Another Week, Another New #1 [NASCAR Power Rankings

This week, NASCAR is still out west, but they're in Sin City.  Las Vegas is the site for race #3, and some drivers find themselves needing Lady Luck on their side.  Who's hitting the jackpot and who's rolling snake eyes?  We're still going to have a lot of juggling for another couple of weeks, but let's give this a try anyway.  Check to see where your favorite driver is in this week's power rankings.

NEW THIS WEEK: Joey Logano
DROPPED OUT: Ryan Newman
ON THE GAS: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin
ON THE BRAKES: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Juan Montoya

20.Denny Hamlin (-5): Week 2 was worse than week 1.  At least Denny got a top 20 finish in the Daytona 500, not so much at Fontana.  FedEx delivered a 29th place finish, 2 laps down, and it wasn't pretty.

19.Martin Truex Jr (-9): Martin has decided to nickname last week's car Hugo...Hugo Boom.

18.Juan Montoya (-14): Juan had a great car, unfortunately the same couldn't be said for his motor.  However, just after the restart from his kablooey, Ryan Newman said "that was lame, HERE'S how you blow a motor!"

17.Jeff Gordon (+1): Thanks to crappy days from guys behind him, he moves up, but barely.  A 20th place finish at a track you've done well at is nothing to write home about.

16.Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-14): Two races, two different Hendrick drivers, two axle problems.  The people in the parts department better hope an axle doesn't fail again this week on 1 of the 4 HMS cars, or someone will be looking for a new job.

15.Kyle Busch (-3): Yes, he led some laps, however, he HAS to drop with his 14th place finish, you'll see why when you see who the next 2 drivers are.

14.Brian Vickers:  He did lead during pit stops, and did finish 11 spots higher than he started, but in my book when you're ranked 14th and finish 12th, it's as good as a push at the blackjack table...in other words Brian ain't goin' nowhere.

13.Joey Logano (previously NR):  #20 started #20, but didn't stay there for long.  This was an excellent run for him, and he wound up with a top 5 finish, easily earning him a spot in this week's rankings ahead of his teammate, Kyle Busch.

12.Kurt Busch (+7): Kurt was the better Busch brother at Fontana, finishing right behind Logano, but led some laps and had a slightly better chance to win than Joey.

11.David Reutimann (-2):  Last week, it was "where did you come from, this week it's "where did you go."  He finished 15th, and if he has another "where did you come from" this week, by the time they go to Atlanta we'll be calling him Cotton Eyed Joe.

Check page 2 for the top 10.