 |
 |
 |
|
Updated May 5
There are six former Cup champions running a full-time schedule this season. After race 10 at Richmond, only two -- Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart -- are top 12 in points, the cut-off for the Chase after race 26.
Historically, the top of the standings change little from race 10 to race 26. Last year, 11 of the 12 drivers who were in the top 12 after the first race at Richmond were the same drivers who made the Chase. In 2006, when only 10 drivers made the Chase, nine of the eventual Chasers were in the top 10 after race 10.
|
|
| Jeff Gordon sits just outside the top 12. (Getty Images) |
Jeff Gordon is in the best position, sitting just outside the top 12 in 13th.
But it may just be curtains for Bobby Labonte (18th), Matt Kenseth (22nd) and Kurt Busch (24th).
From the start, most experts considered Labonte a longshot to make the Chase, as expectations for him were tempered by a rebuilding Petty Enterprises program.
The same can't be said for Kenseth or Busch.
Busch started the season by pushing his Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman to victory in the Daytona 500. He hasn't finished in the top 10 since and has three DNFs, including Saturday night at Richmond.
"We're just not getting our cars to turn," said Busch, who was swept up in a multi-car pileup on lap 230. "When you're not getting the car to turn, you're running heavy in the pack. You're just not breaking through into that top five pack where things are a bit calmer. We're just struggling to get our car to turn and have been testing our rear ends off trying to come up with something."
Kenseth ended last season with five consecutive top fives, but did enter 2008 with one major change -- Chip Bolin at crew chief, replacing Robbie Reiser, who was promoted to a general manager's position at Roush Fenway Racing.
Whether that's the reason for his rough start or just mere dumb luck, Kenseth, who was caught up in the same wreck as Busch on Saturday night, has five finishes of 30th or worse, with Richmond marking his third consecutive finish of 38th or worse.
"We didn't run very well at all even before the accident," Kenseth said. "We were running in the back and everybody was doubled up. We were two and three-wide back there and everybody was trying to stay on the lead lap and they all wrecked. I got run into from behind and kind of got pushed into it, but that's part of it."
Power Rankings after Richmond:
| POWER RANKINGS | ||
| Current | Driver | Previous |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | 1 |
| No. 1 in our rankings and public enemy No. 1 for Jr. Nation. "It's just unfortunate circumstances for him (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) because he didn't get a win, and for me because now I've got to put up with it." | ||
| 2 | Carl Edwards | 2 |
| Not his best car this season, but managed to escape Richmond with a seventh-place finish. | ||
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 4 |
| As dominant a run as you'll ever see, only to be done in by a leaky tire. "You can't whine about it," Hamlin said. "It just wasn't meant to be. God didn't want me to win today." I don't know, that kind of sounds a bit whiney to me. | ||
| 4 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 5 |
| If Hamlin doesn't stop on the track to bring out the caution, victory was all but his. | ||
| 5 | Jeff Burton | 3 |
| Received some damage in the big multi-car wreck, but soldiered on for an 11th-place finish. | ||
| 6 | Clint Bowyer | 8 |
| He was fortunate to get the win, no doubt about it, but it wasn't as if he didn't have a very strong car. He drove from 31st and into the top-five to be able to take advantage of the opportunity. | ||
| 7 | Tony Stewart | 6 |
| While his two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates (Busch and Hamlin) ran top five all night, he wallowed around 10th much of the race until his car came alive with some adjustments in the final 100 laps. | ||
| 8 | Kevin Harvick | 9 |
| Faded to eighth after running as high as third during the first half of the race, but still a good, solid top 10. | ||
| 9 | Jeff Gordon | 10 |
| It's not often he's happy with a ninth-place finish, but Saturday was one of those nights. He had to start 43rd after an ignition switch and fell a lap down during the early portion of the event. | ||
| 10 | Jimmie Johnson | 7 |
| He swept last year's events at Richmond but was never a factor Saturday -- only 63 laps in the top 15 -- and was eventually curtailed by the multi-car wreck. | ||
| 11 | Greg Biffle | 11 |
| After starting 23rd, he had made his way forward through the field -- as high as fifth -- but just past the midpoint of the race he said his brakes began to fade. | ||
| 12 | Ryan Newman | 15 |
| His luck may be turning around again with three top 10s in the past four races. | ||
| 13 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 12 |
| He was running his typical race hovering in the teens, but it appeared he simply lost it all by himself and spun into the wall. | ||
| 14 | Kasey Kahne | 14 |
| He was one of six drivers to run all 410 laps in the top 15, but his 10th-place finish was the worst of the six. | ||
| 15 | Martin Truex Jr. | 16 |
| A great night for the No. 1 team as they pick up their first top-five finish of 2008. | ||
| 16 | Matt Kenseth | 13 |
| Sometimes the surface stats are misleading. If you just take a quick look at the standings you see four top 10s and no DNFs and scratch your head at how he's 22nd in points. | ||
| 17 | David Ragan | 18 |
| Lost a lap while making repairs after he and David Gilliland got together trying to avoid a wreck and he could never get it back. Finished as the first car one lap down. | ||
| 18 | Bobby Labonte | 19 |
| He wasn't better than a 30th-place car the first-half of the race, but his crew made some great adjustments that allowed him to escape with a 13th-place finish. | ||
| 19 | Brian Vickers | 17 |
| Not a race he'll want to remember as he picks up his second-worst finish of the season (28th). | ||
| 20 | Mark Martin | NR |
| Four top 10s in seven starts. He has skipped three races, yet has more points than six drivers who've started all 10 races. | ||
