The two and a half mile tri-oval track of Pocono is next up for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers as they race in the Pocono 500 on Sunday. With the big wreck early in the race last week, there were big changes in the bottom half of the ?Chase 12? portion of the point standings. Also, other racers not currently in the ?Chase 12? moved closer to that goal.
The RacingNation.com Power Rankings tells you who we think will be burning up the track. Feel free to let us know your thoughts, send us an
email.
RacingNation.com Power Rankings
Kyle Busch ? Another win last week keeps Kyle at the top of the Power Rankings. It is going to take a lot to knock him off of this perch.
Denny Hamlin ? Flat corner track master Hamlin is a true contender for the victory this week. Two wins at this track bode well for a rebound from the disaster of last week.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. ? You don?t want to put too much emphasis on practice results, but Junior was bad fast at the open test session. Other teams may not have shown their hands and the Juniors may not have either.
Carl Edwards ? Edwards wasn?t really good at Pocono last year but he has been one of the top runners most of this year. Look for him to flip his Pocono trend around.
Greg Biffle ? Biffle has been on a roll with top three finishes in the last three races. He doesn?t have a good track record at Pocono but like Edwards, that may change this week.
Jeff Gordon ? Top fives in the last three ?points? races and being the defending winner of this race makes Gordon one of the front runners. Can you believe that he is still looking for his first win of the year?
Tony Stewart ? Will his dirt track win this week lead to a Sprint Cup win? He needs one and Pocono could be the ticket.
Jimmie Johnson ? He moved up two spots in the points last week due to a top ten finish and others misfortunes. Currently in seventh, this hasn?t been the season that anyone expected. You just wonder when the switch will be clicked and goes out and Jimmy wins four races in a row.
Matt Kenseth ? Dover was huge for Matt. He is now within 100 points of the 12th points position, but there are a number of drivers between him and that spot. With three top tens in the last points races, the next few races could prove to be the turning point in the season for Kenseth.
Kurt Busch ? Kurt has started well in the last couple races but not finished well. That being said, he killed the field last fall at Pocono, leading 175 of 200 laps on way to the victory.
Jeff Burton ? Burton still maintains the second position in points with two top ten finishes in a row. Look for a run around the top 10 for Burton. His last four finishes at Pocono have been 9th (spring 2007), 9th (fall 2006), 13th (spring 2007) and 11th (fall 2007).
Others to watch: Kasey Kahne ? Looking to hang on in the ?Chase 12?. Dave Blaney ? Two top 10?s in his last three races. David Ragan ? Trying to crack back in to the ?Chase 12? Jamie McMurray ? Is he trying to hang on to his ride? His top ten finish last week was only his second of the year.
Kevin Harvick ? He is on pace with falling out of the ?Chase 12?.
John Wiedemann is the owner, editor and developer of the RacingNation.com website.
A motorsports fan from his earliest memories, John started going to local short tracks and the Milwaukee Mile with his parents, brother and sister. John enjoys drivers racing side by side and battling for the same piece of real estate on the racetrack as much as he appreciates the technical aspects of the sport.