| 1. Kyle Busch: Busch may have stirred up some controversy last weekend at Richmond Int'l Raceway when he got into Dale Jr., but he managed to cross the finish line in second and take over the points lead. He tops the RacingOne Power Rankings for another week as a result of all of his success again. It almost seems like he thrives on controversy. Busch will need some of that fuel this weekend at Darlington. In three starts there, he's only finished in the top-10 once, a seventh in 2006. His average finish is just 22.3.
Last Week's Rank: First
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| 2. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer was definitely in the right place at the right time Saturday night at Richmond to capture his second career win when three drivers ahead of him got into trouble. The victory propelled him three spots in the point standings and in the power rankings. Bowyer's success isn't new found. His program has been spot on the last seven weeks of racing. Since the Atlanta race in March, Bowyer has finished in the top 10. And for the last four of those races, he's battled back from a starting position of 24th or worse to take a top-10 finish.
Last Week's Rank: Fifth
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| 3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin took a hit in the point standings this week, dropping two spots to sixth. But if not for a blown tire at Richmond, Hamlin might've captured the win in his dominating performance. He may have the chance to redeem himself at Darlington. In two starts there, Hamlin as posted top-10 finishes. He finished in the runner-up position last year at Darlington after starting seventh.
Last Week's Rank: Second
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| 4. Carl Edwards: Edwards was back with his crew chief this weekend and it showed in his Richmond result. With his seventh-place finish, he wasn't able to gain any spots in the points, but does still hold onto the 10th standing. And he's got to feel confident heading to Darlington. In four starts there, Edwards has finished in the top 10 three times, with his only other finish, 39th, a result of a blown engine.
Last Week's Rank: Seventh
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| 5. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Richmond was a heartbreaker for Junior, who was only laps away from breaking his two-year winless streak on the track he last won at. But in an incident with Kyle Busch, that saw Junior hit the wall, he was pushed back to a 15th-place finish. He's clinging to third-place in the standings, 104 behind Busch. At Darlington, Junior has finished 11th or better in his last five starts and has an average finish of 15.0 in 13 starts.
Last Week's Rank: Third
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| 6. Jeff Burton: Burton's 11th-place finish at Richmond knocked him out of the points lead for the first time since Bristol. But he remains the only driver within easy striking distance of Busch, 18 points behind. Burton is a two-time winner at Darlington with Jack Roush. In four starts there with RCR, Burton has posted two top-10 finishes in his last two starts. His average finish is 11.5 in 25 starts.
Last Week's Rank: Fourth
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| 7. Tony Stewart: Stewart quietly worked his way up from 15th to post a fourth-place finish Saturday at Richmond. It was his sixth top-10 of the season so far and helped him gain a spot in the standings. Stewart has only finished outside the top 17 once at Darlington, a 36th-place result due to a crash in 2002. In 15 starts his average finish is 11.9 with eight top 10s.
Last Week's Rank: Eighth
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| 8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick is quietly working his way up the point standings and the Power Rankings. With his solid eighth-place finish in Richmond, he gained one spot in the standings, claiming fifth. It was his first top 10 in five of the last races this season. He may face a stumbling block this weekend at Darlington. Harvick hasn't posted a top-10 finish there since the first race of 2004, five races ago.
Last Week's Rank: Ninth
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| 9. Jeff Gordon: Gordon might break back into the top 12 in the standings for the first time since Martinsville after Saturday night's Darlington race. The No. 24 driver is six points behind Kasey Kahne for 12th. Gordon is a seven-time winner at Darlington, who's returning as the defending winner. He heads into this weekend with the fifth best driver rating there and an average finish of 2.0 in the last four races on the track. Gordon may also have a slight edge as he participated in a tire test on the new pavement at Darlington in March.
Last Week's Rank: 14th
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| 10. Ryan Newman: Phoenix set the Daytona 500 champion back slightly three races ago, but Newman has bounced back since then. After an eighth-place finish at Talladega, he stayed clean at Richmond to finish sixth. Newman's holding on to the 11th spot in the standings but if his last three starts at Darlington are any indication, he may come out of this weekend solidly in the top 10. He finished fifth, sixth and fourth there, respectively, and even pulled the fourth-place finish off last year from a 29th starting spot. Newman is also one of three drivers who got a sneak peek at the new Darlington Raceway in a tire test there in March.
Last Week's Rank: 13th
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| 11. Martin Truex Jr: Truex Jr. bounced back from his disappointing Talladega finish with a fifth-place finish Saturday at Richmond. He's now also within striking distance of Kasey Kahne for 12th in the standings, 58 points back. In two starts at Darlington, Truex hasn't finished in the top 10 but does still have a 12.5 average finish with 14th and 11th-place finishes.
Last Week's Rank: N/R
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| 12. Mark Martin: Gosh, can retirement get any better? Other drivers have tried to make it work in the last few years, but Martin is the most successful one to run a part-time "retirement" schedule. In his last three starts this season he's finished in the top 10, including a third-place result at Richmond. Last year, racing at Darlington for DEI, Martin brought home a 14th-place result. He's got a total of 25 top 10s in 41 starts there and has visited victory lane once.
Last Week's Rank: N/R
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| 13. Kasey Kahne: Kahne has got to be happy with his Richmond result. It was his first top 10 since Bristol and moved him into the 12th spot in the points. He'll have to fight pretty hard to stay there though at Darlington. Despite winning three pole awards at the track in five starts, Kahne has only managed to finish in the top 10 twice. In the last two years, he's posted mediocre finishes of 21st and 20th, respectively, which won't help him much this weekend as he's got five hungry drivers within 100 points of him.
Last Week's Rank: N/R
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| 14. Greg Biffle: Richmond wasn't anything special for Biffle, who finished 14th and dropped a spot in the point standings. But he might be able to revive his season at Darlington, where he's a two-time winner. In seven starts, Biffle has a 10.7 average finish and he leads all drivers in the pre-race driver rating with a rating of 126.1.
Last Week's Rank: 10th
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| 15. Jimmie Johnson: It's hard to count Johnson out, but a 30th-place finish at Richmond knocked him two spots in the standings and leaves him struggling to recapture the magic he had last season with the COT. Each week there seems to be hope for the two-time champion in pre-race talk and this week isn't any different. Johnson has excelled at Darlington in his nine starts there. He's a two-time winner, having swept the 2004 season there, and has only one finish outside the top 10. With an average finish of 6.8 at Darlington, maybe we'll be counting Johnson back in the rankings after Saturday.
Last Week's Rank: Sixth
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