NASCAR's Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 20 Drivers Coming out of Watkins Glen

The 2011 edition of Watkins Glen is history, and the risk-reward scenario has forced drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to really battle for wins as they attempt to make the Chase because averaging good finishes may not be enough.

With only four races left to make the Chase, just having a good day in points is no longer an option. This season has become all about wins just as it was meant to be with the change in the point calculations.

The fight for the wild card slots will likely require two wins and a position between 11th and 20th in points.

The right and left turns at Watkins Glen proved to be a game-changing, as drivers lost their grip on valuable points.

Racing on a road course is usually chock full of incidents on the track, and the stunning wrecks at Watkins Glen certainly didn't disappoint in that regard.

Tempers and rivalries are rearing their heads as pressure mounts especially with those drivers at the top of the point standings. There is little doubt a storm is brewing among NASCAR's elite warriors.

Many of those who needed to do well were victims of disappointment, while some maintained status quo and the top dogs in the points found some surprises

Watkins Glen was the wild card race of these final five races that climax at Richmond when the drivers who will make the Chase are declared.

Let's go through the 20 drivers as they are ranked after Watkins Glen and some comments on their performance and the outlook for the Chase.

1. Kyle Busch

At the curvy Watkins Glen course, Kyle Busch was the class of the field leading much of the race and proving his road-course ability.

He continues to mature as a driver and is working well with his crew chief Dave Rogers. The driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Joe Gibbs Toyota is looking to be a serious threat for the series title.

Busch has three wins so far this year, started on the pole at Watkins Glen and faulted himself for a bad move on the final laps that caused him to finish in third position but first in the point standings.

2. Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards had maintained the points lead most of the season but dropped to second at the Glen, though tied with Kyle Busch, who took the lead because he has three wins as opposed to the one of Edwards.

At Watkins Glen, the driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford for Roush Fenway Racing was hardly mentioned, which was probably a good thing.

He quietly drove the road-course race, stayed out of most of the heavy drama and brought his car home in 12th place.

Edwards is still a driver who will make a strong run at the title and may easily get at least one more win at the upcoming ovals with his FR9 engine.

3. Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson is a five-time champ who plans to grab a sixth title this year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Pressure is mounting on the driver of the Lowe's No. 48 despite his cool demeanor except when he is near fellow driver, Kurt Busch, who he clearly doesn't like.

It remains to be seen if any of the cracks seen with his team are significant being that he remains high in the points, and though he dropped one slot at Watkins Glen, he is still third.

He was never a contender for the win at the road course and managed to finish 10th after starting in fourth place.

Johnson should have more wins than one compared to his recent seasons, but he can never be underestimated to come on strong during the Chase.

4. Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick has three wins this season and is currently ranked fourth in the Cup point standings.

His finishes out of the top 10 for the four races prior to Watkins Glen may be contributed to some experimentation his team is doing in preparation for the Chase.

At the road course in New York, he started 23rd and brought his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing to a sixth place finish.

Harvick is one who seems to come out of nowhere for a win or top finish. Look for this driver to be in that kind of mode during the upcoming races and certainly during the Chase.

5. Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford is a bit of a sleeper in the point standings. He has two wins and after Watkins Glen he moved up a slot to fifth in points.

The soft-spoken Kenseth is quietly getting stronger and stronger with his Roush Fenway Racing team. He seems to be sneaking up on his teammate Carl Edwards.

At the Glen, Kenseth was another who was seldom mentioned. He started in 24th position and brought his car to a 14th place finish.

Look for this driver to be solid in the top eight drivers going into the Chase. He may not contend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup title, but you never know.

He was the reason for the Chase when he skated away with the 2003 Sprint Cup title with only one win, but a ton of consistent finishes.

6. Jeff Gordon

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, Jeff Gordon, is back in winning form and ready to rumble for the 2011 series title.

He is actually seventh in the point standings and has two wins this season. Gordon is working well with his new team led by Alan Gustafson at Hendrick Motorsports.

At Watkins Glen, Gordon had the famous sponsorship logo of Dupont on his car, but you didn't see it too much. The No. 24 started 17th and finished in 13th position.

Gustafson normally makes the good calls that have made his driver strong this season, but at the Glen, his strategy didn't work quite as well as it should have.

It would be no surprise to see Gordon win one more race before the Chase, and he could seriously be on track to steal the NASCAR Sprint Cup trophy from his teammate, Jimmie Johnson.

7. Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch drives the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge for Penske Racing. He is currently sixth in the Cup point standings with one win to his credit this season.

This older of the two Busch brothers has been showing some real horsepower out of the Penske stables, but his trip to Watkins Glen was not a good one.

He started in the 27th position, but a blown tire on lap 42 sent him hard into a wall of tires which caused heavy damage that resulted in a 38th place finish.

Busch was expected to do well on the road course, but his tough day dropped him two positions in the points.

This driver should certainly make the Chase, but he most likely will not present any threat of stealing the series title from his not so best friend, Jimmie Johnson.

If he has his way though, he could make sure he causes Johnson some problems that could hamper his chances to get that sixth championship.

8. Ryan Newman

Stewart-Haas driver, Ryan Newman, seems to be steady as she goes with his No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet. He sits eighth in the point standings with one win.

Since the July race at Daytona, he has finished 12th or better until his 16th place finish at Watkins Glen. His team is thriving on consistency which is keeping him solid in the points.

Newman should make the Chase easily, but he won't be among those who are the top contenders for the series title.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is able to exhale now that he has survived Watkins Glen and moved up one place in the points to ninth, 11 points ahead of Tony Stewart who is 10th.

