RoushFenwayGuy

Ya, I decided not to go with a prediction this week, there are only 2 weeks left, and I decided to give a Chase Rankings (keep in mind this doesn't include races which resulted in a crash) Best of luck to Carl Edwards for the comeback, he does deserve it.

1.) Carl Edwards (100)  He has as many wins as Johnson in the chase (2) but unlike Johnson, if you take out those 2 bad crash days, Edwards never finished outside the top 3! How about that! Pretty much its either that he does down or goes hard. As long as he can stay on the track, Johnson probably won't be able to lock his win.

2.) Jimmie Johnson (99)  Other than the last race where he got 15th, no finishes below 10th, thats really good, add in 2 wins, and that is a championship formula most of the time, but Edwards has a more massive one this year, it will be great to see these two in the years to come.

3.) Greg Biffle (95)  Other than that one incident with Edwards, no finish below 12th, if Johnson wasn't in the picture, he could possibly win the season, but Edwards and Johnson are too good, he does have 2 wins like them.

4.) Matt Kenseth (93)  He has had 3 crashes, but other than that, no finishes below 10th, bad luck just hit him hard, he could be going for yet another title.

5.) Jeff Gordon (91)  Gordon ahead of Burton, what gives? I barley gave it to Gordon, but he does kind of deserve it, he has 1 crash, 1 top 15, and then all top 10s, he has been under the radar, but he is a good consistent car.

6.) Jeff Burton (91)  People said that he was back! After his falling in the 2nd half of the non chase, but now in the 2nd half of the chase chase, he is falling yet again, 13, 17 and 18 were his last 3, but he does have a win, hopefully he can pull it back together so that his rating doesn't drop even more.

7.) Kevin Harvick (89)  6,7 and 13 are common numbers for Harvick in the cup, 10 and 20 as well, this guy has been nice and consistent, if he shows a top 5 at these last 2 tracks which have been great to him in the pass, he could get a top 5 in the standings.

8.) Clint Bowyer (88)  Unlike Harvick, he has gotten 2 top 5s, however, 12 is his number, 3 times, also 3 top 10s, and a 20, so very close, but he's top 15 material with more of a chance to break out.

9.) Kyle Busch (84)  He has fallen from grace, however, he is slowly rising, 4,5,and 6 where 3 of his last 4 finishes, he also has a 15th, and I think more good ones are on the way.

10.) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (79)   A 2nd and 5th, 2 top 15s, that's about it, truly disappointing.

11.) Tony Stewart (77)  It is true he won, and has an 8th and 2 11ths, but other than that, a true disgrace to all Stewart fans, and those other 3 finishes are nothing to talk about for a driver like Tony, cya at Stewart Haas!!

12.) Denny Hamlin (77)  Maybe Stewart did make a good move leaving Gibbs, it maybe going under... 3,5, and 9, not too bad, and an 11th, not too good after that, with only 2 crash unlike other drivers, he is in the rear of the standings, however only 38 points seperate 8th from 12th, still, he can make a leap in his ranking with 1 more top 5, but he has been a disappointment like Stewart.

Well, Jimmie is just about to win again, but I agree that Edwards is the better driver, I mean look, in the chase w/o a crash, he has never finished below 3rd, that will make him so that he gets at least that in my PR, and Jimmie pretty much the same, who will be the one that can stop them this week? Let me tell you it was hard to rank this week, a lot of people has ups and downs, honestly anyone as low as 17th could top 5.

1.) Jimmie Johnson  He's hard to stop, and here yet again, pure gold, he has 1 crash, other than that, no finish worse than 11th, nevermind he won this event last year, he will be hard to stop yet again, and can rebound from any difficulty here except a crash.

2.) Carl Edwards  Carl Edwards is a lot better and different at these kind of tracks, and thats good, he has 2 wins here, including one this year, but other than those 2, no top 10s here! Still, with this season, I expect big things from Edwards, don't be surprised if he wins, also take this into account, he beat Jimmie by 1 position last race, and he beat him by 1 position at Texas, he is refreshing his hold of Jimmie abilities for this race, and if he can do it, Carl could very well win as many times as Kyle Busch.

3.) Matt Kenseth  If he can win I don't know, but 5 top 3 finishes here, he won once, and 3 2nds, all from 2006-2007, he also got a 9th in the spring here and 2nd last year, and besides crashes in the chase, which he has 3, all top 10s, so a top 5 here is likely, but a top 10 is all but a lock.

4.) Tony Stewart  He won this at the event in 2006, and after the last 6 races, no finish worse than 11th, it is true that he is falling in the sprint cup with bad luck, but at this track, I kind of like his chances.

5.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.  This guy showed greatness here early, he won in his debut, and all top 10s until 2006 (besides 1 crash) now he has fallen off his game in Texas, with 12th and 14 as his last 2 here, but in his last 3 races here, he has led 10+ laps, so he can still run good here, just has hit some bad luck, nevermind that in the spring Carl lapped all but 10 drivers, leaving him and Harvick the leaders of the lapped cars, so if he can avoid bad luck, and with his rising momentum in the cup, a good day might be in the cards.

6.) Jeff Burton  This guy has fallen lately, with a 17th and 18th, but at this track, in his last 5, he has 1 crash, a win last spring, and then 3 6th place finishes, since he is falling in the sprint cup, but still pretty strong, I'll bet on him getting that lucky #6 yet again, but don't be surprised if he gets a top 5, maybe even wins.

7.) Denny Hamlin  He got 2 top 5s in the last 2 sprint cup races, so he is gaining momentum like Jr., but he has only 1 non top 10 here, then again, he has a 4th for best finish, so he could be a top 5 car, but I can't see him going for the win with Edwards and Johnson.

8.) Kevin Harvick  He is very consistent in the cup, getting right around top 10, and why not here, he used to be a top 15 man here, but over the last 2-3 years, has moved to a top 10 man, heck, he even got a top 5 sweep in 2006, and 10 and 11 for last 2 here, so I believe he can do something again.

