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Power Rankings: Bristol
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
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August 30, 2006
4:14 PM EDT (1614 GMT)

Ryan is on vacation this week. He'll back Sept. 6.
Biggest Gain this week: Matt Kenseth, up six spots
Biggest Drop this week: Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton down five spots
New this week: Scott Riggs (22)
Dropped out: Dale Jarrett (24)

Week 24 of 36, Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Rank Prev Number Driver Comments
 1  1 Kevin Harvick Kevin Harvick Fact: One career short-track victory -- at Bristol on April 3, 2005 -- and DeLana wore her hat during the national anthem that day, too.
 2  4 Jeff Gordon Jeff Gordon Fiction: Turned down role as Jean Girrard in Talladega Nights; leg-shaving scene hit too close to home.
 3  9 Matt Kenseth Matt Kenseth Fact: Won the Cup race at Michigan, but no one noticed in wake of the Edwards/Earnhardt Jr. finish in Busch race.
 4  2 Kyle Busch Kyle Busch Fiction: Now wary of pinning back his ears in offseason, rejects three episode arc on Nip/Tuck.
 5  3 Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Johnson Fact: Back-to-back sub-top-10 finishes since Bristol-Fontana-Richmond stretch in Fall 2005.
 6  7 Denny Hamlin Denny Hamlin Fiction: Plans for rookie of the year party canceled at Scores in NYC; Reed Sorenson too young.
 7 12 Mark Martin Mark Martin Fact: After 661 starts, now only 116,204 laps behind Richard Petty for all-time lead.
 8  8 Tony Stewart Tony Stewart Fiction: Baskin Robbins offers 20 Smoke-related desserts in attempt to sway defending Cup champ to switch from DQ.
 9 11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fact: Boo birds do exist! Scientists marvel, saying the Irish Hills discovery tops finding a Dodo.
10  5 Kurt Busch Kurt Busch Fiction: Blames Rusty Wallace for recent tailspin, since Ryan Newman hasn't used that excuse in about a month.
11  6 Jeff Burton Jeff Burton Fact: Average finish of 22.75 in four races that he's started from the pole this year. That's Ryan Newman-esque.
12 10 Carl Edwards Carl Edwards Fiction: Mom washed out his mouth with soap after profanity-laced tirade with Junior in Victory Lane.
13 13 Ryan Newman Ryan Newman Fact: Has two poles at Bristol. ... Nope, didn't win either of those races.
14 14 Jamie McMurray Jamie McMurray Fiction: Gunning for Ganier Fructis sponsor dollars if he can pass Brian Vickers in the standings.
15 15 Kasey Kahne Kasey Kahne Fact: Fourth-place finish at Michigan his first top-10 since Loudon, when Jeremy Mayfield was still driving.
16 19 Elliott Sadler Elliott Sadler Fiction: Signed with Evernham so he could be Kasey Kahne's wingman at North Carolina PTA meetings.
17 18 Robby Gordon Robby Gordon Fact: Knows that 'bookkeeper' is the only English word with three consecutive repeated letters in which omission of the medial hyphen is a practical option (i.e. hoof-footed or sweet-toothed).
18 16 Greg Biffle Greg Biffle Fiction: Believes he has a shot at Blimpies sponsorship, too -- if Tony Stewart doesn't eat it first.
19 17 Brian Vickers Brian Vickers Fact: Ten consecutive top-20 finishes is a career best.
20 20 Clint Bowyer Clint Bowyer Fiction: Cracked the seal on a bottle of Single Barrel Jack three laps too early at Michigan. He only took it out of the wooden box.
21 23 Reed Sorenson Reed Sorenson Fact: Most consistent driver at Bristol -- average start: 22nd; average finish: 22nd.
22 25 Martin Truex Jr. Martin Truex Jr. Fiction: After finishing 30th at Michigan, accuses DEI of giving Robby Gordon better engine.
23 NR Scott Riggs Scott Riggs Fact: Hasn't finished outside the top 25 since Daytona in July, not that anyone named Ray Evernham, Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler, Jeremy Mayfield or "Your Honor" would notice.
24 22 Bobby Labonte Bobby Labonte Fiction: Refutes report that No. 43 is not his average finishing position. Says reporter got him confused with Tom Hubert.
25 21 J.J. Yeley J.J. Yeley Fact: Getting an early jump on 30 (his birthday is Oct. 5) with three consecutive thirtysomething finishes.

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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