NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 20 Sprint Cup Drivers Coming Out of Bristol
Rowdy Busch. Rowdy Busch. Rowdy Busch. All he wants is for us to be friends!
With yesterday's Bristol win, Busch extended his personal winning streak at the track (across all three of NASCAR's national touring series) to five races. It's not quite Darrell Waltrip's 12, but at this rate, you never know.
Bristol is best known these days for introducing all 43 drivers with the music of their choice (or, in the cases of Jimmie Johnson and Brian Vickers, each other's choice). So we're going to go into this week's power rankings by calling on those introductory songs and seeing just how well they reflected the driver's race. Ready? Let's go...
1. Kyle Busch: "Rowdy Busch"
1 of 20
If Kyle’s in the fast lane. You just might be too slow...You didn’t know? It’s THE KYLE BUSCH SHOW!
In case there was any doubt, just have a look at the top of the finishing order yesterday.
2. Carl Edwards: "Where Everybody Knows Your Name"
2 of 20
Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got; Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot. Wouldn't you like to get away?
Not at all. The tone of the song and its chorus might be befitting of "Cousin Carl," but given his five top-two finishes in the past six points races, and a pole in the lone exception, I think Carl wants to run the whole season this week.
Also, isn't it an interesting coincidence that both of the top two drivers have direct involvement in music? Rowdy Busch has his own song, Carl runs a record label.
3. Kurt Busch: "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer"
3 of 20
Looked down the bar, here come the bartender, I said "Look man, come down here." So what you want? One bourbon, one scotch, one beer.
I bet Kurt misses the Miller Lite sponsorship—he'd only have to pay for the bourbon and scotch. Anyways, the points leader finished seventh, good enough to keep two points on a hard-charging Carl Edwards.
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4. Tony Stewart: "Bawitdaba"
4 of 20
Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy.
I have to admit that I have never heard this song. And with a chorus like that, I don't really want to. After a slam-bang day that ended in 19th place, driving the last car on the lead lap and falling to third in points, I'm sure that Stewart was in no mood to use real words in a post-race interview, so I guess these are good enough.
5. Jimmie Johnson: "The Thong Song"
5 of 20
(I'm not printing the lyrics of this one for the sake of legitimacy, and our younger viewers.)
Did Brian Vickers really think he was going to outdo Johnson's pick for him with Sisqo? Come on, the beat to that song is bumpin'. Plus, Sisqo's silver hair in the video matches Johnson's car. The song didn't deter Five-Time, who finished third and climbed to seventh in points. Try harder next time, BV. We'll get to you later.
6. Ryan Newman: "Good Ol Boys"
6 of 20
Just good ol' boys, wouldn't change if they could. Fightin' the system like a true modern day Robin Hood.
If this isn't a perfect song for the throwback that is Stewart-Haas Racing, I don't know what is. Newman follows his boss in points right now, sitting fourth after scoring a 10th-place finish at Bristol. No, he didn't finish "01" like the General Lee, but he will before too long. Count on it.
7. Paul Menard: "Concrete Jungle"
7 of 20
The concrete jungle, it's the well of the damned. Once you step inside and then you'll understand.
This song would have been far more befitting of teammate Clint Bowyer, who had a pretty bad day at Bristol, suffering through a wreck and a grenading engine to finish 35th. No, Menard finished in the top five and now sits fifth in points. He wasn't quite the king of Bristol's concrete jungle, but the one driver in NASCAR who claims his own empire was at least a prince on Sunday.
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Screaming Bloody Murder"
8 of 20
What can I say? I'm no angel, I'm not forsaken, but I can bleed!
Here's another song I've never heard, but am going to have to check out. Sum 41's latest single was originally written by Tom Thacker, their new lead guitarist, for his other band—and one of my personal favorites—Gob. They're the band that wrote "I Hear You Calling," the theme to EA Sports' NHL 2002, if you're keeping score.
Oh, we're supposed to be talking racing, right? Well, Junior finished 11th and is ninth in points. Can I go back to talking about Gob now?
9. Kasey Kahne: "A Country Boy Can Survive"
9 of 20
I got a shotgun rifle and a four-wheel drive, and a country boy can survive. Country folks can survive.
What a decidedly uncharacteristic song, both for Kahne and Red Bull as a brand. Was he pandering to the crowd, or is he generally a country boy? I thought Sterling Marlin retired. Anyways, Kahne finished ninth and sits 11th in points through four races of his one-year holding pattern until Mark Martin vacates his Hendrick Motorsports seat.
10. Martin Truex Jr.: "Homeboy"
10 of 20
Here you are runnin’ these dirty old streets. Tattoo on your neck, fake gold on your teeth. Got the hood here snow, but you cant fool me, we both know who you are.
I'm not sure how the lyrics of this song exactly fit Truex, because he seems a lot more authentic than the character Eric Church sings about in the song. I guess I can stretch it to say Truex wants to go back to Dover, another high-banked concrete oval, his de facto home track and the site of his first career Sprint Cup win. Sure, let's go with that.
Truex finished 17th, led some laps, and is now 10th in points.
11. Juan Montoya: "Ladies and Gentlemen"
11 of 20
Ladies and gentlemen good evening. You've seen that seeing is believing. Your ears and your eyes will be bleeding. Please check to see if you're still breathing.
If that verse doesn't fit Montoya's driving style, I don't know what does. I'm sure he wishes that they would have fit his performance on Sunday a little more though—he finished 24th, three laps down, and fell to eighth in points from fourth.
