Juan Pablo Montoya and Bobby Labonte fell out of the rankings while David Stremme and Martin Truex Jr joined the top 16.
1. (1) 24-Jeff Gordon- The more Jeff Gordon wins, the more the fans loathe him, especially the Earnhardt fans.
2. (2) 48-Jimmie Johnson- Jimmie Johnson hopes to turn his fortunes around at Richmond. He has had a pair of subpar finishes of 4th and 2nd. (sarcasm)
3. (3) 17-Matt Kenseth- Matt Kenseth just keeps hangin’ around.
4. (4) 31-Jeff Burton- Jeff Burton’s misfortune at Talladega was just a setback. He will be up front at Richmond.
5. (5) 11-Denny Hamlin- It doesn’t matter how many laps that Denny Hamlin leads, he finds a way not to win.
6. (6) 20-Tony Stewart- Say what you want about Tony Stewart, but the guy is a journalists' dream. There is always a story surrounding him.
7. (10) 29-Kevin Harvick- If controversy was a stat, then Kevin Harvick has fallen behind Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Juan Pablo Montoya.
8. (7) 5-Kyle Busch- It is safe to say that Kyle Busch is glad to get out of Talladega. It is good to see that he is okay after his pair of scary crashes.
9. (12) 26-Jamie McMurray- Many will argue that Jamie McMurray should have won that race. He was leading when David Reutimann blew his engine; however, NASCAR threw the caution after Jeff Gordon had passed him. Here come the conspiracy theorists, again.
10. (8) 99-Carl Edwards- True stat: Carl Edwards won 4 races in his first 49 Nextel Cup starts, but in his last 45 starts, he has yet to win.
11. (13) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr- It could be a tough year for Earnhardt nation. First, Jeff Gordon passes Dale Earnhardt on the NASCAR all-time win list, and now there is a possibility that Dale Earnhardt Jr could be driving a Ford in 2008.
12. (14) 2-Kurt Busch- I’m telling you, Penske Racing is on its way back up the NASCAR ladder. Both Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman have been fast the past several weeks; they just do not have the finishes to show it.
13. (9) 07-Clint Bowyer- After a solid start to the 2007 season, Clint Bowyer has faded a bit.
14. (NR) 40-David Stremme- David Stremme could be this year’s surprise guest in the Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship. A few months ago, we were wondering how much longer he would be employed.
15. (11) 01-Mark Martin- Mark Martin has missed three races yet he is still ahead of Martin Truex Jr, Bobby Labonte, Kasey Kahne, and Ryan Newman in the Nextel Cup standings.
16. (NR) 1-Martin Truex Jr- The 2006 Nextel Cup rookie class (Hamlin, Bowyer, Truex, Stremme, Yeley, Sorenson) as a whole has appeared even stronger than they did a year ago.
Past Suite 16 Rankings
UAW Daimler Chrysler 400, at Las Vegas
Goody's Orange Cool 500, at Martinsville
Subway Fresh Fit 500, at Phoenix
