Power Rankings: Kurt Busch's comeback one of season's best surprises
Updated June 29
While Tony Stewart leading the points in his first season as driver/owner probably tops the list of biggest pleasant surprises up to this point, Kurt Busch's resurgence can't be too far behind.
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| Kurt Busch (with wife Eva) is making last season a distant memory. (Getty Images) |
In 2006, his first season with Penske, he managed just 12 top 10s, his fewest since earning six in his rookie season of 2001. He missed the Chase and finished 16th in the final standings.
He rebounded with a decent season in 2007, but it was still below his Roush standards. But the bottom fell out in 2008, with one win, five top fives, 10 top 10s and an 18th-place finish in the final standings. Only his rookie season was worse across all categories.
But in 2009, Busch has become a weekly contender again. Sunday at New Hampshire, his car was a mainstay in the top five, and the stretch run to the checkered flag was shaping up to be a duel between him and Jeff Gordon -- that is until the skies opened up, allowing rookie Joey Logano to steal the win.
"Overall, last year, to drive into Victory Lane and do it in a rain-shortened race and then today where we were fast enough to win and not get the win, that's how this sport evens itself out," said Busch, who finished third. "You have your good and your bad luck and overall it was a good day for our Miller Lite Dodge."
Considering the experiences of the past few seasons, all in all it was a good day for Busch and his No. 2 team. Through 17 races he has already matched his top five total from a year ago and nine top 10s are just one fewer than he had in all of 2008. Best of all, he has zero DNFs.
"I think consistency is important, and you have to continue to do that if you want to make the Chase," Busch said. "As long as I keep my cushion on 12th, that's the most important part."
Power Rankings after New Hampshire:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Greg Biffle | 1 |
| Won the pole and led 74 laps on Saturday night but faded down the stretch to finish 12th. Still hanging on to the Sprint Cup Series points lead but by only a pair over Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth. | ||
| 2 | Matt Kenseth | 2 |
| Climbed to within a whisker of the points lead with a sixth-place finish on Saturday night. Now the world awaits the announcement regarding the potential change of Kenseth's car number. Relax Kenseth fans, the 17 isn't going anywhere. | ||
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 7 |
| Roared back up the rankings and the points standings with his first win since October of last season and in the process gave team owner Rick Hendrick historic Sprint Cup victory number 200. Johnson's history has been to bunch up wins once he gets to victory lane. | ||
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 3 |
| Was in the mix for a second Darlington win but wound up settling for a fourth-place finish. Like Johnson Busch has returned to form in recent weeks and delivered on the expectations most had for the No. 18 team this season. | ||
| 5 | Denny Hamlin | 5 |
| Was behind the wheel of one of the coolest looking cars in recent weeks with a Cale Yarborough-inspired retro paint scheme on the No. 11 Toyota. Looked almost Yarborough-like at Darlington for a while but didn't have enough mustard to run down Johnson for the win. | ||
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 6 |
| Wasn't exactly pleased with his team for some suspect pit work at one point of the race but kept his composure and battled back for yet another finish inside the top five. | ||
| 7 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 4 |
| It was a struggle for Junior to just finish 17th. Had a decent car early in the night but handling issues plagued the No. 88 squad, and you can be sure crew chief Steve Letarte won't bring the same set-up back to Darlington next season. | ||
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | 8 |
| A rather quiet night for the Michael Waltrip Racing driver with an 11th-place finish. Still not bad when an "off night" can be within a hair of a top-10 run. | ||
| 9 | Tony Stewart | 12 |
| An interesting night for Smoke, who was very strong in spurts but had to fight through handling issues, a broken clutch and a fuel pressure problem during the 500 miles. Pretty solid performance to deal with all that and still come home third. | ||
| 10 | Carl Edwards | 11 |
| A seventh-place finish and another top 10, but now that Johnson's 17-race winless drought has ended will the questions mount for Edwards on his not visiting Victory Lane for more than a year? | ||
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | 10 |
| Was the focal point of Darlington's promotional campaign trying to capitalize on Harvick's tussle with Kyle Busch last season. But overall a very quiet night for the No. 29 Chevrolet driver who left Darlington with a rather mediocre 16th-place finish. | ||
| 12 | Brad Keselowski | 9 |
| Hasn't performed well at Darlington during his Sprint Cup career and that remained intact on Saturday with a 15th-place Southern 500 effort. A downer for the Blue Deuce after Keselowski's Talladega win last weekend. | ||
| 13 | Ryan Newman | 13 |
| Was headed for a better night than what the results show when Newman got caught up in the aftermath of Kurt Busch's spin late in the race when he got punted from behind. The frustration overflowed once the checkered flag flew with both teams getting involved in a scuffle as well as Newman and Busch exchanging harsh words. | ||
| 14 | Paul Menard | 15 |
| A decent day with a 13th-place finish for the Richard Childress Racing driver. Continues to hang around on the fringe of the top 10 in the points standings. | ||
| 15 | Kasey Kahne | NR |
| Has finally completed the turnaround from his dismal start to the season and is knocking down consistent finishes on a weekly basis. Kahne's eighth-place run was his fifth straight top-10 finish. | ||
