NASCAR: IT'S GOOD TO SEE THE "3" BACK

It was all but official that Austin Dillon, grandson of the eponymous owner of Richard Childress Racing, would race with a “3” on the doors of his Chevrolet when he finally moved up to NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

On Wednesday, the “all-but” was dropped when RCR unveiled two new paint schemes, each of which carrying the car number made famous by the legendary Dale Earnhardt adorning the sides of each vehicle.

Once February rolls around and the engines are fired to start the 2014 Daytona 500 and kickoff a new year, it will be the first time since Earnhardt’s tragic accident on the final lap of the same race in 2001 that a No. 3 Chevy has competed in NASCAR’s top division.

It’s about time.

It’s been nearly 13 full years since the death of “The Intimidator” rocked the racing world. However, not even a decade and some change has been enough time to heal the wounds of those in the NASCAR world.

Because of that, many of Earnhardt’s fans are wary, even angry that Dillon will race with the car number that the legend from Kannapolis drove to six of his seven championships in what is now known as the Sprint Cup Series.

Some believe the number should be retired in honor of Earnhardt, to be a sort of memorial to the man and competitor that he was, never to ride again. Others believe that Dillon is unworthy of the number, being nothing more than simply a beneficiary of nepotism.

Both schools of thought believe that Childress and Dillon are tarnishing the legacy of one of the greatest drivers to ever live.

The former idea is somewhat understandable, though the latter is total hogwash.

The thing is, NASCAR doesn’t make a habit of retiring numbers. As in, it’s never happened before. The No. 43 of Richard Petty, “The King,” is still carried by the race team he owns today with AricAlmirola behind the wheel. Five of the six car numbers David Pearson won races with have been featured recently, the sixth being the first car number he ever won with: the No. 3.

Both of those men are alive today, so comparisons to Earnhardt aren’t exactly equal. But drivers like Neil Bonnett, Tim Richmond, Alan Kulwicki, Kenny Irwin Jr., Adam Petty, or the Allison brothers – all of whom died tragically – will never have their numbers forever shelved in their honor, either.

That’s not to say that retiring the No.3 isn’t sensible in some way. It’s just not something that should happen.

Those in NASCAR need to let the number go. Dale Earnhardt was bigger than that. The sport is bigger than that. NASCAR was built by moonshiners and no-nonsense tough guys – at least in tales of the past and in our imaginations, anyway. It wasn’t built by men and women who wasted time dwelling on the past.

That doesn’t mean history shouldn’t be honored, but to shelve something like a number which was used by so many – Pearson, Childress, Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Buck Baker, Fireball Roberts, and the list goes on –shouldn’t be metaphorically sat in corner as a memorial to be enjoyed from afar as it collects dust.

It should be allowed a future as well. The immediate future is Austin Dillon. And don’t say he isn’t qualified.

Yes, he is the grandson of Richard Childress, who has been involved with the No. 3 since 1976. Dillon’s bloodline is certainly a huge reason that he, as well as younger brother Ty, has a quality ride in NASCAR’s top three divisions.

But since when has a two-time NASCAR champion – he did win the 2011 Camping World Truck Series and 2013 Nationwide Series titles, after all – not been worthy of a ride in NASCAR?

No matter what your thinking is, I believe one thing: the best way to honor Dale Earnhardt and his number is to let the No.3 ride again. Letting it race to be enjoyed and cheered for on the track is the best way to pay homage to a man who competed as hard as anyone and had all sorts of noise – cheers, boos, and everything in between – thrown his way.

The legacy of the No. 3 should be allowed to continue and grow.

The legacy of Dale Earnhardt – the man, the racer – is untouchable.

Texas Tech Football: Roundtable Season Predictions

Talented and well-known bloggers are able to get analysts to predict the future when it comes to sports.

I get my buddies. 

A few days ago, we were sitting around some margaritas and decided to go through the Texas Tech schedule and predict every game. Here's what we came up with.

(Note: these picks were made before it was learned QB Michael Brewer would sit out to start the season)

Chris

Overall: 8-4

@ SMU: Win

Stephen F. Austin: Win

TCU: Win

Texas State: Win

@ Kansas: Win

Iowa State: Win

@ West Virginia: Win

@ Oklahoma: Loss

Oklahoma State: Loss

Kansas State: Loss

Baylor: Win

@ Texas: Loss

Dom

Overall: 8-4

@ SMU: Win

Stephen F. Austin: Win

TCU: Loss

Texas State: Win

@ Kansas: Win

Iowa State: Win

@ West Virginia: Win

@ Oklahoma: Loss

Oklahoma State: Loss

Kansas State: Win

Baylor: Win

@ Texas: Loss

Jordan (aka myself)

Overall: 7-5

@ SMU: Win

Stephen F. Austin: Win

TCU: Loss

Texas State: Win

@ Kansas: Win

Iowa State: Win

@ West Virginia: Win

@ Oklahoma: Loss

Oklahoma State: Loss

Kansas State: Win

Baylor: Loss

Texas: Loss

Kelly

Overall: 8-4

@ SMU: Win

Stephen F. Austin: Win

TCU: Win

Texas State: Win

@ Kansas: Win

Iowa State: Loss

@ West Virginia: Win

@ Oklahoma: Loss

Oklahoma State: Loss

Kansas State: Win

Baylor: Win

Texas: Loss

Rudy

Overall: 9-3

@ SMU: Win

Stephen F. Austin: Win

TCU: Win

Texas State: Win

@ Kansas: Win

Iowa State: Win

@ West Virginia: Win

@ Oklahoma: Loss

Oklahoma State: Loss

Kansas State: Win

Baylor: Win

Texas: Loss

Ryan

Overall: 8-4

@ SMU: Win

Stephen F. Austin: Win

TCU: Win

Texas State: Win

@ Kansas: Win

Iowa State: Win

@ West Virginia: Win

@ Oklahoma: Loss

Oklahoma State: Loss

Kansas State: Loss

Baylor: Win

Texas: Loss

NASCAR: Fans Should Get Behind The Chase, If Just For This Season

It's no secret that NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup is divisive amongst fans. 