12. Matt Kenseth: "Nightmare"
12 of 20
Now your nightmare comes to life. Dragged ya down below, down to the devil's show, to be his guest forever.
Nightmare? Naw. That would be 2008 and 2009, when he failed to win a race in the former and failed to make the Chase in the latter. He wasn't exactly a nightmare for the competition either, finishing fourth but as the top driver in the race not to lead any laps. He's now 13th in points.
13. Jeff Gordon: "I Won't Back Down"
13 of 20
Well I know what's right, I got just one life in a world that keeps on pushin me around. But I'll stand my ground, and I won't back down.
You'd expect Gordon to consider it after one win in the past three seasons, but you have to hand it to him—the guy looks rejuvenated this season. As good as that offer to replace Regis Philbin might be—and it would make him by far the coolest daytime talk show host in history—he's not ready to quit.
Right now, Gordon is mired at 19th in points after finishing 14th at Bristol. He neither gained nor lost any positions from where he was after Las Vegas.
14. Mark Martin: "Night Prowler"
14 of 20
I'm your night prowler, asleep in the day. I'm your night prowler, get out of my way.
Yeah, I guess Kevin Harvick would agree with those lyrics after getting spun late in the race. Isn't Martin supposed to be a hip-hop guy anyway? And how well does that song fit during a day race? Come on, Mark. I think he should have walked out to the GoDaddy theme, myself.
15. Denny Hamlin: "Shipping Up to Boston"
15 of 20
I'm shipping up to Boston, whoa oh oh. I'm shipping off to find my wooden leg!
Look, Denny, us Bostonians appreciate the sentiment of playing the Murphys on St. Patty's Day weekend, but it didn't really do much for you, did it? I'm telling you, man, that song helps its natives (Boston Red Sox, anybody?), but it likes to bite anybody who doesn't use it right. And now you're 17th in points because you finished 33rd.
On a semi-related note, I saw the Murphys' first St. Patty's Day show of the week last Wednesday. It's a rite of passage for any true Bostonian. And, of course, it ruled.
16. Kevin Harvick: "Back in Black"
16 of 20
Well, I'm back, back. Well I'm back in black. Yes, I'm back in black!
The first all-black car from that team to run at Bristol since Dale Earnhardt passed away, Harvick was looking for something more than to accidentally get Earnhardted by Mark Martin. He'd been running well, but managed to salvage a sixth place finish even after the spin.
They were a championship-caliber team last year, climbing back up the running order like that shows they still have that spark, even at 15th in points.
17. Bobby Labonte: "God Blessed Texas"
17 of 20
If you wanna see heaven brother here's your chance. I've been sent to spread the message, God blessed Texas.
Were we racing in Texas? Nope. Is Bristol even one of Labonte's best tracks? Not by a long shot (20.2 average finish). Was he motivated anyway? Yup. Labonte finished 13th, and gained a spot to finish 14th in points. He's running as well as he ever has since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005, and is really giving JTG Daugherty Racing the veteran spark it needs to move forward as a team.
18. Marcos Ambrose: "Fuel"
18 of 20
Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire. Ooh!
I was torn between choosing the more consistent Ambrose and streakier teammate A.J. Allmendinger for this spot, but I ended up choosing Ambrose based on a better entrance song. Seriously, look up "Turn Around" by Flo Rida. Those lyrics are just silly. I'll take Metallica any day over that.
Ambrose finished 15th, Allmendinger 31st. Allmendinger is better off in points, though, sitting 16th to Ambrose's 18th.
19. Brian Vickers: "Man, I Feel Like a Woman"
19 of 20
Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy-forget I'm a lady. Men's shirts-short skirts. Oh, oh, oh, really go wild-yeah, doin' it in style. Oh, oh, oh, get in the action-feel the attraction. Color my hair-do what I dare. Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be free-yeah, to feel the way I feel... Man! I feel like a woman!
Face it, BV. You got owned. The only disappointing thing is that you got introduced before Jimmie, because you didn't even come close to outdoing him on this one. Vickers finished 36th and is now 31st in points, and isn't really in the power rankings for any reason other than the song that Johnson chose for him, but I just couldn't let that one slide.
20. Jennifer Jo Cobb
20 of 20
Wait a minute. Why is a little-known Nationwide driver and Camping World Truck owner in the Sprint Cup power rankings?
Because she stood up for herself against the concept of starting and parking.
Cobb and team owner Rick Russell of 2nd Chance Motorsports had a contract to run the season's first five races, but after an accident at Las Vegas, Russell wanted to start and park the car for Bristol because there would be no repair time for the fifth race at California if anything happened to the car. Cobb bought tires and hired a pit crew, but to no avail. She was told she would be black-flagged by NASCAR if she ran more than one lap. (Owners can black flag their own cars if they so choose.)
So she walked out, 10 minutes before the race was due to start.
Cobb and her folks have handled this situation with the grace of public relations royalty, embracing every opportunity to talk to the media and landing a ride for California with a new team, Rick Ware Racing. She has also reiterated that she doesn't intend to take the breach of contract to court—she just wants to retrieve a few things of hers from the race shop.
Meanwhile, the folks at 2nd Chance haven't dealt with it as well, with their Twitter account lashing back with every ounce of vitriol that unhappy fans unleashed against them. Their Internet presence is now gone. As justifiable as their action to preserve the car may have been, their handling of the situation has been nothing short of a public relations disaster.
It may not lead to NASCAR choosing to set any rules against start-and-park teams, but it will generate quite a bit of buzz for Cobb, whose dedication to making it as a top-level racing driver is nothing short of admirable.
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