Rusty Reckons: Power Rankings Part 3

The summer has certainly heated up and so has NASCAR. Over the last few months, Rusty's been holed up in his cool basement watching the fastest sport in America. During this cave dwelling experience, I've noticed a few things that's made NASCAR exciting. Here's a short list.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 02: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #3 Wrangler Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 2, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

1. #3 in Victory Lane

There are a few, and I mean a very few things that have the slightest inklin of bringing a tear to a NASCAR fan's eyes. After the tragedy of the 2001 Daytona 500, an Earnhardt behind the wheel of a #3 Chevrolet in victory lane is one of them. A few short weeks ago, we were treated to just that . . . and at Daytona, no less, the site of one of the greatest tragedies in NASCAR history. In honor of his father, Dale Jr. piloted a Nationwide car with his old man's #3 Wrangler blue and yellow paint scheme. With his usual restrictor plate aplomb, Dale Jr drove a great race and found victory lane for the first time since 2008. Once in victory lane and filled with his usual post-victory emotion Dale Jr declared he did what he wanted to do and that he would probably never again pilot the #3. His swan song, if it remains that, can surely go down as one of the best in sports history. Essentially, he drove it from victory lane, into the history books. That my friends, is certainly the #1 thing on Rusty's power rankings for this part of the season.


2. Chip Ganassi

There is no triple crown in auto-racing, but if there was, Chip Ganassi would get the honor. This year, Chip Ganassi, co-owner of the #1 car with driver Jamie McMurray in NASCAR and owner of the #10 car driven by Dario Franchitti in the Indy Series, won the top 3 races in America. In just 5 short months, Ganassi cars have found victory lane at the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and the Brickyard 400. Rusty's certainly one to argue that there's a good deal of luck in racing, especially NASCAR, but unless Ganassi's been buying rabbit's feet by the truck-load, I think we can say he's got a few things figured out. Currently sitting at 17th in the points, it's not looking too bright for McMurray's chances to make the Chase, but of any of the tracks to win at, Indy is the most indicative of a driver's championship success. Only a handful of winners at the Brickyard have NOT won a Championship. McMurray added his name to that short list this year . . . for now, but Ganassi might just have another trick up his sleeve, yet.


3. David Reutimann

Who? Exactly! Unfortunately for David, up until this point, he's essentially been considered an also ran. A teammate of the sponsor-lovin Michael Waltrip, Reutimann has had minimal success at best. He's never made the Chase, and honestly has never really been close. He had won before last week, but in a rain shortened event. I know, I know, a win's a win, which is true, but Reutimann arguably wasn't going to win that race without a little help from the man upstairs. This time, it was a different story. Reutimann's win in Chicago was done with the usual moves seen by the sports top contenders. Reuti, as we've learned is his nickname among friends and growing fan-base, led a total of 52 laps and made the right moves toward the end of the race to finally take the checkers in a full NASCAR Sprint Cup event. Time will only tell if this springboards a promising career for the driver of the 00 (pronounced double zero) Toyota, but Rusty doesn't think we've seen the last of him.

4. ESPN's coverage

As a general rule, ole Rusty's not a fan of the cable sports giant's coverage of actual sporting events. Rather than having some national know-it-all flown in 10 minutes before the game and handed a single page dossier on the teams, I'd rather have local or regional guy who actually follow the teams call the game. ESPN's NASCAR coverage is the exception, however. Though I'll miss the lovely Lindsay Czarniak, the ESPN team truly does an excellent job. Further adding to ESPN's stellar work is the cut-away car segments. Now, usually I'm not a fan of anything that gets away from the actual action on the field, but racing's a little different. Discussions about the intricacies of the modern NASCAR race car are greatly aided with the ESPN cut-away car. Sure, Fox, and NBC, and TNT all have similar things, and ESPN wasn't even the one to invent the concept, but according to this avid fan, they've perfected it. The level of detail and knowledge base provided by this little aside is what makes ESPN's coverage of NASCAR make the current power rankings.

