NASCAR Week 7 Power Rankings

By Ryan Pritt

NASCAR Week 7 Power Rankings

NASCAR Power Rankings Martinsville — Denny Hamlin catapulted himself back into the power rankings with a win on Sunday at Martinsville, while Jeff Gordon makes it a perfect four-for-four in terms of Hendrick Motorsports cars in the list. Meanwhile, the top three stayed entrenched yet again this week.

10. Jeff Gordon

NASCAR Week 7 Power Rankings Jeff Gordon

10. Jeff Gordon

NASCAR Week 7 Power Rankings Jeff Gordon — A late pit-road speeding penalty kept Jeff Gordon from a win on Sunday, but his furious sprint back to ninth before the checkered flag waved was very impressive. He's had one of the fastest cars over the past couple of weeks, and is poised to join the winners list. Gordon was a winner at Texas in the spring of 2009, and has 12 top-10s and nine top-fives in 28 races.

9. Kasey Kahne

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Kasey Kahne

9. Kasey Kahne

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Kasey Kahne — This week saw another solid, not-great effort from Kasey Kahne, who finished 11th at Martinsville on Sunday. His consistency has him fifth in points, firmly in the Chase with some of his best tracks coming up. Kahne is a threat at any 1.5-mile track, and picked up a win at Texas way back in the spring of 2006. He has six top-10s and five top-fives in 21 tries there.

8. Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Jimmie Johnson

8. Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Jimmie Johnson — After his win at Atlanta in the season's second race, it has been a struggle for Jimmie Johnson, who was amazingly never a factor at Martinsville on Sunday, where he finished 35th. That win has Johnson's ticket punched for the Chase, but the six-time champ needs to get some momentum going. Texas is as good a place as any as Johnson has four wins, 11 top-fives and 17 top-10s in 23 races.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Johnson's teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran into his own fair share of problems on Sunday, finishing 36th after a crash. After a fast start, Junior has fallen all the way back into a tie for eighth in points. Junior won his first race at Texas back in 2000 and has four top-fives and 14 top-10s in 25 races there.

6. Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Denny Hamlin

6. Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Denny Hamlin — Denny Hamlin showed more speed than he's had in a long time and most importantly, held off Brad Keselowski on the last lap for a win and a berth into the Chase. He will try to build on that momentum at a track he's had plenty of success at. He owns two wins, five top-fives and 10 top-10s in 18 races at Texas.

5. Matt Kenseth

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Matt Kenseth

5. Matt Kenseth

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Matt Kenseth — Matt Kenseth led some laps and came home fourth on Sunday, another solid run for the No. 20 team. Add Kenseth's name beside Gordon's on the short list of soon-to-be winners. Texas is among Kenseth's best tracks as he has a pair of wins, 13 top-fives and 17 top-10s in his 25 tries there.

4. Brad Keselowski

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Brad Keselowski

4. Brad Keselowski

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Brad Keselowski — At two of his worst tracks over the past couple of weeks (Auto Club and Martinsville), Brad Keselowski has picked up a win and a second-place finish. Not too shabby. What might Keselowski have in store when the circuit gets to some of his better tracks? He has just two top-fives and four top-10s in 13 races at Texas.

3. Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Martin Truex Jr.

3. Martin Truex Jr.

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Martin Truex Jr. — There are hardly any adjectives left to describe Martin Truex's season so far, but one fact is clear: he's not going anywhere. He earned another top-10 with a sixth at Martinsville, making him a perfect six-for-six for the season. At this point, his past statistics seem meaningless. But for what it's worth, he has two top-fives and eight top-10s at Texas in 19 races.

2. Joey Logano

NASCAR Week 7 Power Rankings Joey Logano

2. Joey Logano

NASCAR Week 7 Power Rankings Joey Logano — Joey Logano overcame a spin and raced all the way back to third, missing the weekend Martinsville sweep by just two spots. Still, a top-three is never bad and just builds on what has been an outstanding start to the season so far. Logano is the defending champion of this race, and has four top-fives in 13 races there.

1. Kevin Harvick

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Kevin Harvick

1. Kevin Harvick

NASCAR Power Rankings Week 7 Kevin Harvick — All good things must come to an end, and so it was with Kevin Harvick's top-two streak, which ended at eight with an eighth-place finish at Martinsville on Sunday. Still, it was hardly a disaster for Harvick, who still leads the points standings by 24 over Logano. He's winless at Texas with four top-fives and 12 top-10s in 24 races.

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