9.) Kyle Busch  In his last 3 of 4 here, top 5s, all around 3rd, except 1 crash, but still, he is falling, but I believe we can see another top 10, he could even get a top 5 if he really works at it.

10.) Kurt Busch  He has struggled a lot in the sprint cup, but as of late, he has been starting to grab top 10s again, and at a track like this, where he had 8,11,8 in 2006-2007, and other than 3 finishes below 20th, he has no worse finish than 11th here, if he can keep his momentum, he could get a top 10 yet again at this track.

11.) Mark Martin  He has 2 bad finsies here as of late, one due to a crash, other than that in his last 6 races here, 8,3,9 and 2, I think he will top 10, with one above him crashing, lets see what he can do, he's kind of unpredictable.

12.) Jeff Gordon  Uh oh! It's Texas! And you know what that means Jeff Gordon fans, one of the only 2 tracks where Jeff has not won, it is true that he has top 10d in all but 2 races in the chase, and that he has 3 of 4 top 10s lately here, but he crashed in the spring, and that no win at this track 2 in the season, and with depression after no win yet in the cup where he is falling, I'm not sure if he will top 10, but I could be very well be wrong, if you Jeff Gordon fans say that he will top 10, I don't blame you, if you say he will top 5... not likely, but possible, yet I assure you, with his season, he won't get the win here yet.

13.) Clint Bowyer  He has 3 12ths in the sprint cup, and it could happen again, with 1 crasher, which is likely, anyway, at this track, he has a 5,10,16 and 2 19ths, so he is non top 15 more often, but I think he can show us something.

14.) Martin Truex Jr.  Other than a crash here, no finish worse than 15th, but with his season, he might only get there, he has top 10d 50% of the time here, but he crashed in the spring, that could bring his morale here down.

15.) Jaime McMurray  He is a dark horse, with 14,9,5 for his last 3 here, and with him with a 7 and 5 in 2 of his last 3 sprint cup races, he might be underrated, but with his overall bad season, I still need to see more before I start to boom him ahead of talent in my PR.

16.) Greg Biffle  If people consider Biffle getting a 10th and 12 as falling big time, then I can't wait until I hear what they say after Texas, get this, at this track, he has a 1st, 6th and 20th, but other than that, 6 races where he has gone multiple laps down!!! Honestly, if you are asking yourself, don't risk Biffle, he could do something, but this is Texas, he is faaaaarrrrr too risky....

17.) Ryan Newman  At his last 2 here, 4th and 5th, that included this season, he won back in 2003, and that is his only other top 10 here though, he had Daytona as well for momentum here, so I don't think he will do quite as good in the CoT now, but he could break out for a great performance.

18.) Kasey Kahne  Kasey Kahne... hmmm... where should i start, he has a 2nd in the chase, but other than that, no top 10s, no wait, no top 15s, no wait! no top 20s except a 2nd at his precious Lowe's, now since he's Kasey I need to show him on my PR, at least for now, he's close to leaving, at this track, has a win and 2nd, in 2006 and 2004, but only 1 top 20, an 18th, other than those 2, and that was here last year, so he could land there again.

19.) Elliot Sadler  His last 3 here were 26, 12 and 17, and 2 top 10s made in the chase, other than that though, he's not too great in the cup or here, however, he did win back in 2004 here, but quite honestly, I can't see him getting anything better than a 10th, right around 20th likely...

20.) A.J. Allmendinger  In the cup, other than 2 crashes, all his finishes have been in the top 20, he has a 39th here, but like many times before, he has proven he can do good at those bad track, I might be underrating him yet again, I still wanna see more out of him.

Other Drivers of Note

Casey Mears- has a 4th here and has top 15s in all but 2 races in the cup, but at this track, 22,31,23 as of late, he needs to show me that he can pull off those 4ths and 7ths he has before at this track.

Juan Pablo Montoya- 19,25 and 8 here, but he can't do anything right this season...

Bobby LaBonte- best of 3rd, 20.3 avg. finish here, and with Petty, stay away, top 20 at best.

Brian Vickers- 16th in the spring, 12th though for best finish, again, he could be good since he has improved this season, but a top 10 is very unlikely, top 20 with his 23.5 avg finish might not even come.

David Ragan- A dark, dark horse, as dark as the headless horsemen, and just in time for Halloween, anyway, he has a 13th, but then 37 and 39 here, he has been having a breakout season with more passes and top 15 passes than any other driver, and with his last 5 races in the cup being no worse than 13th, he could got another top 10 here if he plays his cards right, but I need to see less crashing and more results.

I'm running out of catchy nicknames, lol, anyway, Jimmie Johnson is on his game, as for Biffle and Burton, they are falling off, Edwards is still fine, just had that bad luck twice, and last week I hit some like Gordon on the spot, and some surprises, like Burton, but anyway, to the projections.

1.) Jimmie Johnson  This guy has it all right now, and quite honeslty, I'm not sure if he can be stopped, he's like a Runningback who can put fear into everyone and make them run away from him instead of tackle, anyway, this guy also has a great record here, with excluding 3 bad runs in the beginning of his career here, he only has 2 non top 6s, unfortunately, the spring one this year is on that list, but then again, Johnson struggled in the beginning of the year, not too much anymore! But in the fall, he has 2 wins compared to one, and w/o the 3 crashes, his spring avg. is 4.833333, while the fall is 4.6, so he is slightly better at this time.

2.) Carl Edwards  This guy, without his crashes, in the chase, has never finished before 3rd!!!!! That's amazing huh, in addition, other than 2 crashes here, one in the spring, he has 2 1sts, 2nd, 3rd, and 2 7ths, so he has a good chance of getting a top 3 yet again if he doesn't crash, honestly I think his bad luck is done, but Jimmie still has something coming, Edwards could benefit with a win if that crash comes this week, and if its early, Edwards is right back in the cup. The 2 1sts were in a sweep in 2005 btw... also another little fact, that he never crashed in the fall race.

