After winning at Dover International Speedway in dominating fashion, Jimmie Johnson has proven that he will be a major threat to retake his throne as Sprint Cup champion.

This was Johnson’s second win of the season, not including his victory in the All-Star race. He has been dominate the past month, along with the rest of Hendrick Motorsports, which is something the competition should be scared of. This weekend the Sprint Cup Series will be heading off to Pocono, but before they do let’s take a look at this week’s power rankings.

1. Jimmie Johnson–  If Johnson ended his mini drought this season wearing that wig all weekend, I don’t think he would have taken it off for the rest of the season. The best part of the whole wig thing was seeing it on the Miles the monster trophy. Johnson is heading into Pocono with the best average finish among active drivers, which will make him a threat to win another race this weekend. Last week: 3

2. Matt Kenseth– He is only one point away from being the Sprint Cup points leader, which doesn’t mean too much with the emphasis put on wins when the chase starts. However, it is a good indication on how consistent Kenseth has been all season. He was not in contention to win the entire race but stayed in the top 5 for most of it. Pocono is not one of his best tracks on the circuit, but lucky for him and the rest of NASCAR nation, Pocono is not in the chase. Last week: 2

3. Greg Biffle– It was a disappointing race for Biffle who usually runs strong at the Monster Mile. Considering he has run well on every other track this year, I figured he would be a contender for the win at Dover. He does maintain his points lead over his teammate as we head into a stretch of the season that has been a struggle for Biffle in his career. Last week: 1

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.- Junior had the same week that he has been having this whole season. Consistently runs in the top 10, but is still just a tick off from getting his into victory lane. A solid fourth-place finish gives him 10 top 10’s so far this season which leads all drivers. He is also the only driver to finish on the lead lap every race this season. Last week: 5

5. Kasey Kahne– After not qualifying in the top 10 for the first time since Daytona, Kahne followed up his win at Charlotte with a ninth place finish at Dover. He hovered around the back end of the top 10 for most of the race and was never a factor for the race win. However, with another solid finish he is getting closer to reaching the top 10 in points. He is only one point behind Ryan Newman for the final wild card spot, but to be considered safe, Kahne needs to get into the top 10 or win another race. Last week: 4

6. Martin Truex Jr.– The New Jersey native was overshadowed by his little brother Ryan Truex after he nearly won the Nationwide Series race on Saturday before lapped traffic got in the way with 5 laps to go. That had to be more disappointing for the Truex family than earlier this year when Truex Jr. lost the Kansas race late after having the dominate car. Last week: 9

7. Brad Keselowski– Brad K seems like a driver who either wins the race or runs mediocre. Not a good formula for winning the championship, but the fact that he can win races shows he has the talent to win a championship in the future. He won the race last year at Pocono. Last week: 8

8. Denny Hamlin– The FedEx driver has even said himself that he doesn’t like Dover. I can see why after he had another dismal finish. However, Hamlin said before the race that if he could finish in the top 20 he would consider the day a success. Come chase time, a top 20 might not be good enough to win a championship. Last week: 6

9. Kyle Busch– Before his engine blew up he had a top 5 car. A pit penalty put him in the back midway through the race and he seemed stuck in traffic before the engine let go. Last week: 7

10. Kevin Harvick– He came the closest to passing Johnson on the last restart of the race but was no match for the five-time champ. RCR has been struggling this season to find some speed, but Harvick has been a few steps ahead of his teammates every week. Halfway to the chase and the case can still be made whether or not Harvick will be a threat for this year’s championship. Last week: 12

11. Jeff Gordon– The only driver who was capable of beating Johnson yesterday was Gordon. When he passed him on lap 211 to take the lead it was clear that he was going to be the driver to beat. Unfortunately for Gordon, his crew let him down when they had a loose tire after green flag pit stops. He rallied to finish 13th, but Gordon has to be wondering what could have been at Dover. Last week: 11

12. Carl Edwards– I still think he is taking the Tony Stewart strategy by barely making the chase and then winning half the races at the end to claim the championship. On a more serious note, Edwards has not won a race over a year now and seems to have the struggles that his teammate Biffle had last year. He sits 11th in points and only has two top fives through 13 races. Last week: 10

Shout outs–  Give a hand to the RPM guys of Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola for their top 10 finishes at Dover. This organization seems to be turning the corner and hopefully these guys can keep it up.

 

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