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Power Rankings: Atlanta
March 9, 2004
10:42 AM EST (1042 GMT)

Robin Leach did driver introductions on Sunday, and he called it the No. 41 “Tar-jay” Dodge. Please don’t ever do that again.

Biggest Gain this week: Kasey Kahne, up 16 spots

Biggest Drop this week: Scott Wimmer, down 11 spots

New this week: Jeremy Mayfield (20), Brendan Gaughan (24).

Dropped out: Ricky Rudd (23), Michael Waltrip (25).
Week 4 of 36, Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Rank Prev Number Driver Comments
 1  1 Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth Wow. Two wins in three races. And it is the points system’s fault.
 2 18 Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne So far this year, his finishes are 43, 2 and 2. Which is 47. Which is Bill Elliott’s age. Good thing Elliott isn’t 95. If he was, Kahne would be 35th in the standings.
 3  6 Jamie McMurray Jamie McMurray McMurray playfully dumped some water on Stewart after the race, but Stewart was ready for him. He shook his Coke bottle up and sprayed McMurray good, leaving McMurray to wonder why he went into battle without the benefit of carbonation.
 4  5 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon We ran into a Jeff Gordon fan from North Dakota last week. So he’s the one.
 5  4 Ryan Newman Ryan Newman This team truly missed the setup at Vegas. Write it down. You just saw something historic. When was the last time that happened?
 6  3 Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick Man, that sucked. He ran out of gas. So he says they are going to throw away all their computers. Or worse, give them to Robby Gordon.
 7  7 Kurt Busch Kurt Busch So there was a huge billboard near Las Vegas Motor Speedway that said, “Good luck, Kurt, Kyle and Brendan.” You have to wonder how much they charged Kurt for the sign.
 8 10 Tony Stewart Tony Stewart Tony and Greg Zipadelli had a pretty funny radio transmission at Vegas. Tony wanted to know why they were bothering to clean the top of the track. The response? “Not sure, because Waltrip’s in the garage.”
 9 15 Bobby Labonte Bobby Labonte Atlanta Motor Speedway will have a Bobby Labonte Grandstand one of these years.
10  2 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Man, he was slow at Vegas. He was back there racing with Carl Long, which should give Long some confidence. “Man, I am reeling in Dale Earnhardt Jr!”
11 11 Elliott Sadler Elliott Sadler Elliott, we can’t understand that thick Virginia accent. You heard a thud in the standings? Or you’re third in the standings?
12  9 Dale Jarrett Dale Jarrett Hey, he’s got the Arnold Palmer paint scheme this week! But why the 88 car? It’s the car number that corresponds to Palmer’s most recent golf scores.
13 12 Rusty Wallace Rusty Wallace OK. Two guys are in a Vegas casino. One’s got a Wallace hat. “When did you become a Rusty fan?” said the first. “Back in 85,” the second said. “When his losing streak hit 85?” “No,” said the second. “Back in 1985.” “Oh,” the first one said. “You mean the year Kyle Busch was born.”
14 13 Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson Wait until you see what they made him wear for a scene in the new IMAX movie. It was pretty funny and worth the price of admission alone. The only thing that would have been funnier was if they had shown Tony Stewart kick a tape recorder into the camera from 100 yards away.
15 16 Mark Martin Mark Martin After the race, Martin had one of those big smiles -- the ones he used to show years ago. Maybe it was because his car won.
16 21 Casey Mears Casey Mears We have confirmed that it has, in fact, been Mears in the car this year and not Jimmy Spencer.
17 14 Terry Labonte Terry Labonte He’s got to start qualifying better. Nothing funny about that.
18 18 Sterling Marlin Sterling Marlin He might have had a top-10 at Vegas, but he had the only flat tire.
19  8 Scott Wimmer Scott Wimmer So it was reported he won $4,000 at the blackjack tables in Vegas. Maybe was a field-filler at the card table. Get in, play one hand, get a fat check.
20 NR Jeremy Mayfield Jeremy Mayfield Most of the casinos at Las Vegas had him as a longshot to win. That was a bit harsh. He was 30-1, and they had the field at 25-1. So basically, a Mayfield win pays more than a Derrike Cope win.
21 19 Greg Biffle Greg Biffle Well, at least he qualified for the race this time. All jokes aside, remember when Biffle DNQed at Vegas last year? This year, there are so few cars that it seems unfathomable that a good one won’t get in somehow.
22 24 Jeff Burton Jeff Burton He finished 13th at Vegas, which means he’s averaging a 13th-place finish when his engine doesn’t blow.
23 22 Joe Nemechek Joe Nemechek All that sheetrock he had on his hood really made the car push at Las Vegas.
24 NR Brendan Gaughan Brendan Gaughan OK, so maybe Palmer can shoot 77. We’re sorry.
25 20 Ward Burton Ward Burton He uttered a Yogi Berra-ism on Saturday during practice: “I turn the car, but the car won’t turn.”

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.
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