1. (1) 48-Jimmie Johnson: Bad luck for Johnson is a minor incident in the pits and a loss of two positions on the track. It's nice to be Jimmie Johnson these days.
2. (3) 17-Matt Kenseth: If I had to pick a championship favorite right now, it would be Kenseth.
3. (2) 20-Tony Stewart: Stewart drove a 20th place car to a 12th place finish. That's what champions are made of.
4. (6) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr: Anytime you drive 500 miles at Darlington and finish fifth, it's an accomplishment, but to do it while you have the flu is downright incredible.
5. (7) 6-Mark Martin: Martin is going for back-to-back All-Star victories!
6. (4) 29-Kevin Harvick: I wouldn't read too much into Harvick and the #29 team's quandaries at Darlington. They'll be back!
7. (5) 9-Kasey Kahne: Has the #9 team lost their mojo?
8. (9) 24-Jeff Gordon: Ken Schrader wasn't the reason that Gordon didn't win. Greg Biffle was!
9. (8) 5-Kyle Busch: Busch lost a spot in the rankings despite finishing seventh at Darlington. That just goes to show you how crowded it is in the top ten.
10. (10) 31-Jeff Burton: You just get the feeling that a win is right around the corner for Burton.
11. (12) 11-Denny Hamlin: I would include Hamlin in the list of favorites for the Coca Cola 600.
12. (16) 16-Greg Biffle: Check the Biff-o-meter! He's up to 14th in the Nextel Cup Standings, just 106 points behind tenth place.
13. (11) 99-Carl Edwards: For Edwards, it was a night turned bad, turned good, turned bad again.
14. (14) 88-Dale Jarrett: Jarrett may be heavily ridiculed for his decision to leave Robert Yates Racing and join the Toyota cohorts.
15. (15) 42-Casey Mears: With Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman hurriedly charging up the Nextel Cup standings, it's time for Mears and company to step up their performance.
16. (NR) 12-Ryan Newman: Newman is silently climbing the Nextel Cup standings ladder.
email the author: autoracing@suite101.com
Past Suite 16 Rankings
