NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 20 Sprint Cup Drivers After Kentucky

When the dust settled, Kyle Busch came out of the Kentucky Speedway traffic jam victorious, scoring his 99th career NASCAR win in the inaugural Quaker State 400.

Busch even came out of the event with the Sprint Cup points lead, an asset even this early in the season as he attempts to score his first Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. But Carl Edwards (minus-four) and Kevin Harvick (minus-10) remain hot on his heels.

So, how did the top 20 drivers in Sprint Cup points fare this weekend at Kentucky, and what do they have to look forward to down the road? Read on:

1. Kyle Busch

What's New

How does leading 125 of 267 laps in a track's inaugural Sprint Cup race to take the victory sound? Pretty good from here. Rowdy is your new points leader.

What's Next

Busch has one career win in 12 Loudon starts, at the July 2006 race, for an average finish of 14.7. He led 46 laps in the Lenox 301 last year.

2. Carl Edwards

What's New

 After a miserable Daytona run, Edwards took a solid fifth at Kentucky to position himself to take the points lead once again in Loudon if Kyle Busch falters and he picks up his pace there.

What's Next

 Edwards' best finishes at New Hampshire have been a second in July 2006 and a third in September 2008. Besides those runs, he's never finished in the top 10, but his average finish of 14.5 is still better than that of Busch.

3. Kevin Harvick

What's New

Harvick's 16th-place finish at Kentucky wasn't good enough to hold onto the points lead. He now sits 10 markers back of Kyle Busch.

What's Next

Harvick won from the pole at Loudon in September 2006 to start the Chase, but hasn't even led a lap since 2008. Still, his average finish of 13.8 is the best of the top three Cup drivers in points.

4. Kurt Busch

What's New

 The elder Busch brother made Kentucky a bit of a family affair by leading 41 laps and finishing a strong ninth after starting third. 

What's Next

Busch swept both Loudon races in 2004, and has finished no worse than 13th since winning the July 2008 race. His average finish of 13.6 is best of any driver to appear on this list so far.

5. Jimmie Johnson

What's New

Third place. You know, typical Jimmie Johnson fare.

What's Next

The defending Lenox 301 champion, and winner of both 2003 Loudon races, Johnson's average finish matches his average start at 9.9 and is second-best of all active drivers.

6. Matt Kenseth

What's New

Kenseth finished sixth at Kentucky, but didn't lead any laps.

What's Next

In 22 Loudon starts, Kenseth has scored five top-fives and 11 top-10s, but has never found victory lane. However, his last top-five finish at the track came in September 2005.

7. Jeff Gordon

What's New

Gordon failed to win his fourth inaugural event since the 1994 Brickyard 400, but still came home a respectable 10th.

What's Next

One of four drivers to compete in all 32 Loudon events (the others being Jeff Burton, Joe Nemechek and Bobby Labonte), Gordon's three wins at the track (albeit none since 1998) and 18 top-10 finishes rank him third among active drivers with an average finish of 11.0.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

What's New

You can bet that two laps down in 30th place wasn't what Earnhardt Jr. had in mind when he took out the retro Diet Mountain Dew car, a tribute to Kentucky native and ex-Dew driver Darrell Waltrip.

What's Next

Junior has never been particularly strong at Loudon (average finish 16.8), but finishes of eighth and fourth last year suggest that he may find what he needs to stop his recent slide in New England.

9. Ryan Newman

What's New

Newman's fourth-place finish was his best run of the season.

What's Next

Loudon is one of Newman's better tracks; his 13.0 average finish is buoyed by September race wins in 2002 and 2005. Last year saw him finish sixth in the summer and eighth in the fall.

10. Denny Hamlin

What's New

Hamlin's ascent from mediocrity continued at Kentucky, with an 11th-place finish that brought him into the top 10 in points for only the third weekend all season.

What's Next

The undisputed king of Loudon (at least in recent memory—sorry, Jeff Burton), Hamlin's seven top-10s in 10 starts and worst finish—yes, worst finish—of 15th give him the best average finish of active drivers, an impressive 7.6.

11. Tony Stewart

What's New

Stewart started ninth, led Lap 159 after a restart and finished 12th.

What's Next

Stewart is a two-time Loudon winner who saw both highs and lows at the track last year. In the summer, he started 25th and finished second; in the fall, he qualified third but came home 24th in heartbreaking fashion, after running out of fuel in the race's closing moments.

12. Clint Bowyer

What's New

It was Bowyer's crash in the race's closing laps that set up a green-white-checkered finish. He was listed 35th in the final results.

What's Next

Bowyer may have mixed emotions about returning to Loudon. Even though the car was deemed illegal and he faced harsh, Chase-killing penalties (including the suspension of crew chief Shane Wilson), Bowyer is still the last driver to score a victory at the track, leading off his short-lived Chase bid with a victory last September.

13. Juan Montoya

What's New

Once again, a strong qualifying run (second) ended in disappointment (15th) for Montoya.

What's Next

Montoya may have two Loudon poles (September 2009 and July 2010), but strong finishes seem to elude him. Save for fifth place in that 2009 event, where he was in the thick of the Chase hunt, he's only managed four other top-20 finishes in his eight starts.

14. Greg Biffle

What's New

Da Biff finished right where he started—in 21st place.

What's Next

Biffle won the September 2008 race in New Hampshire. His six top-10s in 17 starts contribute to a mid-pack 17.4 average finish.

15. David Ragan

What's New

Ragan's career revival continued at Kentucky with an eighth-place finish. As it stands right now, he's the first wild-card driver in the Chase.

What's Next

That all may change at Loudon, though. Ragan's track debut, in July 2007, was a 15th-place run. He's never topped it in Sprint Cup.

16. Paul Menard

What's New

Menard came home 24th despite starting 10th on Saturday.

What's Next

A 29.1 average finish with a best run of 21st in fall 2008 doesn't bode well for Menard.

17. Kasey Kahne

What's New

Kahne took the field to green after the first (competition) yellow, but never saw the lead again. He finished 13th.

What's Next

Kahne's lone top-five finish at New Hampshire came in September of 2004, his rookie year. He hasn't cracked a single-digit finish since July 2006.

18. A.J. Allmendinger

What's New

Allmendinger finished two laps down in 28th.

What's Next

The Dinger only has an average finish of 27.6 at Loudon, but he bolstered it significantly with finishes of 10th and 12th last year. Loudon is similar in feel and layout to the Milwaukee Mile, one of his best tracks in a past career as a Champ Car driver.

19. Mark Martin

What's New

Martin drove the race's title sponsor's car to a 22nd-place finish on Saturday night. In the Nationwide race on Friday, he humorously carried rookie stripes on his car (having never competed at the track before) for likely the first time in two or three decades.

What's Next

The fourth-best active driver at Loudon, Martin won the fall 2009 event after leading 68 laps and has an average finish of 11.7.

20. Joey Logano

What's New

Logano started 15th and finished one position better on Saturday night.

What's Next

Logano took his first career Sprint Cup victory at Loudon as a rookie in July 2009 in a rain-shortened event. However, he only has one other top-10 at the track, in July 2010.