It was designed as a twist on the playoffs held in stick-and-ball sports and was meant to ensure the title race ended dramatically each season, effectively grasping hold of the ever-diminishing attention span of NASCAR's audience. 

Instead, the implementation of the Chase has become yet another decision by NASCAR that has fragmented the fan base, with those who despise it arguably making up the vocal majority. 

Detractors believe that the Chase makes it too easy for teams that were middling during the regular season to suddenly contend for a title, cheapening the accomplishment. They argue it was more difficult to become a champion under a straight-up 36 race format, with drivers and teams having to be great for an entire year. 

Another argument is that it places too much emphasis on the championship itself, rather than on the individual races. Cheapened races, of course, would be solid reasoning for why attendance and ratings have sagged over the past few seasons. 

On the other hand, supporters of the Chase enjoy the drama it adds to the final ten races, as well as the added emphasis placed on the events that lead up to the ten-race shootout for the championship. The fall 400-miler at Richmond, the final race before the Chase begins, has become must-watch TV to witness who qualifies for the field of 12 drivers and who has to spend the rest of the season racing for pride. 

Defenders will argue that it's actually more difficult to win a championship in this format than in the old "straight-up" version; teams have to be near-perfect for ten weeks while competing against the theoretical 11 best teams in stock car auto racing. 

But no matter what side of the fence fans sit on, whether they love it, hate it, or are even — if this group even exists — completely indifferent towards it, each and (almost) every single one should be doing one thing: thanking their lucky stars that the Chase exists in 2013. 

Without NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup, the championship would already be over. 

(Full disclosure time: I myself am an avid supporter of the Chase — a word I'm getting as tired of typing as you probably are of reading.) 

Maybe it's presumptuous thinking, but there doesn't seem to be any way that Jimmie Johnson would lose the 75 point lead he's built up on the rest of the Sprint Cup field. 

Sure, it isn't inconceivable or wrong to believe that Johnson could relinquish his points lead; earlier this year in the Nationwide Series, Regan Smith saw a 58 point advantage all but disappear over a span of just two races after consecutive poor finishes. 

But this isn't the Nationwide Series, where a thin pool of true competition magnifies every accident and engine failure. This isn't Smith, a driver who has never won a championship in one of NASCAR's national touring series and who works for an organization (JR Motorsports) that is similarly without a championship. 

Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, and the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 team have won five championships together in the past. This season, they have been a well-oiled machine that has performed at a level well above the competition this year. 

With the points his team has scored, Johnson could simply top-15 his way to a sixth title with little-to-no resistance. Of course, with that group's mentality, it's assured that they aren't done loading up on top-5s, top-10s and wins, all in an attempt to step on the throats of their competition. 

Short of an injury or some other unforeseen circumstance, the trophy might as well have Jimmie Johnson's name on it. 

But it doesn't, thanks to the Chase. 

Instead, the only points Johnson gains that actually matter over the next six weeks are the three bonus points that he could earn for each win along the way. Once that time has passed, the points standings are shuffled and 11 other drivers are brought back to within striking distance, he will have to match his regular season performance and be the juggernaut that has terrorized the Sprint Cup Series to this point. 

Does the Chase mean that the No. 48 Chevrolet won't walk away with the title? Of course not. They have been the best the team this year and have positioned themselves as unquestioned favorites to win the trophy. 

It does, however, mean that they will have to fight tooth and nail for it, and fending off their very hungry competition won't be an easy task.

The Chase doesn't only benefit the title race. 

Consider that, in addition to the two drivers ranked between 11th and 20th with the most wins who qualify via the wild card, only ten drivers earn a spot in the Chase based on points. 

Now look at the drivers ranked eighth through 19th. They are separated by merely 45 points. 48 points is the maximum amount that can be earned in any given event. 

In other words, if Paul Menard (19th) were to win this weekend at Pocono and Greg Biffle (eighth) were to finish last with a blown engine, two drivers who are separated by ten other competitors could pass each other in the standings.

Now that happening is highly unlikely, but the fact that such an outcome is even possible at this point in the season is both remarkable and a little bit ridiculous.  

This traffic jam, centered around crucial positions in both the points and wild card races, makes things more than fun. That huge names like four-time champion Jeff Gordon and defending-champ Brad Keselowski are involved in this brawl-on-wheels just adds to the intrigue of the point race that is all but assured to build into a frantic night in Virginia when the Chase field is finally decided. Without the play-off, these drivers would be all but irrelevant. 

Then throw in other drivers with huge fan bases that are all but assured qualification into the Chase and a shot at the Sprint Cup — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, etc. — and there is reason for a lot of fans to be truly excited about the rest of the season.

Maybe that does cheapen the title. Maybe that does deemphasize the individual races. And maybe that does create an excitement that is nothing more than manufactured buzz. 

But in a year when one driver would otherwise be running away with the title and an entertaining race is shaping up amongst the guys in the middle, the often-maligned Chase for the Sprint Cup is buzz that racing fans could and should be more than accepting of, if just for this year alone. 

Unless of course they are Jimmie Johnson fans.

NASCAR: Chaselology — New Hampshire (Part 1)

The NASCAR season is, unbelievably, already at the halfway mark. With 18 races down, that means only eight races remain until the Chase for the Sprint Cup field is set and the championship race is truly on.

That means it's time to start evaluating each driver's chances of making NASCAR's playoffs, and to do so, I'm starting a little thing called "Chaseology." 

It's nothing special, simply a way to separate each driver into separate tiers and analyze what it will take for each driver to make the Chase, plus their chances of making noise once they get there. This will be (hopefully, with some self-butt kicking) done weekly, and the tiers will undoubtedly change as teams gain steam or fall apart at the seams. 

Given the high volume of drivers still in the hunt, I will spread my tiers over the course of a few days for these first couple of weeks. I'll be starting with drivers who I believe are pretty much assured a spot in the Chase. 

So, without any further babbling by myself, let's gets started.

<b>Mathematical Locks</b>

None. Yet.

