Power 10 For Atlanta, Mar. 9, 2008

What a week! There have been hearings on penalties and a varied result from those hearings. Most of them, too, having to do with oil caps, of all things! The most notable being the excessive penalties to Carl Edwards and the reversal of the penalties to Robbie Gordon.

Now we move to Atlanta. This track in the middle of NASCAR country is known for some exciting racing and finishes. This week should be no different. So, here is this week’s Power 10 ranking.

1) Carl Edwards. There, that didn’t take much bravery, did it? Carl, oil caps aside, is on a hot streak. He has won the past two events and would be leading the points, were it not for a heavy handed NASCAR. Atlanta is a track where Edwards always does well. He got his first Cup win there, sweeping the track in his rookie year of 2005. He is familiar with the top five there, so this week should be an exclamation point to those who think he used the oil cap to cheat his way to victory.

2) Jimmie Johnson. Defending Cup champ. Defending race champ. Twice. Each. Jimmie will continue to be a top ten pick. His team is strong and he runs well at Atlanta. It is only a matter of time before they return to their championship form.

3) Jeff Gordon. Here is another driver who knows his way around Atlanta. He showed that yesterday by winning the pole. He will factor heavily into the race this week.

4) Kevin Harvick. Who can forget Harvick’s win at Atlanta the week after the racing world lost Dale Earnhardt? This is a track that Harvick looks forward to running. RCR still has some work to do in the engine department, but Harvick’s knowledge of the track will compensate for a few lost ponies.

5) Kyle Busch. As strong as Kyle has run this year, it is only a matter of time before he finds victory lane. He is an aggressive driver who makes things happen, good or bad. So, he will continue to run up front, looking for an opportunity to make a victory happen.

6) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. This is one track that Junior runs well at. Since Speedweeks, he has come up short, maybe even failing to meet expectations. This track could change that. And, he’s on the outside pole.

7) Matt Kenseth. Matt is running strong this season. He is helping to show that Roush is revitalized and caught up. Look for Matt to have another strong finish.

8 ) Tony Stewart. Tony, like Kyle, is just on the outside of finding Victory Lane. After a couple of disappointing weeks, look for Tony to get back to the stride he was hitting at Speedweeks.

9) Mark Martin. Here is the “dark horse” for the week. Mark runs very well at Atlanta. His only drawback is that DEI has not been overly impressive this season. Mark, like Harvick, should be able to compensate for that.

10) Kasey Kahne. The lone Dodge for this week will be a strong running, resurgent, Kahne. He is having a consistent year, and should continue at Atlanta.

Again, there will be several drivers who will run well. The winner may well come from outside my top ten. Drivers such as Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex, Jr. and Bobby Labonte, among others, could well find themselves in Winner’s Circle by the time it’s over. The only certain thing, though, is that it will be an exciting race.

Cinch up those belts and let’s go racing. JR