Suite 16 Rankings- Atlanta
Suite 16 NASCAR Nextel Cup rankings after the Kobalt Tools 500
Every week, Suite 101 ranks the top 16 NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers based on results and performance.
1. (2) 48-Jimmie Johnson: Right now, it is Jimmie’s world and everyone else is just a resident.
2. (1) 17-Matt Kenseth: Trying to find a weakness in this team is like trying to find a strength in Michael Waltrip’s team.
3. (3) 20-Tony Stewart: A Tony Stewart/Jimmie Johnson duel at Bristol would be engrossing.
4. (5) 24-Jeff Gordon: Gordon is a step behind his teammate Johnson, but he is a step ahead of the rest of the competition.
5. (6) 31-Jeff Burton: Believe it or not, there are new-school fans that think Burton is up and coming. Where were they in the late 1990’s?
6. (7) 01-Mark Martin: Until the green flag waves at Bristol next week and Martin is not in that 01 Chevrolet, I am not convinced that he is going to give up the seat.
7. (4) 29-Kevin Harvick: Despite the brightness of his paint scheme, Harvick has been tough to spot ever since his Daytona 500 victory.
8. (12) 99-Carl Edwards: Other than Kenseth, Edwards is the strongest Ford driver.
9. (9) 11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin needs to get his cars handling as good as his lawnmower in the FedEx commercial.
10. (8) 5-Kyle Busch: The harder Kyle tries to win a race, the more things go wrong.
11. (11) 2-Kurt Busch: Man, it has been a year since Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick traded barbs. Something is bound to transpire between those two at Bristol.
12. (10) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr: Earnhardt Jr was overtly ticked with his crew after they botched a late-race adjustment costing him a top five finish. But shouldn’t they still be ticked with him for his slipshod pit road blunder last week?
13. (16) 07-Clint Bowyer: Bowyer has quietly entered the top ten in the Nextel Cup standings.
14. (NR) 42-Juan Pablo Montoya: If Jeff Gordon were driving for Chip Ganassi, Montoya would have taken him out.
15. (NR) 40-David Stremme: History has been made! Stremme has entered the Suite 16 for the first time in his career. I bet he is reading this commentary with endless pride.
16. (14) 12-Ryan Newman: He qualifies like two miles per hour faster than everyone else and had to start from the rear of the field. Will Newman’s bad luck ever end?
