Power Rankings: Fontana

Power

Rankings

Fontana:

A lot of top contenders encountered problems at Bristol, so lets see how this week's rankings shape up.

New In This Week: Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski

Dropped Out: Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch

Close, But No Cigar: Brian Vickers, Juan Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard

1. Greg Biffle (No Change)

He started on the pole and it looked liked he'd continue to have those top 5 runs. But a bad pit stop early prevented him from making much ground and he could only capture 13th. Look for him to be strong at Fontana this weekend where Roush Fenway usually runs well.

2. Kevin Harvick (No Change)

11th place doesn't sound like the best finish right? But how can Harvick complain when he was involved in the day's biggest wreck and worked his way back up that far. He's also the defending winner of the Fontana race, a place where he used to struggle.

3. Matt Kenseth (+3)

The Bristol race was clearly between Kenseth and Keselowski, as they continually flopped between first and second. Kenseth is always strong at Fontana, look for him to continue his great start to the season.

4. Jimmie Johnson (-1) 

A 9th place finish isn't too bad for the guy who usually struggles at Bristol. Plus, he's gonna be one happy camper considering his team won their appeal and now head to Fontana, where Johnson is absolutely ruthless.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-1)

He had a solid day going until the contact with teammate Jeff Gordon which caused Gordon to wreck. Then on top of that he got a pit road speeding penalty on the last pit stop of the day. No matter, he's still been pretty damn good so far this season.

6. Tony Stewart (-1)

Despite having a new crew chief in Steve Addington, who knows Bristol like the back of his hand, Stewart still can't find any success at Bristol. But Addington has won at Bristol with both of the Busch brothers, so something has to give for Stewart, right?

7. Brad Keselowski (+3, was unranked)

Brad went out and proved his win at Bristol in the last race there was no fluke. There were no timing line incidents or anything like that, he just flat out beat Kenseth for the win. He's going to be good again in 2012.

8. Martin Truex Jr. (+2, was unranked)

Truex also proved his second place run in the last Bristol race was no fluke either. This team finally might be turning the corner and maybe he can finally win his second race. I mean, its only been five years since his first one.

9. Clint Bowyer (+1, was unranked)

This Michael Waltrip Racing team is really coming around. Bowyer was in the middle of a 3, 4, 5 finish at Bristol for the MWR team. If Bowyer continues to run well this season, he could become the first MWR driver to make the Chase.

10. Denny Hamlin (-3)

A 20th place run doesn't seem to deserving of being in the top 10 in Power Rankings. But he does have one win this year at least. And everyone else behind him this week finished even more poorly than him. So Denny stays, for now.

Fontana starts at 3 on Sunday, look for some fast racing this weekend. And the Hoosiers are still alive in the NCAA tourney, WOOT!