5. Greg Biffle/Jack Roush

The "bug-eyed-dumby" made it back to victory lane. The #16 3M Ford from the Roush stable ended a long winless drought stretching back to 2008. It was also Jack Roush's first win since last fall at Talladega. The win couldn't have come at a better time for the Cat in the Hat, either. Just before the Pocono race where Biff found victory lane, Jack was involved in a rather serious airplane crash. The wily old man was piloting his own private plane when it got a little hairy on landing. Roush was able to walk-away, but has been through several surgeries since. Having one of his teams find victory lane the Sunday he had to watch from a hospital bed, I'm sure helped in the recovery. Biffle's currently sitting at the 11th position in points, not a shoe-in for making the Chase, but this victory certainly helped, and if he does make NASCAR's version of the playoffs, those 10 bonus points will sure come in handy, too.


The Rusty Old Jalopy award: Carl Edwards

It's time to park, Mr. Ed. I've always been a fan of letting race drivers settle their business on the track. Let'em race, and let'em race hard. In recent years, NASCAR's been quick to punish overly aggressive driving in order to polish their image. This year, they let the gloves come off a bit, but maybe a little too much. Carl makes this week's jalopy award for his kindergarten behavior at a recent Nationwide race (oh, and let's not forget earlier this year at Atlanta). Brad Keselowski and Edwards have never been fast friends, but regardless of any rivalry, Keselowski didn't deserve to be outright wrecked on his way to the checkers like Edwards did a few weeks back. This isn't the first time Edwards has gone a little berserk either. After a wild race in Martinsville a few years back, Edwards came up and physically threatened teammate Matt Kenseth during a post-race interview, a teammate! Even more notable was his Cole Trickle-esque bumping of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at a Michigan Nationwide event. Junior got into Edwards towards the end of the race. Mr. Ed expressed his displeasure at Junior's move by ramming his car during the victory lap at the conclusion of the race. Junior escaped losing his hand by mere inches. Rusty's always been a fan of the bump-n-run and letting guys get aggressive. I'm an Earnhardt fan, for crying out loud. But there's a line. Using your car as a weapon and means of exacting revenge is over that line. Carl continues to cross it, and should be parked. Period.

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Rusty Reckons: The Chase Rundown Part 2

Well, it's finally here. The Chase for the Nextel Cup, NASCAR's version of a playoff system. To help you prepare for the 10 week showdown, Rusty's going to give you a run down of each of the 12 drivers in the Chase, this week. Included in that ranking will be the Rusty's Power Ranking, my own personal index of who's got the best shot to win the title.

Today we look at the #10 and #9 positions, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards.












Ryan Newman - The Rocket Ryan Newman is 1/2 of this year's surprising success story. Ryan moved from the storied Penske racing team to the newly formed driver/owner team of Tony Stewart. Apparently, the risky move paid dividends for Newman who made the Chase for the first time since 2005. I'm sure you're thinking Rusty's already sounding like a broken record, but consistency was the key for Newman. The key stat for Newman this year wasn't the poles he won, but the fact that for the first time ever running a full season in Cup, Newman has not had a DNF (hopefully HHR didn't just jinx him). This is the kind of consistency that will get a car into the Chase, but with only 5 top 5's, it's not the kind that will win a championship.

Position before Ranking: 9
Rusty's Power Ranking: 10












Carl Edwards - After racking up an amazing 9 wins last season, Mr. Ed has yet to find victory lane this year. That's not kept him out of the Chase however. By posting a respectable 7 top 5's, and 11 top 10's, Carl has run well enough to qualify for the 4th time. In fact, Carl's only missed the Chase once, in 2006, and only because at that point the Chase only included 10 drivers. Under the current rules, he would have made them all. This makes Carl tough competition. He knows how to win and he knows how to do so in the Chase. He himself has said he's faster than a greased cheetah strapped to a bullet train. That's the kind of speed needed to win this year, and ole steroid boy stands a better than not of winning it all.

Position before Ranking: 5
Rusty's Power Ranking: 5


Tomorrow: #8 Brian Vickers, #7 Kurt Busch

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Rusty Reckons: They're Thirsty in Atlanta . . .

East bound and down, loaded it up and truckin . . . the series comes back East this week to the fastest track on the circuit . . . HOTLANTA!!! The 24 degrees of banking make Atlanta fast, and one of Rusty's favorite tracks. There are multiple grooves of racing at Atlanta and the smooth racing surface should make for some exciting racing.

The big question for this coming Sunday is whether or not the engines will hold up. There's been a slew of engine troubles already this year, and from some of the big boys like Hendrick and Toyota. Atlanta's speed and constant high RPM's are tougher on engines than a one eyed alley cat. With a shaky start for guys like Mark Martin (2 DNF's, who would have thunk it), better cross your fingers the raceway doesn't get covered over with blue smoke.