<b>Virtual Locks (on points):</b>

<u>Jimmie Johnson</u>

Status: 4 wins; points rank: 1st, +165 points on 11th (3.4 races)

Last five finishes: 1st, 28th, 9th, 9th, 1st

Career at NHMS: 22 starts, 3 wins, 8 top fives, 15 top tens (last five finishes: 25th, 5th, 18th, 7th, 2nd)

Jimmie Johnson will be a part of the Chase, that much is certain. The only debate surrounding his Chase status is whether or not he'll win the whole thing. Johnson's last six races have been borderline ridiculous, with the No. 48 team leading 565 — or 44 percent — of the total laps run and accumulating two wins during that span. There is plenty of time for things to change and momentum to be gained or lost between now and September, when NASCAR's version of the playoffs begins. But if it began today, you have to wonder if the rest of the field would be merely battling for second place.

<u>Clint Bowyer</u>

Status: 0 wins; points rank: 2nd, +116 points on 11th (2.4 races)

Last five races: 15th, 7th, 5th, 3rd, 4th

Career at NHMS: 14 wins, 2 wins, 4 top fives, 6 top tens (last five finishes: 1st, 17th, 26th, 3rd, 4th)

Clint Bowyer has been extremely consistent over the past few months, with ten finishes of 11th of better in the last 13 races. With that in mind, his Chase eligibility is all but assured in 2013. Still, Bowyer has yet to win this season, which would hurt him if it began today. Luckily, it doesn't, and the Sprint Cup circuit is heading to a speedway where Bowyer has had a solid track record. A win there would be a great help to his championship aspirations.

<u>Carl Edwards</u>

Status: 1 win; points rank: 3rd, +94 points on 11th (1.9 races)

Last five races: 18th, 8th, 3rd, 21st, 29th

Career at NHMS: 17 starts, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 3 top tens (last five finishes: 11th, 13th, 8th, 18th, 19th)

Carl Edwards has found the going rough of late, with only two top-ten finishes in his seven previous starts. Don't expect that to change this week in Loudon, where he has been mediocre for his entire career. Still, he built up enough of a gap on 11th with his performance at the start of the season that he can simply top-20 his way to the Chase. That won't be enough for a championship; the No. 99 team needs to make some lengthy strides to become a legitimate title contender.

<u>Kevin Harvick</u>

Status: 2 wins; points rank: 4th, +92 points on 11th (1.9 races)

Last five finishes: 9th, 2nd, 10th, 10th, 3rd

Career at NHMS: 24 starts, 1 win, 5 top fives, 12 top tens (last five finishes: 5th, 21st, 12th, 8th, 11th)

I don't think I could have been more wrong about Kevin Harvick before the season began. Rather than struggling to earn a Chase spot due to their driver's status as a "lame duck," the No. 29 team has emerged as a legitimate threat to the Sprint Cup title. With nine top ten finishes in his last ten starts, Harvick has become the very model of consistency. Throw in the two wins earned during that same stretch and you have both of the ingredients needed for legitimate championship contender: the ability to run well every weekend and the ability close out races with a victory. It remains to be seen if the team manages to remain focused in spite of its' driver's impending departure. If they manage to perform in the Chase as they have through the season's first half, however, they won't just be participants in the Chase; Harvick and company might just win it.

<b>Virtual Locks (on wins):</b>

<b>Matt Kenseth</b>

Status : 4 wins; points rank: 6th, +47 points on 11th (1.0 races)

Last five finishes: 25th, 6th, 19th, 1st, 33rd

Career at NHMS: 26 starts, 0 wins, 5 top fives, 12 top tens (last five finishes: 23rd, 20th, 6th, 13th, 14th)

All you have to do is look at his last five finishes and you'll notice one thing: Matt Kenseth, once known as this era's Mr. Consistency, has fallen prey to the Joe Gibbs Racing way. In other words, while he's putting huge numbers — not the least of which being his four wins, a series high he shares with Johnson — he's also prone to mechanical failures and other odd anomalies that seem to strike that team. Kenseth's wins and strong performances on 1.5 mile ovals (which make up half of the Chase itself) are signs that he can and should be a contender for the championship. Well, as long as they can cut down on the number of poor finishes, anyway.

<b>Kyle Busch</b>

Status: 2 wins; points rank: 7th, +40 points on 11th (0.8 races)

Last five finishes: 6th, 4th, 35th, 5th, 12th

Career at NHMS: 16 stars, 1 win, 4 top fives, 6 top tens (last five finishes: 9th, 36th, 11th, 16th, 28th)

Basically everything written above about Kenseth can be copied and lasted here. Kyle Busch has 11 finishes of 12th or better this season. That would be excellent, if that stat wasn't paired with another one: he also has seven finishes of 23rd or worse, including five of 34th or worse. Like his JGR teammate, it's been feast or famine for Busch all season long. His talent alone makes him impossible to dismiss as a title contender once the Chase starts. However, until the No. 18 team cuts down on the poor finishes, it's equally as difficult to take them truly seriously as a championship threat.

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Talladega

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 2.40

2. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 3.18

3. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: 5.58

4. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 5.83

5. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 6.88

6. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 8.30

7. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 9.13

8. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 10.80

9. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 10.98

10. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 11.30

11. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 12.30

12. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 13.15

13. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 13.22

14. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 13.32

15. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 14.43

16. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 15.00

17. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 16.80

18. Regan Smith
Performance Rating: 17.02

19. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 17.38

20. Michael Waltrip
Performance Rating: 18.81

21. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 19.73

22. Brian Vickers
Performance Rating: 21.07

23. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 21.10

24. Trevor Bayne
Performance Rating: 22.11

25. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 22.22

26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 22.40

27. Terry Labonte
Performance Rating: 23.78

28. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 23.95

29. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 24.00

30. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 24.25

31. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 24.55

32. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 25.28

33. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 25.92

34. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 26.90

35. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 27.37

36. Elliott Sadler
Performance Rating: 28.28

37. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 29.60

38. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 29.66

39. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 30.33

40. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 31.80

41. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 34.48

42. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 35.80

43. Scott Speed
Performance Rating: 36.68

44. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 37.01

45. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 40.95


(Totally not confusing at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Richmond

