NASCAR Rankings and Championship Odds- Texas

Texas Motor Speedway -- 04/5/2009

Author: Jeremy Dunn

Published: Monday Apr 6 2009 1:51pm

1. (1) 24-Jeff Gordon: 4-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Well, fans, it is finally over. No more can we harp on Jeff Gordon’s winless streak. He led a race-high 105 laps at Texas en route to his first victory since October of 2007. He looked like the Jeff Gordon of yesteryear, as he benefited from pit road miscues from Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, and Carl Edwards. Gordon finally has a ‘W’ in the win column, and he is dominating all major statistical categories in 2009. What a start for Gordon and company.

After seven races, Gordon has a win, five top five finishes, and six top ten finishes. He leads the Sprint Cup championship standings by 162 points over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.

He leads all drivers with a driver rating of 121.6 and an average running position of 5.175.

Quote: “How ironic is this that we go on this streak and end it here in Texas, the place that eluded us for so long?”

2. (4) 48-Jimmie Johnson: 4-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus nearly pulled off another amazing comeback. It does not matter how Johnson is performing during a race, unless that car is being loaded into the hauler, do not count him out. Nobody can turn a race car around like Knaus, and Johnson knows how to find his balance in the race car. Johnson nearly fell a lap down during mid-race, but he fought back to finish second, nearly stealing the win away from Jeff Gordon.

After seven races, Johnson has a win, three top five finishes, and five top ten finishes. He is second in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 162 points behind his teammate Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 108.5 and an average running position of 7.935.

Quote: “Five more laps and we’d have a shot at him.”

3. (2) 18-Kyle Busch: 9-2 Sprint Cup championship odds

It was an exasperating day for Kyle Busch, as he posted an eighteenth place finish at Texas. Sporting a vintage Bobby Labonte paint scheme, the No. 18 group had high hopes, especially after Busch dominated the Nationwide Series event on Saturday. Busch cut a tire while battling John Andretti early in the race. He then received a penalty from NASCAR for speeding on pit road.

After seven races, Kyle Busch has two wins, three top five finishes, and three top ten finishes. He is seventh in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 240 points behind Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 105.2 and an average running position of 13.564.

4. (5) 2-Kurt Busch: 7-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Kurt Busch did not have the dominant car he had at Atlanta last month, but he posted another solid eighth place finish. Busch had to overcome a 28th place starting position, hence, he passed a lot of cars. Ultimately, it was not the finish the Penske Racing team expected, but it showed that this team has found a consistent balance on the intermediate speedway. Busch and the No. 2 seem to be lacking just a little on the short tracks.

After seven races, Kurt Busch has a win, two top five finishes, and four top ten finishes. He is third in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 180 points behind Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 100.5 and an average running position of 10.199.

5. (3) 33-Clint Bowyer: 12-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Clint Bowyer failed to match his impressive performance at Martinsville last week. It was a disappointing day for all Richard Childress Racing teams. Bowyer started the race in the nineteenth position and was never able to gain ground. He finished in the 22nd position, far worse than this team envisioned heading into the weekend. The Richard Childress Racing contingent must figure out a better package for the intermediate tracks if they intend to keep pace with Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing.

After seven races, Bowyer has three top five finishes, and four top ten finishes. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 187 points behind Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 85.6 and an average running position of 15.270.

6. (7) 14-Tony Stewart: 12-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Once again, Tony Stewart is proving the cynics wrong. He proved that last week’s top five performance at Martinsville was no fluke. He spent the entire day running among the top five after qualifying in the seventh position. He ended the day in the fourth position. Stewart is not only exceeding his first-year expectations as a car owner, but he is outperforming two of the three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers on a consistent basis.

After seven races, Stewart has two top five finishes, and five top ten finishes. He is fifth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 191 points behind Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 100.8 and an average running position of 10.474.

Quote: “We were really good in long runs. We weren’t very good taking off. After about 25 laps, we were the fastest car on the track all day.”

7. (6) 11-Denny Hamlin: 15-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

After nearly winning at Martinsville last week, Denny Hamlin had a rather nondescript race at Texas. Hamlin finished in the twelfth position starting the race in the twenty-second position. Hamlin’s strengths are clearly on the shorter flat tracks, which should bode well for his chances at Phoenix in two weeks. None of the three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas fared well at Texas this weekend.

After seven races, Hamlin has two top five finishes and three top ten finishes. He is sixth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 216 points behind Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 100.1 and an average running position of 9.721.

8. (8) 99-Carl Edwards: 7-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

If not for a late-race pit road miscue, Jeff Gordon’s winless streak could have been extended another race. Carl Edwards was leading when the final caution came out with just a handful of laps remaining. Despite the pit road blunder, Edwards rallied to finish in the tenth position.

After seven races, Edwards has one top five finish, and three top ten finishes. He is eighth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 265 points behind Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 99.5 and an average running position of 10.613.

9. (10) 17-Matt Kenseth: 15-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Matt Kenseth led 55 laps, but he was unable to overcome a pit road blunder that cost him valuable track position. He rallied to finish in the fifth position after qualifying third. It was a solid outing for Kenseth, as well his Roush Fenway Racing teammates.

After seven races, Kenseth has two wins, three top five finishes, and three top ten finishes. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 290 points behind Jeff Gordon.

He has a driver rating of 81.3 and an average running position of 19.577.

Quote: “We never had it quite right, but most of the day we were able to stay near the front.”

10. (NR) 16-Greg Biffle: 25-1 Sprint Cup championship odds

Greg Biffle had perhaps the fastest car on Sunday at Texas. Like his teammates Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, Biffle had to overcome track position due to a pit road mishap. Biffle finished third. If not for a blown engine at Bristol and an accident at Atlanta, Biffle would be in the top ten in the championship standings.

After seven races, Biffle has two top five finishes and three top ten finishes. He is fifteenth in the Sprint Cup championship standings, 60 points behind twelfth place driver Jeff Burton.

He has a driver rating of 88.7 and an average running position of 16.297.

Quote: “I don’t think we capitalized on anything. We’re sitting third and we had the fastest car.”

On the rise: Mark Martin (25-1 odds), Juan Pablo Montoya (80-1 odds), Jeff Burton (30-1 odds), David Reutimann (100-1 odds), and Paul Menard

On the decline: Jamie McMurray (80-1 odds), David Ragan (100-1 odds), Joey Logano (100-1 odds), A.J. Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick (25-1 odds)

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User	Comment
grippy	testing yet again lala
HotRodMike	Do you really think Jimmy Johnson can keep this up race after race? Something has to give, his nerve or is car are the most likely.
TrackRat	Looks like Greg Biffle was just a passing fad this year. He raced a good Chase, but just could not keep up the pace till the end.
TonySfan	Tony Stewart is still my favorite pick for this but I`d like to see Jimmie take this one. He`s really earned it. :D
racefan	Go Jimmie go! Hoping he wins this one one more time!
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