NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville
Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Carl Edwards: After a tire issue left him floundering mid-pack for much of Sunday’s TUMS Fast Relief 500, Edwards delivered a gutsy charge to the front late in the race. He salvaged a ninth-place finish and maintained his points lead, which is now eight over Tony Stewart.
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[/media-credit]“So, Stewart says I ‘better be worried?’” Edwards said. “He’s right. I am worried. Worried that I won’t be in first place when the Chase ends. But that’s better than worrying that I’ll still be in second when the Chase ends.”
2. Tony Stewart: Stewart nearly fell a lap down midway through the TUMS Fast Relief 500, but battled back and passed Jimmie Johnson on lap 498 to take his third win of the Chase. Stewart now trails Carl Edwards by two points in the Sprint Cup standings.
“The Cup championship is so close,” Stewart said, “I can taste it. I’m not sure what it tastes like, but it smells like victory.
“Paul Menard wouldn’t push me to the win at Talladega. Ironically, his refusal to do so pushed me to the win at Martinsville. Supposed ‘team orders’ played no part in this outcome. Last week at Talladega, it was ‘team orders’ that reeked of ‘team odors.’ Something is rotten in Denmark, and at Roush Fenway, and at Richard Childress Racing.”
3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth at Martinsville and clipped five points from Carl Edwards’ points lead. Edwards lead Tony Stewart by eight, with Harvick 21 behind Edwards.
“That’s my sixth top-10 finish in seven Chase races,” Harvick said. “Despite those finishes, I still find myself hovering just outside the lead. It seems I’m ‘spinning my wheels,’ unfortunately not as a result of winning a race.”
4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 31st at Martinsville after slamming the wall on lap 464 after cutting a tire. He later tangled with Brian Vickers, spinning the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota only to have Vickers retaliate later. Kenseth fell from second to fifth in the point standings, losing 22 points to points leader Carl Edwards, who finished ninth.
“Brian Vickers is hell on wheels,” Kenseth said. “Red Bull comes in a can. You know what else comes in a can? ‘Black Flag.’ Oddly enough, I’m jealous of Vickers. Why? Because he did so much ‘trading paint’ on Sunday that he had new sponsors by race’s end.”
5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led on the final restart with three laps to go at Martinsville, but couldn’t hold off the charging Tony Stewart, who slipped by one lap later. Johnson took the runner-up spot and improved one place in the point standings to sixth, 43 behind Carl Edwards.
“Brian Vickers cost me the race,” Johnson said. “He just had to retaliate against Matt Kenseth. That caution killed me. Vickers has no business intentionally spinning cars when he can do it just fine by accident.
“As for my title hopes, I’m not conceding anything. Hopefully, something strange will happen. Ideally, something stranger than me not winning the Sprint Cup title.”
6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski saw a sure top-10 finish turn into a disappointing 17th after his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge was collected in a wreck with two laps to go. Dale Earnhardt made contact with Denny Hamlin, sending the No. 11 into Keselowski’s Dodge. Keselowski is now fourth in the point standings, 27 behind Carl Edwards.
“Brian Vickers hit a lot of cars on Sunday,” Keselowski said, “and it appears he ‘rubbed off’ on Earnhardt as well.”
7. Kyle Busch: Busch led 126 laps at Martinsville and was headed for at worst a top-5 finish before he was wrecked on lap 464 when Matt Kenseth cut a tire in front of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota. Busch finished 27th, seven laps down, and fell to seventh in the point standings, a distant 57 out of first.
“It’s hard to believe I was leading the standings before the Chase started,” Busch said. “What’s much more believable? That I’m not leading the standings after the Chase ends. I could blame it on luck, or fate, my own deficiencies as a driver, or, better yet, ‘un-lead-ed’ fuel.”
8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led 113 laps in the TUMS Fast Relief 500, sporting the best car on the track for much of the race. Unfortunately, his handling faded late, and his chance for a win fell to the wayside. He finished third and remained in tenth in the point standings, 76 out of first.
“Apparently,” Gordon said, “2011 is not a good season for present five-time Sprint Cup champions, or future five-time champions, for that matter.”
9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished seventh at Martinsville, registering only his second top-10 result of the Chase. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 73 out of first.
“I’m not ready to call our 2011 season a failure,” Earnhardt said. “That is, unless I go four more races without a victory, thereby clinching a winless season. Only then will I call our year a ‘total’ loss.”
10. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 14th at Martinsville, and since winning at Dover on October 9th, has not posted a top-10 finish. He now sits eighth in the point standings, 58 out of first.
“Despite a ho-hum 14th-place finish,” Busch said, “there was reason to celebrate. I spun Ryan Newman and didn’t get punched.”
The Final Word – And then there were two…or is it three for Texas?
As the boys moved on from Martinsville en route to Texas, the Chase has come down to essentially a two man race. Carl Edwards went to Virginia hoping to avoid disaster, which would have been to maintain his average of 16th place finishes there, but moved up in the end to claim 9th. Tony Stewart was in junk all day, told his crew that nothing they did seemed to change that fact, yet moved around Jimmie Johnson in the late stages to claim his third win of the Chase. It was called the Turns Fast Relief 500, and for a pair of guys it sure did.
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[/media-credit]Eight points separate Edwards from his nearest challenger, and if you don’t think wins matter this season, think again. Stewart is eight back, but if those three Chase wins had turned out to be just runner-up results the difference would have been 20. Wins matter, and after what took place last Sunday so does Stewart.
As they move into the Lone Star state, some have a chance if Edwards, at least, finds himself about as lucky as the hare who sacrificed the rabbit’s foot. Kevin Harvick was 4th last weekend and now sits third in the standings, 21 points out. Brad Keselowski was 17th, and he finds himself 27 points back. The rest don’t matter unless Texas turns into the Alamo for the leaders. So, what are the chances?
Edwards has won at Fort Worth three times in 13 starts, but has an average finish of more than 16th. More than half the time he is outside the Top Fifteen, three times 33rd or worse. Stewart has ran there on nineteen occasions, won there five years ago, and has an average outcome of 13th. Six times he has finished fifteenth or worse, three times outside the Top Thirty. Advantage Stewart, unless Edwards wins. I guess that means you will have to watch the action to see how this turns out.
Harvick has never won there, but 60% of his seventeen encounters have ended with him inside the Top Twenty. Keselowski has not done much of anything in his four visits, so that does not bode well for him. Should both Edwards and Stewart falter, Harvick has a shot of getting back into it. If Edwards claims his fourth victory at the track, then Phoenix and Homestead could be somewhat anti-climatic.
While you will be watching the action from Texas, my family and I are taking a short break to visit New York City, Philadelphia, and Gettysburg. We know we should expect to see tall buildings, the Liberty Bell, and the site of Pickett’s Charge on our tour. I don’t know what to expect at Fort Worth, other than maybe the unexpected. The picture should be much clearer when I return as the boys head to Homestead in a couple of weeks. Enjoy your week.