3.) Tony Stewart  He has had bad luck recently, out of his last 6 races here, 5 were top 10s, and one a problem race, which was the one last year, so he seems to have had the bad luck here last year, now top 10 is in his view, and without his incident last fall, 2 2nds and a win at this track, so he seems very likely to go up there, with Edwards and Johnson it will be tough getting another front row position, but I wouldn't be surprised if Tony won.

4.) Jeff Gordon  Like Martinsville, HMS is great here, and they proved that at those tracks, they can do it, after all, they all top 5d (I wonder who will be next in my PR?????) At this track, his last 6 have been no worse than 7th except once, which was still a 12th, this may show that bad luck could be near, but I believe another top 5 is in order, him and Jr. are very close in my power rankings, I only gave Gordon the edge because Jr. is doing horrible in the chase.

5.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.  3rd in the spring, 2nd last track, he could be a surprise, esecially since he crashed late in one race for 25th, had a 14th, and then his last 4 of his last 6 are 3 3rds and a 4th! With Edwards in the mix, and him in the chase, he probably will only get affected by 1 position, but if Johnson crashes like I said, 4th or 3rd could come.

6.) Clint Bowyer  He has been decent throughout the cup, and with 3 6ths in the last 3 races here, I like his chances of yet again... 6th!

7.) Greg Biffle  Simply said, he is good here, decent here, and bad here, all in all, he is good here, with 6 top 10s and 3 of those being top 5, with his sprint cup season, I might be underrating him, but he is falling a bit, and he struggles more in the fall, having a 5th for best finish.

8.) Matt Kenseth  In his last 6, none worse than 13th, an 8th, and 4 top 5s! That's nice huh, however, there is a lot of competition, and he is struggling a bit, with Edwards and HMS, I can't see that top 5, but a top 10 should be in the bag.

9.) Jeff Burton  10th last time here, then a 5th, 4th and 13th, it is true he is pulling for the win, but he is getting top 10s in every race, not winning, I have a feeling it will be the same here, and with Martinsville's disappointment, I can't put him much higher.

10.) Mark Martin  Has stuggled recently, most due to problems, but 2 years ago, had 4 top 5s in a row, now after the last 4, only a 10th to show, but he has been top 10ing a lot in the sprint cup when he races, and he will race here, expect around a 10th if he doesn't have problems.

11.) Kasey Kahne  I'm hoping his bad luck is up here, he got a win here, and 3 top 5s, but the last 4 races, only 1 top 10, then mistake, crash, gone, ouch, 3 finishes not in the top 25, so 3/4 crashes in his last 4 races, with the competition, I think he will finally pop out, but that 9th for worse non crash will become an 11th, he needs a momentum shift here before he goes higher, and I don't think it will come this time.

12.) Kyle Busch  He is doing much worse in the cup compared to earlier where he got his win, still, with that win this season, and 3 12ths at this track, he might be able to dish out another one.

13.) A.J. Allmendinger  He has been doing great in the Sprint Cup recently, and now look, we are coming to a track where he got 16th before, he is a true sleeper, and watch this guy, he could go for top 10 yet again.

14.) Denny Hamlin  8, 15, and 2 19ths for Denny here from top 20 finishes, it seems as if he will land right around here, and with no crash finishes worse than 16th in the cup so far, I say he should get around here.

15.) Brian Vickers  Has been doing much worse than at the beginning of the season, and CHEATER ALERT!, that wil bring him down, with a 9th and 10th for his last 2 finishes here, he seems to be a top 15 contender, but you never know, he could do better, or worse...

16.) Kevin Harvick  He did get a 7th here in the spring, true, but other than that only 2 other top 10s! Both in his first 2 races here, which were a win and 3rd, but he has fallen big time at this track, avoid him if you can, this might even be overrating, but that 7th does show promise, and the fact that no finish of his has been worse than 20th for 12 races, and 10/12 were top 10s!

17.) Kurt Busch  In 4 races, not worse than 14th, yet, he wasn't this bad, he has a 3rd for a glimmer of hope, and he had a 2nd at Daytona back then, he could got a bit higher, but top 15 is about it if he can make it there.

18.) Bobby LaBonte  Last 4 here were 12,41,16 and 12, so he has fallen here, with PE, don't except better than those finishes.

19.) Juan Pablo Montoya  He has a 5th, 16th, and 34th, but with him in the cup recenlty, a 14th last track is his only glimmer, I can't say that I can expect much.

20.) Ryan Newman  The 14th in the spring is his only glimmer here recently, and with him now, this might even be overrating Newman.

Other Drivers of Watch

Joey Logano- Will try to race here, and in the 02 car where he practiced top 10 back at New Hampshire with, but then again, it will probably rain again, if he can qualify and get in, he could be a sleeper.

Martin Truex Jr.- got an 8th here, and 10th at Martinsville, but his 27.6 avg. finish here says don't ride on his back.

David Ragan- He is better this season, but at this track, no finish better than 23nd, which was in the spring, but that's probably about the best he can do here.

Sam Hornish Jr.- He has 1 finish here, a 25th, if he can turn it into magic I will be amazed.

Casey Mears- A HMS track, but only 12th for best finish, and 17th here in the spring, he could be top 20 material, but don't count on it.

Alright, good job to Jeff Burton last week, Johnson did just what I expected, and same as Kahne, its a shame that Edwards was knocked out, he was hanging in the lead. And now for the predictions.

1.) Jeff Burton  Expect for unlucky 06 and the beginning for him here, he is great, almost always getting top 15 or just missing, and a lot of top 10s, he got 3rd in the spring here, and won all the way back in 1997, his last 3, excluding 2006, is 3,5,6 and 12, which is very nice, he is back to the better consistency that he had at the beginning of the season, and he won at Bristol, the race before this one, he is short track gold, and with a win at Lowe's to jump off of, he could do it again and be a major threat in the chase, it is still a 3 man chase, but with a change.

