Suite16 NASCAR Rankings-Loudon II
Suite 16 NASCAR Nextel Cup Rankings after the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire
Each week, Suite 101 ranks the top 16 NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers based on results and performance.
1. (1) 29-Kevin Harvick: Harvick won his fourth race of 2006 at New Hampshire. From 2001 to 2005, Harvick only won five times.
2. (2) 17-Matt Kenseth: Under the traditional NASCAR points format, Kenseth would own a 150 point cushion of Jimmie Johnson. Harvick would be a distant 253 points off the pace.
3. (6) 24-Jeff Gordon: Gordon is going to be tough to beat in these final ten races.
4. (8) 11-Denny Hamlin: Harvick put a pie in Hamlin's face on Friday, and on Sunday, Harvick nearly put him in the wall. I guess Hamlin has replaced Kurt Busch as Harvick's whipping boy.
5. (3) 48-Jimmie Johnson: Did Jimmie Johnson peak too early in the season?
6. (5) 9-Kasey Kahne: If the Chase for the Championship consisted of 10 intermediate tracks, Kahne would by far be the man to beat.
7. (7) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr: It could have been a lot worse for Earnhardt Jr.
8. (9) 20-Tony Stewart: It took some getting used to- the announcers not referring to Tony Stewart as a Nextel Cup chaser.
9. (4) 5-Kyle Busch: The old Kyle Busch would have retaliated after being dumped by Clint Bowyer.
10. (11) 31-Jeff Burton: Sunday was the sixth year anniversary of Jeff Burton's wire to wire win at New Hampshire.
11. (10) 6-Mark Martin: 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion- Mark Martin
12. (12) 16-Greg Biffle: And Greg Biffle was my pick to win the 2006 Nextel Cup championship.
13. (13) 99-Carl Edwards: Since there was no Busch Series race at New Hampshire, Edwards was seldom mentioned.
14. (16) 12-Ryan Newman: Newman's another driver that you expect to be referred to as a Nextel Cup chaser.
15. (15) 2-Kurt Busch: 2007 cannot get here fast enough for Kurt Busch and the Penske Racing group.
16. (NR) 22-Dave Blaney: For the second week in a row, Dave Blaney was the un-sung hero.
Tie: (NR) 25-Brian Vickers: How dare you race the almighty Jeff Gordon so hard. After all, he is in the Chase for the Championship and you're a future Toyota emissary. (Sarcasm)
email the author: autoracing@suite101.com
Past Suite 16 Rankings
