Power Rankings

Well, how about that!? It was David and David against Goliath at Talladega and, much like the popular fairytale, David won. At a racetrack that produces unlikely winners, the Front Row Motorsports teammates didn’t disappoint, claiming the team’s first win and sweeping the top two positions over the powerhouses of Hendrick, Gibbs and others. They said anyone can win at the restrictor plate racetracks, but you still have to be around on the final lap. David and David both avoided multiple big ones, a three-hour rain delay and made the right move coming off turn four of the final lap.

Frontstretch Power Rankings
Kevin Harvick proved once again why he’s called “Mr. Where Did He Come From!?” and “The Closer.” Harvick took four tires during the final caution, charging from seventh place on the green-white-checkered restart to take the lead. That divebomb move gave him his first race of the 2013 season and 20th victory of his Cup Series career.
Behind them, Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart took part in some post-race extracurricular activities after a bump-and-run during the two-lap shootout shook up the finishing order. But perhaps the biggest side story was Juan Pablo Montoya, who led 67 laps and finished fourth, his first top 5 in a points-paying race since a fourth-place result at Martinsville in April 2011. Jeff Burton also ran well, finishing fifth, his first top-5 result of the season.

<div style=\"margin: 20px; width: 275px; float: left; border: 0px solid black; padding: 3px\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/1952.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Frontstretch Power Rankings\" width=\"206\" height=\"202\" /></div><div><div><div><div>Matt Kenseth rolled the dice on the last pit stop, took fuel only, then held off Kasey Kahne to win his first race of the 2013 season and his first for new team Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth was strong all day, running inside the top 10, but proved that clean air trumps fresh tires on 1.5-mile tracks with the new Gen-6 car.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>While much of the news revolved around Denny Hamlin&rsquo;s negative comments about the Gen-6 chassis, costing him $25,000 Las Vegas showed the positive side of the new design. Kasey Kahne began the dig out of his early-season hole, leading a race-high 114 laps and finishing second. Brad Keselowski, winding up in third place now stands alone as the only driver with top-5 results in every race so far this season. A little further back, Carl Edwards followed up his win last week with a second consecutive top-5 finish, showing he&#39;ll be a 2013 contender. And then, of course there was Jimmie Johnson, on cruise control to sixth place and the edge atop the Sprint Cup point standings. </div><div>&nbsp;</div><div> Who are you <em>not </em>going to see move up the poll this week? Stewart-Haas Racing, who continued to struggle, with Tony Stewart bringing home a team-high 11th. Ryan Newman lost an engine and Danica Patrick struggled to find speed all day; those drivers finished 38th and 33rd, respectively.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>As the series travels back to the East Coast this week, drivers will tackle their first short track in Thunder Valley. How much momentum do your favorite experts feel they have going in? Find out in the latest edition of our Power Rankings… </div></div><div>&nbsp;</div></div><div><strong>How The Rankings Are Calculated</strong>: Frontstretch does our power rankings 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, Michael Mehedin calculates the points, adds some funny one-liners, and … here you go!</div></div><table border=\"0\"><tbody></tbody></table><table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"4\" cellpadding=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#a0a0a0\"><tbody><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td colspan=\"4\" align=\"center\"><strong>FRONTSTRETCH TOP 15 POWER RANKINGS: March 13th</strong></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td><strong>Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Driver (First Place Votes)</strong></td><td><strong>Votes</strong> </td><td align=\"right\"><strong>Last Week</strong></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>1</strong></td><td><strong>Jimmie Johnson (7)</strong></td><td align=\"right\">244</td><td align=\"right\">1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Jimmie is running this well and it isn&rsquo;t even the Chase yet!? It&rsquo;s going to be a long year for the other 42 drivers. <em>Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>2</strong></td><td><strong>Brad Keselowski (3)</strong></td><td align=\"right\">243</td><td align=\"right\">2</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Three top-5 finishes lead all drivers, but he hasn&rsquo;t won yet and he&#39;s not happy about it. That&#39;s certainly a good sign of things to come for him. <em>Jeff Wolfe, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>3</strong></td><td><strong>Matt Kenseth (2)</strong></td><td align=\"right\">224</td><td align=\"right\">6</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">The best thing to happen to this team since Sliced Bread. <em>Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>4</strong></td><td><strong>Dale Earnhardt, Jr.</strong></td><td align=\"right\">214</td><td align=\"right\">3</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Consistency is the key to success in qualifying for the Chase, but he will need to learn how to win races to be a champ. <em>Dennis Michelsen, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>5</strong></td><td><strong>Kasey Kahne (1)</strong></td><td align=\"right\">199</td><td align=\"right\">12</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Learned from last year that beginning to recover from a disastrous start, a little earlier in the season will make for a much less strenuous summer. <em>Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>6</strong></td><td><strong>Carl Edwards</strong></td><td align=\"right\">194</td><td align=\"right\">7</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Jimmy Fennig now officially licensed to raise the dead. <em>Dave Moody, SiriusXM Radio</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>7</strong></td><td><strong>Denny Hamlin</strong></td><td align=\"right\">164</td><td align=\"right\">4</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Dropped