2.) Jimmie Johnson  He finished 4th earlier this year, and Burton could have momentum to overthrow him, but he is absolute gold here, having 4 wins, including 3 in a row, which were in 2007 and 2006, the best stat, that he has only NOT finished in the top 10 once here, his debut, where he had vibration trouble, so take that out, and you do the math, this maybe his best track, and it will be fun to see Johnson duel Burton at the end of the race if it comes down to that.

3.) Tony Stewart  He is a bit more up and down that Burton, but overall very nice, in his last 6 races, missed the top 10 only once, which was a 13th, this includes 4 top 5s in his last 6! He won at Talladega, and if he can avoid bad luck, which he did earlier this year, top 5 is in his alley.

4.) Jeff Gordon  He has been top 10ing in 3 of his last 4 races this season, so he is getting steam back, but still, he is struggling, this track could change all that, get this, in his last 11 starts, has top 5s in all but 2, and the other 2 were both in 2004, a 9th and 6th, and 7 of those 11 are top 2, oh boy!!!! But with his bad season, that 4/11 will come and hit to 5/12.

5.) Denny Hamlin  Many people after that crash and his horrible chase season are counting this dog out, and let me tell you, don't! He crashed once for a 38th, other than that, 1,2,3,6,8, this guy knows this track, and despite a bad chase, he has been having bad luck all over, except here, where he actually won earlier in the season! This guy may only be top 10 material with his season, but even top 10 is nice.

6.) Kyle Busch  He is slowly coming back, got a 4th last week, but here, 2 crashes, 2 4ths, 2 5ths, and an 18th, if he can avoid a crash, with his season disincluding the chase, he can top 10 or even top 5.

7.) Dale Earnhart Jr.  He is either make or break here, either top 10 or not even top 20, with Hendrick, 6th earlier this season here, I think top 10 again, although his chase has been all bad luck and horribleness, he can come back just like Hamlin right here, watch these 2 dogs, but unlike Hamlin, no win here, and no finish above 3rd, he has top 5d 7 times, but 5 of them were during the great streak of 2002-2004, just be a bit careful with Jr., but if your a fan of Jr., its pretty safe to pick him in fantasy leagues.

8.) Carl Edwards  He still kind of stands a chance for the chase.. especially if Burton crashes into Johnson, unlikely, but they will be near eachother sometime unless one crashes early, I can guarentee you that, anyway, he has been getting better and better here, 2005 not even able to top 20, 2006 able to top 20, 2007 almost at top 10, and at 2008, finally top 10, he is getting better and better, and with his chase dreams on the line, he will step it up and improve again, he could crash too and end his season like Kyle Busch... but you never really know, do you?

9.) Matt Kenseth  Not including the crash this season, 5,10, and 11 for last 3, I think he can do something here, and then before a 26th, an 11th and 12, so he seems to be right around top 10 material given his bad luck doesn't continue, and since he did top 5 in the first 2 races in the chase, with good luck he can go somewhere.

10.) Kevin Harvick  He is pretty consistent in the chase, and same thing here, if he can avoid trouble, top 10 seems like it will come, but he gets bad luck a lot, and I think Kenseth is a better driver this season, but these 2 should be very close, if you want one, decide yourself, its really that hard to choose between these 2, I just had to give it to Kenseth though.

(RFG, where is he??? He will come... for all you know)

11.) David Ragan  Top 10 in his last 3 races in the cup, never got a top 10 here, but earlier this season, he got very close, 11th, with running for 13th and momentum, I think he will finally crack the top 10, if not, get very close.

12.) Clint Bowyer  This guy has a 9th, 10th, and 11th here, and with 4 races being 12th and the rest better over the chase, there is nothing wrong in saying he will get yet another 12th.

13.) Jaime McMurray  Got a top 5 last race, has 7 top 10s here, I might be underrating him, but his season is bad this season, and his top 10s all but 1, which was a 2nd, were 7th or lower, so if he makes top 10, its only barely, and I don't think he can quite do that.

14.) Kurt Busch  Good job with your top 5 at such a track like Lowe's for you, Bristol is his track, this one though, is far from, though he can top 10 here, he has a lot of bad luck here, only getting top 11 6 times, I think the finish at Lowe's will give him momentum, but with his season, the momentum should only get him this far, but if he has that amazing luck, watch out!

15.) Juan Pablo Montoya  He  has an 8th, 13 and 16 here , true he has struggled a lot in the chase, but I think he can finally go for top 15, then again, he could get his worst finish too, he is pretty hard to predict.

(RFG, where is he?!?!?!, Patience my son...)

16.) Kasey Kahne  He finishes 15th through 17th a lot here, despite Lowe's momentum, and his best finish was a 2nd, in the spring, so right around 15th and 17th seems like where he will end up.

17.) Ryan Newman  He is good here, but other than a 2nd last year, his last 6 have all been double digits, with a 1 in front, and with his season, right here sounds good? Right, then again, he could pull off that Kurt Busch magic and make it Penske magic.

18.) Casey Mears  In his last 4, a crash, then a 20th, then 7th and 6th, so he is pretty good here as of recently, so don't count him out, still though, he is a small sidenote with his overall failiure at this track.

And without further ado... here is, he....

19.) Greg Biffle  Last year he got a 7th here, but that is it, it is true his season is amazing so far, but he will lose it here, I mean he has some decent RF drivers to work on here, but he can't do the same, out of 11 finishes, that 7th is his only top 15 here!!! So I might be underrating him a little bit, but a lot of these others guys have better records too, he will do better than this due to some crashing, but still, do not bank on him in anything given the chance.

20.) Brian Vickers  23, 17 and 8 for last 3, other than that horrible here, but with his great comeback season, you never quite know, he could be better.

Other Drivers of Watch

Bobby LaBonte- I did want to put him up here, but where were too many people in the midde/lower class, he did win here, but he is with Petty now, his last 2 have been pathetic, but he could top 5 too, since he did that pretty recently twice, still, should be a sidenote, but with the 17th and 6th in the cup recently, he could do something.

Martin Truex Jr.- His best finish is 19th, 24.8 avg. finish, bad season this season, that's all I have to say...