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: -4.82

2. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 1.23

3. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 3.48

4. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 6.57

5. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 7.75

6. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 8.17

7. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 9.22

8. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 9.53

9. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 10.63

10. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 11.60

11. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 12.07

12. A.J. Allmendinger
Performance Rating: 12.27

13. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 13.97

14. Mark Martin
Performance Rating: 14.21

15. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 14.60

16. Brian Vickers
Performance Rating: 14.96

17. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 15.65

18. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 15.92

19. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 17.13

20. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 17.42

21. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 17.75

22. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 17.90

23. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 18.77

24. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 20.78

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 22.40

26. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 22.45

27. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 23.73

28. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 23.80

29. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 25.13

30. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 28.20

31. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 29.30

32. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 29.65

33. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 30.60

34. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 31.15

35. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 31.45

36. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 32.85

37. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 33.18

38. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 33.55

39. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 34.58

40. Timmy Hill
Performance Rating: 36.00

41. Brian Keselowski
Performance Rating: 41.00

42. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 41.33

43. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 41.75


(Totally not confising at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Kansas

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: -4.97

2. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: -0.03

3. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 0.81

4. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 4.07

5. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 4.61

6. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 4.70

7. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 5.60

8. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 9.98

9. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 10.45

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 10.50

11. Brian Vickers
Performance Rating: 11.75

12. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 12.15

13. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 13.30

14. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 13.83

15. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 14.37

16. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 16.72

17. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 17.13

18. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 17.33

19. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 18.52

20. Mark Martin
Performance Rating: 18.53

21. Regan Smith
Performance Rating: 19.36

22. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 19.78

23. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 20.10

24. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 23.10

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 23.80

26. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 24.20

27. Sam Hornish Jr.
Performance Rating: 24.23

28. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 24.75

29. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 24.80

30. Elliott Sadler
Performance Rating: 25.43

31. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 27.05

32. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 28.50

33. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 28.75

34. Timmy Hill
Performance Rating: 31.53

35. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 31.90

36. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 32.60

37. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 32.65

38. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 32.75

39. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 33.15

40. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 33.20

41. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 35.33

42. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 35.90

43. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 40.78

44. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 42.10

45. Scott Riggs
Performance Rating: 42.30


(Totally not confising at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Texas

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 0.65

2. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 1.70

3. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: 1.79

4. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 2.02

5. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 2.73

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 5.83

7. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 6.75

8. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 7.67

9. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 9.97

10. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 11.15

11. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 11.65

12. Brian Vickers
Performance Rating: 12.93

13. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 13.83

14. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 14.50

15. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 14.95

16. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 15.57

17. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 15.87

18. Mark Martin
Performance Rating: 18.71

19. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 18.83

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Performance Rating: 19.00

21. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 19.50

22. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 20.13

23. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 21.05

24. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 21.27

25. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 22.05

26. Trevor Bayne
Performance Rating: 23.28

27. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 24.20

28. Austin Dillon
Performance Rating: 25.30

29. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 25.77

30. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 26.70

31. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 27.61

32. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 28.75

33. Timmy Hill
Performance Rating: 30.0

34. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 30.35

35. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 30.35

36. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 30.60

37. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 31.70

38. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 33.00

39. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 34.53

40. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 35.15

41. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 35.33

42. Scott Speed
Performance Rating: 39.30

43. Scott Riggs
Performance Rating: 39.33

44. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 41.38

45. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 41.65


(Totally not confising at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Martinsville

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 0.30

2. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 0.50

3. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 4.10

4. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 6.02

5. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: 6.20

6. Brian Vickers
Performance Rating: 9.11

7. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 10.17

8. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 11.05

9. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 11.98

10. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 14.10

11. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 14.18

12. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 14.35

13. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 14.48

14. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 15.10

15. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 15.30

16. Mark Martin
Performance Rating: 15.92

17. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 15.97

18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 16.40

19. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 16.50

20. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 18.23

21. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 18.95

22. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 19.60

23. Regan Smith
Performance Rating: 20.43

24. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 20.57

25. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 22.20

26. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 23.50

27. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 24.67

28. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 26.30

29. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 26.93

30. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 27.55

31. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 27.58

32. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 28.50

33. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 28.70

34. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 30.15

35. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 31.50

36. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 32.05

37. Ken Schrader
Performance Rating: 33.10

38. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 33.55

39. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 34.38

40. Scott Speed
Performance Rating: 35.23

41. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 36.28

42. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 36.50

43. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 39.85

44. Scott Riggs
Performance Rating: 41.00


(Totally not confising at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Denny Hamlin Does Not Need To Race Until He Is Healthy Again

Probably the biggest piece of news to come from the fallout of Sunday's Auto Club 400 is the injury to perennial Chase contender Denny Hamlin.

As it turns out, Hamlin suffered a compression fracture to the L1 vertebra in his lower back as a result of his last-lap incident with heated rival Joey Logano. After the two made contact while racing for the lead, Hamlin slid down the track, hitting the inside retaining wall head-first at a point on the wall where the SAFER barrier was inconceivably absent.

He was able to leave the hospital Monday evening, though reportedly in some pain, leaving his status in a race car very much up in the air for the near future.

Later in the week Hamlin plans to meet with Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates for further evaluation. At that point we'll know more about Hamlin's status.

Until then, his availability is merely a subject of speculation. If he does end up missing time, his likely replacement would be Elliott Sadler, who currently drives full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing's Nationwide Series program.

Missed time would be a major blow to Hamlin's chances at making NASCAR's version of the playoffs, the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which he has never failed to qualify for during his career. Only the top ten drivers are automatically locked into the Chase after 26 races. The two drivers in the 11-20 range with the most wins are also selected as wild cards.

Currently, Hamlin ranks tenth, right on the edge of the Chase cutoff. Missing a race would certainly drop him out, though given the number of races remaining in the still-young season, the overall effect on his 2013 campaign would be arguable.

Of course, if he were to miss successive events, he would all but assuredly lose the 27 point margin he holds on 21st place driver Casey Mears, taking him — for the time being of course — out of contention for a wild card spot. If that's the case, Hamlin will be forced to fight tooth and nail just for a shot at a Chase spot as Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne did last season.

