NASCAR Horsepower Rankings

This surf wagon actually beat three start & parkers. (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

by Matt Taliaferro

1. Tony Stewart  Stewart and crew chief Steve Addington already have scored two wins this season — and in only five races. Hey, wins count above all else here.

2. Greg Biffle  The points leader’s only misstep — and it was a only a small hiccup at that — was a 13th at Bristol. He’s been sixth or better in the other four events.

3. Kevin Harvick  Happy and his retooled No. 29 team have been nearly as good as Biffle. Their worst performance thus far are a pair of 11th-place runs. Otherwise, they’re seventh or better every week.

4. Jimmie Johnson  Things couldn’t look better for Johnson and Team 48. Not only have all suspensions and point penalties been rescinded, but they’re rolling through top 10s even with blown engines.

5. Matt Kenseth  Kenseth is either top 3 by day’s end or forgotten somewhere in the mid-teens. Still, this is one of a handful of teams that can win on any given weekend.

6. Brad Keselowski  See: Kenseth, Matt. The only thing that kept either from a top-10 result at Auto Club Speedway was pit road penalties and a rain-shortened event.

7. Carl Edwards  Edwards and the No. 99 gang have two fifth-place runs in the last three weeks. Inexplicably, though, this group has yet to lead a single lap all season. That needs to change.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Yes, Earnhardt is still mired in a winless skid that dates back to 2008, but top-15 finishes in every race this season — including second- and third-place runs — find him trending in the right direction.

9. Clint Bowyer  Bowyer’s solid start with the surprising Michael Waltrip Racing operation shows an average finish of 12.8 with sixth- (Vegas) and fourth-place (Bristol) runs highlighting the early spring.

"Ear muffs!" (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

10. Denny Hamlin  Hamlin had the same look on his face after the California race that he did after Phoenix 2010.

11. Kyle Busch  The Gibbs cars are showing some impressive muscle on the big intermediates.

12. Martin Truex Jr.  Truex has a 9.4-place average finish thus far. It’s amazing what a contract year will do for an athlete.

13. Ryan Newman  Three consecutive performances of 12th or better aren’t as splashy as his teammate, but not bad.

14. Mark Martin  When he’s in MWR’s No. 55 — and even when he’s not — the team is showing serious growth.

15. Paul Menard  Quietly hanging tough at 10th in the standings with three top 10s.

Just off the lead pack: Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray

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