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Power Rankings: Fontana
August 30, 2005
9:19 AM EDT (0919 GMT)

Biggest Gain this week: Ricky Rudd, up seven spots

Biggest Drop this week: Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, down 10 spots

New this week: Jeff Burton (19), Michael Waltrip (24).

Dropped out: Scott Riggs (24), Scott Wimmer (25).

Week 25 of 36, Sony HD 500 at California Speedway
Rank Prev Number Driver Comments
 1  6 Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth Man, he plowed the field at Bristol. The first 50 laps were run under green, and Kenseth already had a huge lead. I thought TNT would have to show The Shawshank Redemption back-to-back-back after the race just to fill the time gap. Either that, or interview all 43 finishers. If they can find them.
 2  1 Tony Stewart Tony Stewart We’ve been ordered by Tony Stewart fans to curtail the fat jokes. But here’s once more. In the latest Home Depot commercial, Tony has his shirttail out. For a reason.
 3  3 Kurt Busch Kurt Busch He did a very good job as an analyst for the Busch race on Friday night, but it would have been way more fun to see him as a pit reporter in one of those Power Ranger firesuits.
 4  7 Mark Martin Mark Martin If you guys are wondering why Martin is retiring when he’s still as good as anyone out there, the Maxwell House commercial shoot probably had a lot to do with it.
 5  8 Rusty Wallace Rusty Wallace That huge Rusty placard display in Turns 1 and 2 was about the most emotional thing we saw at Bristol this year, next to the Hmiel-Jarrett spat.
 6  4 Jeremy Mayfield Jeremy Mayfield So Scott Riggs is his new teammate. Sweet. They can bond by sharing the Flowbee.
 7  5 Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson During the race, he dropped his PowerBar and it went under seat, but it didn’t bother Johnson that much. But it would have driven Tony Stewart nuts.
 8 11 Greg Biffle Greg Biffle It really angers me that Subway took away their Sub Club cards, and I theorize it’s because they have to pay Jared Fogle millions to appear in commercials, and that angers me even more.
 9 12 Joe Nemechek Joe Nemechek He finished 12th at Bristol. That was his first career top-15 there. In 22 tries.
10 14 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon He made an incredible rally to beat Mike Bliss coming to the line at Bristol. Although I doubt Gordon came in and bragged that he waxed Mike Bliss in the closing laps.
11  9 Carl Edwards Carl Edwards You can only imagine what Kyle Petty was saying to Carl. "Dang man! I was on the lead lap when you did that!"
12  2 Brian Vickers Brian Vickers You know Jeff Gordon’s cars aren’t handling well when he can’t get to Brian Vickers’ rear bumper at Bristol.
13 16 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Much to the relief of the media, he’s still mathematically in the Chase hunt.
14 17 Bobby Labonte Bobby Labonte After hanging out with LeBron James before the race at Bristol, he rode during driver intros with Carl Long. Talk about a change in status.
15 10 Ryan Newman Ryan Newman Marty: Hey Peanut! Peanut: Hey Marty! Marty: You remember when Jarrett ran into y’all at Bristol? Peanut: Yeah! Marty: How come y’all didn’t get back out and wreck him? Peanut: This little baby right here.
16 23 Ricky Rudd Ricky Rudd Had a great Ricky Rudd flashback on Sunday night, because they showed Six Pack on the Fox Movie Channel. Rudd qualified second in the race shown in the movie, and they called him "Young Ricky Rudd." That is how old that movie is. I have a Beta copy somewhere, but I can’t find it.
17 19 Kyle Busch Kyle Busch He was in the Johnny Bravo car. You know, the one with the blond guy in the black outfit. And no, the cartoon is not modeled after Jamie McMurray.
18 21 Elliott Sadler Elliott Sadler Conversation at the Sadler Sunday dinner: Hermie: Man, sorry we rubbed fenders there with less than 100 to go: Elliott: That was you?!
19 NR Jeff Burton Jeff Burton Trouble on the restart! Jeff Burton turns Kenseth around! Kenseth gets plowed by Hermie Sadler! Burton comes around! He will win the Sharpie 500! First victory since 2001! Richard Childress Racing sweeps Bristol in 2005!
20 18 Casey Mears Casey Mears I still can’t get over 19-year-old Reed Sorenson driving this car next year. Team Tylenol is going to have to add him to their roster. Children’s Team Tylenol.
21 15 Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne He was the guest on NASCAR’s teleconference last week, and he said the phrase "you know" a total of 78 times.
22 20 Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick You can almost imagine the conversation between Kevin and his handlers. Handler: They fixed the car, Kevin, and you’ve got to go back out. Kevin:I’ve already changed clothes. Handler: They are putting Riggs in your car. Kevin: Where’s my helmet?
23 13 Jamie McMurray Jamie McMurray A lot of fans have written in and complained that Jamie McMurray’s light-blue Home123 car is not a good paint scheme. But hey. It matches the eyes.
24 NR Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip We’re openly rooting for Mikey to fill Scott Riggs’ seat. With Nemechek and Boris already on board, it would be a three-car Said Head team.
25 22 Dale Jarrett Dale Jarrett Coming up next…on World’s Wildest Police Videos…this UPS driver is forced to use the pit maneuver to dish out vigilante justice!

The Power Rankings are written by Ryan Smithson and the opinions listed here are solely those of the writer. To email Ryan about the Rankings, click here.
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