Now, none of that is to say that Hamlin should risk injury for the sake of a potential run at the championship this year. If he can't sit inside of his Toyota with at least a modicum of comfort, there's no reason at all for him to be in the race car. If he isn't cleared by doctors to race, then that becomes a moot point and he won't race anyway.

Safety should certainly be priority number one, as it was for Dale Earnhardt Jr. last fall when he sat out for two races after experiencing recurring symptoms of a concussion.

Hamlin is plenty young and talented enough to have several shots at a Sprint Cup title in his future. Saving one season at the potential expense of his long-term health should not even be a consideration.

There is, sadly, the reputation that drivers who take themselves out of a race car are soft. Lauded are the days when drivers would race with limbs practically falling off, or like in 1984 when Ricky Rudd drove the Daytona 500 with his eyes, swollen from a crash earlier in the week, taped open because he couldn't actually see otherwise.

Those moments showed toughness and bravery. However, to be honest, they also showed stupidity.

There's nothing soft about a driver admitting he can't race at a competent level with a broken back.

Luckily, NASCAR has an off weekend before heading to Martinsville Speedway, a tough little half-mile paperclip that coincidently happens to be one of Hamlin's best tracks. That's leaves a little extra time for Hamlin to heal, and thankfully to get a better reading on the long term effects of his injury.

If he can go, he becomes one of the drivers on the shortlist of favorites to win the race.

At this juncture that's a pretty big "if," and if his ability to drive a race car is still compromised, there are still paths JGR could take. One of those is to have a substitute driver on hand to take Hamlin's place after the race has already begun. For merely taking the green flag he would accrue whatever driver points were earned during the event.

Again, a likely candidate for that substitute would be Sadler. One major issue that arises would be the seat, which is molded to the driver for optimum comfort and safety. Given the two are built quite differently, this becomes an issue, especially given the seat will definitely need to be tailored to Hamlin to account for his injured back and keep it completely stable.

That's why — assuming he isn't completely comfortable inside of a stock car a week from now — the simplest, and safest course of action at this point in the game seems to be to just let Denny Hamlin sit for a couple of races. While doing so would certainly hurt his Chase chances, they wouldn't necessarily be doomed either thanks to wild card. If he wins a couple of races towards the end of the regular season, he will almost certainly be in contention for the wild card, his proximity to the 20th placed driver at the time being the determining factor.

He just needs to maximize the amount if time his body would be allowed to heal without enduring the stress of driving a race car. It would be the healthiest thing to do.

And, therefore, the most intelligent.

NASCAR: Paul Menard's Strong Start to 2013 Not Too Surprising.

There's an unusual face near the top of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. Or, at least, it seems unusual since this driver has never made a Chase for the Sprint Cup in his NASCAR career.

But the reality is that, in recent years, the top ten has been a relatively normal home for little-heralded Richard Childress Racing driver Paul Menard.

As long as we're talking about the first few races in a season, at least.

While Menard's current overall ranking of ninth might seem surprisng, the truth is he's been ranked among the top ten drivers after four races for four straight years.

No other driver, not even Jimmie Johnson, can say that.

As a guy, Menard tends to be laid back and rather unexcitable. When he won his lone Cup Series victory, the 2011 Brickyard 400, it was arguably one of the more chill victory lane celebrations in NASCAR history.

That demeanor is mirrored out on the track. While he's far from flashy, he rarely finds himself in trouble, either. He's a virtual lock to finish inside the top 20 every single week.

Menard isn't likely to elicit pit road speeding penalties in consecutive weeks like Kyle Busch has the last two races. He certainly won't be found getting into Twitter tiffs with his competitors like former teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano did after Bristol.

The bad news, however, is that if history repeats itself for a fourth time, Menard isn't likely to hang around the top ten for much longer.

His average final points finish during his streak is 18.7, including a career-best mark of 16th in 2012.

Still, in spite of that, Menard's consistently solid starts over the last few years deserve mention. Now he simply needs to translate his knack for starting strong into a season-long affair.

It's far too early to tell if a Chase run is likely or not. The upcoming race at Auto Club Speedway could be a possible sign one way or another.

The two-mile oval in Fontana, California is statistically one of Menard's worst tracks; he's never finished better than 18th there and he has a lower career average finish at only two other places: Loudon, New Hampshire and Richmond, Virginia.

If he can manage a career-best finish there — and certainly if he could perform like teammate Kevin Harvick, who has four straight finishes of seventh or better including a 2011 win at Fontana — then we can certainly take him seriously as a dark horse threat for a spot in the Chase.

Until then, Paul Menard's solid start to 2013 isn't much more than that: a solid start that makes for interesting trivia and is impressive in and of itself, but won't figure into the overall storyline of the season unless he finds improvement going forward.

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Fontana

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 1.90

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 5.07

3. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 6.05

4. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 6.27

5. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 7.88

6. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: 10.28

7. Mark Martin
Performance Rating: 10.59

8. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 10.76

9. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 10.97

10. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 11.10

11. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 12.10

12. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 13.20

13. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 13.98

14. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 14.02

15. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 14.25

16. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 14.75

17. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 16.82

18. Denny Hamlin
Performance Rating: 16.88

19. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 17.13

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 20.20

21. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 20.30

22. A.J. Allmendinger
Performance Rating: 20.30

23. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 20.50

24. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 21.28

25. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 21.37

26. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 22.75

27. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 22.90

28. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 26.48

29. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 26.50

30. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 28.10

31. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 28.18

32. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 28.98

33. Timmy Hill
Performance Rating: 29.00

34. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 29.73

35. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 30.35

36. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 31.18

37. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 31.45

38. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 33.45

39. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 34.95

40. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 35.65

41. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 36.73

42. Scott Riggs
Performance Rating: 40.23

43. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 40.78


(Totally not confising at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Food City 500 Recap

A True Contender

The easiest trap to fall into becoming a prisoner of the moment.

That especially applies to the analyzation of sports, where whoever wins today is now suddenly the best team or player, the best the best the sport has to offer. Even the most recent of history can be thrown out in the interest of praising the shiny the new thing.

