The NASCAR Sprint Cup rankings for Week Two of the series will be far different than the Daytona power rankings. The track in Phoenix is a one-mile flat track with little banking, concrete berms on the inside and a surface that is aged and has little grip.
The new earlier date for this Phoenix race will give the drivers more grip with the cooler temperatures. Once the race ends the speedway will be torn up and new asphalt will be laid in preparation for the second to the last race of the season in November. The November race will be a tough one to handicap with new asphalt.
The following are the top ten NASCAR Sprint Cup power rankings for the Phoenix International Raceway.
No. 1 Carl Edwards
Carl Edwards won the November race and the new Ford FR-9's power is already making waves since the end of last year. Trevor Bayne's Wood Brothers No. 21 also had a new Ford power plant under the hood.
Edwards is looking like he is back into his 2009 form when he rattled off nine wins and fell just short of his first NASCAR Sprint Cup. Look for Edwards to not only win this race but to dominate the last race on the old Phoenix asphalt.
No. 2 Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch is a seat-of-the-pants driver and if anyone doubted what a wheel man he is they just had to watch him drive his ill-handling Toyota in Daytona. The car was sideways more often than it was straight last Sunday. Busch is also a driver that could easily revert to his 2009 season when he won nine races along with Edwards.
No. 3 Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last seven races held at the Phoenix International Raceway. Judging by other sites' power rankings they have already forgotten how dominant Johnson has been on this track. Johnson does well on the flat sweeping turns and will do well this weekend.
No. 4 Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch is another driver that performs well on the flat tracks but Phoenix has been an Achilles heel for him. Busch was one push away from winning the Daytona 500 and he had a look of determination when he discussed coming to Phoenix. A big run at Phoenix will land Busch in the top two or three in points.
No. 5 Ryan Newman
Ryan Newman is the defending champ of this race but the race was held in April last year. Newman will still do well in this race but a win will not happen. Newman and the Stewart Haas team looked good in Daytona, a race that relies on powerful motors. In Phoenix it will be the driver that has a good handling car and that has power up off the corner. This is why the skills of a sprint car driver like Newman will do well in Phoenix.
No. 6 Jeff Gordon
Jeff Gordon last won this race in 2007 but he does have a Hendrick Motorsports power plant under the hood and over 20 years of experience on this old flat track. Gordon has run midgets, sprint cars and stock cars on this track since before he entered the ranks of NASCAR Sprint Cup.
No. 7 Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart is another sprint car racer that knows this track in other forms of motor sport other than a stock car. Tony Stewart's last win on this dog-legged mile track was in his rookie season of 1999. Stewart is capable of winning on this track but he is the fourth-ranked driver with a Hendrick motor under the hood.
No. 8 Jeff Burton
Jeff Burton has won on the Phoenix mile in the past but it was at the height of his career. Burton was in 2000 and in 2001. With his ECR power package on this short track that rewards power he will do well.
No. 9 Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick had plenty of experience on this track before he replaced the late Dale Earnhardt. Harvick swept the two races held in 2006 and ran well in the recent past on the flat track.
No.10 Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin has never won in Phoenix but he has done well there and on other flat tracks such as Martinsville and Loudon.
Todd Jacobs - Todd Jacobs is a freelance writer with publishing credits including USA Today, Orange County Register and Speed TV.
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