Last week, I talked about Jimmie and Mr. Ed, and this week's not going to be any different. The 48 and the 99 are two of the best teams at Atlanta. With 3 wins and an average finish of 9.1, Johnson is the best active driver at Atlanta. Edwards is not far behind though, tying Jimmie with 3 wins and posting an average finish of 11.6. Of the serious contenders, only Jeff Gordon has more wins than either of those two. Jeff has had 4 wins in his considerably longer career.

When you look outside the big names, there are a few interesting plot lines as well. Bobby Labonte is the active career wins leader at Atlanta with 6. Only catch is that he's not won a race in almost 6 years. He's coming off a great finish at Vegas 5th placing showing, and hasn't been doing too shabby this year considering he's piloting the also-ran 96 for Hall of Fame racing.

A.J. Allmendinger's another interesting name to watch. Of active driver's, A.J.'s got the 2nd best average finish in his 3 starts. Catch being he's only started 3 races there. If he can recapture whatever he had at Daytona, where he recorded a career high 3rd place finish, he just might be up near the front on Sunday.

Given that the finishes at Atlanta always come down to the wire, Rusty's not going to venture a guess as to who might make it to victory lane, but I sure as shoot am going to be on the edge of my seat come Sunday.

JR Prediction

Last week, I said Junior needed a top 20 finish. He must have been listening cause he came home in 10th. He struggled again by speeding on pit lane and having to go 1 lap down, but this time he and the 88 team rallied for a solid finish. Atlanta's one of Junior's better tracks. He's got 1 win, 8 top 5's, and 10 top 10's with an average finish of 11.68. Not too shabby. Junior also LOVES to run that high line, and at Atlanta, that can be the fastest way around the track. I got a feeling Junior's going to be up near the front, and if he can avoid the little mistakes, he should be challenging for the win. He's moved up to 29th in the points, so he's out of the danger zone, but still needs good finishes this week and next at Bristol. Ole Rusty's pretty sure that's going to be the case.

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Rusty Reckons: Viva Las Vegas

The fastest fellas in America return to one of the fastest cities, at least in terms of the people there. In terms of revenue, Vegas has been a boon to NASCAR. The race has been a sell-out recently, and with the big bucks on the strip, it's a good time for everyone involved. Then when they installed the progressive banking a few years ago, the racing started to get on par with the dollar signs.

For those newer fans, progressive banking is where the track is banked at different degrees vertically up the track. This creates multiple grooves of racing, which translates into more passing, running 2 wide etc. The COT has diffused some of the insanity that might have occurred with the older car, but we've still had some good racing of late.

Mr. Ed's the defending race winner, but Kyle Busch has been one of the highest rated drivers at Vegas in recent memory. The shrub also has the added advantage of starting the race from the pole, with his elder brother starting just to his outside. The Busch boys have done well at Vegas, possibly because it's their home track, but looking at the most recent speed charts they might have some serious competition. Jeff and Jimmie topped the speed charts on Saturday. Historically, Vegas has been one of Jimmie's worst tracks, but he might be feeling some pressure coming off a rather tepid start to the season. Might not see too many new faces up front this week, but Vegas should still give us some pretty exciting racing.

JR Prediction

Pure and simple, Junior needs a top 20 finish. After having engine issues at Fontana, and a weak Daytona, the 88 team is hanging precipitously onto the 35th position in points. After Bristol, NASCAR will revert to this year's points to determine who's locked in each week, meaning Junior will need to improve his position to avoid having to qualify on time. Can you imagine Junior not making a race? The stands might be empty. Lucky for Junior nation, though, all the prognosticators including yours truly is certain Junior will rebound. Vegas might not be a strong track for him, but Atlanta and Bristol certainly are. I said at the outset, Junior was going to be better on tracks he hadn't quite mastered in the past. With a little bit of pressure to perform, he might start to emerge in sin city this coming weekend.

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NASCAR Predictions: Rusty Picks a Champ

Separated at Birth?

