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NASCAR Power Rankings - Jeff Gordon is Top Dog

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NASCAR Power Rankings:  Gordon on Top After Samsung 500 Victory

Jeff Gordon broke through the Texas jinx and won at the Texas Motor Speedway for the first time in his career, and took home the checkered flag in the Samsung 500 on Sunday.

Gordon won his first race of the year, but because he has been driving so well in 2009, he was leading in the Sprint Cup point standings before the race began.  Now, needless to say, he has increased his lead.

It looks like Team Hendrick is back with Gordon’s victory in Texas and Johnson’s victory in Martinsville two weeks ago.

Let’s take a look at the NASCAR Power Rankings.

  1. Jeff Gordon - - Gordon won the Samsung 500 at the BetUS odds of +700.  He immediately becomes the top choice in the future book to win the Sprint Cup Championship.  Gordon isn’t going to sit around while Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards try to get good enough to overtake Team Hendrick.  Because Jimmie is driving so well, Gordon becomes a good bet to win the Sprint Cup.  Gamblers should think about putting money down on Gordon right now to win the Cup because, mark my words, he’s only going to get better and his odds are going to go lower.
  1. Jimmie Johnson - - Johnson has won the Sprint Cup three years in a row.  He won at Martinsville two weeks ago and then finished second at odds of +700 in the Samsung 500 on Sunday at Texas.  Team Hendrick looks awfully tough right now and a bet on either Johnson or Gordon to win the Sprint Cup isn’t out of the question.  I suspect that both Gordon and Johnson are going to keep the top two spots in the power rankings for a few weeks.
  1. Tony Stewart - - Look who’s baaaack!!  Smoke followed up his third place finish in Martinsville two weeks ago with a fourth place finish in Texas.  He was going off at +2000 in the Samsung 500.  Stewart appears to have mellowed some.  Now that he and his new crew have gelled, I expect Stewart, like Johnson and Gordon to keep it going for a while.  Stewart is a long shot to win the Sprint Cup.  Worth a bet?  Yeah, I think so.
  1. Matt Kenseth - - Kenseth was going off at +1000 to win the Samsung 500.  He finished fifth and catapulted himself to the top of the Power Rankings because his victory in the Daytona 500 to begin the Sprint Cup Series has to count for something.  Kenseth was hot early, winning the first two races in the series, then cooled off and now appears to be hot again.  He’s worth a long look in the future book, but there is a chance that he could get cold again.
  1. Kyle Busch - - It’s not time to say that Kyle is done for the season when it comes to the Sprint Cup Chase but bettors have to be wary of him after his 18th place finish in Texas.  It comes after a 24th place finish in Martinsville.  In both races, Kyle was a low-priced favorite to win.  In Texas he was going off at +450.  There’s something going on here that’s making Kyle less effective in 2009 than 2008.
  1. Carl Edwards - - I’m holding out hope that Edwards and his crew can right whatever’s wrong with their ship because this is getting sad.  Edwards’ started out 5th in Texas and then just failed to hit the top 25.  He finished in 26th place.  It’s hard to believe after Edwards won both Sprint Cup races on the Texas Motor Speedway in 2008.  Edwards has an outside shot to win the Sprint Cup with the new format, all he has to do is get into the Top 12 before the Cup Chase, but things haven’t been going well for him so far this year.  I’ll hold out hope he can get things together and take solace in the fact that here is a lot of racing left and Edwards’ odds should be good in the future book.
  1. Greg Biffle - - Biffle finished 3rd in the Samsung 500 and now becomes a serious contender for the Sprint Cup.  In a couple of weeks, he might be Roush Racing’s top chance to win the Cup.  Biffle broke a string of terrible finishes with his 3rd in the Samsung 500.  Biffle isn’t ready to make a move into the top 5 just yet but he’s getting there and the improvement between Texas and Martinsville, where he ended up worse than 30th, was dramatic.
  1. Jeff Burton - - Burton’s 9th place finish in the Samsung 500 comes on the heels of a 15th place finish at Martinsville.  Burton has secured 3 top ten finishes as well as a top 5 finish, that was in Las Vegas, this year to put him into the top 12 in the Sprint Cup Chase standings.
  1. Denny Hamlin - - Hamlin was going off at +1500 in the Samsung 500 only to finish in 12th place.  He’s number 6 in the Sprint Cup Chase and might only get better as Hamlin has been outperforming Joe Gibbs’ Racing’s other top driver, Kyle Busch.  I’m not ready to quit on Busch, but Hamlin could be a nice alternative for a Sprint Cup bet because his odds are much higher than Busch’s.
  1. Mark Martin - - The old pro is currently ranked 18th in the standings but in his last three races, Martin has finished 6th, 7th and 6th.  That makes him a solid guy for bettors for the next few weeks.  If he can keep it going, a catapult into the top 5 in the power rankings, and the Sprint Cup Chase standings, isn’t out of the question