Johnson and Busch, just moments before it hit the fan. (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

by Matt Taliaferro

1. Jeff Gordon  The four-time champ has averaged a 3.25-place finish over the last month. Gordon is looking like the “Wonderboy” of old at just the right time.

2. Jimmie Johnson  It looks as if his biggest threat in the Chase may come from within — as in within Hendrick Motorsports in the form of the aforementioned Gordon. Haven’t we seen this movie before?

3. Kyle Busch  The best part of the Kurt vs. Jenna press conference? Watching Kyle, sitting next to brother Kurt, smirk. You can almost hear him thinking, “Thank God ‘Old Kurt’ is back!”

4. Brad Keselowski  The top-10 streak is over, but Keselowski still looks solid after a 12th at Richmond. They say water finds its level, and that could be the case here but he gets the benefit of the doubt for now.

5. Carl Edwards  Consecutive runs of ninth, fifth and second prove the testing has been over for about three weeks for the No. 99 team. We’ll see how the notes transfer into the Chase.

6. Kevin Harvick  Another team that is rounding into form, Harvick’s group brings the momentum of a Richmond win into the Chase. And — OMG! — he got to meet Snooki in Victory Lane!

7. Matt Kenseth  Kenseth was sponsored by “Ollie’s Bargain Outlet” at Richmond. And the way he ran, you’d think they bought the car there.
 

Smile, bud ... I ranked you above your teammate! (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

8. Ryan Newman  Newman continues to throw top 10s on the board — he was eighth at Richmond — but he must avoid the hiccup his team seems to have once every month if a title is to be won.

9. Kurt Busch  When you finish in the top 5 but receive more pub for your post-race antics, you know you’ve got some explaining and/or apologizing to do. When the cameras are on, of course.

10. Tony Stewart  Tony’s antics came on Friday and, like Busch, were because of a confrontation with reporters. When are these guys going to learn that life can be a lot easier when they’re on friendly terms with the media?

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Somehow rebounded from a number of issues at RIR and snuck in the Chase. Sorry Junior Nation, but don’t expect much more.

12. Denny Hamlin  Led zero laps and finished ninth at one of his favorite tracks. That’s not a great sign.

13. AJ Allmendinger  AJ’s top-12 streak has hit five races in a row and he’s 13th in points. Not bad, young man.

14. Mark Martin  There’s still a little gas left in the tank, as Martin’s 10th-place finish in Richmond proved. Not bad, old man.

15. Jamie McMurray  This week will mark the start of “R&D Season” for McMurray and the Ganassi gang.

Just off the lead pack: Marcos Ambrose, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, David Ragan

Agree with Matt’s rankings? Disagree? Post a comment below and tell him how you feel. You can also follow Matt on Twitter @MattTaliaferro

OK, I'll humor you with the infamous Jeff Gordon "Rookie Sensation" poster by Sam Bass.

by Matt Taliaferro

1. Jimmie Johnson  Two runner-up finishes in the last three races but no wins since Talladega in April. It’s almost Chase time, though, and Johnson finds himself leading the pack (albeit in a controlled four-wheel drift) as September begins. Surprise, surprise.

2. Jeff Gordon  Win No. 85 was a hard-fought victory for Gordon, and possibly one of the best finishes this season. The 24 team is going to be hard to handle in the playoffs. (Sorry folks, no ‘stache and mullet jokes. There’s plenty of those hack jobs on every other power ranking post this week.)

3. Kyle Busch  The handle on Kyle’s car went away prior to halfway at Atlanta and never came back. After three consecutive top-3 runs at Pocono, the Glen and Bristol, the 18 team has showings of 14th and 23rd. Will rebound at RIR.

4. Brad Keselowski  The “Top 3 Streak” came to an end, but Keselowski still stood strong, notching a sixth at Atlanta. His average finish over the last six races is 2.8.

5. Carl Edwards  It’s hard not to figure the 99 team has been in R&D mode. That may be over, though, after Carl turned up the heat at AMS, duking it out with the leaders all day and finishing fifth.

6. Matt Kenseth  Kenseth makes for a popular sleeper Chase pick but he’s straight faded in the closing laps the last two weeks and that can’t happen in the Chase.

7. Ryan Newman  Newman was more or less out to lunch at Atlanta after seven pretty nice looking performances. We’ll chalk it up to not being able to have a good day every day.

8. Denny Hamlin  Denny would have to choke harder at Richmond than he did in last year’s Chase to miss the playoffs. Yeah, that’s harsh but it’s the truth.

Kurt Busch is bringing the bell bottom look to NASCAR firesuits. (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

9. Kurt Busch  Like the little girl with the curl, Kurt can be very, very good or very, very bad. Problem is, that doesn’t translate into Chase success.

10. Kevin Harvick  After back-to-back 22nd-place finishes, Harvick and the boys rebound with a respectable seventh at AMS. Still, something is amiss here.

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  He’ll probably make the Chase, but at this rate that’s about all you can expect.

12. Tony Stewart  Finally broke out of a nasty slump with a big third-place showing at Atlanta. More should follow. Should.

13. Martin Truex Jr.   He keeps showing flashes of brilliance but just can’t finish like the big boys.

14. AJ Allmendinger  Somehow ranks 13th in the standings. Probably because that’s about where he finishes each week.

15. Clint Bowyer  If you were at work, YouTube his comments about Juan Pablo Montoya. Classic.

Just off the lead pack: Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Paul Menard

Agree with Matt’s rankings? Disagree? Post a comment below and tell him how you feel. You can also follow Matt on Twitter @MattTaliaferro

Photo by ASP, Inc.

by Matt Taliaferro

1. Kyle Busch  Leads the series in top 5s (12) and is tied for the lead in wins (3) and top 10s (14). He also leads all drivers in best looking wife/girlfriend (and there’s some stiff competition there).