Carl Edwards: As much as I hate to make this prediction, I think Mr. Ed's the guy to beat this coming season. No one, not even the champion won more races than Carl, last year. He won 9. Add that to the fact that Carl's made the Chase in each of his 4 full season's in cup, giving him valuable experience in knowing how to be good at the right time. In 2007, fans thought they were witness to one of the best battles for the Cup in the last 10 years, that was until this year, where Carl had until the last few laps of the last race, a viable shot at the title. I could throw more stats and numbers at you, but to be honest, after hooting and hollering through the Gatorade 125's yesterday, I'm plum tuckered out. Ole Rusty watched Cousin Ed catch the bouquet last year, and this year, he'll be walking down the aisle . . . GULP.

Tomorrow: Rusty's JR Prediction

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Rusty Reckons: Dover

Man, oh man, the first Chase race sure brought us some excitement, huh? First, as Rusty predicted, the wheels came off the 18 team, almost literally.

And a little sidebar for those who still whine about watching cars turn left for 3 hours. Kyle's car broke a bolt that helps racecars get through the corner, essentially making the 18 perform much more similar to our street cars at high speeds. Look at how his car turns over going through the corner in the video.



Compare that to what normal racecars look like going through the turns, and that gives you an idea about the intense G-forces at work, and the engineering behind making these cars go fast.

And then counter to what Rusty predicted, the Biff sure came out of nowhere to steal the win from Jimmie Johnson, huh? I don't reckon anyone saw that coming. So, the standings got a little mixed up going into Dover this Sunday, and it's pretty much still anyone's chase.

Dover is called the monster mile, and for several reasons. It's narrow, and the concrete surface tends to eat up tires, kinda like Rusty on a plate of barbeque. It's a monster to drive, it's even called "Bristol on steroids". Just this past June, an early race incident took out a whole slew of competitors. With Kenseth and Busch coming off horrible finishes at Loudon, and others wanting to establish themselves, look for this to be quite heated battle on those high banks.

Now, my sources are telling me that Dover's never been to friendly to the also-ran's, which might make it especially hard to put together a winning fantasy line-up this weekend. Nine of the 12 drivers in the Chase are in the A Grouping, so . . . . that means the A list pick could be a real crap shot, and the C list pick is nothing more than groping around in the dark.

Well, let's mix it up and start with the C List pick, since it's gonna really just be like throwing darts at the wall. Rusty's going back to Reutimann this week. Short tracks seem to treat him a little better than most, having got a 1/3 of his top 10 finishes from tracks a mile or shorter. Seems like as good a dart as any.

Of the three choices, our B list might be the simplest cause there's only 3 Chase drivers in the group (Shrub, June-bug, & the Biff). It's made simpler by the fact that Biffle is coming off a win, and hasn't finished outside of the top 10 at Dover since Fall 2005, racking up 3 top 5's in the process. He's also a previous winner at Dover, winning the Spring race in 2005, and with a 12.6 average finish in 12 starts, he's a solid solid choice . . . (Rusty still maintains he won't finish higher than 10th in the final standings, though).

And now the crap shoot. Carl and Jimmie are both still pretty daggum hot. To be honest, Jimmie should have won at New Hampshire, but whatever. Carl might be the better choice at Dover this coming weekend, though. Both have won there, but Carl more recently, having won the Spring race last year. Similar to his teammate Biffle, Mr. Ed's been tearing it up on the concrete lately. He's amassed 4 consecutive top 3 finishes. Barring an act of God (or Kyle), I imagine he'll be right up there in the thick of things again this weekend. So, roll those dice and take Cousin Carl!

A List
- C Edwards (99)
B List
- G Biffle (16)
C List
- D Reutimann (44)

Rusty Reckons: California (Auto-Club Speedway)

Almost certain to get lost in the hoopla of the start of college football or buried among the hot dogs and hamburgers of Labor Day meatwaves, there's actually a very important race to be run this weekend. There are only 2 more races (including this Sunday) before the Chase - the fantastic NASCAR play-offs.

This Sunday, we get an interesting set-up . . . a race that doesn't start till 7 on the east coast, but because it's in California, it starts in the daytime and ends under the lights. Confusing I know. The first time they did this, Rusty had to keep resetting the clocks in the house, he was so confused, but that aside, expect some exciting racing this weekend.

California is a 2 mile oval with a lot of speed, and crazy things tend to happen out there. Remember the "weeping" track back in February? Let's pray to everything fried that doesn't happen again. But, what will happen?

