Suite16 NASCAR Rankings-Dover 400
Suite 16 NASCAR Rankings after the Dover 400
Each week, Suite 101 ranks the top 16 NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers based on results and performance.
1. (2) 17-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth's weekend got better after he found out that the Green Bay Packers beat the Detroit Lions.
2. (3) 24-Jeff Gordon: Gordon would have rather had anybody other than the tenacious Ryan Newman on the outside of the front row. Not leading that first lap cost Gordon five bonus points towards the Nextel Cup championship.
3. (1) 29-Kevin Harvick: The weekend's best image was when Harvick went toe to toe with Bob Dillner on Saturday.
4. (4) 11-Denny Hamlin: Before Denny Hamlin won at Pocono in June, the last time a car numbered 11 visited victory lane was at Darlington in 1994 with Bill Elliott, despite the many valiant efforts by Brett Bodine.
5. (10) 31-Jeff Burton: Before Sunday, the last time Jeff Burton won a race, Junie Donlavey was still fielding a full-time Cup team.
6. (5) 48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson and Knaus are not running as well as they prefer, but they are relieved that the cheating allegations are directed elsewhere this time.
7. (7) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr: Earnhardt Jr's recent plunge in the Chase for the Championship should be a solid reminder for him to refrain from using profanity in his victory lane interview if he were to win at Talladega
8. (11) 6-Mark Martin: Apparently, Martin has a Salute To You Tour Part 3 planned for 2008.
9. (6) 9-Kasey Kahne: The one time Tony Stewart loses control of his car, Kahne is in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wouldn't be a Chase for the Championship if there weren't an Evernham car towards the bottom of the top ten!
10. (9) 5-Kyle Busch: His Chase for the Championship has started out very similar to his brother Kurt's last year. Let's just hope it doesn't end the same way. See Phoenix and the Maricopa County cops.
11. (8) 20-Tony Stewart: It's not often you see Tony Stewart lose control of a racecar like that.
12. (12) 16-Greg Biffle: Stewart's accident gives Biffle a gleam of hope of capturing that 11th place consolation prize.
13. (13) 99-Carl Edwards: Just for future notice, your pit stall is the one with the 99 sign.
14. (15) 2-Kurt Busch: I wonder if Kurt Busch started the whole tricked out rims rumor as payback for being blasted by Harvick at Bristol in April.
15. (NR) 07-Clint Bowyer: Despite having a solid rookie season, Bowyer's chances of catching Denny Hamlin for Rookie of the Year is about as good as him catching Kevin Harvick for the Busch Series championship.
16. (16) 22-Dave Blaney: Ever since it was announced that Jeremy Mayfield would be joining Blaney at Bill Davis Racing in 2007, this team has been on a roll.
email the author: autoracing@suite101.com
Past Suite 16 Rankings