in the Power Rankings due to Section 12-1. <em>Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>8</strong></td><td><strong>Kyle Busch</strong></td><td align=\"right\">143</td><td align=\"right\">14</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Running far better than the final results would indicate. But at some point, &ldquo;potential&rdquo; needs to turn into &ldquo;performance&rdquo; when it counts again. <em>Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>9</strong></td><td><strong>Greg Biffle</strong></td><td align=\"right\">136</td><td align=\"right\">10</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">That ugly paint scheme was the only reason he received any screen time in Vegas. <em>Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>10</strong></td><td><strong>Tony Stewart</strong></td><td align=\"right\">124</td><td align=\"right\">8</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Finished 11th Sunday. With Danica 33rd and Newman 38th, Smoke is not enjoying team ownership quite as much as he did in 2011. <em>Dave Moody, SiriusXM Radio</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>11</strong></td><td><strong>Kevin Harvick</strong></td><td align=\"right\">123</td><td align=\"right\">11</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Mr. Where Did He Come From has become Mr. Where Did He Go? <em>Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>12</strong></td><td><strong>Clint Bowyer</strong></td><td align=\"right\">109</td><td align=\"right\">5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">That runner-up slump might be kicking in. <em>Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>13</strong></td><td><strong>Aric Almirola</strong></td><td align=\"right\">96</td><td align=\"right\">15</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Almirola&rsquo;s good, no doubt, but this ride is showcasing why who&rsquo;s on top of the pit box still matters. Remember Todd Parrott? I seem to remember him winning a championship and two Daytona 500s with Dale Jarrett. <em>Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>14</strong></td><td><strong>Mark Martin</strong></td><td align=\"right\">78</td><td align=\"right\">13</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Would really like to see what Mark would do if he ran the series full-time at age 54. <em>Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>15</strong></td><td><strong>Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.</strong></td><td align=\"right\">77</td><td align=\"right\">NR</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">He beat Danica! <em>Dave Moody, SiriusXM Radio</em></td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Dropped Out</strong>: Jeff Gordon (9).</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Others Receiving Votes</strong>:&nbsp;Paul Menard (75), Jeff Gordon (71), Martin Truex, Jr. (68), Joey Logano (57), Jamie McMurray (32), Marcos Ambrose (23), Kurt Busch (10), Jeff Burton (8), Ryan Newman (8), Juan Pablo Montoya (6), Trevor Bayne (2), Austin Dillon (1), Dave Blaney (1).</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Who Voted</strong>: <a href=\"http://twitter.com/Critic84\">Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/summerbedgood\">Summer Bedgood, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/NASCARBowles\">Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/ddarnell1\">Denny Darnell, Darnell Communications</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/Racetake\">Dwight Drum, RaceTake.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/dustinlong\">Dustin Long, Athlon Sports</a>; <a href=\"http://twitter.com/tonylumbis\">Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/MikeyMehedin\">Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/RaceTalkRadio\">Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/DGodfatherMoody\">Dave Moody, SiriusXM Radio</a>; Brad Morgan, Frontstretch.com; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/Riceman61\">Doug Rice, Performance Racing Netwrok</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/jeffwolfe206\">Jeff Wolfe, Frontstretch.com</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>

<div style=\"margin: 20px; width: 275px; float: left; border: 0px solid black; padding: 3px\"><img src=\"http://www.frontstretch.com/images/1952.gif\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Frontstretch Power Rankings\" width=\"206\" height=\"202\" /></div><div><div><div>The backflip is back! Carl Edwards survived a green-white-checkered finish and broke a 70-race winless streak in Phoenix to capture his first win since Las Vegas in 2011. Ironically, this is the same track Edwards broke his first 70-race winless streak at, back in November 2010.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Tire wear was the major story leaving Phoenix as a majority of cautions were a result of right-front tire failures. Those among the victims included Ryan Newman and Danica Patrick, who both fell out of the race from damage due to blown Goodyears.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also a top story was track position. Early leaders Mark Martin, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne were strong throughout the first half of the race, but Martin and Kahne couldn&rsquo;t recover after falling back into traffic due to ill-handling race cars. Edwards was the only one of that trio to finish inside the top 15. &nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>In the end, the cream rose to the top. Nine of the top-10 finishers Sunday were in the top 10 in the final 2012 point standings. It&rsquo;s still early in the season but Jimmie, Brad and Junior are making statements. Did Carl Edwards&#39; victory help propel him up the rankings? Or does Jimmie Johnson reign supreme with back-to-back top-2 finishes? Read on to find out:</div><div>&nbsp;</div></div><div><strong>How The Rankings Are Calculated</strong>: 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, Michael Mehedin calculates the points, adds some funny one-liners, and … here you go!