1.Carl Edwards: Has to be the obvious pick after winning the final two races of the season after not winning for over 70 races.
2.Kevin Harvick: Earned most points out of every single driver in 2010. Look for Kevin to prove everyone wrong. It may get a little harder with the fourth entry, but we’ll see.
3.Jimmie Johnson: Yes, he is a 5-time champion now under the Chase system, but he was not the best driver for the whole season. He had 23 Top 10 finishes to Harvick’s 26.
4.Denny Hamlin: Won eight races and finished runner-up in the Chase. Third most amount of points in 2010. Won a lot, but consistency was an issue. He had only 18 Top 10 finishes. Not good.
5.Jeff Gordon: No other man wanted 2010 to end more than Jeff. With a new crew chief in Alan Gustafson expect Gordon to get back in the winner circle.
6.Kyle Busch: Had a decent year. Could have been better, but when you compare it to 2009, it was a huge improvement even though he won 1 less race.
7.Matt Kenseth: Ran mediocre for first 26 races and found something over the final eight. Expect Roush-Fenway Racing to be back in 2011.
8.Tony Stewart: Didn’t have a really Stewart like year, but he found victory lane. Stewart needs to better than that.
9.Clint Bowyer: Won two races in the final ten, but one cost him 150 points for cheating. Don’t really know how he will do with the four car operation. We’ll see.
10.Kurt Busch: Really seemed to have demolition-derbied his way through 2010 and then repeated acts of immaturity on the race track. If he wants to win a championship, he will have to change his attitude. Yes, I know he won in the Chase, but was that really a championship?
11.Jeff Burton: Seemed like a championship contender early on and faded and had a pretty off year.
12.Greg Biffle: He won 2 races and that is good progress, but needs to learn to stay consistent. You can’t win one race and finish 30th the next weekend and expect to make any progress.