But there's a reason I picked Kasey Kahne as the next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion: because I like the dude's talent, his level-headedness, and the combination of crew chief Kenny Francis and Hendrick Motorsports equipment.

He put all of that on showcase Sunday, blowing past Brad Keselowski on the final restart and then pulling away from Kyle Busch over the closing 40 laps to score his first victory at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The win, coming one week after a runner-up effort at Las Vegas, propelled Kahne to seventh in the points standings. He ranked 32nd after four races last season.

What a difference a year makes.

Now, instead of having to play catch-up as he did for much of his inaugural year with Hendrick Motorsports, Kahne is in the thick of the Chase hunt from the get-go.

Sure, it's far, far too early to start punching tickets for NASCAR's version of a post-season just yet.

But the season is getting to that point where we find what kind of strength each team has.

The power Kahne has shown the last two weeks has to be scary for the competition.


Not Exactly Old Bristol, But Definitely Exciting Bristol

Anyone who complains about a boring Food City 500 was obviously not watching the same race I was.

No, the cars weren't lined up in a single file conveyer belt as they were in years past at the high-banked half-mile before the track was reconfigured with progressive banking in 2007.

Since then, many NASCAR fans have screamed to the heavens that racing at the beloved facility — which had the tendency to produce three-wide battles with the new surface at the expense of beating, banging , wrecking, and the hot tempers that made the bullring famous — was ruined forever, prompting track owner Bruton Smith to grind down the upper lanes of the track during the summer of 2012. In theory this was supposed to narrow the racing groove, forcing cars back to the bottom where they would have to push and lean on each other more.

Interestingly, grinding the surface didn't have the intended effect, but in spite of that, the racing at Bristol might be as entertaining as it ever was.

Rather than taking away the top groove, where drivers have had a decided advantage over the past couple of years, up against the wall became the only groove where speed could be made. This meant the only method of passing was for drivers to dive-bomb into the turn and hope that the car stuck and the car being passed was willing to concede the position.

When this move failed, it lead to side by side racing, with bottom car sliding around and struggling for grip as the car on the outside fought like hell to hold into his position.

And when the leaders caught lapped traffic, all bets were off as they went two and three wide to try to find grip with the competition closing in on them.

And the tempers are back, too. Last August, Tony Stewart threw his helmet at Matt Kenseth's car after the two wrecked each other while racing for the lead.

On Sunday, Denny Hamlin wrecked former teammate Joey Logano. Logano, who had gotten into a brief Twitter spat with Hamlin after the Daytona 500, met the driver of the No.11 Toyota in the infield to discuss things. Things got heated and the two were finally separated.

Bristol's back, baby. Sure, the racing isn't exactly the same as it was in years past.

But that old attitude is as existent as ever.


Bad Blood

The ever growing riff between Hamlin and Logano is actually pretty intriguing. Partly because of their history as teammates. Also partly because their presence in social media such as Twitter.

But mostly because both were very competitive today.

The on-track altercation happened while the two were racing for second place. While Logano isn't necessarily a familiar face up front, he is a former race winner who showcased the potential speed his new team at Penske possesses on Sunday.

If they continue to race around each other as the season progresses, things could get very interesting.

Martinsville is only two weeks away. Payback could be on the horizon.

Stay tuned.


See also: Kyle Larson is the Real Deal

NASCAR: Kyle Larson is the Real Deal

To steal the tag from the current line of Samsung Galaxy commercials, "The next big thing is here."

And it's name is Kyle Larson.

Two weeks ago at Phoenix, we had the pleasure of watching him race with Jimmie Johnson — who was making a rare appearance on the Nationwide tour — for much of the race.

Yes, it was a battle for 13th place, a type of fight that rarely carries any more meaning than simply two drivers with average cars trying their hardest to gain every spot possible.

But in that rare case, it was a potentially prophetic moment as the current five-time Sprint Cup Series champion fought tooth and nail with the 20-year-old up-and-comer who has been the subject of much praise from current stars such as Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

The battle was eventually won by Johnson, but not before the usually cool-head champion threw a major I'm-tired-of-this-crap block on Larson, who had up to then managed to go toe-to-toe with the champ undaunted.

Now, to say Larson was "intimidating" Johnson would certainly be too strongly worded, not to mention that it would draw unfortunate comparisons that Larson is far from deserving of at this point.

But Larson's persistence was certainly bugging the champ, compounding the frustration he was understandably already feeling with a car that wasn't handling like he would have wanted.

Despite that jarring end, it was still an incredible race to watch, fought between decorated veteran and talented rookie; the now, and what's to come.

And by all indications, Larson is coming soon.

If his star isn't already illuminated enough, it became even brighter with his performance at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bristol is a high-banked, half-mile circuit known for, like many short tracks, chewing up inexperienced drivers and spitting them out. And like every track, there always seems to be a driver who has the place mastered.

That master is Kyle Busch, who has amassed 13 victories at the facility across NASCAR's three national touring series.

And of course on Saturday, it was Busch, also the Nationwide Series' all-time wins leader, who stood between Larson and his first ever victory in NASCAR's top three divisions.

That's the epitome of a daunting task, having to run down Kyle Busch at a race track where he seems to be most at home, and having to do so with limited time and slow cars that worked like moving chicanes blocking the path.

But after making a rookie mistake by running over a lapped car and possibly compromising his right front tire, Larson began to settle in and settle down.

The "rookie" began patiently searching around the race track for more speed, moving higher and higher up, into a groove where few drivers were daring to go.

And as the laps wound down and the two combatants weaved through lapped traffic, Larson began edging closer and closer.

Coming that white flag, he was on Busch's bumper.

In the final corner, Busch made a calculated gamble by running the lesser-preferred low line, hoping to avoid oncoming lapped traffic. This gave Larson an opening, as they drove off of turn four, he was there beside Busch.

The two bounced off of each other, the wall, off each other again.

At the line, Larson came up short by a nose.

While Busch was headed to victory lane, Larson was forced to settle for second. But in his defeat, he turned many heads and confirmed the beliefs of many who think he has the talent to become one of the biggest stars in NASCAR.

