After skipping a week, the top 10 breakdown returns for a two step in Texas!
1st – Gasitnpassit: This rookie team has sat on top of the standings for two weeks now. How did he get here? Well for starters, he hasn’t finished worse than 16th in his 6 starts. He started well at Daytona, finishing second and starting at the top of the standings. He scored a top 10 in California but fell a spot. Gained a spot the following week with an 11th place showing in Vegas. Remained in the same spot after Atlanta, but rose to the top in Bristol. He’s used some big name superstar picks in his first 5 races. However, he didn’t use any superstar pick in Martinsville and still finished in the top 10. Gasitnpassit may be able to hang in the top 10 after he’s exhausted his superstar picks, although not using one last weekend may demonstrate that he’s saving some for the chase.
2nd – Pappy’s Drivers: The team that has moved up the most spots since starting 40th after Daytona. Pappy has already matched a couple of lead records and is on the verge of breaking some. 5 top 10 finishes in a row, and 5 race winners picked in a row. Not too bad. His most impressive stat could be that he’s leading the league in best picks average. Pappy’s showing that he definitely knows how to pick them. He definitely is turning heads this year and could be on top of the standings after Texas. 5 superstar picks have been used and they’ve been pretty big names, but they are not all A class drivers. He seems to be able to divide them pretty well. Pappy’s Drivers should have no trouble making the chase and will be one of the top contenders shooting for the title.
3rd – Intimidator Racing: Was second in the standings after Bristol but hit a little bump in the road in Martinsville. Intimidator Racing finished 16th, but has not finished worse than 17th in his 6 starts. The use of superstar picks have been used sparingly. They have been used in all 6 races but only one A class driver was used, that being Matt Kenseth. Intimidator Racing has also picked 5 race winners so far and has had at least one top 5 driver in all 6 starts. He leads the league in most laps led and poles. He also still leads in average race points, mainly from the huge Atlanta finish. He’s also happy to be leading the first segment of the money pit as well!
4th - CrazyAboutRusty2: A great win at Martinsville put Crazy up here in 4th place. Some people may think that he won’t do well because he relies on Rusty too much. However, he has remained in the top 10 all season long so far. How many teams can say that? Rusty Wallace did great in Martinsville and not too shabby in Bristol. The same could be said about Crazy. He’s only used 4 superstar picks so far, although 2 of them have been Johnson and Gordon.
5th – Jeffjoeracing: Like Pappy’s Drivers, he’s made great strides through the standings after finishing 38th at Daytona. His stats haven’t been quite as impressive as Pappy’s, but he’s done of good job of quietly moving up each week. He’s also had a driver finish in the top 5 each week and leads the league with 9 top 5 drivers. He finished 3rd in Martinsville and 2nd in Vegas. He could be the next new team to get their first win.
6th – Jerry Jones Racing: A couple of uncharacteristic bad finishes in a row has put Jerry Jones Racing out of the top 5 after leading the league for one week. However, you would be considered a fool if you started counting him out now. JJR seems to go on rolls. A few mediocre to bad finishes, followed up by long top 10 streaks. JJR hasn’t used up any good superstar picks yet except for Carl Edwards, so he has a lot to choose from. Most of the teams in the top 10 have relied on their superstar picks to get where they are now. If he starts to drop out of the top 10 he may want to use a couple of the bigger names but for now he’s happy where he is. He may not be the dominant force he was last year since he has a whole lot new competition this time around, but he is a favorite for his second title. Look for a charge when the chase comes around.
7th – Miller MotorSports: Well be broke up his streak of gaining 3 spots and losing 3 spots. In his last 2 races, he lost 2 spots, and then gained 4 spots…. Hmmm... well some progress I suppose. Miller Motorsports must try to put a few good finishes together to make any significant ground up. He’s struggling in his own race league, yet still he’s managed to keep within the top 10 here except for falling to 11th for one week. I’m sure there are lots of teams that wouldn’t mind trading places with him.
8th – Fast Eddie Racing: Two poor finishes on the short tracks put Fast Eddie back to 8th place after cracking the top 5. He suffererd his worst finish of 26th place this past weekend in Martinsville. Fast Eddie Racing must have a good race in Texas to avoid being bumped out of the top 10. He’s used some good superstar picks up but has Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler available, two favorite Texas picks. A good top ten finish could move him back up a few spots.
9th – Shawnda’s Redneck Racing: Our local Texas girl who better have a good race this weekend! She’ll be off at the track so she’ll see up close how she’s doing. Shawnda is in the top 10 for the first time in her career! She’s had 2 top 10 finishes this year, her best being 7th place in Vegas. It’s a bit of a surprise to see her here and hopefully she can hold on for a few weeks at least. She’ll really shock people if she gets up into the top 5!
10th – Dodge Boys Racing: Holding on to the top 10 by the skin of his teeth, Dodge Boys Racing suffered a big blow last weekend by finishing 32nd. He moved back 5 spots after gaining 11 spots with his 2nd place run at Bristol. Dodge Boys was in and out of the top 10 for most of last year until the final 5 races where he was flirting with the top 5. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same thing happen this year.
Outside Looking in:
11th – High Octane: Sputter…… Sputter…… cough…. High Octane is losing his engine and leaving oil all over the track. After winning his first two races, High Octane hasn’t finished higher than 21st in the last 4. After Martinsville he fell out of the top 10. He needs a quick turn around soon. He must feel like Tom Petty. I’m freeeeee…. Free falling.
12th – Bump And Go Racing: Trying to bump his way into the top 10 for the first time this year. He only has one top 5 finish, which was 5th, however he moved up 6 spots last week back to 12th place, the highest he’s been so far. A top 15 finish in Texas may be just enough to bump him in.
