SCS NASCAR Power Rankings: Darlington
The boys of NASCAR were in Darlington this week for the annual Mother’s Day eve Southern 500. Who conquered the Lady in Black and who’s tempers boiled over? We’ve got you covered!
Carl Edwards maintains the top spot in the rankings this week following a stout runner-up performance at Darlington. His teammate Greg Biffle is the big winner this week, up seven spots. Down seven spots is this week’s big loser, Paul Menard.
New this week is Darlington winner Regan Smith. He replaces Joey Logano, who crashed out. Again.
So without further adieu, here are this week’s SCS NASCAR Power Rankings!:
1. Carl Edwards(Last Week: 1[+/-0]): Carl almost made up for his comments at Texas about his mom’s cooking, as he nearly took the checkered flag Saturday night. Almost isn’t good enough for some people, but I’m sure it’s good enough for Mommy.
2. Kyle Busch(LW: 2[+/-0]): At first, I thought Kyle was being a coward by not getting out of his car and fighting Kevin Harvick. But then he mentioned that he would have been outnumbered 8-to-1, and while some people may not like Rowdy, he would have been missed had Harvick’s crew disembodied him.
3. Jimmie Johnson(LW: 4[+1]): J.J. moves up by default here. One thing I bet you didn’t know is that Jimmie is multi-talented. Along with being able to win championships, he can spin out all by himself with nobody around and save it. As if nobody’s done that before.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr(LW: 5[+1]): Old Junior was on display at Darlington, as he ran over the commitment cone on the final stop and turned a top 5 run into a 14th-place finish.
5. Clint Bowyer(LW: 3[-2]): If you feel bad for Clint after he got caught up in the Busch-Harvick mess, don’t. He’s the one who decided to join the scuffle. He’s still one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR right now; this was just a minor setback.
6. Ryan Newman(LW: 11[+5]): Rocketman burned up through the standings(and the rankings) this week after notching his first top 5 in almost a month. It helps when you can avoid certain people sometimes, right Juan?
7. Tony Stewart(LW: 10[+3]): Smoke must have been bummed after Harvick threw that shot at Busch, as he lost his title for Punch of the Year. I’m thinking a little trip Down Under would be nice this summer, wouldn’t it, Tony?
8. Kevin Harvick(LW: 6[-2]): Not-So-Happy tried to play the victim after Kyle took him out Saturday night. Sorry, Kevin. You’re not fooling anyone, Bud.
9. AJ Allmendinger(LW: 9[+/-0]): Slow and steady… gets you a 20th-place finish but keeps you out of the chaos and in position to make the Chase. At least he didn’t go bonzai into the corner and destroy his car this year.
10. Greg Biffle(LW: 17[+7]): Biff now has three top 10s in the last four races, and is right on the cusp of the Chase. He’s one of the best drivers on the circuit right now and is putting some heat on his teammate.
11. Matt Kenseth(LW: 7[-4]): Speaking of Matty K., I was trying to figure out who to rank lower between he and Kurt Busch. They seem to be about the worst fully-funded drivers on the circuit at the moment. Matt is the best of the worst right now, so he goes here…
12. Kurt Busch(LW: 8[-4]): …and Kurt is the worst of the worst right now, so he goes here.
13. Denny Hamlin(LW: 16[+3]): I was beginning to wonder if we would ever see Hamster notch back-to-back top 10s this season, and now he has. Look out boys, it’s Denny time.
14. Kasey Kahne(LW: 20[+6]): That’s two in a row now that Kasey had a shot at winning. Good Kasey is showing everyone what he can do, and the good news for him is that we go to Charlotte in two weeks.
15. Juan Pablo Montoya(LW: 12[-3]): When Juan spun Newman, Darrell Waltrip commended him. When Juan spun Jimmie Johnson, Waltrip condemned him. I’m just sayin’…
16. Jeff Gordon(LW: 18[+2]): Gordon lost ground in the standings but had a decent night, finishing 12th. He doesn’t look great this year, but with the rule changes he is solidly in the Chase right now.
17. Mark Martin(LW: 14[-3]): Not really sure what to think of Mark this season. He just seems to be logging laps and trying to finish out his tenure with Hendrick Motorsports. Or perhaps they’ve already begun their Countdown to Kahne.
18. David Ragan(LW: 15[-3]): If you’re gonna wreck, make it cool. Ragan did just that with the help of Brian Vickers, as the two helped create an explosion of foam. It did neither one of them any good, but it looked really cool.
19. Regan Smith(LW: NR): Congrats to Regan on a much-deserved, long-overdue victory. Smith may just be the most underrated driver in NASCAR. Next step: crack the top 20 in points.
20. Paul Menard(LW: 13[-7]): All that nice stuff I said about Paul’s performance earlier in the year, forget about it.