</div></div><table border=\"0\"><tbody></tbody></table><table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"4\" cellpadding=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#a0a0a0\"><tbody><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td colspan=\"4\" align=\"center\"><strong>FRONTSTRETCH TOP 15 POWER RANKINGS: March 6th</strong></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td><strong>Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Driver (First Place Votes)</strong></td><td><strong>Votes</strong> </td><td align=\"right\"><strong>Last Week</strong></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>1</strong></td><td><strong>Jimmie Johnson (10)</strong></td><td align=\"right\">219</td><td align=\"right\">1</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Appears that Johnson is in &ldquo;Chase Mode&rdquo; mode a little early this year. <em>Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>2</strong></td><td><strong>Brad Keselowski</strong></td><td align=\"right\">199</td><td align=\"right\">2</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Don&rsquo;t look now but the champ is looking like he&rsquo;s ready to make five-time earn number six. <em>Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>3</strong></td><td><strong>Dale Earnhardt, Jr. </strong></td><td align=\"right\">194</td><td align=\"right\">3</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Two good races on totally different tracks, a good sign for Junior Nation. <em>Jeff Wolfe, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>4</strong></td><td><strong>Denny Hamlin</strong></td><td align=\"right\">168</td><td align=\"right\">7</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">BONZAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!!!!! <em>Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>5</strong></td><td><strong>Clint Bowyer </strong></td><td align=\"right\">163</td><td align=\"right\">5</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Happy with a solid, sixth-place performance, but probably would have preferred that finish a lot more the last time the series visited the desert. <em>Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>6</strong></td><td><strong>Matt Kenseth</strong></td><td align=\"right\">152</td><td align=\"right\">6</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Matt showed what TRD power can do without any issues. <em>Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>7</strong></td><td><strong>Carl Edwards</strong></td><td align=\"right\">150</td><td align=\"right\">NR</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Good to see the focus in the grandstands after the race was for a driver celebrating a win, not debris from an accident. <em>Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>8</strong></td><td><strong>Tony Stewart</strong></td><td align=\"right\">137</td><td align=\"right\">11</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">The boss had to prove that an SHR car could make it to the finish. <em>Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>9</strong></td><td><strong>Jeff Gordon</strong></td><td align=\"right\">135</td><td align=\"right\">9</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Could see Clint Bowyer at the end of the race but couldn&rsquo;t get close enough to dump him again. <em>Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>10</strong></td><td><strong>Greg Biffle</strong></td><td align=\"right\">128</td><td align=\"right\">4</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">The rollercoaster that is Biffle&rsquo;s season is heading towards hill number two. <em>Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>11</strong></td><td><strong>Kevin Harvick</strong></td><td align=\"right\">100</td><td align=\"right\">13</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Hoping the entire &ldquo;baby in the car&rdquo; during pre-race has been put to bed, <em>Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>12</strong></td><td><strong>Kasey Kahne (1)</strong></td><td align=\"right\">89</td><td align=\"right\">10</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Kasey continues to dig a hole much like he did in 2012. On the positive side, the hole isn&rsquo;t as big as it was this time last year. <em>Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>13</strong></td><td><strong>Mark Martin</strong></td><td align=\"right\">74</td><td align=\"right\">14</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">Fondly recalls the days when four new tires made your car faster than those competitors that opted for only two. <em>Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>14</strong></td><td><strong>Kyle Busch</strong></td><td align=\"right\">60</td><td align=\"right\">8</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">The natural flow of Sunday&rsquo;s race guaranteed that the early spin would keep him from being able to record a decent finish. <em>Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr bgcolor=\"#ffffff\"><td align=\"center\"><strong>15</strong></td><td><strong>Aric Almirola</strong></td><td align=\"right\">58</td><td align=\"right\">NR</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\">It will be a while before Aric is considered a threat for anything, but sitting ninth in points after two races is a good start. <em>Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</em></td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Dropped Out</strong>: Danica Patrick (15), Ryan Newman (12) </td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Others Receiving Votes</strong>:&nbsp;Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (52), Jeff Burton (43), Ryan Newman (39), AJ Allmendinger (27), Marcos Ambrose (27), Martin Truex, Jr. (23), Juan Pablo Montoya (21), Kurt Busch (15), Joey Logano (14), Paul Menard (11), Casey Mears (6), J.J. Yeley (3), Danica Patrick (2), Bobby Labonte (1).</td></tr><tr><td colspan=\"4\"><strong>Who Voted</strong>: <a href=\"http://twitter.com/Critic84\">Phil Allaway, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/NASCARBowles\">Tom Bowles, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/KellyCrandall%22\">Kelly Crandall, SpeedwayMedia.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/dustinlong\">Dustin Long, Athlon Sports</a>; <a href=\"http://twitter.com/tonylumbis\">Tony Lumbis, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/MikeyMehedin\">Michael Mehedin, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/RaceTalkRadio\">Dennis Michelsen, RaceTalkRadio.com</a>; Brad Morgan, Frontstretch.com; <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/MNeffshorttracj\">Mike Neff, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/surfwax83\">Kevin Rutherford, Frontstretch.com</a>; <a href=\"http://www.twitter.com/jeffwolfe206\">Jeff Wolfe, Frontstretch.com</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>