Suite16 NASCAR Rankings-Daytona
Suite 16 NASCAR Rankings After Pepsi 400 at Daytona
Each week, Suite 101 ranks the top 16 NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers based on results and performance.
1. (2) 17-Matt Kenseth: Instead of wrangling with Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth worked with him.
2. (1) 48-Jimmie Johnson: His 32nd place finish at Daytona was only his second finish 30th or worse in the 2006 Nextel Cup season.
3. (3) 9-Kasey Kahne: Kasey Kahne has kind been missing in action the last two races. I venture to believe that he'll be back at Chicagoland.
4. (6) 20-Tony Stewart: It took more energy for Tony Stewart to climb the fence than it did to smoke the field in Daytona.
5. (4) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr: Something is wrong in NASCAR when Dale Earnhardt Jr is exceptional at Michigan and mediocre at Daytona.
6. (7) 31-Jeff Burton: Jeff Burton overcame a wreck in practice and a spin-out during the race, and salvaged a fifteenth place finish.
7. (9) 29-Kevin Harvick: This is the crucial stretch of the season for Kevin Harvick. He typically enters the second half of the season in the top ten in the NASCAR Nextel Cup standings, but he has yet to finish there.
8. (5) 6-Mark Martin: With four straight finishes of 13th or worse, it's safe to say that Mark Martin has hit a minor slump.
9. (13) 5-Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch appears to have matured a bit since his HANS Device throwing episode at Charlotte last month.
10. (8) 16-Greg Biffle: The good news for Greg Biffle is that there are no more restrictor plate races left in the race to the Chase for the Championship.
11. (12) 11-Denny Hamlin: Denny Hamlin lost four points to Clint Bowyer in the Rookie of theYear race. He now owns a 27-point lead over Bowyer.
12. (14) 2-Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman really seemed to work well together, which is something brand new to the #2 and #12 teams.
13. (10) 24-Jeff Gordon: It is true; Jeff Gordon could very well miss the Nextel Cup Chase For the Championship two years in a row.
14. (11) 99-Carl Edwards: I think we all agree that Carl Edwards made the 'bonehead move of the week' Friday night when he bump drafted Michael Waltrip in the corner. At least he apologized.
15. (15) 12-Ryan Newman: Even though Ryan Newman has scored five consecutive top fifteen finishes, he must step it up in order to surpass the likes of Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, and Greg Biffle.
16. (NR) 60-Boris Said: Wasn't it ironic that after Boris Said and Tony Stewart's bickering last weekend in Sonoma, they both started on the front row, and they raced each other for the win?
email the author: autoracing@suite101.com
Past Suite 16 Rankings