Regan Smith- 2 finishes, 14th and 26th, avg. to a 20, could he top 20? Watch and find out. and the 14th was this season.

Aric Almirola/ A.J. Allmendinger- I will  put both of them as the same name, since they have very similar descriptions, anyway, both raced here twice, both crashed both times for horrible finishes, with A.J.'s spark of a season, and Almirola's greatness at Bristol, I think they still have something to show here.

Couldn't think of a classy nickname for this one, lets just go to the pwr rankings

1.) Carl Edwards  This guy won't want to pay a penny to get a top 10 finish, after all, he has only not finished there once, with a 7.6 avg. finish, and a few 3rds, I think it is finally his time to win here.

2.) Jimmie Johnson  Now, normally I would give Johnson the numero uno spot, but in his last 3 races, 39, 10, 14, hasn't been up to par with his usual performance, now, with leading every race, and at least 20 in all but 2 races, you can tell he has only had bad luck, though Edwards is a big obstacle here, as well as another, we will have to wait and see if he can get around them.

3.) Kasey Kahne  Ya, can you say, amazing here! last 5 starts are 1,8,23,1 and 1. 3 wins in the last 5! And the all star race where he got in from a wild card, this guy has been falling in the Sprint Cup, but he could make it all up here.

4.) Jeff Burton  6,4,24,3,6 for last 5 here, he is amazing here, and he has been getting top 10s during this whole chase, expect another one at the least.

5.) Tony Stewart   He will get momentum, but trust me, he won't win, 18, 7, 6, 13, 42, he is on and off here, with momentum, you can think top 5, but only one here once, back in 2003, I might be overrating this guy.

6.) Matt Kenseth   2 top 10s recently, he will probably do it again, but he only won back in 2000, and in an all star race here in 2004, Kenseth should get a top 10, he is reliable here.

7.) Greg Biffle  This guy has been getting better here, just a lot of bad luck to show, with his spark in the Sprint Cup, no reason to not think top 10, but that crash might prevent him from top 5 momentum, I could be wrong, watch him.

8.) Dale Earnhart Jr.   Been racey at this track, with a team that has been great here recently, top 5 might be up his alley, but he usually has a nice Talladega to look back on, this time he doesn't, but with Johnson and Gordon, and only 1 finish outside the top 10 from 2006 to now, but 2005 sweep of crashes hurt his rating here, let's see if he can make some back up, give a name for himself before the chase is over now that he is all but done.

9.) Mark Martin  Top 15s all around recently, and all over this track period, with a win in 2004, this is a great track for him on the circuit, he is under the radar being on part time, but with the 4th rated avg. finish, expect something from him, he does trail Edwards, Johnson, and the next guy down, Kasey has some bad luck here...

10.) Bobby LaBonte  Hey RFG, you forgot to add 10... no I did not, why? Because 11,12,13,5,17, true they have all been below 10th, but he has the 2nd to best avg. finish here, in addition, top 5 recently, and 6th at Talladega, now I might be overrating him, but this is a great track of his, and he can do something here given the chance.

11.) Kyle Busch  his bad luck has to stop somewhere right? 5th at Talladega, he is 31st in avg. here, but got a nice 3rd in the spring for his best finish, now he probably won't go to prime form, but a top 10 with his season is not out of the question.

11.)  Jeff Gordon  4 and 1 for last 2 finishes, don't expect that good with his season, but those were the last 2, so 4th in the last race, the crash in Talladega had to bring him down, but if he can avoid trouble, he might even be top 10 material.

12.) Kevin Harvick  Finally! A 9 race top 10 run, and he finally stopped, so he is not immortal, and I think non top 10 is coming again, about 3 top 10s here, I might be overrating Harvick thats how mediocre he is here, but he is good this season, you never know.

13.) Clint Bowyer  Last year finished 2nd here, other than that, just some top 20-30s, he can do something, since he does have all top 15s in the chase, but he has to step it up to get into the chase, he is still a contender however.

14.) Casey Mears  This guy is crash crazy here, and only 2 top 10s... until 2007, where he came out of nowhere where nobody would have predicted him to win, but he did it! With being able to ride with HMS and the great Jimmie here, its possible that he could do something, and has 3 top 15s in his last 3 races, still, his season is much worse, don't expect another win or anything...

15.) Monster Muffin Man  He had a win in debut, he led for a bit in a recent race, this one last year, just had bad luck to end 3 laps down, but if he can avoid bad luck here, he could be a surprise, still, has to show me that he can improve from the season's badness.

16.) Brian Vickers  Got a 5th here, but with a 42nd after a crash last race, we don't know his potential for this season, it could be great at this track, and he won the pit crew challenge here, you never know... but just expect a top 15... since one above him will likely crash

17.) Denny Hamlin  He has 50% chance of top 10, and 50% of top 30, with a 5th place, but him not being too good recently, and seeming like a 20-30 won't come this time, it seems that he will finally get a top 15... if the injury doesn't get to him, and I think it will, expect a top 20 still though, but he could do even worse, don't bet on him at a bad track and with an injury, its not a good idea.

18.)  Martin Truex Jr.  He is usually top 20, with his season, don't expect one of his top 10s, the top 20s should fit him nicely

19+20.) The Penske Blues   With Kurt 18th and Ryan 19th, they both got a 2nd here, but both struggle a bit here, and with their seasons and Penske in general, expect them in the top 20, in fact, I will put another friend with them.

Other Drivers of Note

Sam Hornish Jr.- He got a 13th here... once, don't expect too much from him now, but he could be a surprise, would be neat if Penske had all 3 right next to eachother, and it could happen.

A.J. Allmendinger- Will driver the 00 this week, watch him... he can always be a surprise.

David Reutimann- Another MWR driver, top 10 in the spring, he could go for a top 20 again!

Regan Smith- 1 finish, a 19th, it is possible for yet another top 20, maybe even better with the momentum from Talladega where he very well could have won or at least got 2nd.

