This Sunday, NASCAR heads to Talladega, where trouble has already started in practice for some drivers.  They say this is the wild card in the Chase, and that couldn't be more true.  Some drivers have a huge boost of momentum heading into Round #4 of the Chase, and others are asking "are we in Homestead yet?"  Who's hot and who's not?  Check out this week's power rankings.

NEW THIS WEEK: David Ragan, A.J. Allmendinger, and Elliott Sadler
DROPPED OUT: Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Martin Truex Jr.
ON THE GAS: Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon
ON THE BRAKES: Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip

20. Michael Waltrip (-6): Mikey finished 35th, so much for the good finishes lately.  Maybe DW can teach baby brother how to race well every week, or is it too late?

19. Dave Blaney (-4): Blaney had another abysmal day in America's Heartland, finishing a lousy 31st.  His car number may be double deuces, but he always seems to roll snake eyes at the craps table.

18. Kasey Kahne: Kasey tried to blame the Allstate Girls for sabotaging his car, but then he remembered Teresa Earnhardt isn't one of the Allstate Girls.

17. Bobby Labonte (-1): Labonte finished just a couple spots behind Kahne, not a good day at the office.  He must've forgotten to eat hi Cheerios before the drivers' meeting.

16. Elliott Sadler (previously NR): A top-10 finish gets Sadler back into the rankings after a long absence.  Hey we're going to his favorite track, hopefully he can run all 188 laps with all 4 wheels on the ground.

15. A.J. Allmendinger (previously NR): Allmendinger grabbed a 9th place finish at Kansas, that's a career best for the young man.  So what does Team Red Bull do?  They put Mike Skinner into the car at Talladega, STUPID STUPID STUPID!

14. Mark Martin (-2): Mark's last win came at Kansas 3 years ago...but he finished 18th this time.  Things didn't go so well for the 8 bunch.

13. David Ragan (previously NR): How about that, we go to a 1.5 or 2-mile cookie cutter and guess what, Ragan finishes 8th, whod'a thunk it?!  AAA insures consistency at a certain track, but they've promised David a discount if he can win at Talladega.

12. David Reutimann (-1): Reutimann finished right behind Mark Martin...at least this time he didn't do something stupid like pit out of the box.  Maybe David should race the truck, he's only got a few more races with UPS as his sponsor.

11. Tony Stewart (-6): "Toto Tony, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."  Smoke: "THANK YOU, JESUS!"

10. Denny Hamlin (+1): FedEX customers have begun asking Denny what is happening to JGR.  Hamlin was the highest finishing JGR car at Kansas, and didn't even finish in the top 10.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr (+1): Junior escaped one of his lousy tracks with a 13th-place finish.  Anybody want to play superstition and talk about bad luck with that number?  After coming off a finish in spot #13 at Kansas, today Junior has already lost an engine and had a right-rear tire explode at Talladega.  He's already on his 2nd engine and his 2nd car.  At least he knows he's at a track this weekend where he always runs well.

8. Clint Bowyer (-1): Save Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch, Bowyer joined Junior and Hamlin as the lowest-finishing Chasers at Kansas.  Hamlin and Junior only move up thanks to Tony Stewart's dismal day.

7. Jeff Burton (-1): It's hard to drop someone who finishes in 7th position, but guess where this week's top 6 finished...yep, ahead of Burton!

6. Kevin Harvick (-2): See the explanation for Burton.  Happy finished 6th, but this week's top 5 finished ahead of him just like his teammate Burton.  Even though they didn't lose any spots in the standings, the other drivers were just that much better at Kansas.

5. Matt Kenseth (+4): Kenseth led at Kansas and grabbed another top 5.  There's the return of Mr. Consistency...where the hell were you for the first 26 races of the season?!

4. Jeff Gordon (+4): Gordon never led a lap, but finished 4th.  He made the biggest move in the standings at Kansas, picking up 2 spots...woohoo, victory!  Uhh, he's still 143 points behind his teammate for the points lead though.

3. Greg Biffle (-1): I know you're probably going to ask "K-man, why is Biffle dropping a spot when he finished 3rd?"  That's because Johnson and Edwards finished 1-2 folks.  Don't worry, The Biff is still lurking right thurr.

2. Carl Edwards (-1): Again you're probably going to ask "K-amn, why is Carl dropping too?"  Check #1 and you'll see why.

1. Jimmie Johnson (+2): Johnson started on pole, led the most laps, won the race, and took the points lead for the first time this year.  The rest of the competition collectively mumbled "oh $#&%!"

Don't miss a minute of the action this week at Talladega.  Until next time, I'm your NASCAR VP wondering who can win the game of Survivor: Talladega.

BK over and out