2. Jimmie Johnson  Kurt Busch never got close enough to J.J. at the Glen for sparks to fly, but Bristol and Richmond are coming soon, so maybe these two will help us forget about Boris Said vs. Greg Biffle. By the way, Said vs. Biffle? Really? No offense to either, but who really cares?

3. Jeff Gordon  Quiet day for JGo at the Glen. Still, he finished 13th, which was Gordon’s ninth top-15 finish in the last 10 races. This team is dangerous.

4. Carl Edwards  Edwards’ last six races have netted an average finish of 14.6. On the bright side, he’s got the contract negotiations behind him and still leads the point standings.
 

Photo by ASP, Inc.

5. Brad Keselowski  Is this ranking too high for Keselowski? Maybe, but there’s no doubt the boy is delivering on his potential — busted ankle and all — and could make for a nice darkhorse title contender (and no, none of his product was consumed in the writing of this article).

6. Kevin Harvick  Scores his first top-10 finish at Watkins Glen since the July Daytona race. That said, he’s somehow pulled a Carl Edwards and stayed firmly entrenched in the top 5 in the standings. Doesn’t he just seem to disappear sometimes?

7. Kurt Busch  It’s hard to recall the last time a lapped car gave the leader the boot, but that’s what we saw out of Busch at the Glen. Let’s see — Kurt would now be wise to steer clear of Johnson and Allmendinger for a while.

8. Matt Kenseth  Random stat of the day: Matt Kenseth — not especially known for his road racing acumen — has six straight finishes between 12th and 14th on the roadies. I don’t know how to interpret that, but there it is.

9. Ryan Newman  The circuit returns to Michigan on Sunday, where Newman scored a sixth-place finish in June. Expect about the same out of a team that’s been trending upward in the season’s second half. And expect some sarcastic response to a reporter during his Friday media availability for good measure.

10. Tony Stewart  A solid top 5 at the Glen was spoiled late. The resulting 27th dropped him in the standings to the edge of the Chase cliff. That oughta put Tony in a real good mood in Michigan.

11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  A 15th at the Glen? Yeah, Junior will gladly take that and move on to the site of his last win.

12. Denny Hamlin  We’re all just glad Denny walked away from that one. It’ll be interesting to see what a new engine package does for his team moving forward.

13. Paul Menard  A blown tire late at the Glen ruined what was another pretty decent run for Menard. I’m sure if you asked him about it, he’d give you a very leveled and somewhat emotionless response.

14. Joey Logano  That road course training Joey got from Max Papis paid off to the tune of a fifth-place run. Man, this kid is still all over the board.

15. Greg Biffle  This may be premature, but Biffle could very well rocket up these ranking after he wins Michigan this weekend.

Just off the lead pack: AJ Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin

Agree with Matt’s rankings? Disagree? Post a comment below and tell him how you feel. You can also follow Matt on Twitter @MattTaliaferro

"It's raining Kurt's and Kyle's, Ryan." Photo by ASP, Inc.

by Matt Taliaferro

1. Kyle Busch  For the second race in a row, Busch overcame issues that hindered his early-race gains to post a top-10 finish. The runner-up at Pocono finds him just 11 points out of the points lead.

2. Jimmie Johnson  Entertained us all by engaging in a “I-don’t-really-wanna-fight” shouting match with Kurt Busch following his fourth-place finish at Pocono. Oh, and he did so with a faulty clutch (which was clutch).

3. Jeff Gordon  The June Pocono winner wasn’t nearly as stout on Sunday, but he’ll gladly take the sixth-place run and move on to a road course. Have we mentioned Gordon is NASCAR’s “road course king?”

4. Carl Edwards  OK, so the contract thing is behind Edwards and he still sits atop the point standings. The only question is whether any damage was done within the team that may bite him down the road.

5. Kurt Busch  Kurt tried to play off the incident with Johnson as simple “hard racing.” Problem is, it sometimes seems Busch is putting on his media-friendly face and feeding us a line.

6. Ryan Newman  His 5.5-place average finish over the last month is as impressive a stat as you’ll find in the series, but maintaining that level of performance over the next 17 weeks will be close to impossible.

7. Kevin Harvick  Harvick’s slide is the polar opposite of Newman’s, as he’s averaged a 15.5-place showing in the last four events. History shows he’ll finish stronger, though.

8. Matt Kenseth  Eighth may be a bit low for Kenseth, but that’s probably the way he prefers it with his low-key nature. Could make for a nice Chase darkhorse.

9. Brad Keselowski  I said last week Keselowski probably wouldn’t make the Chase this year but was a shoe-in for 2012. I stand correct: He’s not only a shoe-in for 2012, but for this year as well.

10. Tony Stewart  Something is amiss with Smoke. Still, would it surprise you if he and the No. 14 team rattled off a win at the Glen this weekend and defended their Atlanta title three weeks later?

11. Denny Hamlin  That’s two Pocono races that have gotten away this year. Sunday’s shouldn’t have happened.

12. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Just when we were throwing dirt on his grave, Junior rolls to a top-10 finish.

13. Paul Menard  Follows his big Brickyard win with a 10th at Pocono. We’ll see what the Glen holds ...

14. Greg Biffle  Consecutive top 10s for Biffle and the new crew chief. However, they needs wins. A couple.

15. Joey Logano  A win evaporates like the water on the track. As do his Chase hopes.

Just off the lead pack: AJ Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, David Ragan