Goal Line Stand: Week 7 Rankings
2012
Tour Report: Monday qualifiers: The McGladrey (PGA Tour)
2012
Chase Power Rankings: Have the Big Three become The Big Four?
2012
The fifth race of the Chase is over, and that means it's time for Power Rankings! But we're doing things a little differently now that we're in the postseason. It's all-Chasers, all the time. Good job, good effort for those of you that didn't make it, but we've got bigger fish to focus on. We'll be judging who's running well, considering not just finishing position but quality of run, expected potential, and general gut feelings. As always, we hate your guy and are biased against him. Now, enjoy.
Oh, and as for last week's attempt at Mafia names for our favorite drivers ... let us never speak of that one again. Every race season has an Auto Club Speedway, right?
1. Denny Hamlin: This top spot is likely to rotate among the Big Three, and perhaps the Big Four, over the next few weeks. Right now, we're giving the nod to Hambone over Vader, but only by a hairsbreadth. This very easily could have been a big victory for Hamlin, and #11 fans should be pleased with the fact that he didn't seem to enjoy his second-place finish very much. Last week: 3.
2. Jimmie Johnson: Another week, another outstanding run from Johnson. Last year, we were all falling over ourselves at how amazing it was that Carl Edwards was finishing so high week after week. Now we've got three guys doing it. Johnson took the wise approach to fuel management on Saturday night; if he'd run out, he'd have a much higher hill to climb. Last week: 2.
3. Brad Keselowski: Sure, he falls out of the top spot here, but he's still running the show points-wise. This makes next week a key for Keselowski: you can afford to have an off week, but you need to be able to rebound immediately or you're going to get passed like you lost the draft. Last week: 1.
4. Clint Bowyer: Rawhide's rise is one of the more notable efforts of the season, and it'd be a shame if he doesn't get himself into the top crew here in the next couple weeks. Also: his press conferences are joys of (perhaps) Five-Hour-Energy-filled energy. Last week: 5.
5. Kasey Kahne: Decent run for Mr. Kahne at Charlotte, but we all expected a lot more out of him. Eighth place is not enough, sir! Anyway, his chances at a Cup are fading fast, but he's already turned a previously horrid season into a success. Last week: 6.
6. Martin Truex Jr.: True story: Truex wants everyone to mean HIM when they refer to "Junior." (May not be a true story.) Also a true story: this will never happen. But MTJ is establishing his good name all by himself. Last week: 9.
7. Jeff Gordon: Looks like the dream is about over for Jeff. Here's hoping that there's some kind of change in the points system (heresy!) in order to prevent one bad finish from decimating your entire season. Last week: 4.
8. Greg Biffle: All right, good to know that Biffle is starting to validate that first-place regular-season finish. Barring some lost haulers en route to a track, Biffle won't be in this hunt. Still, he's the class of the Roush squad this year. Last week: 12.
9. Matt Kenseth: Um, no offense with that "class of Roush" crack in the Biffle entry, Matt. You done good by winning Talladega, of course, but it's been a tough road these last few months. Hopefully your five-race swan song will go well for you. Last week: 10.
10. Tony Stewart: It's been a rocky Chase all the way around for Mr. Stewart, with the Talladega Monstrosity being the worst of a rough go. But he's getting sponsorship lined up for 2013, which has to be a big relief. Last week: 8.
11. Kevin Harvick: Sooner this season is over the better for Harvick fans. Nothing's working well enough, but nothing's going bad enough for a wholesale change, either. Well, at least he had himself a kid, so the year's not a total wash. Last week: 11.
12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Salute to Junior for taking the tough path to stepping out of the car this year. Not like he'll miss out on Vegas; the "most popular driver of the year" always ends up there anyway. Last week: 7.
Non-Chaser of the Week: Carl Edwards. Good to see Carl running strong this week. Shame he wasn't able to earlier this year, but if history is any guide, he'll be right back in the mix in 2013.
All right, you're up. Who belongs where? Have your say!
Goal Line Stand: Updated Week 6 Rankings
2012
Tour Report: Monday qualifiers: Frys.com Open (PGA Tour)
2012
Chase Power Rankings: Really? You want us to make sense of that Talladega mess?
2012
The fourth race of the Chase is over, and that means it's time for Power Rankings! But we're doing things a little differently now that we're in the postseason. It's all-Chasers, all the time. Good job, good effort for those of you that didn't make it, but we've got bigger fish to focus on. We'll be judging who's running well, considering not just finishing position but quality of run, expected potential, and general gut feelings. As always, we hate your guy and are biased against him. Now, enjoy.
1. Brad Keselowski: All right, here's the deal. There's absolutely no way to make any kind of objective judgment about how each driver is doing based on Talladega, so we're going completely the other direction. We're using the Mafia Name Generator to transform your favorite NASCAR drivers into the world's fastest mob. Hey, it makes about as much sense as determining a race winner by who survives a 31-car pileup. Brad Keselowski? He's @Kes no more. Now he's "Slug-Like Marco Santoro," which makes like no sense in any direction. Hmmm. Clearly this isn't a flawless system.
2. Jimmie Johnson: "Valentino the Stink-Eye." Don't know about the Valentino aspect, but when Johnson lasers his eye on you, you're going to start stinking. Just like the end of Sunday's race did for most Chasers.
3. Denny Hamlin: "Tony Lottaspaghetti." Hmm. No bueno for Denny. But you know what was bueno? The way he managed to dodge most of the mess on Sunday. Of course, hiding out in Birmingham while the rest of the race happens is one way to do that.
4. Jeff Gordon: "Green Jack Ricci." That sounds more like a post-Bieber singer than a made man. Gordon, for his part, continues his amazing run of top-3 finishes, and so once he takes that mulligan he'll be in fine sha- what? No mulligan? Oh. He's screwed.
