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Power Rankings: The Rock

February 18, 2003
8:48 AM EST (0848 GMT)

We might have to extend an official, engraved apology to Kurt Busch, who was probably a tad too low (ok, more than a tad) in the power rankings following last week's Daytona 500 qualifying session.

Unfortunately, 107 laps is simply not enough to guage of these drivers. This weekend will definitely offer a better idea of who has got what in 2003.

Biggest Gain this Week: Kurt Busch, up 18 spots

Biggest Loss this Week: Dale Earnhardt Jr., down 9 spots

Dropped out: Ward Burton (18).

Week 2 of 36, Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway

Rank	Prev	Number	Driver	Comments
1	2		Tony Stewart	No photographers headed to the foul line. No raised hood on pit road. No crash on the backstretch measured by a Geiger counter. Just a career-best Daytona 500 finish.
2	20		Kurt Busch	The last time he had a bad finish in the Winston Cup Series, you could still go without a jacket in Minneapolis.
3	8		Jimmie Johnson	Has to be disappointed by how close he came to winning, but third place at Daytona is the epitome of a consolation prize.
4	3		Sterling Marlin	If you�re wondering why Marlin is so high: He finished 17th despite a black-flag and only half the time to recover.
5	6		Michael Waltrip	Has just as many wins at Daytona (3) than career top-10 finishes at Rockingham (3).
6	4		Kevin Harvick	We will know this week if he is truly back to form.
7	7		Jeff Gordon	He pretty much finished (12th) right where he started (13th).
8	11		Mark Martin	Mariah Carey got more air time than he did.
9	22		Robby Gordon	John Travolta got more air time then he did. Which is a shame, because Gordon�s performance was a forgotten story of Speedweeks.
10	1		Dale Earnhardt Jr.	All that media hype went straight to his battery.
11	13		Dale Jarrett	It�s pretty risky strategy to lay back when the race might only get to halfway, but he made it work.
12	10		Ricky Rudd	He really needed those extra 93 laps. His car was better than the 15th he ended up with.
13	5		Bobby Labonte	You kept waiting for Darrell Waltrip to say �unscheduled stop� when he and Ken Schrader ended up wrecked against the pit wall.
14	12		Ryan Newman	In 2002, Tony Stewart showed how easy it is to finish 43rd at Daytona and get back in the Winston Cup title chase. Then again, Stewart didn�t end Daytona on his hood.
15	9		Jeff Green	Ryan Newman got off the ground. Green sure didn�t.
16	24		Jeremy Mayfield	In 2002, he had just as many commercials (2) as top-five finishes. If Tony Stewart followed a similar path, he�d live in Hollywood, not Lake Norman.
17	15		Matt Kenseth	He led laps at Daytona. He�ll lead a lot more at Rockingham.
18	18		Jeff Burton	Coming out of Speedweeks 11th � in a backup car � is a small victory.
19	17		Elliott Sadler	The real fun begins.
20	14		Jamie McMurray	No pressure this weekend, kid. A qualifying lap at Daytona is just a tad easier than Rockingham's old, scratchy surface.
21	16		Bill Elliott	Incident in the pits ruined a sure top-10 run. He�ll bounce back.
21	19		Joe Nemechek	Take two tires and call me in the morning.
23	25		Kyle Petty	Two years ago, he didn�t even know if he would be in the field on Sunday. Now he�s finishing right behind Jeff Gordon. A top-10 at Rockingham would send the entire garage into cheers.
24	23		Rusty Wallace	A lot of Kroger checkout clerks will never get to say, �You want to pay for this beer with this little white piece of paper?�
25	21		Ricky Craven	The Pontiac is usually a pretty good car at Rockingham.