At Watkins Glen, Junior started 25th and ended up in the 15th place slot. His crew chief, Steve Letarte, used pit strategy that got him up to third during the race.

Letarte acknowledged to a pit reporter that he was points racing at the Glen. The No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard team just needed to survive the road course without losing too many points and they did.

Now as Earnhardt Jr. heads to the four races leading to the Chase, he may get that win everyone is waiting for and remain in the top 10 of the point standings.

10. Tony Stewart

Perhaps, the comment Tony Stewart made during the ESPN television broadcast from the Glen sums up how his season is going when he stated, "We're not good enough to win."

Stewart is currently 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings having dropped a slot after Watkins Glen.

It is almost shocking that the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet hasn't gotten a win and has only two top-five finishes.

During the final laps at the Glen, Stewart took his car for a spin and finished 27th after starting in the seventh position.

There is a strong chance this driver will fall out of the top 10 contenders for the Chase, and if he doesn't get a win, he won't even contend for the wild card slots.

It seems to be a weird year for Stewart, and the personnel changes he made haven't yet shown the results he expected for his team.

11.Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin's closest companion at a race track is bad luck, and his 36th place finish after losing his brakes and hitting a tire barrier continued his streak of bad outcomes.

The driver of the No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing has one win and dropped one more spot to 12th in the point standings.

He has been plagued with engine problems, but he is expected to have a JGR/TRD engine in his car at Michigan which may change his luck.

Hamlin was runner-up for the Cup title last year and was expected to be much better this year than he has been.

This driver is just barely hanging on to the wild card slot, and he really needs another win in these next four races, but that may not be in the cards.

He certainly won't be contending for the title this year.

12. Brad Keselowski

Penske Racing driver, Brad Keselowski, has shown true grit with his last two runs, one of which was his second win of the year at Pocono followed by a second place finish at Watkins Glen.

The bruised and battered driver, who has a broken ankle and very sore back, drove a smooth race on the road course and was a contender for the win throughout the race.

Keselowski is actually 14th in points, and his race at the Glen moved him up four slots in the points. He certain to at least get a wild card birth in the Chase.

The driver of the Blue Deuce has shown he is a force to contend with, and he may even get one more win, but likely, he will just get one or two more top-five finishes.

13. Paul Menard

Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Menard's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing proved he is a serious racer with a recent win at the Brickyard 400.

Menard is actually 15th in points, and he started 32nd at Watkins Glen which was the same place he finished after blowing a tire and rupturing an oil line that caused the bottom of his car to flame up.

Heading back to the ovals, Menard should get some top-10 finishes and may well be a candidate for the wild card slot.

14. Clint Bowyer

Clint Bowyer drives the No.33 Cheerios Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing and is 11th in the Cup point standings.

At Watkins Glen, Bowyer started 19th and finished 11th with a solid mid-pack run throughout the race.

It doesn't appear this driver is a candidate for a win this season and most likely won't stay in the top 12, and a wild card slot is not in the cards for him.

15. Greg Biffle

Greg Biffle drives the No. 16 3M Ford for Roush Fenway Racing and currently sits 13th in points. He hasn't won a race and has only one top five.

Despite a crew chief change, if Biffle doesn't get a win and some solid top-five finishes in the next four races, he doesn't even have a remote chance for the wild card slot let alone the Chase.

At Watkins Glen, he started 28th and finished 31st with his car running out of gas early in the race which put him down a couple laps.

16. Marcos Ambrose

Marcos Ambrose took his No. 9 Stanley Ford to his very first NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Watkins Glen. It was also the first win for the new version of Richard Petty Motorsports that debuted this year.

Ambrose started third in the race and ran near the front most of the race. With his win, he moved up one slot to 21st in the point standings.

This RPM driver has the powerful FR9 engine in his favor, and the win may give him momentum going into the next four races. He may move up in points by adding to the four top fives he has.

Though it appears the drivers who get the wild card slots may need two wins, if one win will do it, then Ambrose just might be in after Richmond.

17. A.J. Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger drives the famous No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports. He started his Best Buy Ford from the second position and finished in eighth place at Watkins Glen.

Allmendinger has two things going for him, a new crew chief, Greg Irwin, and the FR9 engine which just might get him a win in the next four races.

The RPM driver is currently 16th in the point standings, having moved up one slot after his finish at the Glen.

18. Joey Logano

Joey Logano drove his No. 20 Home Depot Chevy to a fifth place finish at Watkins Glen. He has proven he is now a force to deal with on road-course tracks having worked hard to hone his skills.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is 17th in the point standings with four top-five and six top-10 finishes this season.

Logano is showing maturity on the track and a win may be in the cards for him prior to the Chase. He should remain higher than 20th place in the standings.

Only the completion of the next four races will show if he has any chance at the wild card positions.

19. Martin Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. drove his No. 56 NAPA Toyota to a fourth place finish at Watkins Glen after starting ninth on the grid.

This Michael Waltrip Racing driver looks to be hitting his stride with strong runs. Though he hasn't won a race, he has seven top-10 finishes.

After Watkins Glen, Truex moved up one place to 21st in points.

Should he continue to run near or in the top 10 for these next four races he should easily be in the top 20, but he most likely will not get a win.

20. Juan Pablo Montoya

The driver of the No. 42 Target car for Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing continues with a season full of disappointment despite showing strength in many races.

Juan Pablo Montoya started fifth and finished seventh at Watkins Glen. He moved up one slot to 20th in the point standings.

This season, he has two top-five and seven top-10 finishes, but he just can't get a win. It seems unlikely he will get a win in the next four races, but he should remain in the top 20.