Final Power Rankings: J.J. three-peat notwithstanding, Edwards No. 1
Updated Nov. 17
Sorry Jimmie, you'll have to settle for your third consecutive Sprint Cup trophy, because the title of 2008 CBSSports.com NASCAR Power Ranking's champion belongs to -- drum roll please -- Carl Edwards.
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| Carl Edwards has more wins, more top fives and more top 10s than J.J. (Getty Images) |
Jimmie Johnson fans will raise hell, but if you take a good look at the standings, it is pretty cut and dried that Edwards had the better season.
Edwards had more wins: 9-7
Edwards had more top fives: 19-15
Edwards had more top 10s: 27-22
Edwards had a better average finish: 9.5-10.5
Even within the confines of the Chase, while Johnson and Edwards each won three races, Edwards picked up eight top fives to six for Johnson. Edwards won three of the season's final four races.
But NASCAR's points system is such that a poor finish is punished far more than success is rewarded. And a bad finish hurts doubly during the 10-race Chase.
Therefore, a back-to-back stretch in which he finished 29th (Talladega) and 33rd (Lowe's) proved too much for Edwards to overcome. He'll have to shoulder the load for the Talladega debacle, but a parts failure proved his undoing at Lowe's and all but put the nail in his coffin.
Before the advent of the Chase, it could be argued that NASCAR had the fairest system to crown a champion in any sport. He was on the same track week in and week out with every other driver and delivered over the entire course of the season. What other sport could say that?
The only complaint was perhaps rewarding a driver a larger amount of points for winning. Other than that, it was near perfect.
But what did NASCAR officials do? They invented the convoluted Chase, artificially tightening the points in hopes of creating buzz for the stretch run. Does anyone else find it strange that NASCAR has a "playoff" system and college football does not?
More than anything, the Chase has alienated longtime fans of the sport.
For his part, Edwards made no complaints while recognizing the strong performance of his team.
"I'm glad that we won the race so that we can go into the offseason knowing we won more races than anyone else in this series," Edwards said after his victory Sunday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"I think that's a big accomplishment, especially considering how well Jimmie and Kyle (Busch) both ran all season. Second in both series is not first, but it's definitely not something to be ashamed of. I'm proud of what we did this year."
Final Power Rankings:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Tony Stewart | 1 |
| It took the most incredible Chase performance in NASCAR history for Stewart to pull it off, but his five wins in the final 10 races of the playoff schedule earned Smoke his third Sprint Cup championship. Turned in one of the most driven efforts in NASCAR history Sunday to claim the title in a finale for the ages. | ||
| 2 | Carl Edwards | 2 |
| Any other year Edwards' 4.7 average finish over the course of the Chase would have been good enough to win the championship. Edwards did all he could to bring Jack Roush a Nationwide and Cup title in the same season, but could not deny Stewart. If you have to lose one first before winning a championship, Edwards is in fine shape for next year and beyond. | ||
| 3 | Matt Kenseth | 3 |
| Rebounded from a trip into the wall for a top-five finish in another vintage Kenseth performance that was indicative of his season. Had it not have been for his feud with Brian Vickers at Martinsville, perhaps Kenseth could have stayed in the draft of Stewart and Edwards to at least be in the championship picture down the stretch. But he can still be proud of his consistent campaign. | ||
| 4 | Brad Keselowski | 4 |
| The 2011 season will be remembered as Keselowski's breakthrough campaign and when he firmly established himself as a Sprint Cup title contender. He was on the short end of some pit strategy Sunday but still ran at the front of the field most of the afternoon and appears poised to make the jump to the next level in 2012. | ||
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 5 |
| Got involved in a bit of controversy with Edwards, who accused Harvick of not racing him above board. But that may be the least of Harvick's concerns as rumors of some sweeping changes at Richard Childress Racing could point to a drastically different looking 29 team next year, including a new crew chief to replace Gil Martin. | ||
| 6 | Kasey Kahne | 6 |
| Did not back down one bit from his impressive late-season performance and followed up his Phoenix win with another top-10 finish. The future of Team Red Bull may be very much in doubt but there's no wondering about where Kahne is in his career as he makes the move to Hendrick Motorsports next season. | ||
| 7 | Jimmie Johnson | 7 |
| His year went up in smoke with a very uncharacteristic spin Sunday and a finish well back in the field. But while Johnson did not meet the high level of expectations he's set for himself (could anyone, really?), he was hardly a non-factor this season. The question now is will Johnson be able to bounce back next season and if crew chief Chad Knaus is indeed calling the shots or moving on to a new role as has been speculated. | ||
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | 8 |
| Bowyer showed that he's talented and a pro's pro by ending his tenure at Richard Childress Racing going as hard as he could. The next phase of his career should be very interesting to watch as he migrates to Michael Waltrip Racing as part of that organization's overhaul. | ||
| 9 | Jeff Gordon | 9 |
| The 2011 season will be remembered as one of rebirth for Gordon, who broke a long winless drought while also being part of the championship picture. He had a strong car Sunday at Homestead and finished the campaign with a solid outing and one that should provide a nice boost of momentum and confidence into the offseason. | ||
| 10 | A.J. Allmendinger | 9 |
| The Richard Petty Motorsports driver didn't join the first-time winners list as many predicted but did elevate his game from last year when he was part of the uncertainty surrounding the race team. There's no reason to believe Allmendinger will lose a step in 2012, and look for him to get that first career Sprint Cup victory then. | ||
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 11 |
| Had one of the fastest cars of the weekend at Homestead, which was a pleasant surprise for Earnhardt who has struggled at the track during his career. Ultimately he wasn't able to challenge for the win and will carry his victory drought into 2012. But compared to where Junior was at this time last year, there's a marked improvement for the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet. | ||
| 12 | Denny Hamlin | 13 |
| It must have been bittersweet for Hamlin to return to Homestead a year after being in the thick of the title Chase. But he continued his turnaround at season's end with a strong outing and has at least a good head start to 2012, when Hamlin hopes to return to championship contention. | ||
| 13 | Kyle Busch | 14 |
| Was stout at Homestead and had the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 at the front of the field and in the mix for a potential win. But now Busch enters the most important offseason of his career as decisions will be made about his future and perhaps his role in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series. The 2012 season will be the most pivotal of Busch's career and he'll need to focus on his priorities during the winter months. | ||
| 14 | Kurt Busch | 14 |
| A transmission failure on Lap 2 frustrated Busch to the boiling point early Sunday with a single-digit salute to some lucky soul caught on his in-car camera. It appears a new crew chief will take the job of trying to harness Busch next year with Steve Addington's reported departure to Stewart-Haas Racing. | ||
| 15 | Greg Biffle | 15 |
| As predicted, Biffle did challenge for a win Sunday and was in the mix until an engine failure, one of several for Roush Yates engine drivers. Showed he could be a factor at times this year but will have to find a more consistent level in 2012 to be a Chase candidate. | ||
