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2010 Power Rankings

( Final 2010 Season )

Kevin Harvick

2010 POWER RANKINGS leader

The final race of the 2010 season, the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is now history and the end result left many people buzzing about the Chase to the Championship. Three drivers came into the race with a chance to win a Championship and each had an eye on the other this entire race. The three, Denny Hamlin (1st), Jimmie Johnson (2nd) and Kevin Harvick (3rd) were separated by a mere 46 points with Johnson and Hamlin being just 15 apart.

Hamlin was the first to blink when he over drove a corner, made contact with Greg Biffle and spun out with damage to his car. That damage subsequently had him racing from behind all day and he was never able to recover enough to have a chance to win. Harvick was next up when he got hit with a speeding penalty on pit road and even though he recovered enough to finish 3rd in the race, he had to have Johnson make a mistake if he had a chance to win the championship. Unfortunately for both Hamlin and Harvick, Johnson never blinked and drove his car to a 2nd place finish at the drop of the checkered flag. Carl Edwards, won the race his second straight win but Johnson came away with the Championship in the end. For Johnson, it marked his 5th straight championship which is a feat that probably will never be duplicated in my lifetime. Whether you are a fan or not, you have to sit back and appreciate what Johnson and his team have accomplished over the year. For everyone else, they have to raise their efforts in 2011 if they want to dethrone Johnson from his perch at the top.

At Homestead, Carl Edwards came away with the win in a race where he and Martin Truex Jr pretty much dominated much of the race. For Edwards, it was once again a race where they were able to stretch fuel mileage and his team once gain managed to get it right. Jimmie Johnson also gambled on fuel and won, finishing 2nd while Kevin Harvick cruised across the finish line in 3rd. Aric Almirola surprised everyone when he finished 4th while AJ Allmendinger rounded out the Top 5, finishing 5th.

He may not have won the Championship this year, with his 3rd place finish at Homestead, Kevin Harvick did win the top spot in the 2010 power rankings. He led the rankings most of the year and his consistency was evident as he led the series in Top 10 finishes. His nearest competitor was Jimmie Johnson, who won the 2010 Sprint Cup Championship, but couldn't catch Harvick in the power rankings. Johnson led the series in Top 5 finishes and also had the second most wins in the series. Denny Hamlin finished 3rd in the power rankings and he had the most wins in the series in 2010. Both Johnson and hamlin had too many finished outside the Top 10 to seriously threaten Harvick. Carl Edwards, moved up two spots this week as a result of his two season ending wins and finished the season in 4th in the power rankings. Kyle Busch ran a good race at Homestead but was punted by Harvick near the end of the race, finishing 32nd at the end of the day but it was still good enough to hang onto the 5th spot in the season ending power rankings.

Jeff Gordon didn't win a race in 2010 and any chance to win at Homestead went on the wayside when he lost his engine during the race. He ended the season by slipping one spot in the power rankings, finishing 6th. Tony Stewart moved up one spot to finish the season in the 7th spot after he finished the race at Homestead in 8th. Kurt Busch didn't end the season on a high note falling out of the Top 5 a few weeks back and he ended the season in the 9th spot. Greg Biffle finished 10th a Homestead and that was enough to allow him to jump up into the 10th spot in the year end power rankings.

Jeff Burton dropped out of the Top 10 this week.

The 2010 Power Rankings after the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami are as follows:

Team power ratings are based on a different rating system then is used by Nascar. Points are awarded based on a driver's performance on the track and awards points for only Top performances. A top 15, pole or leading the most laps is considered a strong performance and are awarded points based on finish. No points are awarded for anything other then a Top 15 finish and negative points are awarded for drivers that do not finish on the lead lap, fail to finish the race or fail to qualify for the race. Points for rain outs are awarded based on owner points.

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