1. Both Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon were involved in the same wreck, to go to the very back, to work with each other and finish 5th & 6th in a lap.

2.  Kurt didn’t have the best finish at Daytona, but there’s no denying how strong he has been as of late.

3.  Much like Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards didn’t have the finish he was hoping for at Daytona, getting spun out by teammate Greg Biffle early, but Edwards has been strong and consistent all year. One bad race—especially Daytona has no affect on Edward’s great year.

4.  The last two weeks have been amazing for Jeff Gordon. Both races he was in back for most of the race, to come out of nowhere at the end to finish 2nd & 6th. Gordon should get extra style points for his great save! Gordon has been on a roll lately.

5.  Kenseth pushed teammate David Ragan to his first career win in the Sprint Cup Series. Much like teammate Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth has been strong this year. Kenseth is generally a hit or miss at Daytona, but he ran a smart race and stayed out of trouble.

6.  Harvick ran a solid race at Daytona, working with teammate Paul Menard most of the race to bring it home 7th. While Harvick has 3 wins on the year, he only had the fastest car in one of those three races but still got the job done. I’m not sold on Harvick, but he has been running well. He is the points leader, now, so I guess that does count for something.

7. Hamlin has been strong the last several weeks after starting the season off really slow. He ran up front at Daytona but went backwards late with partner Ryan Newman. Hamlin spun coming to the checkered but he’s been too strong lately to be any lower than 7.

8. Jimmie Johnson has been quiet lately, he isn’t nearly as dominant this year as previous years, so far. Johnson wrecked at Daytona coming to the checkered with teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.

9. Bowyer was involved in a wreck at Daytona, as was most of the field. Bowyer has had some strong runs.  Bowyer still is in the top 10, currently sitting in 9th.

10. Stewart has been struggling as of late, but I still think he’s too good of a racer and has too good of a team. Stewart should get 1-2 wins in the next four-five races. He struggled at Daytona but avoided the big wrecks and brought it home in a decent position, 11th.

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr has really been struggling as of late, he continues to slide down the point standings and his frustration continues to build, Jr is looking to end his long losing streak. Jr started the season off strong but has fell behind as of late, we’ll see if he can rebound.

12. Joey Logano has finally had some luck with some nice finishes the last two races. Logano is heading to a track in which he loves. Logano finally has some momentum after his Nationwide win and a 3rd place finish this weekend in the Sprint Cup Series. Confidence is a big thing for Logano and I fully believe he will thrive off of it in the upcoming weeks, starting at Kentucky this weekend. Logano is my pick to win at Kentucky this weekend!

1.  This guy has been wicked fast the last several weeks, ever since changes were made within the organization.

2. Carl Edwards has been strong all year no matter what track it has been. He’s been the most consistent, that probably explains why he’s currently 1st in the Sprint Cup point standings.

3. Kyle Busch has also been strong most of the year, he had a strong run going at Sonoma until Brad Keselowski and Juan Pablo Montoya decided to play bumper cars, which resulted Busch into a spin along with Montoya.

4. Denny Hamlin has also really turned the corner the last several races, aside from some bad luck. He won at Michigan and had a top 5 car at Sonoma until he ran into some problems late that killed his chances. Hamlin will be a championship contender when all said and done.

5. Jeff Gordon has had three top five finishes in his last four races, with two wins on the year. Gordon started off the season with a win early at Phoenix and really dropped off, Alan Gustafson and Jeff Gordon are starting to build some good chemistry between the two and the results show.

6. Harvick already has 3 wins on the season and has been consistently strong for most of the year. He always seems to be there at the end when it matters most.

7. Aside from Matt’s Roush Fenway teammate Carl Edwards, Kenseth has been strong all year, especially at the 1.5 mile tracks. In my opinion, Matt had the fastest car at Michigan and just came up short and had  a decent finish at Sonoma where Kenseth generally really struggles.

8. Jimmie Johnson hasn’t really done much lately, but he hasn’t been running poorly by any means. Ran strong at Pocono and was in the top 10 all day at Sonoma. He’s been flying under the radar recently, I wonder how long that will last?

9. Bowyer has been running well as of late finishing 8th at Michigan and 4th at Sonoma. Richard Childress Racing hasn’t done much aside from Kevin Harvick. Paul Menard has shown some capability but has struggled for the most part. Jeff Burton is nowhere to be found this year, which really surprises me. Maybe the Menard addition has hurt the 31 team?

10. Tony Stewart doesn’t have much to show for as he sits in 12th in the standings, but I think he’s been better than that. He had possibly a winning car at Sonoma before Brian Vickers decided to get his revenge and knock Stewart out of the race. I think Stewart will get a win or two in the next four races.

11. Ryan Newman currently sits in 10th in the Point Standings. Finished  9th at Pocono and 6th at Michigan. He hasn’t been great nor consistent, but he has been in the top 10 all year.

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr., has struggled as of late but has been strong all year. Still doesn’t have a win but has been in contention to possibly win multiple races this year, he’s close to snapping that 108-race winless streak.

Thoughts?