by John Wiedemann
9/24/2007
The Monster Mile took a big bite out of some of the Chase for the Nextel Cup contenders. Round three is at Kansas City. The RacingNation.com Power Rankings tell you who we think is burning up the track heading into the Heartland. Feel free to let us know your thoughts, send us an email.
RacingNation.com Power Rankings Tony Stewart Tony closed in further with a top ten run. Still waiting for the tiger to pounce. Jeff Gordon One of the survivors of the weekend but now the lead is officially gone. Kyle Busch Another top five run. Consistancy wins championships. Carl Edwards Wins are huge in the Chase and even better when the track is eating up your competitors. Now let’s see what NASCAR has to say about his car. Jimmie Johnson Johnson needs a win in the Chase to return to top form. Clint Bowyer Another of the survivors, Kansas City could be another coming out party. Martin Truex Jr. The first two races of the Chase were supposed to be set up for Truex. It sure didn’t work out that way. Matt Kenseth Everything went right during the Dover weekend until the engine went wrong. Jeff Burton Talk about a survivor weekend. Jeff uses two immunities and finishes in the top ten. Kevin Harvick Same as last week. The 29 car is a problem magnet. Kurt Busch Another#2 run for this team, one more and the Championship hopes will be flushed. Denny Hamlin Throwing away the Championship and Kyle Petty slaps you around. Maybe Denny shouldn’t go looking for that fight. I’m putting my money on Petty. Greg Biffle With the surge of the Roush COT program the Biffster is back. Let’s see how long it lasts. Dale Earnhardt Jr. If his engine has power, he makes the Power Rankings. Makes you wonder where he would have been without the engine woes. Michael Waltrip Hey, he had a 15th place finish, top of the Toyotas. Could this be the sign of a strong run to the finish. Sorry, I thought this was going to be the only time I could get Mikey on the list. Point Standings After New Hampshire Jeff Gordon 5340 Tony Stewart 5338 Carl Edwards 5337 * (possible penalty on the horizon) Jimmie Johnson 5336 Kyle Busch 5330 Clint Bowyer 5322 Martin Truex Jr. 5294 Jeff Burton 5265 Kevin Harvick 5225 Matt Kenseth 5224 Kurt Busch 5189 Denny Hamlin 5182 ——- Chase Cut Off ——- Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3239 Ryan Newman 3112 Greg Biffle 3019 Casey Mears 2995 Bobby Labonte 2835 Jamie McMurray 2807 Juan Pablo Montoya 2707 J.J. Yeley 2704