Hendrick Motorsports has shot out of a rocket ship, winning every race — including the Sprint Showdown and All-Star Event — since May 12th. Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago we were talking about how HMS was struggling early on in the season? My, how time flies! But if the standings are any indication, they have quite a bit of competition on their hands for the championship, in particular from the Roush Fenway Racing duo of Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle.
Which team is our team of NASCAR web experts more impressed with this week? Did wins or consistency determine the top spot in our rankings? Keep reading to find out:
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 Bedgood calculates the points, adds some funny one-liners, and … here you go!
| FRONTSTRETCH TOP 15 POWER RANKINGS: JUNE 6th | |||
| Rank | Driver (First Place Votes) | Votes | Last Week |
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson (4) | 155 | 3 |
| Now we know what Boris Said looks like after he plays paintball. Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com | |||
| 2 | Matt Kenseth (3) | 151 | 2 |
| Jimmie may be getting the wins and the attention with this clown wig, but Matt is getting the points. And we think he is just fine with that. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (1) | 143 | 4 |
| Sadly, points do not matter without a win. Amanda Ebersole, SkirtsandScuffs.com | |||
| 4 | Greg Biffle | 135 | 1 |
| Spent the weekend at the Monster Mile becoming all but invisible. How funny! That's how most people think he'll be during the entire ten-race Chase. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 113 | 9 |
| He may have just had the quietest second-place finish in the history of NASCAR. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 6 | Martin Truex, Jr. | 102 | 10 |
| Consistent the entire season and leading the way for MWR, Truex needs a win for morale, momentum and added mojo to compete for the 2012 championship. Amanda Ebersole, SkirtsandScuffs.com | |||
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 93 | 7 |
| Hasn't exactly been on top of his game the last two weeks; so-so starts lead to so-so finishes in this 2012 game of track position. But what you can take from it, the sign of a true title contender is how the car still improves dramatically over the course of the race. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 8 | Kasey Kahne | 91 | 8 |
| Kahne is currently setting an example … for his teammate Jeff Gordon. There is still time for a comeback! Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 90 | 6 |
| Tough weekend for the Busch brothers at Dover. One blew his motor and the other may have possibly blown his career. Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 10 | Clint Bowyer | 89 | 13 |
| A surprising stat you may not be aware of: Bowyer has only three finishes this season lower than 13th. That's pretty damn good for a team that didn't even exist six months ago. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 88 | 5 |
| Hamlin goes from his nightmare track at the Monster Mile to one of his best tracks in Pocono. Let’s just hope the racing steps up, too. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 12 | Tony Stewart | 64 | 12 |
| From championship to midpack, Stewart seems to be in a free fall. Quick, everyone panic. Amanda Ebersole, SkirtandScuffs.com | |||
| 13 | Jeff Gordon | 56 | 14 |
| The next time there's a mystery debris caution when Jeff Gordon needs a break, don't you get the sense Robin Pemberton might be picking up the debris of his face somewhere on pit road after the race? This poor guy sounds like he's at his wit's end. Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 14 | Carl Edwards | 51 | 11 |
| Both of his teammates seem to have taken a page out of Edwards’ book from last season, and managed to leave him behind in the process. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| 15 | Ryan Newman | 46 | 15 |
| Newman’s crewmember Andy Rueger can relate to Kurt Busch’s post-Dover comments, since, after all it was Busch that Rueger wanted to beat the s— out of in the first place. Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com | |||
| Dropped Out: None. | |||
| Others Receiving Votes: Joey Logano (43), Aric Almirola (42), Paul Menard (37), Mark Martin (31), Marcos Ambrose (28), A.J. Allmendinger (11), Jeff Burton (9), Kurt Busch (7), Regan Smith (3), David Ragan (1), Juan Pablo Montoya (1). | |||
| Who Voted: Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com; Kelly Crandall, SpeedwayMedia.com; Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com; Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com; Amanda Ebersole, SkirtsandScuffs.com; Dustin Long, Athlon Sports; Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com; Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com; Matt Taliaferro, Athlon Sports. | |||
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