David Ragan- After a top 5, he could pull something off,and got his best 12th in the spring, but don't bank on anything specacular.

Jimmie, Carl and Greg are the 3 to beat, but how well do they fare at such a track as this?

1.) Jimmie Johnson  This guy, if he can avoid trouble, is gold at Talladega, leading at least 1 lap at every race he has ran here expect one, back in 2002, and he won here, with 2 great team members for this track, and his worst finish with a clean race was 15th, but he led 65 laps that time, if Jimmie avoids trouble, he will be one of the few to beat.

2.) Jeff Gordon  6 wins, swept in 2007, pitiful 19th in 2008, but he is Jimmie's main competition, expect these 2 to help eachother stay at the front, at the end, it is a brawl.

3.) Tony Stewart  It is true, he has never won here, but 6 1sts, and he may have won last years, condisering he led the most laps, just to get his worst finish, Tony and Jeff can gain their momentum right here, if Jimmie goes out of the picture, expect Tony to possibly get his first win.

4.) Denny Hamlin  He is figuring this track out, getting a 3rd and 4th recently, with Tony Stewart, these two could make a nasty team.

5.) Kurt Busch  Take out 4 finishes, and this guy has never finished below 7th here, take into consideration that he has gotten 2nd and 4th at Daytona this year, and he is top 5 material. He also never finished above 3rd though, but he has the best record here, he is almost unphased at superspeedways by his horrible season this season. He did crash in the spring, but he was pretty good there. He just needs to find a partner.

6.) Carl Edwards  Usually a top 10 guy if he avoids trouble, and with him being him this season, expect a top 5 if he doesn't crash. (Since at least 1 above him will probably crash)

7.) Brian Vickers  Don't include a crash, and he has a 1,3,5,6 in his last 4 races here, still he has a lot of competition, and is declining this season, still at one of the few tracks that he won on, expect a top 10.

8.) Greg Biffle  No finish ever better than 13th, but he is godly this season, and with Edwards to rely on, I think he could ride with him for his best finish yet, this guy is a big risk though, as he could finish much lower than this, and the big one could hit him this time.

9.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.  From 2001 to 2004, pure gold, getting 2nds and 1sts left and right, but after that, only 2 top 10s, one was last time, and with him at regular pace now this season, I honestly can't say he will do much better, we can only hope, before I saw this info. I thought he was top 3 material too.

10.) Kevin Harvick  This guy is as consistent as he is right now on this season, considering Talladega's reputation, expect a top 10.

 11.) Matt Kenseth  This guy is a top 15 guy here, but hey, look at this, 5th, 2nd in last 2 stops this season, and works well with Kurt Busch and Roush, it is true that with Greg and Carl up there, he probably won't get as much love, but if we say that every driver will crash once, Kenseth has already does it, and if all of them crash here, Kenseth will be right up with them with 2 top 5 finishes, he is under the radar in the championship right now, but if I was all of you, I would tell you that he is still in contention.

12.) Ryan Newman  Has a top 10 in last 3 races, and before that a 13th, still not as good as he used to be, looking forward to Stewart/Haas, if he works with someone like Kurt, he could stand a good chance, especially since they linked up early in the season for their 1,2 where he won, I might be underrating this guy, but with the chase here, competiton will be tough.

13.) Clint Bowyer 9th and 11th in last 2 races, but 3 crashes, also 7th to 12th  in last 6 races,he just needs to stay out of trouble.

14.)  2 15s and a 4th here, top 15 is in his alley, also take into account that he is a bit better this season, and he deserves this spot.

15.) Kasey Kahne  last 4 are 23,16,12 and 2, that 2 looks so nice, now since he's not in the chase, I won't count him there, but I think he can do stuff.

16.) Jaun Pablo Montoya  2nd, 15th and 31st, should be right around this area, but that 2nd was earlier this season, that could give him more threat.

17.) Travis Kvapil  6, 19,16 and 18, also keep in mind that he got the 6th this season, could he be a threat, who knows? We will find out won't we, but the avg. shows that he will finish right around here.

18.) Kyle Busch  Well I can't hide him forever can I? It's just amazing to see him drop so much in rankings, it is true, he won earlier this year, and i give him props, but he has 5 of 7 bad races, his only other good one was an 11th, and with such a loss of momentum, depression of not being in the chase anymore, I don't think he will do so good, I predict a crash ready to happen.

19.) David Ragan  4th, which might i mention this season, also a 17th and 34th, better this season, and RoushFenway to work with, I might be underrating this guy, but a lot of chase competition to compete with.

20.) Jeff Burton  Struggled here recently and all in all here, he is mr. consistency again, but at Talladega nothing is like it should be, expect a top 15 at best.

Other Drivers of Note

Martin Truex Jr. - He has a 5th and 10th here, but that's it, other than that, 21, and crash, crash, crash, CRASH!!!! He can't avoid the big one here, if it happens, he's as good as out, he needs to get to that top 5 fast if he want to do good I think, and with the competition this season, it will be very tough.

Bobby LaBonte- He has been bad here recently, but a good driver here who got a win, with Petty Enterprises he has been bad here, but you never know what he will do.

Jaime McMurray- good here, just not in the last 2 races, before that a few 5ths though, but with his worse season, and with the chase here, you can't expect too much, if he can avoid the big one though, he will probably get a top 20, since some of the others will likely get hit.

Aric Almirola- 30th and 33rd, but hemight be better at a superspeedway with some experience now.

A.J. Allmendinger- Always a threat recently, last race, Brian Vickers to work with, 9th for his last finish, only a 30th here, but I believe due to some problem, he could go for top 20 again, watch him.

Ya, I know it has a different name this year, but I like the Banquet name, anyway, Greg Biffle has proved himself, and its hard to not place him high, but some questions remain, where will I put Tony, and Jeff, Edwards, Kyle, you maybe surprised by where some of these guys go. by the way, at this track, there has been a different winner every year except for its 2 debut years where Gordon won both, can Biffle now match that?

