Danica, Danica, Danica. Sounds a bit like a Brady Bunch classic, but as much as the public relation boys and girls try, the thunder from Daytona is fading into the distance. The good news is that in 2013 points, Danica Patrick is running one spot better than team-mate Ryan Newman. The bad news is that after disastrous runs in Phoenix and Las Vegas he sits 32nd.
One thing that is not up for debate in whether she is a race car driver or not. She definitely is, though throughout her career in IndyCar, Nationwide, and thus far in Cup, she has not been great and some may even argue if she is all that good. Yet. In the open wheel series, she won once in 115 starts, with seven top three results where she was seen as a talented novelty. She has competed in 59 Nationwide races to date, has a top five and seven top tens. In 13 Cup races, she has that top ten to her credit in the Daytona 500. She can compete, but the soon-to-be 31 year old remains a highly publicized, very marketable journeyman …er… woman. Hot, she is not, at least when it comes to making this list anytime in the foreseeable future. Still, more will be watching to see how she does than they will Aric Almirola, Paul Menard, or Jeff Burton. A nice run at Bristol could go a long way in changing our perception of the rookie.
The biggest mover of the week was Matt Kenseth, thanks to his birthday celebrations in Las Vegas. He joins Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson ahead of the pack, with Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and Clint Bowyer remaining among our main contenders. Jeff Gordon took a six position slide after a 25th place finish last weekend and would need a top two tally at Bristol just to maintain.
| Name | Points | POS | LW | w | t5 | t10 |
| Brad Keselowski | 382 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 352 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Matt Kenseth | 347 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Kyle Busch | 335 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Greg Biffle | 334 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Clint Bowyer | 333 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Kasey Kahne | 312 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Denny Hamlin | 305 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Aric Almirola | 295 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Kevin Harvick | 293 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Carl Edwards | 292 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Jeff Gordon | 288 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Paul Menard | 274 | 13 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Tony Stewart | 273 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Ryan Newman | 271 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Martin Truex, Jr. | 263 | 16 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 261 | 17 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Joey Logano | 256 | 18 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kurt Busch | 241 | 19 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jeff Burton | 236 | 20 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
this will not be politically correct, truth often isn’t: Danica has No shot against much stronger more athletic men when it comes to these heavy cars, she will never win a race, it will be impossible for her…literally, she just doesn’t have the balls
In over her head and a-half. Just because princess has a deep pocket sponsor that can buy a ride does not mean she has any talent.
she’s in over her head.