NASCAR Power Rankings – Harvick Makes a Move to the Top

A green-white checkered finish at Daytona in the Coke Zero 400 led a victory for Sprint Cup Standings’ leader Kevin Harvick.

Harvick leapfrogs his way up to 2nd on the NASCAR Power Rankings.

Who’s still on top? JJ, my friends! Jimmie’s Coke Zero finish wasn’t all that great, but he’s still Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR Betting Power Rankings

1. Jimmie Johnson +200- – JJ got into an accident at Daytona and ended up finishing in 31st place. Oh, that’s bad, but it’s not bad enough for me to drop him in the power rankings.

2. Kevin Harvick +1000 – - Harvick not only won the Coke Zero 400 but he increased his lead over Jeff Gordon in the Sprint Cup Standings to 212 points.

His consistent driving, and the consistent calls from his crew, paid off at Daytona with not only a Top 5 finish but with a victory as well.

3. Denny Hamlin +400 – - Hamlin’s 24th place finish at Daytona wasn’t great, but he, along with Harvick and JJ, have sort of dominated the Sprint Cup Circuit in 2010. 5 victories on the year will do that.

4. Jeff Gordon +600 – - Gordo moved up 3 spots in the Sprint Cup Standings after a 3rd place finish at Daytona. He doesn’t move up in my power rankings because…well, do you know who deserves to be dropped out of the Top 3 in place of Gordon? Yeah…me neither!

5. Kyle Busch +400- - I’m not going to knock Kyle too much for getting into that accident before the 104th lap and “finishing” in 40th place at Daytona. He’ll bounce back with a nice finish at Chicagoland.

6. Kurt Busch +1200 – - Kurt recorded another great finish at Daytona but couldn’t get into the Top 5. This time he finished 7th. He’s not having a bad year, though, and deserves to remain in the Top 10 in the power rankings.

7. Jeff Burton +1500 – - Burton moves up in the rankings after finishing 5th at the Coke Zero 400. He’s also 8th in the Sprint Cup Standings meaning that he’s having a sneaky good year.

8. Matt Kenseth +3000 – - Kenseth failed to crack the Top 10 at Daytona but he did finish 15th. That’s not too bad and he’s still 7th in the Sprint Cup Standings. No reason to drop him too far in power rankings.

9. Dal Earnhardt Jr. +3500 – - Jr. finished 4th at the Coke Zero 400. He also won the Nationwide race in his daddy’s #3 car. It was a good weekend for Jr.

10. Carl Edwards +3000 – - Carl is back into the power rankings after a nice 6th place finish at Daytona. Edwards is now clearly Roush Fenway’s best hope for a championship.

Dropped-out: Tony Stewart +1500

Just when I thought Smoke was coming around, he blows it again. I thought Tony was going to win the Coke Zero 400 or at least finish in the Top 10. I was wrong. He finished 25th.

On the Verge: Kasey Kahne +5000

Kahne secured another Top 5 finish in a Sprint Cup race. This time, Kasey finished 2nd. That’s 5 Top 5 finishes for Kasey in 2010. Who knows? Maybe, he stays hot in Chicago this weekend.

This weekend drivers head to the Chicagoland Speedway for the Lifelock.com 400! Log onto the NASCAR sportsbook and bet the Lifelock.com 400!