1.) Greg Biffle  Look for him to get 3 for 3 wins, at this track, he has a 12th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and 12th, and the 1st was last year! Nevermind that he never had this much momentum going into here, they also predicted him to win this race before the chase even started and he got on his role, he did crash his first time for a 36th, but that's the only blemish.... He seems to have only 1 opposition, you guessed it!...

2.) Jimmie Johnson  He could very well win this week, don't deny it, but Biffle with 2 wins in a row and a 1,2,3 roush, and his record surpassing Johnson here, with all that, Johnson will need to race hard to beat Biffle, but if Biffle crashes, he should win by a mile. He has 1,1,2,5 for his last 4 races, so he has the momentum, but I have a feeling that Biffle will win, and at Talladega is where he can strike hard, Biffle is horrible there, he just needs to pray the "Roush Attack" doesn't rebirth. His avg. is 12.0 and with no finish below 32nd.

3.) Tony Stewart  Stewart fans rejoice, except for Atlanta, this is his time to strike, he won in 2006, and in 07 he led for a decent amount, just to crash, but it seems that Tony strikes at the end at this track, only leading 19 laps, with all 3 in the last 3 races, and 13 last year where he crashed. He seems to be getting better and better, and with 4ths and 8ths as a standard, expect no less than a top 10. Avg. is 11.1, he also has been doing not too bad recently, and this is a track for him to gain momentum at.

4.) Jeff Gordon  Another shocker huh, these 2 have the ability to get back up there. In last 3 races this season has 2 top 10s and a top 15, and now is his time to move up. Had 2 wins in the first 2 races here, other than that, been just decent, but last year got a 5th for a ray of hope, it seems that he may get back to his top 5 ways here. Avg. is 10.6

5.) Clint Bowyer  A LOT OF SHOCKS IN THE TOP 5! This guy raced twice here, but for a 2nd and 9th, if there is any time to regain his momentum, its here, still a bit unpredictable, but I believe in him.

6.) Mark Martin  Hey, this late in his racing career, and a great record here, he even won in 2005! Nevermind that he did get 4,6,6,8 in his last 4 cup races, and at this track his record has greatly increased in the last 3 races, getting the win, 3rd, and 12th, watch his to spark up there, his avg. is 12.4

7.) Carl Edwards  6th, 3rd, 22nd and an accident, accident being last race, and with his greatness this season, I maybe underrating him, I just need to see him race here with his new greatness.

8.) Casey Mears  CASEY MEARS! A TOP 10! RFG YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND! Trust me, this is where he deserves this race, a top 10, his last 3 races have been 2nd, 4th and 8th! And before that, 24th, and a 31st in 2004, but he led for 14 laps before getting caught in something, He is amazing at this track, and despite his bad season, he will show everyone that he still has some juice left in him.

9.) Dale Earnhart Jr.  2 accidents here, but other than that, no finish worse than 10th, well, an 18th too, and with his decline in the series, he doesn't have quite as much, but with some other people here and their records, he can go for top 10. avg. is 17.1

10.) Kevin Harvick  Hasn't not got a top 10 in 8 races, he has a great record this season, and expect another top 10, though with these no names, if they do good, you may want to watch out Harvick, has 2 6ths for best finish, but other than that, no top 10s, but I think he can nudge on for another top 10. avg. is 16.1

11.) Brian Vickers  This track is just so great, all these low drivers with great shots for a top 10, after 3 races, 8,11, and 19, true he has been worse recently, but overall he is having a better season than ever before, and a top 10 is possible.

12.) Jeff Burton  Good recently, one top 10, a 5th, only though for this track, he should do decent considering that the 5th was in 06 and in 07 he seemed good, just for an accident, but he has momentum, still, I need 1 more good finish in this race to give him a top 10. avg. is 19.6

13.) Ryan Newman  He won in 2003, in 02 and 01 2nd place! Great right... NOT! In 2004-2008, no finish above 20th, given, one he went a lap down after leading, 2 were accidents, and 1 was just him having bad driving, he has struggled much at this track recently, and in the cup, it doesn't add up for Newman, but if he can avoid all trouble, top 10 is possible. avg. is 18.3

14.) Kasey Kahne  I maybe underrating him, but he does have a 9th, 12th, 19th and 33rd (small accident) with all this combined, he needs a bit more to do good here after not making the chase, but he hasn't a lot, and he has some better stats than some other drivers, avg. is 18.3.

15.) Matt Kenseth  I can't hide him any longer, 5th and 7th here, but other than that, rotten luck, he led some laps here, but has just fallen a lap or more down, I expect it to happen again, avg. is 22.1

16.) Kyle Busch  He is out of the season now, he needed some reinsurance coming here, all he got was much lower in my rankings, only 1 top 10 here in 4 races, a 7th, other than that, a 26.5 avg. finish, do the math, he is a crash dummy here, and may go 3 for 3 in crashes, He will have a record just like Biffle's

17.) David Ragan  Has a 16th for only finish, with his better season, though declining, he is still well in 14th, could he do better, maybe even a top 10? Just wait and see.

18.) Martin Truex Jr.  He has an 11th and 38th here, he could surprise us, but I doubt it with his worse season.

19.) Kurt Busch  Can he do anything right htis season, he wants out of Penske, and for good reason, at this track, 4 top 15s and some accidents, but with him being him this season, he's not that good, Hey, he is starting to seem like Manny Ramirez

20.) Jaime McMurray  Bad recently, same as this track, but 18,7, and 8 in his first 3 races here, could he go back up there?

Other Drivers of Note:

Joe Nemechek- I know he is nothing this season, but he won in 2004, and in 2002 a 4th, also top 30 last 3 races, this is his best track right now, but that doesn't mean much for this guy.

Travis Kvapl- Better this season, with a 19th and 22nd here, could he do something, its very well possible.

Elliot Sadler- He got a 4th here, had a roll earlier this season, could amazingly do something.

Sam Hornish Jr.- Never raced here before, bad rookies are only a minor watch, he can top 20 in some races though as we have seen.

