NASCAR Power Rankings: Johnson Solidifies His Favorite Status

It was two in a row for JJ last week as he took home the Shelby American trophy. Two victories in a row for the reigning 4 time Sprint Cup Champion had to have sent shivers down the spines of NASCAR’s other top drivers.

JJ obviously stays atop the rankings but who has moved up and who has moved down?

Let’s check out the rankings!

NASCAR Power Rankings

1. Jimmie Johnson +250 - - Jimmie’s odds went from +300 to +250 to win the Sprint Cup after his victory in the Shelby American. Johnson and his crew are doing better at this point in the season in 2010 then they did in 2009. If this team is actually better in 2010 then 2009, then the +250 on them to win their 5th straight is a gift.

2. Mark Martin +800 - - Martin moves up to 2nd from 4th because he finished 4th in the Shelby American and is now 3rd in the Sprint Cup Standings. Team Martin has been very consistent so far in 2010 and unless something unforeseen happens, they should have a terrific year.

3. Kevin Harvick +800 - - Harvick stays exactly where he was last week although he has taken a dip in odds from +1200 to +800 in the NASCAR sportsbook. Harvick continues to be Mr. Consistency. He finished 2nd in last week’s Shelby American. Kevin is atop the Sprint Cup standings.

4. Tony Stewart +1000- - Tony’s dropped from 2nd to 4th in the power rankings because his awesomeness hasn’t kicked into gear just yet. I still believe that last year’s regular season Sprint Cup standings leader could end up putting himself into the Top 5 in the standings this year and have a legitimate shot to win the Cup once the Chase starts. Right now, Smoke is 11th in the standings.

5. Greg Biffle +1800 - - No change for Biff who is 6th in the Sprint Cup standings and finished 10th in the Shelby American.

6. Kyle Busch +1200 - - Kyle moves up one spot even though his odds are higher this week, +1000 last week to +1200 this week, and he finished worse than expected in the Shelby American. Busch finished 15th last Sunday. Why the move up? A feeling, really. Busch will start kicking it in, no doubt. He has to.

7. Clint Bowyer +1200 - - I moved Bowyer up to 7th because he finished 8th in the Shelby American and moved into 2nd place in the Sprint Cup standings. There is a huge difference between the 2010 version of Clint Bowyer and the 2009 version. Bowyer’s got the ability to stay in the power rankings for the entire season.

8. Carl Edwards +1000 - - Carl’s 12th place finish in the Shelby American was decent enough for me be status quo with him this week. He’s currently 10th in the Sprint Cup standings. Biff is doing better for Roush-Fenway so far in 2010 but Edwards could turn it on at a moment’s notice.

9. Jeff Gordon +600 - - I felt compelled to move Gordon up a notch from 10th to 9th in my power rankings after his 3rd place finish in the Shelby American. I’m hoping I can move him up even further. I’m not holding my breath about it, though. I love Gordo, but I have the sneaky suspicion that the 3rd place finish in the Shelby was the anomaly and not Gordo’s bad races in the Auto Club 500 and the Daytona 500.