffle (ranked 9th last week)- As I perused the final results for Atlanta, I caught myself saying “How did Biffle get there?” Like his teammate Matt Kenseth, “The Biff” manages to produce just enough to keep himself in the hunt. Biffle has produced 4 top 10 finishes in his last 6 races.
#8- Jimmie Johnson (ranked 3rd last week)- I know that most weeks, Hendrick Motorsports unloads a winning car for him, but can we not say that enough cracks in the wall exist that he may be denied a fourth straight championship? He may still yet win it, but Johnson will challenged like never before. In his last five races, Johnson has finished outside the top ten four times.
#7- Jeff Gordon (ranked 5th last week)- For a few fleeting moments, it looked as
though Gordon might win at AMS. His 8th place finish does however offer a glimmer of hope as recent runs have been peppered with disappointing results. I still can;t help but think Gordon will do no less than tie Cale Yarborough’s career win total before the season is out, and there’s nothing that says he won’t equal Waltrip and Allison with one more victory beyond that. There’s still plenty of season left.
#6- Tony Stewart (ranked 1st last week)- We take some measure of comfort in knowing that Smoke is human after all, after an other worldly string of brilliant finishes. In reality, he’s the class of 2009 overall (as the standings indicate) but lately Stewart has been a little off his game.
#5- Juan Pablo Montoya (unranked last week)- He darn near pulled it off at Atlanta as he guns for his first chase entry. When you’re in the uncharted waters he’s in, you always wonder how his team will react to adversity. Montoya’s Atlanta finish answered that. He IS the real deal in 2009.
#4- Kasey Kahne (unranked last week)- It’s the same deal for Kahne as it is for Montoya. The question was one of whether or not he could rebound from a handful of sub par efforts. Give Kahne’s team credit for making the adjustments needed to win. That ability to tweak successfully on the fly will help make a champion.
#3- Mark Martin (ranked 4th last week)- So the guy goes out and gets a 5th place run and he can’t get any spots in the standings. No wonder fans are nervous about him. All his fans can do is hope that veteran savvy will guide him around the 3/4 mile course at Richmond to hang on. I must say I share Ricky Craven’s point of view, that Martin will be more than battle tested and a serious championship if he can just get there.
#2- Brian Vickers (ranked 6th last week)- You may think I’m crazy, and you know what, you’re right! With that out of the way, consider the run that Vickers is on: he has 7 top 10s in his last 11 races, including the win at Michigan! Now 20 points outside the chase, it will be a shame if he misses it, but anything can happen at Richmond.
#1- Denny Hamlin (ranked 2nd last week)- With an average finish of 6.4 over his last five races, Hamlin is the hottest driver on the circuit right now. In HIS last 11 races, Hamlin has 9 top 10 finishes, including his win at Pocono. He’s also tied for fourth with 8 top fives- along with Martin and Biffle.
FALLING OFF THE PACE
Thankfully for Kurt Busch, he was quite impressive in the early season. The only driver in the top 12 with a worse average finish than the Blue Deuce over the last five races is Jimmie Johnson…After an inspirational performance at Bristol, Kyle Busch fell back at Atlanta. I can’t bring myself to say he’s out, but Busch the younger finds himself needing to muster up a brilliant performance at Richmond and hope that among Martin, Biffle and Kenseth, one of them greatly falters. Carl Edwards is another case of a driver off his game.
READY TO STRIKE
Matt Kenseth is a story of survival. He sits in 12th place, and has been producing a string of finishes in the top 15, just good enough to hang on. Can he hang on for one more week?
DISTANT THUNDER
He’s realistically out of the chase picture, but can we not say that the “00″ team of David Reutimann is the most improved for 2009? Consistency will be needed to make the next step, but now the team has a foundation on which to build.
PHOTO CREDITS- Ryan Newman by colin65. To see more visit flcikr.com, or click on the links. Gordon racing with Kurt Busch by Drew Hallowell/ Getty Images, Brian Vickers by Jerry Markland/ Getty Images.
