Category: Hot 20

In tracking the drivers who have been hot over the past ten races, the most recent result replaces the oldest. So, if you are Carl Edwards, that means you need to win at Richmond and Dover just to replicate his results from the end of last season. History tells us that is not likely to happen.

Still, he has been averaging 39 points per race since Phoenix in the fall, and has a five point lead over Johnson on the 2011 ladder. Dale Earnhardt Jr, who continues to move up, may be seventh over the past ten, but third since they waved the green flag at Daytona.

Here are our top 20 over the past 10 events…

1 (1) Carl Edwards – 390 pts – Needs a pair of wins to maintain his pace, and the odds are long.
2 (2) Jimmie Johnson – 372 pts – An Earnhardt on your back bumper isn’t always a bad thing.
3 (4) Kevin Harvick – 347 pts – 2011 has been good, but now needs to find a little greatness.
4 (5) Ryan Newman – 332 pts – A surprise up here, but needs a pair of Top Fives to stay there.
5 (6) Kurt Busch – 329 pts – First four were pretty good, last four have been just alright.
6 (3) Matt Kenseth – 326 pts – No doubt happy as hell Talladega is now behind him.
7 (9) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 323 pts – His daddy is forever 49 in our minds, #3 in our hearts.
8 (7) Tony Stewart – 304 pts – Not bad for a guy who wasn’t media friendly after his last two.
9 (8) Kyle Busch – 301 pts – Won in the spring of 2009 and 2010, why not 2011?
10 (12) Clint Bowyer – 300 pts – Returning to the scene of one of his 4 career victories.
11 (10) Greg Biffle – 295 pts – After the horrid way he started the season, he can’t complain.
12 (13) A.J. Allmendinger – 291 pts – Signing autographs tire him more than any other driver.
13 (11) Mark Martin – 290 pts – Talladega’s 8th marks his high water mark of the season thus far.
14 (15) Juan Pablo Montoya – 283 pts – Does he sign “Juan Pablo”, or uses Allmendinger’s trick?
15 (16) Paul Menard – 282 pts – Not Chase material yet, but there are hints the best is to come.
16 (21) Jeff Gordon – 274 pts – A win, a third, a fifth, but the rest are best forgotten.
17 (14) Denny Hamlin – 261 pts – Richmond is good to him, and he truly needs a friendly track.
18 (23) Martin Truex Jr – 255 pts – Moving up primarily because others are moving on down.
19 (17) Kasey Kahne – 247 pts – Three straight outside Top Twenty can’t be good.
20 (20) Jamie McMurray – 238 pts – It could be worse. He could be Jeff Burton.

No wins, yet Jimmie Johnson has been able to remain at the top of the mountain, until this week. Carl Edwards put together his fourth Top Ten in five starts this season, to go along with three wins in his past ten, to take over the summit. How long he stays there is another question.

No one is hotter at Martinsville than Johnson. He was 35th there in his first attempt back in the spring of 2002. He has finished in the Top Ten in the seventeen races he has run there since. If that isn’t dominance, then he needs to start wearing chaps with his leather suit and carry a whip. Johnson has to be considered a favorite to lay a beat down on the field this Sunday.

Kevin Harvick’s win keeps him at the big boys’ table this week, but Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne both made significant gains. Denny Hamlin may be slipping, but Joey Logano is the one in a free fall.

Kyle Busch was third at Fontana, but he was second at Charlotte ten races ago and so slipped a point over the past ten races. On the other hand, his brother Kurt, Paul Menard, and Tony Stewart moved up with significantly better results than they had in that race in the fall. So, while Kyle remains hot, those other three have become even hotter. Who said life was fair?

Here are our hot 20 drivers over the past 10 events…

1 (2) Carl Edwards – 369 pts – Most famous cousin not in the Grand Ole Opry.

2 (1) Jimmie Johnson – 367 pts – 18 Martinsville races, 17 Straight Top Tens, 6 Wins

3 (3) Kevin Harvick – 360 pts – As Bobby McFerrin sang, “Don’t be McMurray, be Happy.”

4 (6) Matt Kenseth – 332 pts – Daytona was a disaster, but 12th or better each race since.

5 (5) Mark Martin – 329 pts – For the 800th time, once more unto the breach, my friends.

6 (11) Ryan Newman – 317 pts – 3 top fives, 4 straight top tens, he is taking off like a…rocket.

7 (4) Denny Hamlin – 304 pts – Drives a Toyota, yet still sinking like a rock.

8 (10) Kurt Busch – 302 pts – Might be just going around in circles, but NASCAR’s no drag.

