Power Rankings – Week of 10/1 – 10/7

1. Jeff Gordon (1) – Jeff looked quite impressive at the start of the race last week at Kansas, but began to fade in the middle portion of the day.  He was able to rebound and keep his nose clean, ultimately bringing home a fifth place finish and keeping his “Drive for Five” dreams alive and very realistic.

2.  Jimmie Johnson (2) – The no. 48 Lowes Chevrolet Team was able to bring home their first top 5 finish since the beginning of the Chase – which ironically began just one race after Jimmie brought home the checkered flag at Richmond.  This team’s going to be looking to use this to build momentum and catch fire early on in the Chase this year rather than doing it the hard way like they did in 2006.

3.  Tony Stewart (3) – Stewart had as much of an “up and down” day as one can possibly have in a single race.  After starting toward the middle of the pack for Sunday’s race at Kansas, Stewart quickly moved up to the front and appeared to have his fourth win of the season wrapped up when they stopped the race for rain just past the halfway point.  Two hours later the race restarted and Stewart found himself in the wall and with a 39th place finish. Had they officially called the race, Tony would be in first place with a 46 point lead – instead, he’s now in fourth and 117 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

4.  Clint Bowyer (6) – Without a doubt, the 07 Jack Daniels machine has been by far the biggest surprise in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup to this point.  Bowyer entered the chase riding on only one win, two top five finishes, and nine top ten’s, but with his 2nd place finish at his hometown track in Kansas, Clint now sits in third place in the standings … a staggering 14 points behind Chase leader Jimmie Johnson.

5. Kyle Busch (5) – Kyle entered Sunday’s race riding the momentum of back-to-back top five finishes to begin the Chase and looked as though he may be one of the cars to beat at Kansas until he was placed firmly into the wall by Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Kyle will need to capitalize on the Hendrick team’s dominance at restrictor plate racing, keep his nose clean, and walk away with a good finish at Talladega in order to keep his Chase hopes alive.

6.  Carl Edwards (4) – Edwards did not get the finish he needed at Kansas to keep himself in Chase contention after late-race misfortunes left him with a 37th place finish on Sunday.  Edwards could be in trouble as the series heads to Talladega next week, a track that has historically been dominated by Chevrolet.

7.  Greg Biffle (NR) – Despite a tremendously disappointing season after entering 2007 with the hopes of putting together a possible championship run, Biffle picked up his second top 5 of the season two weeks ago at Dover and scored his first win of ’07 last week at Kansas.

8.  Matt Kenseth (7) – Matt Kenseth and Crew Chief Robby Rizer have just not been able to get things going after three races to begin the Chase.  It’s been a very mediocre season for Kenseth, but the Dewalt Team continues to remain optimistic.  If they’re going to have any shot at putting together a late run, though, they need to get things going next week at ‘Dega.

9.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10) – Junior rolled across the finish line in 10th place last week to complete the best back-to-back runs this team has been able to put together in recent memory (scored a top 5 at Dover). The no. 8 Budweiser crew is still looking for their first win of 2007, and many feel that could come next week at Talladega, which is also Crew Chief Tony Eury’s last race with the team before heading off to Hendrick to get things ready for next year.

10.  Casey Mears (NR) – Mears has managed to put together a string of three consecutive top 10 finishes, included a fourth place showing last week at Kansas.  It will be interesting to see how this momentum carries over to Talladega, a track where Mears’ last top 10 came in 2004 and where he finished 39th earlier this year.