Denny Hamlin- You thought I forgot him didn't you? Nope, he fell from what people thought he would do, and now he will pay the price, has an 18th, 29th, and 32nd here, he needed momentum, and he doesn't have it anymore.

Its a sad day when your ranked 18th driver gets the win, but a good day for RoushFenway, but this will bring Greg Biffle up in this weeks predictions, also good job to Kurt Busch, Bobby, Travis, Aric, and Johnny Sauter, who got a top 20! O.K., Scott Riggs you did good too, but anyway, to the Power Rankings

1.) Carl Edwards  3rd in the last race, and lets look at his last 4 races here... 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 2nd, and he is hotter than ever and good momentum, predict win, with the other 2 being the opposition. Avg. is also 8.3 with no finish worse than 18th.

2.) Jimmie Johnson  7th in the spring, but might I also remind you that he is hotter with a lot more momentum now. He also, has 3 wins, but 2 back in 2002, his rookie year he swept! And also only 2 finishes below 15th, he is pretty good here, but with his 1st, 1st, 2nd for momentum, watch out! avg. 11.5

3.) Kyle Busch  Kyle Busch will have to work hard to get back to where he was, unless if both Jimmie and Carl crash at least one and he doesn't, then he will be in pretty good shape. But he won here in the spring, 10.3 avg. finish, and 5 of 7 are top 5s, you better watch this cat to possibly win and get himself back in it.

4.) Greg Biffle  He has momentum now, first win for him in 33 races, and great at this track, from 2005-2008, he has only 1 finish not in the top 10, he also has a win and 3 others also being top 5s, this guy could win 2 in a row, watch Greg closely. avg. 12.1

5.) Jeff Burton  I think this guy will do good again, 8th in summer, 4th to start chase, Mr. Consistency is coming back with a vengance! Out of all his races here, only one did he finish below 15th, which was due to an accident, so he might be top 5 again and could get enough momentum to be a chase contenter. avg. 13.4

6.) Matt Kenseth  Other than a crash, last 4 races here 4th, 5th, 10th, and 1st, so he is great here recently, the only thing is that he had 5 accidents, of course one was in the race of 04 where he was 19 laps down, but still got 22nd, other than that, he is good material, avg. is 14.7 due to those DNFs, but he will come back after just getting one.

7.) Jeff Gordon  5th, 11th, 9th, and 3rd recently, he is also warming up in the chase a bit, if there is a time to gain his steam its now, avg. is 13.4

8.)  from 04-07, not one finish was below 10th, except a 14th, but still, with results like that, and he has been good in the races he has run recently, watch this guy, don't underestimate him! avg. is 10.8

9.) Martin Truex Jr.  He won here in 2007, also 2 6ths, a top 15, and a top 25, so he is good here, with a 7th for momentum, he could do even better than this despite his bad season.

10.) Ryan Newman  Did get a 14th, and was very good here, 3 wins, I think he will show a top 10 to prove himself to Tony. avg. is 10.3, and he hasn't been the best recently, but a 2nd in 2007.

11.) Denny Hamlin  He had a 4th, 9th, and 11th before the last 2 races, then those were crashes, he has momentum, all he needs to do is stay on the track and he should do decent, before I rate him higher, I need to see better finishes though. avg. is 21.0

12.) Tony Stewart  http://video.google.com/videosearch
?q=Greg+Biffle+and+Subway&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#q=Greg%20Biffle%20subway&hl=en&emb=0 look at the 2nd video, remember that one? Well, I think it was Greg Biffle talking about Tony Stewart. In his last 4 races here, 3 of 4 are DNFs then before that has no top 10s expect a 9th last year, until you looks at 03 back, where he was very good, if he can avoid trouble with his momentum now, he could be a factor, but in fantasy leagues, you might want to stay away from Stewart, avg. is 12.2

13.) Jaime McMurray  He wins my dark horse vote, with 5 top 10s, and no finish below 29th, also 14.4 avg. finish and 2 of the top 10s were the last 2 races, this guy could do even more.

14.) Clint Bowyer  Other than the crash this season here, no finish below 20th, 2 8ths for best finish, but he lost momentum, he needs a bit to pull him back up, avg. is 16.2

15.) Dale Earnhart Jr.  Very shaky at this track, he got a win here before 02, but from 2002 up, only has 3 top 10s, and an 11th, then 8 finishes lower than 20th! Jr. fans beware him this week, just wait until Talladega. avg. is 16.9

16.) Kevin Harvick  He is a bad luck whiz at this place, got a 3rd, but only 4 other top 19 finishes, he will need every breathe of that momentum to even think about a good finish. avg. is 19.3

17.) Kasey Kahne  Huge risk, has 6 bad finishes here, one due to a fly wheel, 4 to accidents, the Monster crushes Kasey as soon as he can get his hands on the face, he doesn't like nice looking faces I guess, if he does avoid him though, he got a 7th, 11th, and 16th, but 3 of 9 for telling me how good he is isn't enough, he needs to avoid crashing. avg. is 26.5

18.) Brian Vickers  With a 6th, and a breakout season this season, could he do something? avg. is 19.9

19.) Bobby LaBonte  Not too great recently, but did win a while back, he should stay right around 20th after last week's performance for a slight boost.

20.) Sam Hornish Jr.  Got an 18th for his only finish, can he get a top 20 again?

Other Drivers of Note

Kurt Busch- Has a 4th and 6th at NH for momentum, but if this is one of his worse tracks, and a worse season, he probably won't get a top 20th.

Juan Pablo Montoya- Got a top 20 last race, and a 10th here, 12th in the summer he could do a top 20 again....

Travis Kvapl- Got an 11th here, which was in the summer, he is better this season, but he is losing it, has a bit of momentum from last race, so you never know.

Dave Blaney- 9th in the summer, he was hot then though, now he is cold again, watch him just in case.

David Ragan- has a 14th, and a 15th, so I maybe underrating him, still 24.0 avg. says no top 20, and lost hope and momentum for not making the chase.