Power Rankings: Newman in wrong place, wrong time -- out front
Updated May 9
With Ryan Newman poised to cruise into victory lane at Darlington on Saturday night, the racing gods struck as Mark Martin spun to bring out a caution with less than five laps remaining. It was deliciously evil.
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| Jeff Gordon maintains his No. 1 ranking despite Greg Biffle matching him in victories. (AP) |
But Darlington is notorious for tearing up tires, and by the end of a run cars are more than 10 miles per hour slower than when they started. As the leader of the race, all eyes were on Newman.
Newman and his team believed they were damned if they did, damned if they didn't. They didn't have the luxury of seeing what others planned to do. If they chose to pit for tires, they figured most cars would then choose to stay out. Even with fresh tires they didn't think they'd be able to pass them all and get back into the lead in two laps. If they didn't pit, it would come down to how many of the cars behind them chose to pit.
With that in mind, they gambled and stayed out, hoping that a number of cars would follow suit and create enough of an obstacle for those that did pit for fresh rubber.
Unfortunately for them, only one other car stayed out and Newman was a sitting duck. Once the green flag flew it didn't take long before Greg Biffle, who dominated much of the race, came whizzing by.
"That's the way it works sometimes," said Newman, who escaped with a fifth-place finish. "Sometimes you're the dealer and sometimes you're not. We were sitting in the wrong position."
It's not often you hear that about being the leader.
Power Rankings after Darlington:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Jeff Gordon | 1 |
| Same number of victories as Biffle, but he gets the edge by virtue of more top fives. Being a four-time series champion doesn't hurt either. | ||
| 2 | Greg Biffle | 4 |
| He doesn't just win, he tends to dominate. He has led 719 laps; Tony Stewart is next with 401. | ||
| 3 | Jimmie Johnson | 3 |
| He had one of the top cars in Darlington, but a loose wheel cost him track position. | ||
| 4 | Kurt Busch | 2 |
| Apparently he likes to rip NASCAR officials over his in-car radio ... even when he's 60 laps down. | ||
| 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 6 |
| A quiet eighth at Darlington and heading to Richmond, where he's the defending champion. | ||
| 6 | Elliott Sadler | 5 |
| Nothing but problems in Darlington. Car was too loose, then he lost his power steering, then he lost his brakes, even running into teammate Dale Jarrett. | ||
| 7 | Ryan Newman | 10 |
| In some alternate universe, he was celebrating in victory lane Saturday night. | ||
| 8 | Mark Martin | 11 |
| Fortunately for him, the late spin didn't really cost him much and even helped teammate Biffle nab the victory. | ||
| 9 | Rusty Wallace | 7 |
| Smashed into Kevin Harvick as they were crossing line, but came away with a decent 12th-place finish. | ||
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | 8 |
| He had a top-10 car much of the night, but a problem in the pits forced him to play catch-up and the best he could do was 14th. | ||
| 11 | Tony Stewart | 13 |
| Admittedly frustrated with his car much of the night, managed to bring it home 10th at Darlington | ||
| 12 | Jamie McMurray | 16 |
| Three top-six runs in the past four races. | ||
| 13 | Sterling Marlin | 9 |
| He has hit a bumpy road with three consecutive finishes outside the top 25. | ||
| 14 | Jeff Burton | 15 |
| Pit crew's mistake turned a possible top-five run into a 21st-place finish, and the in-car camera captured his frustration perfectly. | ||
| 15 | Michael Waltrip | 14 |
| His shot for a fourth consecutive top 10 ended early and he made sure Jeff Green paid for that fact. | ||
| 16 | Carl Edwards | 17 |
| Tried a two-tire strategy on the final restart and came away with a top-10 finish. | ||
| 17 | Kasey Kahne | 19 |
| Teammate Jeremy Mayfield might be higher in points, but at least Kahne has been in position to win a couple races. | ||
| 18 | Jeremy Mayfield | 12 |
| Followed up his best finish (fourth at Talladega) with his worst (33rd at Darlington). | ||
| 19 | Dale Jarrett | 18 |
| Team just can't seem to figure out how to put all the pieces together. | ||
| 20 | Joe Nemechek | 20 |
| Didn't hear much about him, but there he was with a solid 11th-place run at Darlington. | ||
| 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. | ||