9 (8) Paul Menard – 301 pts – How do you like him now?

10 (9) Tony Stewart – 301 pts – Tony has been good, but not good enough for Tony.

11 (7) Kyle Busch – 292 pts – Performing like Junior was supposed to…and once did.

12 (17) Kasey Kahne – 290 pts – Best Martinsville finish since 2006? Last fall he was 14th.

13 (12) Juan Pablo Montoya – 281 pts – Already has made a million bucks this season.

14 (16) A.J. Allmendinger – 276 pts – Steady competitor, but not yet a contender.

15 (15) Martin Truex Jr – 270 pts – I want the sideburns back.

16 (14) Greg Biffle – 269 pts – Turn-a-round in last two needs to continue for next two or ten.

17 (19) Dale Earnhardt Jr – 267 pts – If he avoids disaster, a top ten driver after Darlington.

18 (13) Joey Logano – 258 pts – Consistency can be a good thing, but 23rd three times??

19 (18) David Ragan – 240 pts – 14 Top Tens in 2008, but just five since (in 78 races).

20 (22) Clint Bowyer – 239 pts – First Top Ten last week, but needs to string a few more.

Other notables…
21 (21) Jeff Gordon – 239 pts
22 (20) Jamie McMurray – 223 pts
25 (24) David Reutimann – 212 pts
27 (28) Jeff Burton – 191 pts

So, who is the hottest driver thus far this season? Well, that would be 20-year old Trevor Bayne. The kid wins the Daytona 500 his first time out, but he is slated to be a Nationwide driver this season, so he got the win but no points. Is that fair? Is it fair to have Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski the junior series champs these past five years? No, so let the young man and those like him have a shot at attaining glory amongst their peers before reaching for the brass ring. Of course, one of them already has one sitting in his pocket.

As for the hottest driver over the past ten events run in Cup, that would remain five-time champ Jimmie Johnson. As they move on to Phoenix for this Sunday’s event, each driver would need to match his efforts of ten races ago, in Dover, to maintain their pace. For Johnson, that would mean winning.

Pos – Driver – Points – (Pts at Dover in Sept)

1 (1) Jimmie Johnson 385 pts (48 at Dover)
“I am the champion, my friends, and I’ll keep on fighting til the end.”

2 (3) Denny Hamlin -25 (35 at Dover)
Always a Chaser, never a Champ.

3 (2) Kevin Harvick -34 (29 at Dover)
Had one of the best damn engines out there…for 20 laps.

4 (5) Mark Martin -36 (32 at Dover)
Has a decent start to his final year with Hendrick

5 (4) Carl Edwards -39 (40 at Dover)
With Bayne still in diapers, it is Cousin Carl who leads the standings

6 (6) Joey Logano -59 (42 at Dover)
Now has company at the kiddie’s table

7 (7) Matt Kenseth -82 (29 at Dover)
Not miffed that he got Biffed at Daytona

8 (11) Tony Stewart -89 (23 at Dover)
Where, oh where, can his Junior be?

9 (9) Jamie McMurray -92 (31 at Dover)
Eight cylinders beat seven every time.

10 (14) Paul Menard -95 (37 at Dover)
Daddy has some money, Sonny has some momentum

11 (12) A.J. Allmendinger -97 (36 at Dover)
Sitting in a car fit for a King.

12 (9) Ryan Newman -104 (36 at Dover)
Adequate start, unfortunate Daytona finish

13 (10) Greg Biffle -111 (25 at Dover)
Daytona? He thought it was Demo Derby.

14 (16) Kurt Busch -111 (41 at Dover)
Brother, where art thou?

15 (15) Kyle Busch -116 (39 at Dover)
The driver was stable, the car was not.

16 (18) Juan Pablo Montoya -116 (30 at Dover)
The march to the top has begun.

17 (17) Clint Bowyer -121 (19 at Dover)
Second in the Nationwide race, no points. Knows how Bayne feels.

18 (13) Jeff Gordon -128 (33 at Dover)
Winning five titles apparently aint easy.

19 (19) David Ragan -131 (20 at Dover)
When you re-start to the right, you need to stay to the right

20 (20) Regan Smith -132 (18 at Dover)
The folks at Furniture Row are riding their own Rocky Mountain high.

Race Talk Radio’s Dennis Michelsen and Lori Munro host a weekly poll of the top 20 drivers, as selected by pundits that include yours truly, Bob Dillner, Monte Dutton, Tom Bowles and a host of others.  Check it out at racetalkradio.com