5. Clint Bowyer: "Luca the Wolf." Yes. YES. Now THAT'S a badass name. Of course, Bowyer ended up like the three little pigs, not the wolf, on Sunday. He looked like he was in line for a big jump, but, well ... no.
6. Kasey Kahne: "Angelo the Bookie." Nah. Kahne's too pretty to be a bookie. Bookies look like they blocked punts with their faces. Kahne? Not so much. He won the pole but not much else at Talladega, and the debt is coming due on his season.
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Paolo Rubberface." Rub 'er face? But I don't even know her! OHHHHH! Junior was in the lead for awhile, which is mandatory at Talladega, but he got caught up in that whole bloodthirsty wreck and looked more than a little shellshocked afterward. Time's up.
8. Tony Stewart: "Decrepit Roberto Rossi." If there's one thing Stewart is NOT, it's decrepit. Whatever. Just curious, though: what do you think Smoke's reaction would have been if any, and I mean ANY, other driver had caused that wreck? He'd have pulled the guy's skeleton out of his skin.
9. Martin Truex Jr.: "Fat Alphonso Barrow." Aw, come on. Hell, Truex is the only Chase driver who legitimately looks like he could be IN the Mob. AND he's from New Jersey! Hmmm. Anyway, as we've discussed, Truex's window is pretty much slammed shut at this point.
10. Matt Kenseth: "'Heavy Load' Bruno." Yeah, victory when you just happen to be in the right place at the right time is indeed a heavy load to carry. Little bit too late, though, for Kenseth's Chase chances.
11. Kevin Harvick: "Tony Fatface." Hmmm. That seems like it might best apply elsewhere. You know who else ought to apply elsewhere? Anybody working on the 29 crew this season.
12. Greg Biffle: "Twisted Oscar DiMarco." Twisted like Biffle's championship chances, amirite? Better luck next year, Greg.
All right, this didn't quite turn out as well as we'd hoped. Hey, sometimes these columns are ridearounds, too. Anyway, your turn. Oh, and by the way, my Mafia name? "Carlo Chainsaw." YEAH.
Goal Line Stand: Updated Week 5 Rankings
2012
Saves and Steals: Closer Keeper Rankings
2012
Tour Report: Monday qualifiers: J.T. Shriners (PGA Tour)
2012
Chase Power Rankings: And then there were three
2012
The third race of the Chase is over, and that means it's time for Power Rankings! But we're doing things a little differently now that we're in the postseason. It's all-Chasers, all the time. Good job, good effort for those of you that didn't make it, but we've got bigger fish to focus on. We'll be judging who's running well, considering not just finishing position but quality of run, expected potential, and general gut feelings. As always, we hate your guy and are biased against him. Now, enjoy.
1. Brad Keselowski: @Kes might just be the smartest driver on the circuit, or at least the best prepared. He seems to be finding angles that others miss, and he's setting himself up with plenty of cushion for the inevitable off day. Now he returns to Talladega, where he's won before ... just don't remind Carl Edwards.
2. Jimmie Johnson: Relentless. Absolutely relentless. Keeping Johnson from winning this race has to count as a major victory for all the non-Hendrick teams, but the simple truth is that if Johnson continues to post tiny-number finishes, this race is going to be over pretty darn soon.
3. Denny Hamlin: How much do you figure Hamlin learned from 2010? Hopefully plenty, because it looks like he's in this Chase to stay. And you know he'd relish a chance to take out Johnson in revenge for that Chase two years ago.
4. Clint Bowyer: It would be just perfect if Bowyer was able to sneak into the mix here after Talladega, because he above most other drivers is the epitome of what the world expects a NASCAR driver to be. He'll need lots of help that he's not currently getting to run down the Big Three, but it could still happen.
5. Kasey Kahne: Having your season depend on a dropped lug nut, as could well happen with Kahne, is like a football team losing on an offsides penalty ... it happens, but nobody feels good about it in any way. Still, Kahne has rebounded from adversity before.
6. Jeff Gordon: You've got to admire what Gordon's doing here, but when the points leaders are the ones either winning or leading the race, there's just no way for him to make up any ground. Talladega may represent his last, best chance to get back into this Chase.
7. Tony Stewart: Getting to be about time to start that all-out winning streak, Tony. Dover was another unspectacular effort from the reigning champ, and as a result, hopes for a repeat are pretty dim.
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: We weren't looking to write off Junior until after a poor Talladega showing, but he's one of the drivers already in danger of falling off the map. Not to say this is the most important race of the season for him, but ... it's the most important race of the season.
9. Martin Truex Jr.: We're getting perilously close to the moral-victory section of the power rankings, but Truex nonetheless did manage to wrestle a sixth-place finish out of a potentially disastrous day. He'll need more than that to scare anybody, though.
10. Kevin Harvick: One of many drivers victimized by the unfortunate Yeley caution, but let's face it, things haven't been going well for Harvick for quite some time.
11. Greg Biffle: The Biffster's rant on the radio at Dover was one of the all-time greats, a symphony of profanity and rage that I want to make into my ringtone. You can understand it, though, can't you? Three weeks ago the guy was in first place, now he's an afterthought. That kind of sucks.
12. Matt Kenseth: Of all the ways that Kenseth could have parted ways with Roush Fenway, stumbling to a last-place finish in the Chase had to be pretty low on the list. Kenseth is a prideful guy, but nothing's clicking for the 17 team right now.
Non-Chaser of the week: Kyle Busch ran exceptionally well for most of the day, but let's throw some love Mark Martin's way. The guy simply runs well no matter when he shows up. Impressive stuff, and it's too bad we won't be seeing more of him.
All right, you're up. Who should rise and who should fall? Go!
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