So while Kyle Busch won the day, it was Kyle Larson who stole the spotlight.

That light is expected to shine on him for quite some time.

NASCAR: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Off to a Solid Start in his Rookie Season

We're only three races into the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. To analyze anyone's year to date, positively or negatively, would be nothing more than premature overreaction.

That said, any time a driver can say they are eligible for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is a good thing.

And, with a current ranking of 11th in the overall points standings, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. can say that.

While his finishes to-date of 12th, 16th and 18th don't look like much at first glance, the truth is that scoring three top-20's to begin a maiden voyage on the Sprint Cup Circuit is at worst solid.

Look at Brad Keselowski, the reigning champion. His first three starts in 2010 — his first full season at Penske Racing — started off with finishes of 36th, 21st, and 26th.

A driver who had a high profile similar to Stenhouse's entering his rookie season was Joey Logano. Logano began his tenure in the No. 20 with finishes of 43rd, 26th, and 13th.

And if you're someone who prefers to live in the here and now, look at perennial Chase contenders like Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick and how they have started 2013.

Each is ranked lower than Stenhouse in the standings. While the driver of Roush-Fenway Racing's No. 17 Ford hasn't finished worse than 18th yet, the five drivers listed above have combined for eight finishes of 19th or worse.

Finally, look at his Rookie of the Year competition, Danica Patrick. Despite an impressive eighth place run in the season opening Daytona 500, subsequent runs of 39th and 33rd leave her 30th in the overall points standings.

Safe to say, every single driver named would like to be where Stenhouse currently sits.

But now that he has a solid foundation, it's time to start building on it. And the going won't be getting any easier.

During his time in in the Nationwide Series — in which he won two series championships — he never won at the two tracks coming up on the Sprint Cup schedule: Tennessee's Bristol Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

However, during the 2012 year, he never finished worse than sixth at each track, with a runner-up finish in his last visit to each facility. So he certainly knows how to race each speedway.

One place he doesn't know how to get around is Martinsville Speedway, which is where the series heads after the stops at Bristol and Fontana. He's never raced on the half-mile paperclip before, and the track has a knack for chewing up rookies and spitting them out.

Once he makes it through the upcoming three-race stretch, the Sprint Cup Series will be at the approximate one-quarter mark of the regular season. At that point, we'll have a better understanding of where Ricky Stenhouse Jr. stands among the best that stock car racing has to offer.

But he's laid down a solid foundation for himself, with plenty of room to build. And there's definitely some good to be said of that.

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Bristol

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 2.08

2. Brian Vickers
Performance Rating: 6.71

3. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: 7.07

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 7.10

5. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 7.53

6. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 8.00

7. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 8.40

8. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 9.18

9. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 9.42

10. Denny Hamlin
Performance Rating: 9.95

11. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 10.88

12. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 12.57

13. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 12.78

14. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 13.18

15. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 13.75

16. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 16.42

17. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 17.15

18. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 17.30

19. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 18.32

20. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 18.38

21. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 18.43

22. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 18.53

23. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 19.65

24. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 19.72

25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 21.20

26. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 22.70

27. Terry Labonte
Performance Rating: 23.85

28. A.J. Allmendinger
Performance Rating: 24.45

29. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 24.90

30. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 25.70

31. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 27.30

32. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 27.35

33. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 27.57

34. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 27.83

35. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 31.35

36. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 31.88

37. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 31.95

38. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 33.05

39. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 34.05

40. Scott Speed
Performance Rating: 35.08

41. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 38.18

42. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 38.65

43. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 38.93

44. Scott Riggs
Performance Rating: 42.05


(Totally not confising at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Las Vegas

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 3.73

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 5.22

3. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 5.75

4. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 5.80

5. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 7.58

6. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 8.23

7. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 8.78

8. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 9.38

9. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: 10.12

10. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 10.70

11. Denny Hamlin
Performance Rating: 10.97

12. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 14.12

13. Mark Martin
Performance Rating: 14.35

14. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 15.18

15. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 15.22

16. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 17.18

17. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 17.33

18. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 17.37

19. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 17.72

20. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 18.01

21. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 18.23

22. Trevor Bayne
Performance Rating: 21.46

23. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 21.50

24. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 21.97

25. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 22.07

26. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 22.13

27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 22.30

28. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 23.20

29. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 24.17

30. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 24.78

31. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 26.17

32. Austin Dillon
Performance Rating: 27.00

33. Scott Speed
Performance Rating: 28.85

34. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 29.43

35. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 30.28

36. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 30.33

37. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 30.50

38. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 31.00

39. Ken Schrader
Performance Rating: 33.18

40. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 33.20

41. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 33.70

42. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 38.23

43. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 38.38

44. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 38.95


(Totally not confising at all) Explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript R = last five races
Subscript U = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_R * 3 +Avg_T ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_R * 3 - F_R / 2 - U_R / 2 - W_T - F_T / 6 - U_T / 6

NASCAR: Subway Fresh Fit 500 Recap

"We're back!"

Auto racing can be a humbling sport. It can build you up seemingly overnight and tear you down even quicker.

Danica Patrick experienced that firsthand on Sunday. She blew a tire, experienced a hard wreck, and finished 39th one week after becoming the first woman in history to lead laps in the Daytona 500.

In the opposite sense, the sport can also be wholly rewarding for perseverance through trying times.

If 2012 was a terrible year for Carl Edwards, then his start to 2013 was downright hellish.

He wrecked a total of five cars during the NASCAR Cup Series' visit to Daytona International Speedway, including one during the Daytona 500, relegating him to a frustrating 33rd place finish.

These struggles are undoubtedly part of why Edwards considered Sunday's victory at Phoenix International Raceway, in his own words, "One of the coolest wins of my life."

It has indeed been a while since Edwards last visited victory lane in a Cup car — March 6, 2011 at Las Vegas to be more specific.

After losing the 2011 title to Tony Stewart on a tiebreaker, Edwards floundered for most of 2012, finishing the year ranked an irrelevant 15th — that whole tearing you back down thing mentioned earlier.

Now Edwards believes his win at Phoenix is a return to title contending form for the No.99 team.

