As far as bumping and banging was concerned, Bristol fell short of expectations. Regarding disappointments and surprises, however, it certainly delivered. Brad Keselowski picked up right where he left off from last season, winning the race while Kyle Busch was never given a chance to compete at one of his best tracks.
Meanwhile, consistency is working wonders for the seasons of Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr., keeping Biffle atop the standings while Truex enjoys his best ever start to the season (fourth in points).
Was Keselowski’s performance enough to get him back inside the Power Rankings? Was Busch’s poor performance enough to knock him out? And is consistency enough to keep the Biff on top of our list? Continue reading to see how they and other drivers rank in this week’s Power Rankings:
How the Rankings are Calculated: Frontstretch does our power rankings somewhat similar to how the Associated Press does them for basketball or football – our expert stable of NASCAR writers, both on staff and from other major publications will vote for the top 20 on a 20-19-18-17-16-15 … 3-2-1 basis, giving 20 points to their first-place driver, 19 for their second and so on. In the end, Summer Dreyer calculates the points, adds some funny one-liners, and … here you go!
| FRONTSTRETCH TOP-15 POWER RANKINGS: MARCH 21, 2012 | |||
| Rank | Driver (First-Place Votes) | Votes | Last Week |
| 1 | Greg Biffle (6) | 192 | 1 |
| The latest impersonation of Matt Kenseth, brought to you by Roush Fenway Racing – Biffle leading the points with no wins. Mike Neff, Frontstretch | |||
| 2 | Matt Kenseth (2) | 187 | 4 |
| His timing was perfect, his car handled perfectly and lost only to the little Dodge engine that could. If only he’d been in a Ford … Oh, wait. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| 3 | Kevin Harvick (1) | 167 | 3 |
| I wondered for a time if Harvick was worried an addition to the family would slow him down on the track, but he shouldn’t be too concerned. He’s sandwiched in points between Kenseth and Biffle, who are new parents themselves. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| 4 | Jimmie Johnson | 145 | 6 |
| Oh, there is so much that could be said here. Maybe if we throw in an extra 25 points, I can come up with something. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 138 | 12 |
| NAPA Knows How to perform this year! Lookey here, sure it is early but this is the strongest performance by Truex and MWR that we have ever seen! Amanda Ebersole, SkirtsandScuffs.com | |||
| 6 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 130 | 7 |
| With revenge on Mark Martin still on his mind, he saw the AARP car and automatically reacted. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch | |||
| T-7 | Tony Stewart | 129 | 2 |
| This is about the time of year where Stewart starts lukewarm-ing up. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| T-7 | Brad Keselowski (1) | 129 | NR |
| Arguments are being made that Keselowski is the new Bristol King. He agrees, especially since the rumor is the old king was an ass. Kelly Crandall, SpeedwayMedia.com | |||
| 9 | Clint Bowyer | 110 | NR |
| Is MWR improving or is Bowyer a severely underrated driver? Whatever the case may be, he’s running much better now than he was at this point last season with Richard Childress Racing. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | 109 | 8 |
| Yes, white men can dance, although The Dougie will not get him on DWTS. Amanda Ebersole, SkirtsandScuffs.com | |||
| 11 | Paul Menard | 96 | 10 |
| Another top-10 finish and it isn’t even July yet. What have they done with the real Menard? Mike Neff, Frontstretch | |||
| 12 | Carl Edwards | 90 | 5 |
| His season couldn’t be any more disappointing, even if he’d tried to “make up for it” by dominating the Nationwide Series in superior equipment. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| 13 | Jeff Burton | 79 | NR |
| He’s sitting 12th in points at Richard Childress Racing. Former teammate Bowyer is tied for eighth at MWR. Wonder which one they should have kept? I sure do hope Austin Dillon is able to make up for it down the line or Childress might need to head back to a Kansas dirt track. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| T-14 | Joey Logano | 61 | 15 |
| It’s still too early to tab this guy as a Chase driver, but you’ve got to give him props for trying after an awful third season had him looking dead in the water last year. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| T-14 | Kyle Busch | 61 | 14 |
| Forget Lehigh over Duke! Busch screwed up so many fantasy lineups this weekend, even the worst March Madness bracket looked clean by comparison. Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch | |||
| Dropped Out: Ryan Newman (9), Mark Martin (11), Jeff Gordon (13) | |||
| Others Receiving Votes: Ryan Newman (60), Brian Vickers (47), AJ Allmendinger (32), Jeff Gordon (30), Juan Pablo Montoya (26), Jamie McMurray (25), Mark Martin (16), Aric Almirola (5), Kurt Busch (2), Marcos Ambrose (2), Kasey Kahne (1) | |||
| Who Voted: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch; Carolyn Brewster, NASCAR Illustrated; Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports; Kelly Crandall, Speedwaymedia.com; Summer Dreyer, Frontstretch; Amanda Ebersole, Skirtsandscuffs.com; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch; Dustin Long, Athlon Sports; Mike Neff, Frontstretch; Matt Taliaferro, Athlon Sports | |||
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