Hot 20 over past 10 – Edwards for now, Johnson for later, and Junior by Charlotte?

In tracking the drivers who have been hot over the past ten races, the most recent result replaces the oldest. So, if you are Carl Edwards, that means you need to win at Richmond and Dover just to replicate his results from the end of last season. History tells us that is not likely to happen.

Still, he has been averaging 39 points per race since Phoenix in the fall, and has a five point lead over Johnson on the 2011 ladder. Dale Earnhardt Jr, who continues to move up, may be seventh over the past ten, but third since they waved the green flag at Daytona.

Here are our top 20 over the past 10 events…

1 (1) Carl Edwards – 390 pts – Needs a pair of wins to maintain his pace, and the odds are long.
2 (2) Jimmie Johnson – 372 pts – An Earnhardt on your back bumper isn’t always a bad thing.
3 (4) Kevin Harvick – 347 pts – 2011 has been good, but now needs to find a little greatness.
4 (5) Ryan Newman – 332 pts – A surprise up here, but needs a pair of Top Fives to stay there.
5 (6) Kurt Busch – 329 pts – First four were pretty good, last four have been just alright.
6 (3) Matt Kenseth – 326 pts – No doubt happy as hell Talladega is now behind him.
7 (9) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 323 pts – His daddy is forever 49 in our minds, #3 in our hearts.
8 (7) Tony Stewart – 304 pts – Not bad for a guy who wasn’t media friendly after his last two.
9 (8) Kyle Busch – 301 pts – Won in the spring of 2009 and 2010, why not 2011?
10 (12) Clint Bowyer – 300 pts – Returning to the scene of one of his 4 career victories.
11 (10) Greg Biffle – 295 pts – After the horrid way he started the season, he can’t complain.
12 (13) A.J. Allmendinger – 291 pts – Signing autographs tire him more than any other driver.
13 (11) Mark Martin – 290 pts – Talladega’s 8th marks his high water mark of the season thus far.
14 (15) Juan Pablo Montoya – 283 pts – Does he sign “Juan Pablo”, or uses Allmendinger’s trick?
15 (16) Paul Menard – 282 pts – Not Chase material yet, but there are hints the best is to come.
16 (21) Jeff Gordon – 274 pts – A win, a third, a fifth, but the rest are best forgotten.
17 (14) Denny Hamlin – 261 pts – Richmond is good to him, and he truly needs a friendly track.
18 (23) Martin Truex Jr – 255 pts – Moving up primarily because others are moving on down.
19 (17) Kasey Kahne – 247 pts – Three straight outside Top Twenty can’t be good.
20 (20) Jamie McMurray – 238 pts – It could be worse. He could be Jeff Burton.