Well, the shrub and Mr. Ed will run up front. They have both made the chase and are driving like mad-men (see Bristol, last week)



The catch is that they aren't really point racing right now, they are just in it to win it. This leads to more aggressive set-ups and strategy, which can be exciting or it can cause disaster. Carl is phenomenal at California Speedway. In 8 starts, he's only finished outside the top 10 once, and has rattled off a win and six top 5's. Given his recent hot streak, you better bet your bippy, he's a golden pick this weekend. Lock it up! A List, Cousin Carl!

B List is another relatively simple pick, as far as Rusty is concerned. Ole Kasey "sweet cheeks" Kahne is pretty solid out yonder. He's got a win and 5 top 10's. Didn't do so hot in 2007, but then again he didn't do well anywhere in 2007. With back to back 40th place finishes coming into California, Kasey's a good bet to rebound. At only 56 points outta 12th, and only 2 weeks to make the chase, he's gotta rebound!

Lastly, the ole dice roll...A.J. Allmendinger! He was able to eek out a top 20 in his only other start at California. Second of all, A.J.'s sitting 38th in the points. He needs to get up to at least 35th to be able to qualify automatically for the 500 at the start of next year. At almost 400 points out of 35th, it'll be tough...but who knows!

So, there you go. Grill some dogs, eat some burgers, watch some football, but don't miss NASCAR...you know Rusty won't!

A List
- C Edwards (99)
B List
- K Kahne (9)
C List
- A Allmendinger (84)

Rusty Reckons: Watkins Glen

Yawn . . . Another boring road course race this coming weekend. Maybe Rusty'll watch the PGA Championship instead. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yeah, who am I kidding. Well, if you are going to race on a road course, Watkins Glen ain't a bad one to choose.

It's a fast road course located in the redneck section of upstate New York (or so I'm told). The long straightaways allow the drivers to go quite fast at this track. It provides a little more excitement than the snail's pace Sonoma. So, who to pick for the fantasy pick?

On the A Team, I'm going to pick a hot driver, who's had a modicum of success at the Glen. Carl Edwards coming off a win at Pocono is on the rise, and I think he could run well if not challenge for the victory at the Glen.

The B Team presents a whole host of potential. I'm hearing word that Robby Gordon is the man to go with, and while I'll put him in my stable, not sure it's a good pick to start, and here's why. Robby's got consistency issues. Yeah, he runs well from time to time, especially on road courses, but his hot headed nature seems to keep him from consistent top finishes. That being said, I'm going to go with last year's winner of the hot-head award, Juan Pablo Montoya. Last year, JPM got his first and only win at Infineon. With his road course experience, he may get his second this coming week. At very least, look for him to run strong and be in contention towards the end.

Lastly, the C list. Not having a great deal of options, I'm sticking with Kvapil. He's running pretty good for an "also-ran", and as momma always says, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

So, there's your picks for Watkins Glen.

A List
- C Edwards (99)
B List
- J P Montoya (42)
C List
- T Kvapil (28)

Tsk Tsk Tsk Mr. Edd

Now, I don't know if this actually gave him an advantage or not, but it seems as though yesterday's winner failed post-race inspection. Something was awry with the lid to his oil tank.

Edwards Wins Again, but Fails Inspection

This little "oops" could result in a fine and points deduction, but it's very doubtful that NASCAR would actually take away a win. Besides, even though that would give my boy the win, I'd hate to see him break his points-race-winless streak by getting one by default. He should earn it on the track.

But ole Roids-boy aside, yesterday was another pretty exciting event. Two of the sports veterans took some nasty spins and nailed the wall. First, it was Smoke who emerged from his race car looking like he'd been smacked in the head with a 2x4 (from Home Depot, of course). Then with only a few laps remaining, the ole Rainbow Warrior tried to go low on his teammate, got loose, and slammed into the infield wall shattering his race car and sending his radiator flying across the track.

Those two wrecks means I pretty much screwed the pooch on my A list fantasy pick, but the other picks did well. So, assuming you ardently follow Rusty's Thursday reckoning, you should be off to a good start!

So, after 3 crazy races so far this season, who knows what Atlanta's going to bring. Known as the fastest track on the circuit, there are a lot of unknowns heading into this weekend. I will tell you this, though. It's nice to have the start back at 1:30. Rusty's getting tired of waiting until after 4:00 p.m. for the green flag at these west coast events. I think it'll be a hard pick for my fantasy, but be sure to come back in a few days and find out.

Y'all come back now, hear?