"I'm telling you, we're back," Edwards said in victory lane. "This is gonna be good."

He also acknowledged how difficult the past year-and-some-change has been.

"Whatever it is you're doing out there, don't lose hope. You just keep digging and things can work out."

Only time will tell if Edwards is truly back.

But if Sunday's win was any indication of things to come, and if he keeps on digging as hard as he has been, then you can only imagine that he'll be just fine.


Still Some Work to be Done

The hype behind the new Gen-6 race car promised many things, among those being increased side by side racing.

So far, it hasn't quite lived up to its lofty expectations.

One week ago at Daytona drivers spent much of the race treating it as a single file parade. One week later, several drivers felt frustrated with a seeming difficulty to pass.

"I hate to be 'Denny Downer' but i just didn't pass that many cars today," Denny Hamlin told the media after the race. "That's the realistic fact of it.

"You look and we started 40-something and finished third and you think we just motored through the pack. And that's just not the case of what happened."

Just as it was silly to pass judgement on the new car after one restrictor plate race, it's silly now to judge the Gen-6 car after an event at a track that has a reputation as a tough place to pass.

But you have to wonder just how real the expectations really were for a car that was supposed to bring fans back to the sport with both good looks and impressive race-ability.

While its delivered to an extent on the former, the car has certainly stumbled out of the gate on the latter.

That's not to say it was a terrible race. The finish was quite exciting. There were several good battles throughout the field at different points in the event.

It's just that it looked like a typical Phoenix race with the "old" Car of Tomorrow. And given fans' opinions of the beleaguered COT, that's not exactly a compliment.


Hot Start for a Big Three

Three drivers have started off 2013 with two top-five finishes.

Daytona 500 winner and five-time champion Jimmie Johnson is one of them. Defending champion Brad Keselowski is another. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the third.

There are six-of-the-last seven championships and a gazillion Most Popular Driver awards represented in within that trio.

In other words, arguably the sport's three biggest stars are currently your top three in points. NASCAR has to be thrilled that three drivers who are both equally recognizable and polarizing are running so well out of the gate.

While Johnson and Keselowski are proven champions and should be expected to stick around, it will be interesting to see how much progress Earnhardt's No.88 team has made.

Phoenix has been a terrible track for Earnhardt the past few seasons, so to lead laps and finish fifth as he did on Sunday has to be a major confidence booster to this team.

If these three are among your title contenders throughout the 2013 season, we're in for a fun year, rather the Gen-6 car pans out or not.


Phoenix Rising

No, I'm not talking about the racetrack. I'm talking about the race team, Phoenix Racing.

After a seventh place run at Daytona with Regan Smith in the car, AJ Allmendinger brought the No.51 home in 11th.

That means that owner James Finch's team ranks sixth in owners points. Not bad for a group that doesn't even know what their schedule looks like after March.

Despite being underfunded, these boys are brining it.

NASCAR: Power Rankings — Phoenix

Most power rankings are not scientific.

Mine are. Kind of.

Using an arbitrary formula I've come up with that combines both the statistics of the Sprint Cup series' previous five races and the series' previous five races at the upcoming track, I determine the strongest drivers heading into the upcoming weekend's NASCAR event.

It also doubles as a decent fantasy tool, if you decide you enjoy these rankings. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Here is how the drivers on this week's entry list rank:


1. Jimmie Johnson
Performance Rating: 0.55

2. Ryan Newman
Performance Rating: 2.96

3. Greg Biffle
Performance Rating: 4.22

4. Kyle Busch
Performance Rating: 5.07

5. Brad Keselowski
Performance Rating: 5.75

6. Kevin Harvick
Performance Rating: 8.23

7. Jeff Gordon
Performance Rating: 8.90

8. Clint Bowyer
Performance Rating: 10.93

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Performance Rating: 11.13

10. Kurt Busch
Performance Rating: 11.30

11. Aric Almirola
Performance Rating: 11.33

12. Mark Martin
Performance Rating: 11.67

13. Denny Hamlin
Performance Rating: 13.18

14. Kasey Kahne
Performance Rating: 13.27

15. Carl Edwards
Performance Rating: 14.78

16. Matt Kenseth
Performance Rating: 15.88

17. Paul Menard
Performance Rating: 15.92

18. Danica Patrick
Performance Rating: 15.98

19. Joey Logano
Performance Rating: 16.75

20. Bobby Labonte
Performance Rating: 18.70

21. Tony Stewart
Performance Rating: 18.75

22. Jeff Burton
Performance Rating: 19.87

23. Marcos Ambrose
Performance Rating: 20.38

24. Martin Truex Jr.
Performance Rating: 20.63

25. Jamie McMurray
Performance Rating: 22.43

26. Juan Pablo Montoya
Performance Rating: 23.60

27. Casey Mears
Performance Rating: 25.35

28. Travis Kvapil
Performance Rating: 26.50

29. Landon Cassill
Performance Rating: 26.50

30. A.J. Allmendinger
Performance Rating: 27.62

31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Performance Rating: 28.70

32. J.J. Yeley
Performance Rating: 28.88

33. Dave Blaney
Performance Rating: 30.10

34. David Reutimann
Performance Rating: 30.36

35. Scott Speed
Performance Rating: 30.43

36. David Ragan
Performance Rating: 30.55

37. Ken Schrader
Performance Rating: 30.80

38. David Gilliland
Performance Rating: 33.55

39. David Stremme
Performance Rating: 33.90

40. Michael McDowell
Performance Rating: 34.38(withdrew)

41. Josh Wise
Performance Rating: 38.18

42. Mike Bliss
Performance Rating: 39.65

43. Scott Riggs
Performance Rating: 40.33

44. Joe Nemechek
Performance Rating: 40.80


The (totally not confusing at all) explanation of the performance rating (PR):

Avg = average finish
Subscript r = last five races
Subscript t = last five races at upcoming track

X = ( Avg_r * 3 +Avg_t ) / 4

W = wins
F = Top-fives
T = Top-tens

PR = X - W_r * 3 - F_r / 2 - T_r / 2 - W_t - F_t / 6 - T_t / 6