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Power Rankings: Restrictor plates putting a damper on Martin's season - Sprint Cup, NASCAR Sports News
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Power Rankings: Restrictor plates putting a damper on Martin's season

 

Updated July 6

Three restrictor-plate races down, one more to go.

Mark Martin fell out of the Chase with a 38th-place finish at Daytona. (AP)  
Mark Martin fell out of the Chase with a 38th-place finish at Daytona. (AP)  
After the manner in which the last two restrictor-plate races have ended (the Daytona 500 was a bit of a downer, halted early because of rain), no doubt many a NASCAR fan is counting down to Nov. 1, when NASCAR makes its way back to Talladega.

NASCAR drivers, on the other hand, probably aren't looking to that date as fondly. Coming smack dab in the middle of the Chase (race 6 of 10), championship contenders have to be especially cautious.

Survival is the key and some have proved better at it -- or luckier -- than others.

Mark Martin has not been one of the lucky ones. Despite three victories on the season, Martin is out of the top 12 at the moment, with his results at the restrictor-plate tracks one of the major factors holding him back.

A 16th-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 wasn't too bad, but April's race at Talladega and the return trip to Daytona were nightmares.

He didn't make it past the sixth lap before a wreck collected him at Talladega, leaving him with a 43rd-place finish.

Saturday night he made it to lap 12 before a wreck of his own doing knocked him out of contention.

"You know, you go out here and you race and we take our lumps and we take our good days," Martin said prior to the race. "Some days we get more than we deserve and some days we don't get what we deserve. We just go out here and do our thing and hope it turns out well."

Unfortunately for Martin, it has not turned out well too often of late at the restrictor-plate tracks. After finishing 38th at Daytona, Martin fell two spots in the standings to 13th, 65 points behind Kasey Kahne.

Power Rankings after Daytona:

POWER RANKINGS
CurrentDriverPrevious
1Tony Stewart1
It's only fitting that he won the race after hogging the lead most of the night.
2Jeff Gordon2
He was having issues with blistering tires before getting tangled up in the big mid-race wreck.
3Jimmie Johnson3
Earns his first top five and just his second top 10 in seven races at Daytona since winning the Daytona 500 in 2006.
4Kurt Busch4
Continues to knock on the door for a win at a restrictor-plate track. He has finished fourth or better in four of his past five trips to Daytona.
5Carl Edwards6
No doubt he was having flashbacks to Talladega. "It was a crazy, crazy finish," Edwards said. "I thought I wanted to be up there racing with those guys, then I saw that [Kyle Busch wrecking] and I was just fine with where I was at."
6Juan Pablo Montoya7
He now has eight top 10s on the season with five coming in the past seven races.
7Denny Hamlin11
He and Stewart were the class of the field. But with Stewart snagging the win, Hamlin had to settle for his third top-five finish in the past four races.
8Mark Martin5
Since picking up his third win of the year back at Michigan, Martin has followed with finishes of 35th, 14th and 38th.
9Ryan Newman8
He has hit a little bump in the road with four consecutive finishes of 17th or worse.
10Kyle Busch10
Wreck in the last lap left him with his fifth finish outside the top 10 in the past six races.
11Greg Biffle9
Never a factor at any point, spending just 14 laps in the top 15 all night.
12Kasey Kahne12
The sensational image of his collision with Kyle Busch notwithstanding, Kahne was able to leave Daytona with a 15th-place finish and move up one spot to 12th in the standings.
13David Reutimann13
After starting at the rear of the field because of an engine change, he had managed to work his way into the top 15 before being collected in the mid-race big one.
14Matt Kenseth14
Gets a much-needed top 10 after four consecutive finishes of 16th or worse had him tumbling down the standings.
15Clint Bowyer15
He had just joined the top 10 when he became a victim of the mid-race carnage.
 

Talk Back
Reputation:81
Level:All-Star
Since:Jul 21, 2007

July 7, 2009 7:02 pm
I also don't see Mark Martin about Kyle Busch. I'm really just waiting for Kyle Busch to grow up a little and not feel like he MUST win at all costs. A top 5 was there Saturday but he had to win at all cost and try to come up on Stewart. One of these days it will cost someone their life and not just alot of money. There are alot of teams struggling with the money and then you got this jerk out the ...(more)
Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Dec 19, 2006

July 7, 2009 9:27 am
I don't get how Brian can rank him 6th, or even in the top 8 or 9. Montoya does not even have a top 5 finish all year, which makes him the only driver in the top 15 who can say that. He hasn't had a DNF yet, which he is bound to get soon, really just by virtue of bad luck. He's only led 17 laps all season, and only 6 in the last month. Getting top 15s is nice, and will put him on the cusp of the c ...(more)
Reputation:95
Level:Superstar
Since:Jul 6, 2007

July 6, 2009 11:12 pm
what is the diff between restrictor plate and regular?
Reputation:86
Level:All-Star
Since:Dec 9, 2006

July 7, 2009 3:48 pm
How can  you rate Mark Martin ahead of Kyle Busch.The points dont lie.You cant blame the Daytona and Talladega because if you run in the middle and in the back you have a good chance to get caught up in a crash.
Reputation:90
Level:All-Star
Since:Sep 25, 2007

July 7, 2009 10:17 pm
Look at theese power rankings: http://www.nascar.com/news/features
/power_rankings/
Look at logano's postions.
 
 
 
 
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